Elk Hunting, DIY Public Lands Pt.2

It was the second morning of our 5 day elk hunt and John was looking much worse than the night before. He wasn't having any fun and looked to be quite miserable. He was quiet (certainly not typical) achy, plugged up and most likely running a low grade fever. I resisted poking fun at him knowing it may be me in his shoes at any time. We opted to do some driving, hoping to find fresh tracks to go on and eventually ease our way to a nearby town. I was wishing I had a dust mask from my shop so I was able to keep from getting his bug. I urged him to keep drinking fluids and that we'd get him some over the counter meds when we hit Bly. We never did cut any tracks while on our way to Bly, although we did see a dandy Mule deer buck just behind a very well posted fence line. He stood long enough for us to get a good look then he trotted off into the scrub landscape. We eventually made it to Bly and got what we needed, then made our way back towards camp coming full circle.

Getting on into early afternoon and John was finally starting to feel better. His moans eventually turn into words and then full sentences as he was coming back to life. We opted to make it a short day and not push our luck with John feeling better. So an early dinner and a few games of cribbage before we hit the hay around 10. It seemed John had made a 98% recovery in just about 24 hours time. Whatever it was he had, we were both relieved and thankful that it left with just about the same speed at which it came.

I awoke at 3 in the morning to stoke the wood stove and heard the soft serenade of snowfall on the nylon tent fly. I peeked outside and yes indeed it was certainly coming down. Had about 2 inches when we got up and started getting ready for the days hunt. Optimism bloomed again and we headed to Green Mt. in hopes of finding fresh elk sign. Parked at the end of a spur road, we set a time for a radio check and then took off. The weather was cloudy, foggy and everything was very wet as the temps warmed and the snow melted from the trees. The walking was quiet with the recent precipitation and now all we needed was elk. After several hours we checked in and neither of us had good news to report. I had seen some fresh deer sign and several piles of bear scat, yet no elk sign. John had seen some older elk tracks but nothing to really get excited about. We met back at the rig and continued our search for fresh elk sign. We did cut some tracks that were a few days old that we decided to investigate. We never did find where the tracks crossed a road out, so we figured they still had to be in the area, somewhere. I dropped John off and he set his compass bearing to meet me back at the main road. After a couple hours he re emerged from the woods with no fresh elk sign to report. With darkness approaching fast we headed back to camp.

We were running out of ideas and the conversations were waning as neither of us had any new ideas. Sometimes I just wish I knew what I didn't know. We had come across several other rigs and hunters. No one had any positive news or had even seen an elk in the area. The weather was breaking and it was going to be a chilly night. We ate the last of the BBQ grouse with some spaghetti and a small green salad. We were fast losing our inspiration and motivation.

Next to last day and we set out for Green Mt. as that was where we'd found the best sign. I was beginning to be more hopeful of seeing the bear if not any elk. The scat I had found was chucked full of Salal berries and the pile was a foot wide by 2 feet long if not more. Quite fresh too as it was still holding its shape. I was guessing that the bear was at least 5 to 6 foot square if not larger by the size of his scat. The diameter was that of a Mag Lite with D batteries or bigger. There were numerous rock outcroppings that may have a den in them, but I wasn't going looking for that specifically. Quite the contrary. There were also many areas of re prod that were very dense and not wanting to surprise the bear I kept a safe margin from the edges. We again met up after several hours and sat together eating our lunches. John had found some elk tracks but still not super fresh, at best maybe few days. I never did find Mr.Bear although I was certainly hoping so. I did come across a few more scat piles and I really wanted to catch a glimpse of him. He would have to have been at least pushing 7 square for me to harvest him as that is my standard that was set with my first and only bear to date. (Read story here Pt.1 & 2) I certainly would have enjoyed some bear thuringer for the holidays. After we finished lunch and munched on some homemade cookies we opted to go find the Blue Grouse and lay down our rifles for awhile.

