Contributors to this thread:
I am new to bow hunting this year and am trying to figure out a good general elk unit that will get me away from people and has decent elk numbers. The MC unit looks to be pretty good, but sounds pretty crowded. Is there somewhere I can pack into to avoid the 4x4 hunters? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Going to Idaho isn't in the cards. At this point I can't afford the tag fees for out of state. Would rather spend the extra money on more/better gear. Plus Idaho would make scouting difficult due to the travel.
Not familiar with that unit but there are always gonna be places to pack in. You can get away from people in the most crowded units just depends on how far in you wanna go. I'd start with buying a ram horn map of the unit and try to narrow down the spots that look good to you and if you can get some time to run over there to scout it out do it. If not google maps and bing maps are good if not go to huntinggpsmaps.com ( not affiliated with them in any way ) and buy there downloaded software for you computer and scout that way. Best tool on the market right now. Also go to Odfw website and look at the last years #'s it will tell you a lot as far as hunter #'s and success rate. Good luck.
I feel the costal range is the best place In my opinion to get away. Most folks won't go the extra mile in that thick country. Great hunting on the coast, I'd go for tillamook county.
Thanks guys! I tried hunting the coast this year for rifle season and almost died entangled in a sea of blackberry's. I prefer the desert country. I've got maps headed my way, so I'll get a better idea soon.
how did you narrow it down to this unit, and why do you think it "sounds" crowded?
i have hunted it and live within a couple hours drive. it is a poor unit in my opinion. i would not travel to it from the west side.
not all of the coast has blackberry's. i would agree if you want elk action, much of the coast range is far better then murderers creek unit.
Elkhuntr,
I came to this unit from poking around on the internet for a general east side unit. I checked elk harvest numbers, and I have hunted the ochoco unit as a kid so I'm some what familiar with the area. Several people on here and other forums mentioned that it can get a bit crowded, and it looks like the number of hunters backs this up. I'm looking for somewhere I could hike in and get out of the crowds. Do you have any suggestions for better units in the area, since you live there?? Any help is greatly appreciated!
Long story short I'm just not a big fan of the coast range, although I wouldn't be opposed to hunting there if I didn't find a good unit on the east side.
You'll have fewer people on the Aldrich side.
bow-newbie, i responded to your PM.
bownewbie, you dont sound like a first time hunter. you sound like some fishing for good info. put your time and effort in, you will find plenty of good places to hunt without borrowing someone elses.
To be Honest im a new bow hunter to oregon and looking for some good areas to hunt in oregon. this is my first year hunting and have heard this is a good area to hunt. but also that it get crazy also with lots of people. is this true and what area in this unit that are good hunting and less people do you recemend?
Every unit in Oregon has a ton of people hunting in it. Do a little homework and even in the hardest hunted units you can still get a way from people.
You'd be hard pressed to find any general unit with decent elk numbers and not find it crowded. Get a unit map and look for large tracts stare roads and wilderness. Also check with the forest service for road closure areas. These will show roads on the map but will also outline the areas that are closed to vehicle traffic.
Murderers Creek is an any elk unit with a lot of roads. I personally dislike all of the wild horses there too. It will be tough to get away from people. If your objective is mainly to avoid other hunters, and you do not have a limited entry tag or permission to hunt a private ranch, I would hunt the high desert. There are not a lot of elk, but they are not accustomed to running into a hunter every time they respond to a call either.
