William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge

Oregon

Great hunting opportunities are available at many of the State and Federal Refuges.   In Oregon we are very fortunate to have many of both.   The O.D.F.W. has setup the opportunity of applying for a tag for a specific hunt and refuge, such as Hart Mountain.   As I am directing this article of a specific Federal Refuge, the application process has to be done via the website of the refuge.   There are two (2) different O.D.F.W. tags that can be used for the hunting of elk at the refuge and the over-the-counter general elk tag for the area.

Though you can not shoot bulls, there are a great deal of them to look at and call for fun…

The Federal Refuge that is mentioned is the WILLIAM L. FINLEY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, located south of Corvallis, Oregon off of Highway 99.   The refuge is approximately 5400 acres, with many ponds, creeks and trails.  It is well known for the birds and waterfowl that live there and migrate through.  The Roosevelt Elk that dwell there -in good herd numbers- is unique, in that the majority of the land near the refuge is flat farm land to the east, south, and north, plus being close to a large city.

The hunting of Roosevelt Elk at William Finley is for cows only, mostly an archery hunt, though, in Zone 1 a shotgun can be used during certain time periods.   So there are two (2) zones for hunting the refuge with Zone 2 being the largest.   Zone 2 is intertwined with Scrub Oak trees, Douglas Fir, Cottonwoods, Beaked Hazelnut, Big Leaf Maples and grasslands.   Very diversified land profile for sure.

I believe it could be a great hunt for anyone that wants to work hard and do some pre-scouting, although the elk will travel many miles and even venture off the refuge into Weyerhaeuser properties that are to the west of Zone 1.  I have found the elk to be quite habit forming in movement.   Elk can work extremely large areas in their feeding routine.

In the past month, since we are now into April,  (Closed to foot traffic November 1^st-March 31^st) we allowed to go past the gates in most of the refuge, I have found the well-worn trails made by vast herds.  In my opinion, I would hunt Zone 2 since the area is so much larger with a greater opportunity to find Elk.

In a recent scouting trip, we spotted a very large herd of elk with at least 100 head.   It took me about an hour to close the distance of a mile out, give or take a few yards, getting to within 100 yards.  It took so long to get to them because I was wading in water from 2” to 20” over uneven terrain. When the herd finally decided to move out, there was a single file of elk that was about a ¼ miles long. It was simply an amazing sight and the camera did not do justice to what the eye saw.   There were still a couple of spikes with their antlers, and a few new-growth antlered bulls.   It was fun to use my onX HUNT mobile APP and Garmin GPS and mark waypoints of trails and sightings.

I have attached a link to WILLIAM L. FINLEY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE  (Note: 2018 hunting applications will be available in May 2018. If you are interested in hunting for elk, there is still time to get an application in for the 2018 Hunting Season.   Make sure you have plenty of time to scout, have a good set of boots, and, just in case, a roll-up pair of stocking chest waders for crossing creeks.

Bedded down earlier in the Oaks… Roosevelt Elk

A small tidbit, Blacktail Deer hunting is also available at the refuge, either sex in this case.  One could maybe have a two (2) species hunt…

Bwana Bubba

Let’s try find our way out of here, some 5 miles from camp with a compass…

It may be hard to believe, but throughout the United States, it happens all the time…

You must go into the Known or Unknown,  prepared or face the worst…

Recently there was an article published in Field & Stream (October 2017) about a father and son hunting and getting lost in the rugged Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon.   One never made it back… The other his son forgot his GPS and Phone when heading back out to find his dad, he was lost for a number of days…  Searchers finally located him!

“From 1997-2016, 80 have been found dead and another 76 not found”  In this region of Oregon

Some of those that were never found, could have had other issues, such as venturing into a spot they did not belong in…

I know this number could be a lot less, if one were well prepared to the venture into the rugged mountains of the North America.  Most feel they know all the ways back to camp from any location.  Think about being in the Snake River Canyon in the morning at 65 degrees and sunny chasing a herd of Elk and in the afternoon the weather changing to a blizzard with the temperature dropping to below freezing and your horse has been moved from where you tether him up on the trail, plus you must venture into dark timber and any hint of daylight is about gone…

There is no hiker, hunter or outdoor enthusiast that has not gotten mixed up while in the field…  Today there is so much technology to keep you from staying mixed up, lost permanently, or dying in the outdoor from being lost…

Touch screen GPS that works in deep timber.

So many time when trying to help hunters find places to hunt, I request them to have a Garmin GPS, onX HUNT mapping for both the Garmin GPS (colored – microchip capable) and mobile device, such as the smart phones which 90% of hunters and outdoor enthusiasts carry with them 24/7.

Emergency Beacon
Needs to be registered.

The Garmin GPS, at least in the 21^st should have WAAS (Wide Area Augmentable System) Note: Global Positioning System GPS is made up of at least 24 satellites, working in all conditions 24 hours a day and is FREE.

Garmin Rino 755 has two way and your location is available to another user. This is one that I highly recommend.

I would say at least 40% tell me they are “Old School” and use paper maps and a compass (that is maybe on the compass).

Just one little note with onX HUNT on the mobile side there is a trail layer that features trails old and new (CONUS).   Another tool that can help in many hunting areas.

Let’s get real about paper maps, most are outdated, and boundaries change all the time.  I threw out all my paper maps, that I have had for more than 30 years with all the X’s on them, moving the X’s to my GPS.  Paper maps are outdate in field use and lacking the ability to Zoom in.  Even if you mark your map with routes, it surely isn’t going let you do an active route back to camp or truck as a GPS would do.  As for the compass, it’s Okay, if your batteries go dead or enemy decides to use an electromagnetic pulse or EMP while you’re in the back country.

These can reach out many miles and reasonable in price in the pairs.