The clouds were moving in and it was looking like it did the day we drove in nearly 6 days ago. The only difference was that the wind wasn't blowing the trees down across the road. We eventually found our way back to Blue Grouse headquarters only to find 2 well educated souls who flushed fast with a strong tailwind. So we walked around for awhile hoping to find more Grouse that were a bit less educated but we never did. We began the 20 mile drive back to camp and opted to call it a hunt and begin breaking camp the following morning. We just weren't able to find any decent sign to convince us it was worth our efforts to keep hunting. Not an easy conclusion to come to and frankly, it just felt lousy.

We had a fun time and John made a full recovery while I never did get sick. John won the cribbage tourney (so far) and there will be a re match next fall if not this duck hunting season. Ultimately it was a successful hunt regardless of nothing to put in our freezers. We learned the harvest ratio for that particular unit is 1 to 2 % and the quota was actually met on opening morning on Strawberry Mt. about 60 to 70 miles S.S.E. of where we hunted. That doesn't mean we may not have increased the percentage by harvesting an elk, only that the odds weren't in our favor. Better to be out there trying than sitting at home.

This was our second time getting leftover controlled tags and I am now done doing so. Just not worth the time, money and boot leather. There are other ways to go camping that are more affordable and just as enjoyable. It may take me years to draw a tag for an area with high numbers of elk, but the wait will be worth it. To date I have 4 points or in other words, 4 years that I haven't drawn a tag in a higher percentage unit. Until then I will hunt either hunt the bow or rifle general season. Now for a couple weeks of waterfowl hunting and then my last chance for elk as the second season archery opens Nov. 28 thru Dec. 13th. 2009. This will be on the W. side of the Cascades and cow elk only. Gonna be a wet one for sure!

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Another Black Bear Story, By T. Harris

The following story is by another woman named Teri who spends a lot of time in the saddle and out in the mountains. I hope you enjoy her story of how she got her first Black Bear.

My husband Kevin and I lived outside of Pilot Rock Or. at the time. In the summer we rode for a cattle rancher checking his cattle in mountain pastures near our house. If I remember right it was September of 2001, my husband and I were in the hills riding as usual, we stopped on top of a bald saddle to look over the draws below. Kevin rode off a little ways from me to scan the other side, he came back a few minutes later and told me to follow him quietly that there was a bear in the draw right below us. We rode over to the edge and in the bottom of the draw in a clearing was the bear, since this was only the second bear I had ever seen in the wild, I was REALLY excited. The bear was approx. 100 yards away, he noticed us but didn't seem to care, he purposely walked further out into the clearing, walked up an open bank and stared at us. Then he slowly walked down to the bottom again, grunted and snapped his teeth, then slowly trotted into the brush out of site. Kevin said that he had seen that bear several times before while out riding, he was huge, and had a large white "V" on his chest, and every time he didn't seem to care about being seen, even with the dogs around.

That evening we talked to the man that owned the land where we had seen the bear, we asked if it would be o.k. to hunt the bear. The owner was very happy to have us hunt that bear. He told us that bear had came down to his house several times, chased his horses through the fence, and killed a fawn directly behind his house.

After a few minutes of hearing the bear crash through the bushes I finally saw him break out into the clearing, he was loping slowly in a strait line across the clearing. I aimed at the right shoulder and shot, the bear shoved back on his haunches, then lunged forward and continued running toward the edge of the clearing into the brush. I heard him crashing around in the bushes for a while then silent. When we all got caught up with each other we approached the bushes with extreme caution, and found the bear dead.After dragging him to the bottom into the clearing we examined him and found that he was extremely old, he had an old bullet wound in his hindquarter, and his small teeth were all but worn down. He weighed 600 lbs, and was 7ft square, he was ranked 13th or 14th in the state that year.

