Beulah unit Oregon mule deer hunting advice

[JDO]

I'm curious if anyone's has any info (good or bad) regarding hunting mule deer in Oregon's Beulah unit #65? I've always hunted the Maupin unit and used to do pretty well but the last few years it's been overrun and over hunted!

 

[Jaden Bales]

Hey JDO. I'm going to give you a little more grace than most guys on here. It's best practice to first, build some relationships/credibility on the site before asking about unit-specific questions. A good place to start is the FNG thread to introduce yourself.

Secondly, I'd look into some of the ODFW reports. https://myodfw.com/articles/big-game-population-survey-data

Maupin's deer herds are doing much better than Beulah, though as you know, the public access is limited. If you have good spots in Maupin, you're likely going to be leaving a place and population you know well for some really not-so-green grass in a new landscape out in Beulah.

My two cents.

 

[JDO]

Copy that! Yea I'm brand new, infact that was my very first post! Gotta start somewhere! Anyway, thank you for the heads up!

 

[BRTreedogs]

It's terrible all Mule deer hunting is terrible in Oregon why do you think they went archery draw.
All of us bad a stick fingers out there taking a huge chunk out of the population.

Deer are down.
I'm super pissed about the archery draw.
I.was hoping for first serve first come caps.
I'm sick of points and waiting.

I think they should just quite Mule deer hunting for 3 years all together in Oregon

 

[Salmonchaser]

Been hunting there since 1965, not so much with the draws now. In any event the fire a couple of years ago really pushed the deer out of the area we hunt. We still go there when we draw but in all honesty it’s nothing compared to what it was even 10 years ago. Given the condition of the deer herd in Oregon I would stick with what you know.
Welcome to the forum, good luck.

 

[Oregon]

The people who complain about mule deer herds in Oregon are the same ones who keep applying and tipping over forkys.
It is awful in most units. There are pockets of greatness still, but they are few and far between.
Open that link provided above and it makes me want to puke. The days of looking over 40 bucks are over and gone forever

 

[BRTreedogs]

I have 11 points and feel like they are a complete waste of my adult life.

 

[Windigo]

Good luck avoiding the road hunters...

 

[Baddog]

It's terrible all Mule deer hunting is terrible in Oregon why do you think they went archery draw.
All of us bad a stick fingers out there taking a huge chunk out of the population.

Deer are down.
I'm super pissed about the archery draw.
I.was hoping for first serve first come caps.
I'm sick of points and waiting.

I think they should just quite Mule deer hunting for 3 years all together in Oregon

Sure seems like a 3 or 4 point or better rule would be a good idea for awhile. It’s like the odfw has no plan...

 

[BRTreedogs]

Sure seems like a 3 or 4 point or better rule would be a good idea for awhile. It’s like the odfw has no plan...

I went to one of the local meetings last year.
One of the bios said he has done a ton, ton of research on point restrictions and says they do not work long term.

My real beef with them going to a draw was they did it because of complaints from hunters about poor hunting.
Imo they didn't do it for the animals.

Supposedly they received thousands of complaints about elk to.
There are none, there all on private, to many hunter etc.
Well I can typically find elk every year and if my fast late to the party rear can, most anyone should be able to.

 

[Baddog]

Other states use point restrictions...
But killing some kitties would help too

 

[Baddog]

I think Oregon and Utah are the only states that intentionally kill their spike elk.
I’d think the argument that Oregon needs a little age to their big game could be made.

 

[Hoodie]

I think Oregon and Utah are the only states that intentionally kill their spike elk.
I’d think the argument that Oregon needs a little age to their big game could be made.

I believe Washington has a spike only hunt in some of their south-eastern units as well.

Certainly perplexing to kill a bunch of young males in the units ostensibly being managed for trophy potential.

 

[Dirtscoots]

I think Oregon and Utah are the only states that intentionally kill their spike elk.
I’d think the argument that Oregon needs a little age to their big game could be made.

They made our blacktail spike or better last year. Definitely goin backwards it was fork or better. I’ve nearly had to honk to get toe head spikes out of the road. I don’t agree with any antler especially with our deer population.

 

[slick]

One thing no one seems to mention in these discussions is that bucks don’t make more bucks. Does make more bucks. There is practically nil female harvest in eastern OR.

Restrictions on hunter participation allow bucks to grow old. If you want old bucks and lots of them you restrict tags. Good habitat allows bucks to reach their potential at a given age. If you want old bucks and lots of them you promote habitat. Killing cats and bears certainly will help, but again, most people love to complain that the state isn’t doing anything about predator populations when those same people don’t even have a cougar tag in their pocket or attempt trying to kill one. And I haven’t heard a single person in Oregon buy into the lack of quality habitat.

The spike tags are all opportunity driven. Think about what percentage of a herd annually is spikes? And then think about what percentage of them are harvested? it’s smaller than you might think and after they have one year on them, they aren’t hunted and are allowed to grow old and may be killed on the any bull tag.

The reality of it is most hunters just want to hunt and there is less emphasis put on trophy potential, and the percentage of trophy WMUs vs opportunity WMUs reflect the majority of the hunting populace’s wishes. Rokslide is a small minority.

 

[Dirtscoots]

Totally agree with points made especially predator management is a key issue for us. I do not agree with doe tags either. I may be totally incorrect in my game management ideas I’m definitely no scientist. I however do not trust all the studies made by the state given their stance on wolfs for instance.

 

[Wetwork]

They need to stop calling them points and start calling them point years or something. Something with years in it, so you really know how many damn years it's pretty much gonna take for you to draw it.-WW

 

[Baddog]

Multiple research studies have shown point restrictions do not help deer populations.

Well I’m not an expert on the subject but I do notice other states, Wyoming being one that does use them. I know Canada did or does have a 6 point or better rule on elk. I’d argue 1 year of growth for the bucks would be a good thing.
I would also agree habitat degradation/encroachment of cities is not helping. Also something very hard if not impossible to stop.
I believe that real predator management and a 4 point or better rule would make hunting better pretty quick, until the winter ranges are full of homes...

 

[Dirtscoots]

I may be outspoken here my only real experience is blacktail. I do not feel killing everything in sight is the answer. I think our mule deer issues are largely predator issues.

 

[slick]

Mule deer have co-evolved with all the predators currently on the landscape.

When ODFW ran hounds in MDI areas there was no difference in adult survival when they were doing cougar removals.

Again, no one will get on board with the habitat issue. It’s easy to point your fingers at cougars when in reality mule deer have been escaping and avoiding predation their entire existence. Poor habitat leads to less healthy deer more susceptible to predation.

So that must mean it’s predators. No, it’s lack of habitat.

And don’t listen to that idiot in Eugene, Wayne Endicott. He’s hunted the unit 2 weekends a year so he knows what the fawn survival rate is and their cause specific mortality. What a joke.


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