Beside the Garmin GPS, Mobile Phone with the onX HUNT APP and chip, there is the 2 Ways such as Motorola handheld communicators, and last but not lease is an Emergency Locator Beacon, just in case you’re in real trouble and are immobile…

We must remember to have them in our backpack or ditty bag (U.S. NAVY), along with the other tools used in the field.  Frank Biggs 

Nolan had contacted Bwana Bubba in the spring time of 2017, asking if I knew a place in central Oregon, that he might have chance to harvest a elk during the archery season.   I had an old haunt that, my partners and I had hunted with great success.  I was willing to share, but I wanted him to use  technology, in order to give him a better idea and also stay legal on the hunt…

Last Chance Bull

Oregon Archery Hunt

The day before the end of the 2017 season, I’d driven out to a new place I’d never seen before as a last ditch effort to try and kill an elk.   I’d scouted, prepared, & hunted so hard all season long to make it happen on a D.I.Y. over the counter elk tag, public land, archery elk.  After my blunder on opening day when I missed a cow at 44 yards, I figured my 2017 season was over.  I blew my shot opportunity for the year and it was going to be a long 12 months until I’d get another one.

   Making hunting and finding game easier!

As soon as I got out of the truck that morning I heard a bugle, then another bugle, and another.  It was too dark to see the ridge that I was hearing the bulls from, but I grabbed my gear and took off.  After about 10 minutes I glassed up the shape of an elk about half a mile uphill from me.  I knew if I had any chance at cutting him off, I had to hustle.   I ran up the drainage to the West of him and when I reached the top I could hear it wasn’t just a lone bull.  It was a whole heard, I peered around the corner and saw close to 60 elk working up the draw.  Bulls screaming, pushing cows, the whole herd was going nuts.

As I was trying to decide what to do I turned around and saw there was another hunter about 60 yards behind me.  I thought to myself,  “You’ve got to be kidding me”.  I busted my ass to get up here and I’m going to have to compete with this guy.  As frustrated as I was, I walked down to him and said “Hey, there’s a big herd of elk up here”. “What’s your plan”?  “I don’t want to screw up your hunt”.  I fully expected him to tell me to take a hike.  Instead what he said next blew me away.  He said “We need to cut them off, and get in front of them, let’s go!”  I asked him what he wanted me to do, and he said “Come with me” and we took off!

Self portrait picture of my velvet Spike Bull.

I’m not a tall guy, 5’6”.  But this newly met hunting partner of mine is at least a foot taller than I and subsequently covers ground much faster than I can.   Before I know it I’m out of breath and desperately trying to keep up with him.  As we follow the fence line between the public and private land, we keep getting glances of the herd about 250 yards away in the draw to the east of us.  We dropped our packs a ways back to be as quick and low profile as we could.  The herd can see us, but we keep pressing on to try and cut them off, in the valley 1/4 mile ahead of us.  I keep thinking to myself “I can’t believe this is happening”.  We paused at this little knoll and heard some elk coming up to where we were as they headed to cross in to the private, so we set up.  I sat behind and told this guy “I’ll range for you” and before we knew it, there was a group of 15 cows being pushed by a big 6×6 up the hill in front of us.  I keep ranging him, 124, 117, 111, and 110.  He’s not going to get any closer. There are no trees or brush that we can get closer to either.  We wait for them to cross the fence so we can keep pushing forward to where the rest of the herd is headed and all of the sudden this piercing bugle rings out no more than 100 yards from where we sat.  This massive 7×7 was pushing another group of cows through the same spot!  My partner slid down the hill 20 yards, but the bull stayed just out of range and wouldn’t stop.  He was on a mission, away from us.  We wait for them to clear and then we’re booking it to the next draw, “if we can get to it there’s a good chance they’ll be there waiting.”

Now the work starts, but it is so worth it…

Right as we crest the draw we see 25-35 elk pushing up and onto private, there’s still quite a few elk coming up the draw though.  I start cow calling to try and bring the big bulls closer.  There’s elk everywhere, bulls pushing cows, screaming, heads back and hot to trot.  They just won’t come any closer than 120 yards.  My new friend scoots down the draw another 10 yards and 6 elk bust out 30 yards below us, it’s so steep that we didn’t even known they were there.  A bull stops at 60 yards, I hear “do you wanna shoot that bull?” without hesitation I said “Hell YES”.  I pull out from the tree I’m behind, range him at 84 yards. I’ve been making this shot all year.  I have flung thousands of arrows practicing for this moment.  I can make the shot, I dial my sight to 84 yards, draw my bow, anchor, cow call to stop him, settle the pin on his lungs, and my arrow is gone.

I watch the glow of my green knock sail across the ravine. THWACK!  He drops, barrel rolls 3 times to the bottom of the creek bed, stops, and it’s over.  “He’s down”!  I sat next to the tree beside me and cannot believe after all the work I put in, the ups and downs, the frustration, everything, that it all came together.  It wasn’t over, because of how quickly he went down he didn’t spook any of the other elk, it’s time for me to try and call in a bull for my partner.

There is some rough terrain to navigate at night, plus forging a creek…

I cow call like nothing else to try and bring the 6×6 in from 150 yards but he just isn’t willing to leave his cows.  My buddy takes off over the next ridge after him and I start hiking back to get our packs.  While I was walking back I was overcome with emotion.  It’d been 6 years since my last elk.

As any archery hunter knows, this is something that requires an immense amount of preparation, dedication, will power, and luck.  But everything lined up that morning and I was beside myself.  My arrow left my string at 7:32 am. By 8:30 I was notching my tag and taping it to his antlers.  As I sat and looked at him I realized that I’m here alone.  I have a 450-500 pound animal down in the bottom of a ravine, 1.5 miles from the truck and it’s just me.  I snapped a few pictures and started the process, 6 hours later he was ready to be hauled out and I started the journey back to the truck with one of my most prized possessions, meat.  It took me until 11 PM that night to get him back to the truck.  My body was nearly broken, but I didn’t care.  I couldn’t wait to do it again.  And the phrase that kept resonating in my head stayed there until my head hit my pillow, “Never, ever give up”.

Nolin knows how important it was to stay legal in this area. They don’t take prisoners that trespass on their lands that hold big bulls…

Almost to the access road and the truck. Last load out, the rack…

This is my story Nolan Lathrop –  2017 Central Oregon. 

“The land of Rimrock and  Junipers”

2018 Oregon Big Game Hunting

Plus a few other western states

This was taken at 8 yards on Father’s Day. I had seen the buck deep in the canyon and figured his avenue he was going and laid in wait for him…

2018 Big Game Hunting in Oregon is in full swing with Elk coming up soon.  Western deer hunting and special hunts still going on.

