11 NR Deer PPs?????

[Califelkslayer]

Checkin draw odds. Hart Mt. muzzy. There are 4 in front of me that applied last year, 6 in my group. Juniper muzzy, 10 in front of me and 8 in my group. Think it'll take me another 5-11 years to draw Hart or 11-21 to draw Juniper??????

I'm not very excited about this.

 

[WapitiBob]

11 Deer points in Oregon???

Dam, I'm feeling kinda sick for ya.

 

[KILLERBEE]

are you only into muzzy? maybe archery?

 

[scoutdog5]

Cal, I think it will be worse than that. Given the huge increase in the cost for Non-residents to collect points only, I expect a lot of them will come out of the point saver pool and start applying for tags. Given that half of the non-resident tags go to outfitters on the good hunts, you might have a really long wait for those two tags.

According to the odfw website, there are 156 non-residents in the point saver pool from 2009 with 11 or more deer points, 200 with eleven or more elk points, and 208 with 11 or more antelope points. These are in addition to the non-residents who actually put in for a hunt and did not draw.

The only hope I can offer is that there is absolutely no question that the ODFW budget is going to crash and burn in the next 3-4 years. At that point, they will be forced to develop a new funding scheme, and, given resident's opposition to paying more, there is at least some chance they will elect to give non-residents their own draw, tags, etc, and give them enough to substantially increase the non-resident contribution to funding, as Colorado, Wyoming and Montana have done. Of course, there might not be any animals left to hunt by then, the way things are going.

Might be time to take your points, put a group of friends together, bring your horses and go on a pack-in high country hunt where the hunting might not be great, but you can get away from the crowds in a beautiful area and have a fun time.

Scoutdog

 

[NickW]

I can relate! I've got 9 deer and 11 elk points and I can't do Oregon at all this year. I'm gonna have to pay up for point savers, but at least I'll hunt chuckers and waterfowl!

 

[wadsworth]

Got 13 NR points for deer & pronghorn and 12 for elk (should have 13 there too but screwed up one year). I guess I am one of the "lucky" ones as I live in ID--right on the OR border--and am an avid bird hunter in that fine state. So for me a nonresident license is still worth it even at double the previous price since I hunt chukars/quail/pheasants in OR so much & thoroughly enjoy it.

That being said my opinion is that OR continues to give nonresidents the shaft with respect to big game tag allocations, and now, with respect to license pricing for those building points. If I did not live close enough to bird hunt often I would cash my points as described above and never look back.

It will be interesting to hear what the Huntin' Fool guys say about this situation. I havent taken the magazine for several years, so if anyone remembers please update this thread & let us nonsubscribers know.

Thanks,

DHE

 

[HKShooter]

DHE.. Direct from Huntin' Fool. "Trophy Mule deer and elk hunters should NOT apply in Oregon, it is a waste of time, money and ink......Oregon is now what we consider a very marginal state when considering which states to apply for."

They go on to say how the NR is getting screwed, the quality of game is at an all time low and that is is near IMPOSSIBLE to justify applying in Oregon and building points.

I hunt a lot of other states and if they did that to me as a NR I would be pissed off. ODFW really needs an overhaul.

Sorry NR, but cash in and move on. You can Hope for Change, but we all know where that is taking us now don't we.

HK

 

[wadsworth]

Thanks, HK. I figured they would take a hard line.

Sounds like there may well be an exodus of NRs from the ranks. Dont know how much that will help us NR weenies that stick around, though, because other than a few nice speedgoats taken each year & maybe a good (mostly Wenaha) elk here & there...& the very, very rare 180" plus muley the quality in OR is pretty marginal overall IMO. Spot/stalk bear hunting can be good, though.

Even at 13 pronghorn points I dont think I will never catch up to the NRs ahead of me (if they stick it out) if I wanted to hunt Hart Mtn rifle antelope as they give one NR rifle tag out every two years or something like that. Will never catch up to those ahead of me for Wehaha elk, either, if they choose to keep getting soaked for $150 per year just to get another point for a chance at one tag every 2 years or close to that.

 

[HKShooter]

I feel your pain. If you ever do get one of those tags let me know. I know Hart Mtn very well and Wenaha pretty well, but I'm spending more and more time in that unit every year. I don't know what the return on investment is for you NR, but I would hate to be in your shoes.

