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Off to Elk Camp! The report...

NeoBlackdogNeoBlackdog Member Posts: 17,241 ✭✭✭✭
edited October 2012 in General Discussion
Season opens tomorrow! My tag is for a spike only in the Mt. Emily unit in NE Oregon, so that'll make the pickin's pretty slim... Still beats workin' though! We've gotten some snow up where I'll be hunting, if I'm lucky maybe I'll cut a cougar track and run him down.

UPDATE;
Well, I got back in about 4 yesterday afternoon. No meat for the freezer. On opening morning I'd hiked about two miles from camp (line of sight by the GPS, in reality closer to 3.5 miles what with canyons and meanderings!) when I came across the tracks of 4-5 elk. There was about 3 inches of fresh snow so tracking conditions couldn't have gotten much better. I followed tracks for about 45 minutes when I heard a shot about 100 to 150 yards out in front of me and a minute later a big WOOHOO! Crap! Had one shot right out from under me!
The next day we were driving a few miles from camp to drop off myself and one other to make a hunt back towards camp. We were about a mile into the ride when 20 head crossed the road in front of us. We went on past where they'd crossed and then hit the woods. We got a good look at the whole herd from about 75 yards, 19 cows/calves and one small 5 point. All we had were spike tags. Crap again! Those were the only elk we saw in 5 days of hunting. We only saw one elk hanging in a camp the entire time.
Oh well, it was a good time. Walked my butt off, got cold and wet, saw lots of nice country, and plenty of fun around the campfire at night. Now I have to wait another year to go do it again!
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Comments

  • gearheaddadgearheaddad Member Posts: 15,091 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Good luck!! Shoot straight and be careful!!
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  • MaxOHMSMaxOHMS Member Posts: 14,715
    edited November -1
    Please share pics and stories told around the camp fire!

    Enjoy!
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  • grumpygygrumpygy Member Posts: 48,464 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You do know there are 2 Mount Emily's in Oregon one in the SW Corner.



    Found this for the one you are headed to.

    quote:Cougar Predation in Northeast Oregon







    Due to their solitary nature, large home-ranges and low densities on the landscape, cougars have been an extremely difficult animal to research. In particular, accurate estimates of predation rates and prey selection have been nearly impossible to obtain. Previous studies have relied largely on snow-tracking to obtain cougar predation rates and prey composition. However, these studies were only able to estimate seasonal predation rates and were often limited by small sample sizes.




    The advent of GPS collars has made it possible to collect large, continuous data sets on animals with much less expense and effort than conventional radio-telemetry studies. Chuck Anderson and Fred Lindzey pioneered a technique to estimate cougar predation rates and prey composition using GPS collars. The use of GPS collars allows researchers to accurately calculate year round predation rates and prey selection of cougars. Estimating accurate predation rates and determining prey selection of cougars is critical to understanding the role cougars play in ungulate population dynamics.




    We are placing GPS collars on cougars in the Mt Emily Wildlife Management Unit to identify predation rates and prey selection of cougars in northeast Oregon. This information will be useful in identifying the impacts of cougars on declining ungulate populations in northeast Oregon.



    The Mt Emily Cougar Predation Study is a collaborative effort between the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Oregon State University. The research project began in the winter of 2008 and will conclude in the spring of 2012.
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  • NeoBlackdogNeoBlackdog Member Posts: 17,241 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Still waitin' for my hunting buddy to get his outfit together so we can hit the road. AArrgghh! It's only a 25 minute drive to camp but I'm ready NOW!!
    Thanks for the info Grumpy! I didn't know about the 'other' Mt. Emily. A buddy of mine is the head biologist for the Wallowa-Whitman NF and worked with the guys mentioned in the study. He told me there were upwards of 300 cats in the Mt. Emily management unit. That sounds like an awful lot to me, but hey, he's the expert. i do know that since the Portland voters decided we could no longer hunt the cougars with dogs that the population has exploded and with that, a corresponding decline in deer and elk populations. I'd be tickled spitless if Mr. Kitty happens to wander into my sight picture... Hehehe... [;)]
    As for the reminders to be careful, I'll repost a thread of mine from last year...
    http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=538129&SearchTerms=1984
    Be sure what you're pointing that firearm at!
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  • grumpygygrumpygy Member Posts: 48,464 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I was trying to get a better Idea of where Mt Emily was when I found there were two. The area you are heading for is some real nice country.

    As far as the Cat, Yep we are being over run, even here on the western Side.
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  • OakieOakie Member Posts: 40,526 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Good luck[:)]
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  • Ray BRay B Member Posts: 11,822
    edited November -1
    There's just one Mt Emily Unit, the nearest town is Meacham. It's great area, we hunted it back in the 60's, just watch that you keep track of where the res is, otherwise the tribal police may come calling.
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  • retroxler58retroxler58 Member Posts: 32,693 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
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  • moonshinemoonshine Member Posts: 8,471
    edited November -1
    It's not just the cats taking the deer and elk the wolves are doing a very good job killing the game.
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  • moonshinemoonshine Member Posts: 8,471
    edited November -1
    Grumpy

    quote:You do know there are 2 Mount Emily's in Oregon one in the SW Corner.

    pinpoint it for me I can only find one in the regs..

    maybe you ment Evans unit???
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  • Ray BRay B Member Posts: 11,822
    edited November -1
    Mt Emily Unit is generally east of Interstate 84 between Pendleton and LaGrande. The other Mt Emily is in the Chetco Unit and is ENE of Brookings, 10-15 miles.
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  • grumpygygrumpygy Member Posts: 48,464 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by moonshine
    Grumpy

    quote:You do know there are 2 Mount Emily's in Oregon one in the SW Corner.

    pinpoint it for me I can only find one in the regs..

    maybe you ment Evans unit???


    Not in the regs

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Emily
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  • fishkiller41fishkiller41 Member Posts: 50,608
    edited November -1
    Sometimes the trip is the "TROPHY"...
    I hope U do much better next season..
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  • whiteclouderwhiteclouder Member Posts: 10,574 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by fishkiller41
    Sometimes the trip is the "TROPHY"...
    I hope U do much better next season..


    Yes'ir.

    Clouder..
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