Scott with an Oregon Pronghorn that he waited on the waterhole for more than 8 hours. Scott had a secret spot and has taken a number of Lopes with the bow & arrow.

Using onX HUNT is the best way to research a unit!

The following bucks have not shown up during the month of December. during the second season archery season.

A great shot at 2015 hour at about 60 yards. They were busy eating apples on a tree I did not know about. Oregon City area.

This is one of the bucks in the above photo. Just that this photo was take in October. Both bucks of the other picture just happen to be in battle…

On the Oregon Antelope-Pronghorn Hunters (Facebook), there was a statement that a hunter drew a Hart Mtn Lope Tag last year and used something like 25 points.  He drew again this year Go Figure!

#onXmaps_HUNT #huntsmarter #teamhunt #bwanabubbaadventurers @bwanabubba

LINK:   2017 Oregon Big Game Regulations

“Oregon Booner Bull”

Facebook:   Oregon Antelope – Pronghorn Hunters

LINK:   Tips on Pronghorn Hunting 

Oregon is a great state to get a Pope & Young Pronghorn, so if you are bowhunter give me a jingle or email!  Got lots of spots for bow hunters for sure!  Why wait 12-25 years to get a rifle tag, though sometime we all like to pull the trigger on a Booner Lope!

I do believe he  is a keeper! High Cutters, so extra measurement! Shoot!

You can also find me on:

U – Tube !     

Archery Talk with Bwana Bubba aka Frank Biggs

The deal has been I expect a short story and pictures, the information is FREE.    A 2015 Pronghorn hunter, asked for help to harvest a big Dinosaur in a limited area, not computer or GPS savvy, wanted a guide, whatever it took.  I got one of my group hunters (David was a 2010 Lope hunter in the area and Mike was 2011 hunter in the area) (my first Booner came from this spot) to overnight current maps and direction to spots with water from a May 2015 scouting.   All the details.  His picture was one with little to show and a 1 line comment, I shot the monster at 300 yards.  I would have expected more for all the effort put into getting him in on a big Lope…   Hell never got the official score either…

My suggestion is that you need a Garmin that has color screen, a slot for Micro SD Card and the mapping software from onX HUNT out of Montana.  I can be contacted via the following email addresses for any questions you might have for on first interview. Free. Intro of me: I am home base out of Oregon –

Oregon Born!  Contact: [email protected]

Thanks for viewing my site! Cobra Here are just a few pictures of friend and some heads mounted!

I can’t see you, so you can’t see me, I am safe here!

This is a buck (2015 hunt) from the S. Wagontire Unit in Oregon. The tag holder was from California and one of five to get drawn for the unit. Old stomping grounds for me.

2015 – One of the hunters that used my information. Great Archery buck from Oregon.

The great Jimmy Duffield! This bull was taken near Dufur, Oregon

My biggest Lope from Oregon with a net of 86.

Brian Henninger – PGA Champion Player with his Grizzly Unit Bull. Brian has taken more than 3 bulls out of the Grizzly Unit.

Friends of mine that I lined up the spot in the Silvies Hunt Unit of Oregon.

August 2015 – Early grouping of a big Roosevelt bulls with their harems. There no satellite bulls in the area.

August – 2015 This was the first bull with about 50 cows. Amazing getting this shot of him bugling. Only time he did. Not other bulls in the area at all. Strange timing.

The picture was taken 6-28-14 at 2030 Hour outside of Molalla, Oregon very close to Hwy 213. A dandy Blacktail buck that was running with another buck that was bigger. Just so fast on the camera and juggling around trees.

This dandy 3X3 Blacktail that is typical of the bucks in Oregon City.

Archery Axis Deer taken on the island of Lanai. No Guide! I was stationed on Oahu for the Navy. Great trip in those days to go to Lanai and hunt for Axis.

This is the sight that I use and believe in how it works. Take aim and harvest the game. Number 1 bowsight in the World!

My biggest typical Rocky Mountain Elk, take off of the Big Muddy! Very heavy but lacks the length needed. 320 Net.

Holly had missed a buck early and got a second chance and took this great Archery Pronghorn at 42 Yards

Taken in the the days of the Rah, Big Muddy on the BLM. 190 Net buck! Archery Buck!

One should have seen the one that went into the draw, when I saw this bruiser coming out of the draw at 800 yards, I only had the side profile and saw mass. The rest is history!

This was suppose to be my target Blacktail this year. Did not get permission to hunt the property – 2015

This bull was my son’s first bull. Take at about 50 feet when we jumped the bull. Spotted at about 2000 yards and made the stalk. 340 Net Bull!

Brian Henninger the PGA Pro, now a top player on the PGA Champions Tour and his Big Muddy Bull. Brian a Weatherby shooter. Two bulls were taken that day and what a story there is behind the scenes on this hunt..

Not a bad Blacktail in the Willamette Valley of Oregon

TrophyStickers

I find great pleasure in finding new companies that have innovation and a dream, proving that entrepreneurs can make a difference…   TrophyStickers is an outstanding example!

How many times have you gone into a Sporting Goods Store and noticed decals or stickers that were of Elk, Deer, Pronghorn and other big game?   They are very popular with hunters and you see them on the back of pickups and SUVs windows quite often.    The decals are always of a big recorded class big game animals that a company had an artist make up.  So is it a dream or reality of the hunter when he or she displays it in the back window?  Why not have a reality sticker showing the real antler or horn configuration.

This decal is of a Mule Deer that I harvest in Oregon some years back. It is 100% accurate of the antler configuration of my Mulie!

I have found a company by the name of TrophyStickers, which can make it a reality for the hunter or even the non-hunter.   It is very simple process to get it done.  You simply take great pictures of your harvested animal, which means straight on frontal and side profiles would be great also.

Why not take great pictures of your once in a Lifetime Mule deer, Whitetail deer, Rocky Mountain bull, Roosevelt bull, Tule bull,  Pronghorn or another big game that you harvested and make it a real sticker that represents the actual animal?

