Whose hunting Roosevelt elk?

[m midd]

I've missed 2 bulls and had several close encounters with no shots. I have packed a few though. My uncle lives about 30 minutes north of the Columbia. We have thought about Oregon but don't know where to start

[sightsee]

Sounds like you know what your doing in WA midd and with 4 weeks to hunt in OR you might want to look into it. I hunted SW OR my whole life and don't know a thing about the NW part but if you want to drive all the way down to my parts, any of the GMU are fairly decent. I don't hunt the Alsea but I hear its great, further south the Sixes is good but lots of private, Tioga is good and so is the Chetco and Siuslaw too. All these units have Booner bulls and a month of bow season to go elk hunt.
But some of GMU in norther Oregon have consistently produced Booner bulls and the biggest in the state too.
Call some Biologists, taxidermists in the area of the GMU and ask some questions about the quality of hunting there. Get some maps and have a 3 to 5 year game plan on learning that unit. I really believe by the end of a couple years you will know where to go hunt.

   

[sightsee]

As they lay. I hiked many miles that season before these put a smile on my face.

   

   

[sightsee]

I think this is a cool find. It might be small but it's the heaviest piece of antler for its size from a big old bull.

   

[sightsee]

I found a couple articles on Roosevelts that I thought someone new to them might enjoy reading them. Or if your like me, I just want to refresh and get myself fired up for this season.

  http://www.elkhunting.com/pages/elk-hunting/resources/hunting-roosevelt-elk  

  http://www.cabelas.com/product/Trophy-Tactics-for-Roosevelt-Elk/532357.uts

 http://www.bowhunter.com/feature_articles/feature_articles_bw_roosevelt_0909/

[m midd]

We got on a huge bull the 2nd week last year. We hunted him for 3 days but he stayed well out of bow range. We hunt mainly around Gifford Pinchot national forest and Weyerhaeuser tree farm around Longview. We also try to do 2-3 days at the coast and eat fresh seafood every night. I really like the northwest and have thought about moving there several times.

[m midd]

We used to hunt the tree farms before they started selling gate keys, we would bike in for miles and more times than not we would get on animals. Now with all the vehicle traffic and people bugling from every bend in the road it has made most of the bulls go quiet. We only heard 6 bugles and 2 weeks. The 2 bulls we called in never made a sound. On a positive note I did shoot a running grouse last year

[sightsee]

Sounds like you had some great hunts midd but I hear you about allowing vehicles driving around looking for an elk to shoot or call. They sure go nocturnal and head to parts unknown. So do you believe that the hunters are killing more elk? I've seen this and the elk usually move to unlikely parts or hunker down. I can find elk next to roads sometimes big bulls too. But I have a hard time believing more elk are getting killed with more vehicle traffic. My point is if they aren't dieing then the elk are some where to be found. What do think happens to the elk when vehicles have been pounding the roads?
Look at all these beautiful brown Rosy elk antlers. A friend of mine found all these in one shedding season.

   

[m midd]

I think people are still killing elk, it just seems to be more cows and rag horns. I think some of them better bulls we were seeing while biking in are staying in deeper nastier places.
I think we are going to give the tree farm one more season since Weyerhaeuser is now allowing camping.

[m midd]

Those are nice sheds. My uncle has a pile, I get one now and then to use as knife handles.

[sightsee]

Beautiful group of cows

   

   

   

   

[sightsee]

A set of hog sheds I picked up last year. Wonder what he turned to the following year.

   

   

[sightsee]

   

   

   

[23feetupandhappy]

Originally posted by sightsee:
A set of hog sheds I picked up last year. Wonder what he turned to the following year.

   

   

:eek:    :eek:    :eek:

Man oh man  

[sightsee]

Thanks 23feet, a surreal feeling when I found them. They look really cool in the living room. As nice as they are I've got some even better material to show you here. I can't wait to share it.

[sightsee]

   

   

   

[sightsee]

I found these giants a couple years ago on the same hike one morning in March. I looked all over and never found the other sides. Both are Booner bulls, love that white pedicle.


   

[sightsee]

A friend sent this to me of an absolute giant standing in the road. I would have drove off the road if he was standing infront of my pickup. Love those dark antlers! The body size of this beast is absolutely huge. What bothers me is how in the heck would I go about hunting him in that thick reprod next to a logging road?

   

[newhouse114]

Sheeesh, my normal inclination is to stick an arrow into the first fat cow that I can sneak up on. All these pictures of antlers are making me rethink that, at least for the first part of the season! I actually depend on elk to fill the freezer so I hate to pass on any legal opportunity.

[sightsee]

I know, aren't big bulls just cool to watch? Lots of fun buddy, I can't wait to load up the truck and drive up into the mountains, to go walk one of my favorite basins. I'm bouncing off the walls and driving my coworkers crazy with my excitement to get home!
Oh, I just remembered, I'm sending you a PM with important top secret elk info:)