That is quite an impressive bear and one to be very proud of, congratulations! Thanks for sharing your story and I hope to hear about more successful hunts down the road. Seems that the Oregon bears have been kind to us huntresses. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it continues, but I won't hold my breath on that one.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Spring Bear Hunt 2006 Pt.. 2

Oh my did Sam and I have our work cut out for us, no pun intended! We took a few pictures and then asked one another if we've ever skinned an animal out so as to make a rug out of the hide? We both had the same answer. . . No, I've only read about it and seen pictures. Well we begin the daunting task of skinning my spring black bear. It took us 3 hours to skin it with the head and feet in tact so he can be made into a beautiful bear skin rug. He was to big for us to hang whole, so we separated the front and hind quarters. Even doing that he was still a lot to lift. We rolled up the hide and I lashed it with parachute cord and bailing twine to my pack. I sat on the ground and got into my pack then asked Sam to help me up. By the time my legs came to weight bearing I thought my knees were going to explode, and I said put me down. There was no way I was going to carry that green hide on my own. Sam tried carrying it and was having a tough time too. I suggested we put it in my pullover, tie off the bottom and tie the sleeves together and then each grab a side and see how that works. It was better, yet still challenging. I am 5'6" and Sam is 6'4" and we were traversing a steep side hill. Not only that but it was slick from the rain and difficult footing with rocks interspersed. We'd set our sights about 50 to 75 yards ahead of us to the next little bush, or rock until we finally made it to the last steep downhill pitch. The weather was still holding out and we were thankful. It took us 2 hours to go a little over a mile to get back to the rigs. The last steep pitch we went straight downhill by- passing the switchbacks. We slid and rolled to the bottom where our rigs were, while keeping a firm grasp of the hide in my pullover.

It's 9 p.m. and we're exhausted, scratched up, mosquito bitten and tick covered. Oh and hungry! Just as we get our gear put away and crawl into Sam's camper it starts to rain. We look at each other and didn't know what to do first, eat, get out of our tick infested clothes or go straight to sleep. I still had to go unfurl the hide and lay it in the back of my truck. While I did that Sam made us some sandwiches. I returned after my job and was so tired I could barely move my jaw to chew. Next we got out of our wet yucky clothes and into some dry gear. That felt so much better! Now I was wishing I'd brought a second set of hunting clothes, 'cause the thought of having to put those back on in a few hours was less than thrilling. We gave each other a tick check and hoped for the best. Then tried to get some sleep knowing tomorrow was another big day.

Sleep was fleeting as the rain hammered and pounded the camper all night. In the brief moments we caught a wink, we were awoken by our paranoia of either a tick burrowing in or hopefully only a mosquito getting a quick bite. We got up at daylight after a miserable night and I was determined to go to the nearest town for breakfast and to get some DEET! Sam was in complete agreement and we had a great breakfast at a hippy joint with some strong coffee followed by a quick stop at the local super market for insect repellent. Then we were on our way back up the mountain to go and get the bear. We took only necessities such as cardboard to lay the carcass on while de-boning, some food, Sam's 41 Ruger Redhawk and some water. When we got to where the bear was hanging there were a hand full of Turkey Vultures flying low and waiting their turn. That was all, no other animal signs at all, phew what a relief. I was nervous about Cougars and was glad to have Sam and his 41 cal. with us. We began the work and it took us 2 trips packing meat out estimating our packs at about 40 lbs. each per trip. We didn't pack heavy cause we were whipped from the day before and it was only about a 40 minute trip one way. By the time we were finished we had over 2 dozen Turkey Vultures (TV's) circling and walking in on us and countless Ravens. We were glad to be done. The weather held with only a few light sprinkles beginning as we broke camp at 6 p.m. and headed home. Lucky or what? I'll take either!