These guys who think OR is doing fine are out of their jack rabbit minds. I think they kill a 150 buck and think "the muley hunting is awesome." Then a couple of them kill a 250 bull and "the hunting in OR is incredible." I kill a bull in OR almost every year, and I'm telling you the hunting here sucks compared to most other western states. I guess I'm bitter after hunting other states and knowing what OR SHOULD/COULD be.

HK

 

[Jazz]

Overall I would agree. Oregon is the toughest state for me when I look at hunting deer. I haven't considered elk due to not being all that interested. Still a pretty good state for antelope though.

All that said and then a guy kills a tremendous "stag" type non-typical buck in Oregon this past year that may be a new muzzleloader record after it is stripped. One heck of a buck but they seem to be few and far between. My hunting partner also killed a 195" gross buck last year. So I guess it's the same old thing. You can't kill one sitting at home and once in awhile they show up. For what I know right now though I would say Juniper is better than Hart Mtn. Just my thoughts.

 

[ARO]

Question for you all. I only have 4 NR deer pts, and was gonna stick it out long enough to draw an applegate muzzy blacktail tag. Is this tag worth another 2 years of license cost? What are my chances of shooting a decent buck DIY, being out of state and not being able to scout?

 

[Califelkslayer]

Wow, a lot of pent up anger out there. Not me. I let it out a couple of years ago...And still kept playin the game, STUPID!!!

Scoutdog, I'm thinkin the elk points will be a wilderness/horse hunt. Probably Snake. Wife has 2 points, son has 6-7, I have 9 so it's a couple of years away.

KILLER, I like archery but originally started the point game for the Warner late muzzy. Some of the muzzy hunts have the best dates. I know they just started the late archery in a unit or two last year but they're as hard to draw. And my last experience archery late was tough. 0 in Elko, -3 in Ely and I was huntin the Rubys between the 2. sub-zero weather and archery don't go together in my book. Not sure how those whitetail hunters back east do it. Or I'm just gettin soft.

Good luck in the draws this year. I'll be around for awhile so hopin folks drop out.

 

[Jazz]

I have seen the comments about Oregon raising the price but being a resident I haven't really looked at the changes much. Are they that big of a change?

I have to purchase a license to build points in Utah, Nevada, Arizona so is there that much difference?

 

[DirtyTough]

The difference is the quality of the hunt. Oregon doesn't have the quality compared to the states you mentioned. The few good units like the Wenaha give one non res tag every other year. Just not worth the money.

 

[HKShooter]

ARO, if you have a blacktail on your list then stay in the game. You can also buy an OTC archery tag and have a decent chance at a blacktail. Western OR isn't nearly as bad as Eastern when it comes to game depression. Blackys are strong in most units, but have a downward trend in some of the northern units near Portland. Keep in mind archery also has a late season rut hunt in some units which can be really, really good. It isn't easy to harvest a blacky, but if you put a little time in you will be rewarded. PM me if you're interested in archery blackies.

HK

 

[440sixpack]

For a NR anything less than max points doesn't mean a lot, even then the options are few.

I've spent time on Hart, wonderful country but the deer hunting isn't anything exiting. NE Whitehorse is a better bet but weather dependent, Juniper can be better yet but not a cake walk. I really don't know what I'd do with 11 points but I wouldn't feel too much pressure, it's just not like you have many options.

 

[Califelkslayer]

440, you're right about that!!! No pressure cause i can't draw what I consider a top hunt for deer anyways. I'll revisit it in another 4-5 years.

Elk??? I don't need a 350 bull, at least not from Oregon. Pointsaver for elk this year and see how the family does in Colorado this year.

My plans in Colorado are me archery (66% chance) and them first rifle (100%). It'll be my wife and stepson's first elk hunt. My son's taken several. If she does well, I'll look at doing a OTC archery in one of the Oregon Units thats remote as a scouting trip. If I can figure it out, I'll plan a rifle hunt with wife and son the following year or two.

Planning a horse pack summer trip this year in the Rubys. I guess I could make that in the Snake River area instead. Just thinking with my fingers.