With great photos of your animal’s rack or horns, you get an accurate decal.

Many hunters love to take pictures while scouting, what if you found the monster buck during the scouting-photo op, or even off of your trail cam, why not have it made into a TrophySticker?

A great deal of work and skill to get it right. Very impressed with the detail. Bwana Bubba

What a great present to give your son, daughter or grandchild on their first big game animal harvest.

You can find and get a hold of Trophy Stickers at the following sites:

Internet:              Internet TrophyStickers

Instagram:          Instagram TrophyStickers

Have fun Bwana Bubba

                                 Predators taking the place of big game animals…

This is one of five Cougars spotted near a town, working within the same proximity of each other.

One might not find this to be a factual statement, but in reality it is becoming increasing reality.   It may not be in every state in the Union, but it surely is in on the Pacific Coast, which includes Washington, Oregon and even into California.  As for the other states in CONUS, I can’t give thoughts on the subject of predators taking a front row seat on the taking of Elk, Deer, Pronghorns and even Bighorn Sheep.

In Oregon the management of all wildlife and fish are managed by O.D.F.W. or better known as the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.   There are 7 members that are part of the commission and they are selected by the Governor of Oregon.   In my opinion for a long time, I do not feel that the Governors of Oregon since 1991 have not had much thought on the importance of  hunting, fishing, shooting or any other sport related to the outdoors in Oregon.

In 1994 in the State of Oregon voters, voted on Measure 18 on the banning of dogs for the hunting of Bears and Cougars.  43,501 votes more votes lead to the ban.  At the time the Governor was Barbara Roberts a Democrat.  A great influence of outsiders (lobbyists – protesters) from the Great State of California came and created havoc and fear into the already changing demographics of from what Oregon use to be.   Oregon use to be much like Idaho in thought and action, but Oregon has changed over the years, becoming a state that the folks from the Golden State could sell their homes and come to Oregon and buy the same home for half price and less congestion in life…

The Black Bear is not Smokey the Bear or a playful toy and the Cougar is one hungry predator that will take a deer a week.  They all might look cute as cub or kitten, but once they get bigger that is not the case.  Since there is no hunting with dogs any longer, these two predators go un-checked for the most part.  As for Wolves, it all started in Yellowstone and has escalated too many other states.  My thoughts are that Wolves hunt to kill and rarely eat the complete animal; it said the other predators will handle the remaining carcass.   Oregon has about 60 Moose (Shiras) scattered throughout the N.E. part of the state.  With the increase in Wolf population, just how long will it take for the reduction in Moose?  One other little notes about Wolves in Oregon, many have been released by so-call do-gooders that breed or breed hybrids.  Many years ago, I had a customer tell me she did… From the information I get, there are more Wolves than reported.   Such is the case in the Mt. Hood National Forest with reports of sporadic with sightings from persons that do know the difference between a wolf and a dog…

Washington State does not allow the use of dogs to hunt for Cougars or Bears also.  This came about in 2001 I believe.  Only under conditions deemed by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife can dogs be used to harvest a Cougar or Bear that are causing problems with humans or livestock.

In the State of Oregon, through my sources with the government, hired government hunters as we call them can hunt year round to reduce Cougars or Bears in troubled areas.  With the used of dogs by the public that hunt, there would be little need for government hunters.  Just think about the revenue that the state would take in, plus the amount of sales at sporting goods stores, guides would be able to guide again.   Oregon has quotes on the amount of Cougars that can be taken in zones and once it met, then the year round hunting stops.  Going onto the ODFW back pages and looking at expected quotes on Cougars, the inside reports via contacts tell a different story.

There is a large area in the 2017 ODFW Game Regulations this year on Cougars. This is the map that showing what ODFW feels is the key area. I do believe there are more areas than on the map…

LINK:  O.D.F.W. Cougar Agenda

A hunter should make contact with a Game Biologist.  In the State of Oregon, these biologist are very happy to help.  As one biologist that I have know for more than 30 years once told me “my job is to help and without hunters, I would not have a job”

ODFW has a major budget deficit and last year came up with idea of special tags big game tags, creating some cash flow revenue.   Those that got one of the special tags through a drawing might just have a chance to hunt most anywhere and with a rifle even hunt during a bow season or extended season.  Many older hunters have just given up hunting, as their old haunts just don’t have the game as it was prior to 2000.   Other than the old boys in the hunting culture, I do not believe that the younger generation has caught up with the problem of predators.

Seems all great, but we have a real problem with the big game population in this state.   I spend much of my time from April to August taking wildlife pictures and working areas at key times of the day looking for big game.   In just 4 short years many of the great haunts are void of the great bucks that I would find.  The Cougars especially have worked over the area well.  I won’t waste my time to hunt these areas anymore.  I have move into the rural areas closer to the city to find game…  The Cougars use to follow the game coming down from the mountains during the winter months.  Now with the shortage of game to eat, they are now showing up in the lower valleys in the summer months.  It may seem to those reading that I am bias, but I am not.  It is about what is more important, the chance for someone to see a Cougar, Wolf or even a Bear in the wild or preserving the big game that you can see anytime.   Once the game is gone from the area the predators with move to new feeding grounds.   It takes the depleted area a fairly long time to recover the mature bucks and bulls in the area.

Bear season Oregon is a bit different and not all year long.  The draw tag season from April 1^st, to May 31^st normally.   The general season opens August 1^st and ends December 31^st on the west side of the Cascades and November 30^th on the east side of the Cascades.   So one has to glass and find bears, a bit tougher to do, than getting a do to tree a bear.  Government hunters can do whatever to get a problem area done.  Special tags are issued for timber companies to handle bears in Oregon…

I believe that anyone that is hunting in Oregon should have a Cougar tag and Bear tag on their person.  Many times hunters have run into the overabundance of Cougars in a particular area and shot a Cougar, did not have a tag.  You will be ticketed and in some cases it could have been life and dead encounter, you might or might not get out of the ticket if caught.

In Closing:  I will give a few instances for 2016 from some of hunting buddies, plus I will put out a few key areas with onX HUNT map pictures for those that want to challenger their talents to find a Cougars.  Bear season is just about over, but send me and email and I can direct you to spots in the future.

• 2016 Owyhee Deer Hunt: MJ and BO drew the tags for the great Owyhees in Oregon.   In the day as I remember the Owyhees, the bucks were big and plentiful, sort of a pick and choose hunt for big Mulies.   MJ and BO have private land to hunt on breaks of the Oregon/Idaho border on the Oregon side.  Having done a great deal of planning and making calls, they truly thought they had it dialed in.  The land was in prime condition for Mule deer habitat.   During their week hunt, only a few small bucks were seen, remembering they had made an early scouting trip in August 2016, with the same results.  The local ODFW biologist told them they hit at the wrong time…  Very experience hunters that in the past were used to finding big Mulies.  The hunters over on the Idaho side still have the Mulies of size, as they control the Cougars still with dogs.
• 2011 Archery Elk/Deer Hunt: Another hunting partner from my past went to a new haunt near an old haunt.  This is an area that the government hunter has taken out more Cougars than 4 times the quota of the Cascades, which are 271.   ST has during bow season taken a Cougar and on the same day could have taken another one.  2016 he had two Cougars at 100 yards from him at this ground blind.  His 1911 could not get the job done at 100 yards in the timber. I also feel they are braver and human scent or the fact Cougars are keen on knowing, fear little.  Deer were very scarce, though the elk were in good numbers.   The Heppner Unit has been known as an elk breeding area…
• My son this year (2106) during a rifle deer hunt near an RV Park outside of a rural town jumped two mature Cougars. He did not have a tag and knew what would happen if he had killed them.  The deer population was way down and the team only got one 2 year old deer about 2 miles from the sighting…
• Another comment is from my buddy Mark D., who lives near Oregon City, Oregon on 90 acres. Five Cougars have been sighted during the month of August 2016 around this place.  His place is within 15 minutes of a major city.   The deer are way done on this place, as he has cameras out.  Just recently he caught sight of one decent Blacktail buck.  The elk have not been on his place for more than 6 months.
• 2016 Pronghorn hunt for one of my onXmaps HUNT hunters. I had suggested him talk to one of the ranchers in the flat lands in the Steen’s Mountains Unit.  He was told by the rancher that the Pronghorn are scare, less than 5 years ago they were pest on the ranches and farming lands.  The big C word (Cougars) came out.  The hunters had to hunt very hard to find a good buck, not a monster.  The Steen’s Mountains of Oregon once produced the #2 B & C Pronghorn…  Those us that have hunted the Steen’s Mountains for big Mulies, which are gone now.  No longer a pick and choose style of hunting there.  The Steen’s at one time was 4X4 or better hunt…  

Let us not forget about the resilient Coyote that roams all of North American. Ever thought about asking a chicken or duck farmer to hunt the Coy Dogs that will lay in wait free roaming egg layers…

So in reality the states that have a problem with predators are the same states (metropolitan cities) that were Blue in the recent election, giving the point that we know those that are the loudest and not using their common sense for the good of all…  

Attached link for:  Predator Defense

“There is a place for predators, but they should not replace renewable resources in nature”

“The elected politicians of any state must take in account the outcome of a bad decision that they have made bowing down to a small load group of “Tree Huggers”, much like the Old Growth Spotted Owl farce”

A few photo from onX HUNT IPAD Mobile Mapping:

The Warner Unit in Oregon, known for Pronghorn, Deer and even Elk. A key spot for removal of Cougars.

A great deal of B.L.M. in the Steen’s Mountains, near Diamond, Oregon. Elk, Deer and Pronghorn roam these hills. This area was well now for big Mulies…

This is the east slope of the Steen’s Mountains. Big Horn Sheep, Deer and Pronghorn work this area from the valley floor to 10,000 feet. Cougars have been working all of the Steen’s for a long time.

This map is of an area in the Rogue Unit in Oregon. The Cougars have worked close to Willow Lake RV Resort. The Blacktail population is down from previous years.

Frank Biggs aka Bwana Bubba

         The BLM’s Plans – Affects Hunters Too!

By William E. Simpson
10/16/16 — The BLM intends to double the size of the current 66,000 acre Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument by securing an additional 64,000 acres of existing public and some private lands, including some O & C lands from OR and about 10,000 acres from California via executive order of President Obama. This will severely effect the traditional and customary uses of all these acquired lands, and will ultimately affect all recreational sports, especially hunting. Environmentalists at and around Southern Oregon University were apparently given special advanced notice of the meeting ahead of other stakeholders and opponents to the proposed expansion, and the environmentalists organized well in advance of the meeting, even telling their supporters to ‘wear blue at the meeting’ (seen in the photo at this article: ijpr.org/post/public-weighs-cascade-siskiyou-monument-expansion) . They are now using the flawed science regarding ‘climate change’ to help justify what amounts to just another public land grab by the BLM.

========================================================
An Open Letter

TO: Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden
Oregon and California Hunters
All Concerned Stakeholders

SUBJECT: The Proposed Expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument (Soda Mountain Wilderness).

First of all, by way of a brief introduction; I grew-up in the Applegate Valley of Southern Oregon (circa 1960’s), not far from the Monument and the expansion lands in question. I graduated from Grants Pass High School and attended Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. My father is buried in the Applegate Cemetery (OR) and my mother is buried in Gazelle, CA (Siskiyou County). I have fished, hunted and logged in and all around the existing Monument lands for decades. Today, our family owns land near and bordering the Monument and the proposed expansion lands, so I am a legitimate stakeholder.

As we have seen time and time again in the news, what Government agencies like the BLM tell the public is sometimes very far from the truth… and the BLM has seemingly earned a reputation for corruption and misrepresentation as shown by any quick Google search.

Here is just a small sampling from such a Google search:

justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/jury-convicts-former-high-ranking-blm-officialindianz.com/News/2015/018111.aspbillingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/ex-blm-officials-indicted-in-elaborate-fraud-scheme/article_d7c75cd2-9070-5ee5-be61-cb1a45747628.htmldailycaller.com/2016/06/04/this-federal-agency-had-a-tough-week/

havredailynews.com/story/2015/07/30/local/denny-blm-supervisor-sentenced-for-fraud/504995.html

usobserver.com/archive/jan-11/blm-abuse-criminal-conviction.html

And it goes as high as the top of the Dept. of Interior:
huffingtonpost.com/wayne-pacelle/inspector-general-report_b_8393670.html?fb_comment_id=468560149935946_468588926599735

For instance, the BLM talks about ‘doing right’ for wild burros and horses on page-3 of the Internal BLM Memo linked herein below, yet, as we have read in the link just above, the BLM is guilty of rounding them up and killing them every way possible. The BLM Memo:naturalresources.house.gov/uploadedfiles/doimonumentdesignationdocs_revised062910.pdf

Another current example of BLM malfeasance was discovered by KLAS News through their FOIA request of the Elko NV BLM office, which KLAS contends proves the BLM intended from the get-go to cheat Madeline Pickens on her $28-million dollar effort (which they encouraged her to do) to save thousands of wild horses from the BLM storage pens and slaughter, and in the end, the BLM is now trying to steal her water and grazing rights, as ‘a compromise’.

Learn more about that BLM con-job here: lasvegasnow.com/news/i-team-madeleine-pickens-losing-battle-with-the-blm

The internal BLM document linked below details the BLM’s claimed designs on public lands to be targeted by what I call ‘Monumentalism‘… which I venture a majority of Americans would consider an abuse of the Antiquities Act of 1906, where the original pure spirit and intention of the Act was to protect prehistoric Indian ruins and artifacts. However that Act has metastasized into an environmentalist’s tool for the allocation of land that would be reasonably and logically well beyond their reach or control. But as many of us know by following the money, that is merely part of the sales pitch and political activism used to fuel the acquisitions of lands well suited to the ultimate goal of mineral, gas and oil leases.

We’re broke as a Country, and looking at $20-trillion dollars in debt today. President Obama once called the addition of $4-trillion to the national debt by President Bush to create an aggregated total of $9-trillion dollars “un-patriotic and irresponsible” in a speech (here: youtube.com/watch?v=1kuTG19Cu_Q), then he turns around and spends another $16-trillion by himself! Americans everywhere are sick to death of this immorality and political corruption as we clearly see today. Integrity seems to be low on agenda.

Yet, look at the money the BLM is willing to spend to take lands out of the control of average Americans by proposed spending of nearly $2.4-billion dollars! (budget on the last pages, of course; page-21) naturalresources.house.gov/uploadedfiles/doimonumentdesignationdocs_revised062910.pdf

And Siskiyou County is currently running on fumes financially because of government over-regulation and loss of lands, and related jobs. Yet even knowing this, these Federal agencies are happy to take even more land off our tax roles, and then replace property tax revenues with Federal money that has all-kinds of strings attached… making us into children who don’t get their allowances unless we do as we’re told. This is what is unpatriotic. The chair-lady of the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, Grace Bennett, was given last minute notice of the meeting and had little time to prepare-for this meeting in Ashland, OR and then, even worse, she was allowed only 3-minutes to address this enormous issue. All the while, the environmentalists who filled half the room ‘dressed in blue’, who arguably ‘staged’ this meeting at Southern Oregon University, had two large screens positioned on both sides of the meeting hall, each displaying only their ‘pro-expansion’ talking points! The entire ‘public input meeting’ was totally rigged.

Hawaii is also being conned by the BLM and their administrators who are obviously working for special interests and big-corp. giants interested in the undersea manganese deposits around Hawaii.
I lived there for a decade and taught at the University of Hawaii Maui Campus and ran a combination of charter and commercial fishing, diving and research boats that helped scientists there restore the reefs through a program of best-practices in anchoring and mooring systems on the heavily used ‘tourist reefs’.

The agenda for the expansion of the Monument there in Hawaii has nothing to do with pelagic fish preservation as they allege… same SOP … people hear about meetings at the last second, meeting is preceded by mainstream media covering the BLM talking points, opponents are provided with 3-minutes or less to opine on a complex issue, audience testimony is stacked with proponents selected by the BLM to speak, meetings are located as far away from genuine stakeholders as possible…. and during times and days where working-class people cannot attend, especially with the short notices provided by the agency.

youtube.com/watch?v=pTMIjFVkgiE

A vicious self perpetuating cycle of gobbling-up public lands and then exploiting them (*revenues from the lease royalties derived from the lands), and then using the licensing royalties to buy even more lands!

Then we have the Medford BLM with the audacity to tell the public in meetings, like a recent meeting in Ashland that a significant portion of the access roads to/in the Soda Mountain Wilderness ‘Monument’ have to be closed-down because the BLM cannot afford to maintain them, thus limiting, and in many cases, eliminating public access to lands that were allegedly set aside for the multiple-use enjoyment and use of the People (hunting, etc.)… bait and switch at the highest levels of government and its agencies run-amok.

And as a result of road closures (“no money for road maintenance” says the BLM) in the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument (Soda Mountain Wilderness) hunters are no longer able to access the more remote and productive hunting grounds in the Soda Mountain Wilderness (Monument), where vehicles are needed by handicapped and infirm or older hunters, who are subsequently forced to use (trespassing & hunting on) more accessible privately-owned lands, creating conflicts with private land owners, which I have seen as a growing trend in Siskiyou County from my on-site observations.

This is just outrageous and intolerable multiple levels, and it’s a sham that any politician would allow this to occur. Something must be done! This is the kind of problem that will eventually circle around and bite everyone in the backside.

Given the malfeasance and shenanigans that surrounded the so-called ‘public input meeting’ in Ashland on Oct. 14th, I strongly urge both Senators Merkley and Wyden to consider having a more balanced and honest public input meeting in Siskiyou County, with adequate notice provided to our County Officials, since approximately 10,000 acres in our County seem to be under the BLM’s gun as well, including the Horseshoe Ranch Wildlife Area, a local hunter’s and recreational paradise.

I also urge all readers of this open letter to immediately contact both Senators who are collecting input on this Monument expansion; Senator Jeff Merkley via his office by phone and by email/mail ASAP:

Senator Jeff Merkley (OR)
121 SW Salmon Street., Ste. 1400
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 326-3386
Fax: (503) 326-2900

And, Senator Ron Wyden
wyden.senate.gov/contact

MORE INFO ABOUT THE PROPOSED MONUMENT EXPANSION HERE:
healthyforests.org/action_center?vvsrc=%2fcampaigns%2f48159%2frespond

*A number of federal laws establish requirements for oil and gas leasing and development on federal and even tribal lands. These include the (1) Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 USC 181 et seq.), which established the authority of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to oversee oil and gas operations on federal land; (2) Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of 1947 (30 USC 351 et seq.), which extended the DOI authority over oil and gas operations to federal “acquired lands;” (3) Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 USC 21 et seq.), which established modern policy regarding mineral development in the United States of encouraging private enterprise while mitigating adverse environmental impacts; (4) Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 USC 1701 et seq.), which defined the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) responsibilities with respect to oil and gas development; (5) Indian Mineral Leasing Act of 1938 (25 USC 396a-g), which provides for leasing of minerals on tribal lands; and (6) Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 (25 USC 2102 et seq.), which provides for tribes to enter into energy development agreements with DOI approval.

William Simpson is the author of Dark Stallions – Legend of the Centaurians, proceeds from which go towards supporting wild and domestic horse rescue and sanctuary.

 

Capt. William E. Simpson II is a U.S. Merchant Marine Officer with decades of boating and expedition sailing experience, having logged more than 150,000 miles at sea. Simpson has successfully survived long-term ‘off the grid’ at sea and at remote uninhabited desert islands with his family for years at a time. He holds a U.S.C.G. 500-ton captain’s license for commercial-inspected passenger vessels and he is also a commercial airplane and helicopter pilot.

Simpson spent his formative years growing up on the family’s working ranch in the mountains of Southern Oregon, where horses were an integral part of the daily life. William left the family ranch to attend college, which turned out to be a stepping stone into a bizarre lifestyle that led him around the world on an entrepreneurial quest. An adventurer at heart, Simpson and his best friend and wife Laura, spent many years at sea during two sailing expeditions (1991-1994 and 2008-2011) where they experienced some of the many wonders and mysteries of nature. Since retiring, Bill and Laura have changed lifestyles and are once again engaged in a new adventure; living an off-grid lifestyle in the remote wilderness of the Siskiyou Mountains, where they enjoy coexisting with herds of wild horses, along with a myriad of other wild animals. The staggering beauty of the local mountains and valleys is awe inspiring and has influenced Bill to frequently write on subjects related to wild horses as well as wild and domestic horse advocacy, rescue and sanctuary.

Capt. William E. Simpson II – USMM Ret.

iHUNT by RUGER

I am always amazed by the advancement of technology and what can be done, so mentioning that fact; I am introducing a new mobile App from iHUNT by RUGER, that I have had the privilege to use and entertain myself (plus the crew at work) with the new App from iHUNT by RUGER.   The App is free to load and some of the features are free.

Home Screen, easy to navigate through. Have fun!

The iHUNT by RUGER App is primarily a game call device that you can use with all IOS and Android mobile devices.

It has a number of other superb features such as Solunar Times for hunting, Weather, Compass, Ruger Handguns-Ruger Long Guns (Opens in your search engine), you can shop for Ruger products (Opens in your search engine) , Activity Log and a Place for User photos (Photos that are upload from all users).

iHUNT by RUGER Bluetooth speaker that gets an amazing 50 + yards and 110dB of power. The speaker automatically unlocks the App when you connect it to your phone.

As for Hunting Calls (they need to be purchased) the list is so long, it almost unbelievable.

Alright I will give you the list, not the full content of the calls within the within the call!   Alligators-Crocs, Bears, Birds, Bobcats, Buffalo-Bison, Chickens, Chipmunks, Cows, Coyotes, Crows-Ravens, Deer, Donkeys, Ducks, Elk, Foxes, Geese, Goats, Hawks-Eagles, Jackal, Mice-Rats, Moose, Owls, Pheasants, Prairie Dogs, Quail, Rabbit-Hare, Raccoon, Sheep-Lambs, Snipe Birds, Squirrels, Turkeys, Wild Boar-Pigs, Wildebeest and Zebra.   Quite the list to have!  Not that we are going to use them all, but to know the sounds is amazing.

Just listen to the sampler sounds: Top = Gobble-Tom Middle = Crow Distress Bottom = Fallow Buck

Touch the Hunting calls and it goes to this screen to choose.

Once you open the animal, bird, or other you get to the calls.

Besides being able to use iHUNT by RUGER in the field, it is astonishing learning tool this App can be for the hunter to learn and understand the sounds that game animals, birds, and non-mammals make.   I would check with your State, Province or Country that you can use an electronic call for game you wish to pursue.  Quick and easy to use, it can also be used by children to randomly go through the long list.   Can you imagine sitting by a creek side with you daughter or son, even a grandchildren and have them tell you that is a Raccoon or the allusive Snipe making the noise you’re all are hearing.

Your pictures can be upload and you can see other’s pictures and who they are.

There are a number of options items that you can also purchase to your game calling experience even better.

Entertain the experience and download the iHUNT by RUGER App to your mobile device and gain proficiency in the art of calling in game or knowing the calls of the wild.

Thoughts from Bwana Bubba!

Chasing down Elk from afar!

         So many ways to get to the public land!

Thoughts go back to my early days of hunting elk with a rifle and bow.   I would rifle hunt in the eastern part of Oregon for Rocky Mountain bulls, while bow hunting was in the western part of Oregon for Roosevelt bulls.  So those early hunts to the east were about going into the timber and waiting for elk to come by within shooting range.   One thing I never did was to build a fire to keep warm, but my uncles all did it.  I remember on one hunt Uncle Floyd was deep into the pines up near Texas Butte.  You could hear him cough, as he was a smoker, plus he had his fire going.  That was something that his sons and I would never do.  Low and behold a nice respectable 5X5 came by his fire and he put him down…   So in the western part of the state, we would go into our favorite spot and walk pockets listening for elk movement and try to get in close enough to get shot.  They never seem to do the calling like Rocky Mtn. elk would do.  This process of hunting worked for us in those days.