My shot had hit his spine just in front of his right shoulder and boy was that lucky. Turned out it was 220 yards downhill and we had figured about 150 yd. at tops. Good thing we have rangefinders now. It was my first day out ever hunting bears and my first shot at an animal with my(then new) Rem. 7 mm Mag with a Nosler 160 grain Accubond. I was able to recover the bullet too. The skull scored 19 7/16 just missing B & C's new cut off at 20". The hide measured 7' 6" green and is still right at 7' wide and a touch short of 7' long. He was 11 years old and had not been to any bait stations. The ODFW uses tetracycline as a marker at their bait sites which is identifiable in the animals teeth when they are aged. His back molars were rotten and cavity riddled. He had a few scars on his face and otherwise was in excellent condition. I was quite surprised at how lean he was and the fact that he hardly smelled. In talking with the biologist in Oregon who studies bears, he estimated his live weight to be approximately 400 - 450 lbs. Also telling me that the average age of bears harvested in Oregon is 4 to 6 yrs. old with a few in the 20 age range annually, with the oldest being 30 that he's ever recorded.

I spent 4 days cleaning the meat 1 piece at a time of fat and sinew. When I was all done I weighed it and had 125 lbs of very clean meat. I tried cooking a steak and that was a bit like a superball. So then I marinated a steak and after several days still had the same results. I finally decided that it was time to have breakfast sausage and summer sausage made. That was the best tasting of both. It was really good and I hope my knee will be good enough here this spring to take me on a few walks to do some sitting and glassing. It was well worth with it. Next time I will deet up and be better prepared with an additional set of hunting clothes too!

This was an experience I will never forget. I only hope that I'll at least have the opportunity to harvest another bear. It may be a long time before I see a bear like my first one. Going to be a tough one to top, that's for sure.

I want to thank Sportsman's Taxidermy in Bend, Or. for making a beautiful rug. Owner George Coyle is an exceptional artist and takes great care and pride in preserving each and every animal. His attention to detail is of the highest caliber and I sincerely thank him for all his work.
If you're hunting in Oregon and need a top notch taxidermist, I highly recommend him. You won't be disappointed!

National Taxidermist Association

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Spring Bear Hunt 2006 Pt. 1

I wrote about this hunt shortly after it concluded, and it is from that which I will share it with you all. So here is how it all unfolded.

The waterfowl season was drawing to an end, which was a blessing considering how dismal it had been. My hunting partner John asked if we were going to put in for Spring Black Bear tags? My reply was that "I don't know" and his reply "why not"? to which I replied, "just never gave it much thought". He said, "well I think we ought to put in as a party". Well then so we did and there were four of us in that party. So we did some homework figuring which unit we wanted and then applied for the controlled hunt in the N.Cascades unit. This was early February and the application deadline was only a day away with the draw being on the 20th. of the month. Soon thereafter we got our draw results in the mail and we were successful and now had tags. The opening date was April 1 and there was considerable snow in the mountains where we wanted to hunt. We held off for awhile until we were just about out of time all together.

John designated the weekend of June 3 and 4 for our hunt. As it turned out John was busy with work and his son Joe had other plans which left it up to Sam and I. We decided to follow through and go on our hunt. I talked with my friend Larry who gave me some areas to check and told me what to look for as far as sign and habitat. He was our resident expert since he had hunted bears successfully a year prior. I was all ears and taking notes as best I could. Then I picked up a couple maps for Sam and I to look over and we set a departure time for o dark hundred the next morning. We had the usual assortment of gear and food. Figured to camp out and hunt both days if needed, and I figured we'd do just that as I doubted we'd get a bear our first day out.

We drove separate rigs to our hunting area and as daylight broke it was another overcast gray day. We had periods of sun breaks interspersed with light rain and drizzle. The temps were in the mid 40's to low 50's and quite humid. Sometimes the clouds covered the mountains making it difficult for glassing the edges of the clear cuts and meadows. The wild flowers were blooming and the foliage was becoming denser every day with the new growth. We were driving up near snowline stopping and glassing when we came across areas that looked promising. Eventually we figured out just where Larry was telling us to go. We could see the steep hillside from across the draw. It was an old clear cut that had been burned which had pockets of brush and old snags still towering. We drove until we ran out of road and then we grabbed our packs, rifles, bins and set out on foot.