This happens to be from the 2015 first season Rocky Mtn. Elk season in Oregon. It is an old haunt that I have introduced my son too. So my son and his cousin, knowing the area had never used a GPS went hunting with the new Garmin 64’s and onXmaps Hunt Plat map installed (I demanded they have them to stay legal). As you can see he stayed legal. There is some access for the public near the river, that is grandfathered in for about 50 years or more. In this country it is about seeing the elk, deer and pronghorn and chasing after them. Open country with Junipers, sagebrush, rimrock, cheat grass and seeded grazing grasses (after range fires).

Getting to the basis of this article about chasing elk down as I would put it came about some years later when we were bowhunting the rimrock, juniper and sagebrush of central Oregon for big mule deer bucks on the B.L.M., National Forest that was bordered and encompassed with private land.  One particular deer scouting trip prior to the opening archery season, glassing at a mile into a basin we could see from our observation point while looking for the famous bucks of the Big Muddy, we spotted elk, not just one elk, but about 12 bulls, all being branch bulls.

This bull was spotted with another bull at about 2000 yards. I shot this bull at 50 yards. Both bulls were taken, one by myself and my partner, after we split up in the draw. We watched the bull at about 200 yards split up.

This launched our elk hunting in this country for more than  20 years and still to this day when I have time.  Spotting elk from distance does give you an advantage; this has led to least at 85% average of getting elk this way for me, partners and others within the hunting circles.  I will say that in the early days, GPS and mapping (software) was nil.  Most of the guys I hunted with were all past military and few of us still in the military, so venturing into the so call unknown and reading the land was pretty easy going.

I have found glassing ridges, hillsides, shaded areas and even into basins on an afternoon after the average hunter has headed back to camp and settle down for the late afternoon and evening happens to be my favorite time to glass for elk.  The country is vast with B.L.M. and National Forest for miles in all directions.  You have been glassing for about 30 minutes and you spot a group of elk which you feel is about 2 miles away.  You can see with your binoculars there are some pretty good bulls in the herd.  They are just grazing, with a few bedded down.  It is said by most that we have probably harvest more elk in the afternoon after 1PM, than ever in the morning hours.

This bull was taken by my son. We all spotted the elk at a mile away. I decided with my son, Brian Henninger’s brother John and a buddy of my son to go after him. I got my son within 50 feet of the bedded bull. In the picture if Brian Henninger PGA. On this hunt all the hunters got a bull within 2 hours of each other.

It is now to setup a plan to get onto these elk, as it is about 1400 or 2PM in the afternoon with visibility of at least a mile.

Getting this plan underway in the 21^st century is so much easier with Garmin GPS’s and onX HUNT mapping software and being able to dial in the lay of the land with precision accuracy, sort of like getting 10X’s on a target during a shooting tournament…

First off, I would have my Garmin GPS, with the Montana being my favorite which is loaded with my onX HUNT PLAT map.   Seeing that there is a peak off in the distance between the elk and myself, I can judge the precise distance to the elk with the mapping and GPS.  The maps are up to date and show the private, federal lands, state lands and other.

This bull was spotted at about 1/2 mile away. On this bull, I thought it was another bull seen earlier. Only had a side profile when I launched a 210 gr. Nosler Partition at 600 yards.

The second thing I am going to do is install a number of waypoints, such as the peak and the proximity of elk as I see it on the map.

Now I take a look at the topo aspect of the terrain with my GPS and my eyes, working on a quick plan to cover the distance to within a ¼ mile of the elk.   The elk appear to be very comfortable were they are and I feel they will settle down in the area for part of the evening.

Personally I have always felt to cover the ground quickly, whether I am running, sliding down a hill, but always slowly down coming up on a rise.   Many times I personally feel that mistakes are made by taking too much time getting in the zone of the elk.

This bull was called in to within 20 yards after being spotted about 1000 yards away. We covered ground to within 100 yards of the herd. A bit of small bull and cow call called him in. Plus we had cut off some of his cows.

During my pursuit I am mentally thinking how I am going ambush the elk.  I also assume that the elk will be close to where I had made sight of them.   If rifle hunting, the thought of the ambush will be different than if I am bowhunting the elk as to how close I close the distance.  I am a loner, but if I have a partner, he is going to be in my shadows normally, but under the same game plan.  I am in combat mode when working this scenario during the hunt.

Along the way I have checked my GPS and even put more waypoints, which gives me a mental picture, plus I have setup estimated time to get to my final observation point, whether a vantage point above or even level eyesight.

This bull was spotted from a mountain top a very long ways away. Michael Jame of Bend, OR took him out at 100 yards. Michael has always been a believer of getting in fast.

Now if I am rifle hunting, I will be on the ready and try to have a vantage point within my comfortable shooting distance.  A great deal of time that doesn’t always happen, but I have set this stalk up the way it works for me.   I know my weapon or rifle of choice that I use on elk and I also know the capabilities of its shooting distance and putting the elk down.

This bull was shot from long range, but spotted earlier in the evening along with another bull of the same size. Three bulls were taken within 10 minutes of each other. After my son’s bull was down and heading back, heard a shot in another basin. That shot was from Brian Henninger. Two bulls came out of the basin, one dropped from Brian’s close range shot. The other bull stopped, by that time I was on the hard deck in the prone position with By-Pod flipped down. Raised 4 feet over the back, pulled the trigger on the 340 Weatherby with 225 gr. Barnes X and the bull dropped in his tracks. “Never seen anyone shoot that far” (John Henninger). My comment was the Barnes X must have given it a heart attack. No time to chase this bull down, take the shot or let it go.

When it comes to archery, I am more of a stalker of elk too within shooting range, a great deal depends with the elk, being in the rut or not, but I always have cow call and a bugle if I am going to work the herd and bring a try bull in.

With the technology of GPS (Garmin) and onX HUNT mapping software, the hunter can pinpoint the game.   As said before, my thoughts have always been to move fast and not worry about being careful about foot noise, until I am within a ¼ mile.   In reality this is one of the funniest ways to hunt down an elk in my opinion!  My partners and I have taken many bulls over the years by hunting this way.

#onxhunt #teamhunt #huntsmarter

Frank Biggs aka Bwana Bubba