We found a brush covered trail and began our ascent up the steep hillside. From below we saw an enormous Elk in the meadow when we were glassing from across the draw. We watched the elk traverse the steep slope and top out then head down the other side. That was the last we saw of it. We suspected it was a bull just from its size. As we moved our way uphill following the switchbacks we were a bit soaked from the waist down from the vegetation and looked forward to getting up to the ridge line. The trail we followed merged into a major trail and we were now out of the wet brush. We stopped for a breather and decided to traverse our way to the top and see what it looked like on the other side. When we got to the top we didn't see much on the other side in the way of Bear habitat. Quite a lot of snow, rocks and a small steep of water. We decided to drop back down to the main trail and sit awhile and glass. On our way down we saw a wooden sign and wandered over to it. It had mileage to Oakridge, Crescent, Eugene and a few other places. I'll be darned if we weren't on the Pacific Crest Trail. WOW, we found a comfortable log and sat awhile and shot the breeze. We had company in the way of a pair of Three Toed Black Backed Woodpeckers flying near us in the snags. I have remembered these from a hangman's game I played with my brother when I was quite young. I didn't believe their was such a bird, just sounded a bit much. Well, yes in fact they are real and I have not forgotten them since. Also we were serenaded by the drumming of Grouse. One was close by and the other was around the headland from us and sounded as a distant echo.

We hiked for a couple hours before we sat and started glassing some more. The rain had all but subsided and it had turned into a lovely afternoon. We had a snack and were conversing about this and that, the usual hunting drivel. We had a great place to sit and glass overlooking a large grassy hillside and beyond to the snow capped Cascade mountains. I wondered aloud if there were any bears in the area since we hadn't seen any sign. Sam replied as his usual optimistic self saying " at any time a big'ol bear can just step right out". Glancing at me with a sparkle in his eye and a mischievous grin. Mmmmm o.k. I replied and re situated myself on the log with a twinge of "what if" running through my veins and disappearing just as fast. It was almost 4 in the afternoon and as I glanced downhill on the green grassy hillside I was shocked to see a huge Black Bear moving from right to left. I said to Sam "there's a bear, a really big bear"! He said "Oh my god that's the biggest bear I've ever seen, shoot it, shoot it"! I said "I have to wait for it to clear those snags", Sam was looking at it through his scope too backing me up if needed. At this point everything was in slow motion and nothing else in the world existed. I steadied my shooting sticks took careful aim and squeezed off a round. I heard nothing but saw everything through my scope and was in even more disbelief when he dropped in his tracks like a ton of bricks!

We looked at each other and words fell short of our emotions and I said we're gonna sit here 10 minutes before we start heading down. I wanted to make sure the bear was down for good. As we sat there we were both amazed at what just happened. The bear was able to raise his front left foot a little and turn his big brown nose skyward, but that was all. He was definitely down. We gathered our gear and Sam led with his Ruger Redhawk 41 cal. on point and I followed. We crept slowly downhill, ever cautious of our quarry and the few times he did raise his paw we both froze like statues! Then looked at each other and laughed at ourselves, yea quite the hunters we are. Yet this was a serious matter until we knew the bear was dead we remained quite alert and vigil to our well being. I told Sam that while looking through my scope, I couldn't see see daylight between the bears belly and the grass. He was so big and getting even bigger with each step we took. As we got to within 10 yards Sam asked me where did I want him to aim the kill shot? I said anywhere but the head. . . try for the heart if you can. This was the first time that either of us had been in this situation. Sam fired 2 shots and the bear died quickly. I saw the life leave his brown eyes. That was hard to watch for sure.

Now the work begins, and boy was that ever a job! I'll save that for Pt. 2

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Spring Bear Draw Results

Click on the link to check the Oregon controlled hunt draw results.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt