Oregon Expectations

[BlacktailTracker]

No mounts. If you’d been around in the 90’s you’d understand why those are lopped of and in the shed.

I wasnt even born til 97.

 

[Thebigbaby]

Oregon legit sucks

 

[WRO]

If I see one mature 4pt on public land during a 7 day hunt in Eastern Oregon I consider myself lucky. I take hunting very seriously and hunt hard. I’ve also had the privilege to hunt private property a few times in Oregon and could see a dozen or more mature bucks in a day.

The problem is that people kill every 4 point when it’s 2.5 so the genetics can be tough.

We’ve killed a pile of 4-9 year old 2 and 3 points.


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[DRP]

The problem is that people kill every 4 point when it’s 2.5 so the genetics can be tough.

We’ve killed a pile of 4-9 year old 2 and 3 points.


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I wish I could say Ive never done that but I have. I hunted a solid week in a new unit and only saw spikes and forkhorns. Let greed get the best of me and shot the first 4pt I saw. Definitely was a young deer, given a couple years he would have been a great deer.

 

[Tmac]

Just got back from a trip to the east side of OR. We saw 250+ mule deer, all on public land, and all concentrated in one 7 mile ish stretch of what I presume is their winter range. Quite a few young small 2x3 - 4x4 bucks. There was one group of 4 bucks that were all 20”+ 4x4 types with the best one being around 25” wide and 155” class.

We only saw one old mature buck with a group of 7 does. 28” ish very heavy 2x3. Very impressive looking buck. We covered about 1/4 of the very large unit, only that one spot held deer, the rest we covered was completely barren of deer with little to no sign. We were there at first and last light, mid day you would not see but a few.

A different E OR unit I’ve hunted on and off since the mid 90’s used to give out up to 1,200 tags at its peak, most years 600-750. In 2025 under 300 tags. I used to see 50+ deer a day there in the areas I frequented, now single digits in the same areas.

If you want to start hunting the east side my advice is to pick a unit you can draw often, every 2-5 years, scout it well and go hunting. If you go in cold, you will likely be frustrated. Our mule deer are struggling vs the recent past, but good fun hunting is still out there.

 

[MCS]

Don't expect to see a lot of deer in Oregon. The age class of bucks is good in some units but there are so few deer you might not find a mature bucks in the time you have to hunt.

 

[BlacktailTracker]

Just got back from a trip to the east side of OR. We saw 250+ mule deer, all on public land, and all concentrated in one 7 mile ish stretch of what I presume is their winter range. Quite a few young small 2x3 - 4x4 bucks. There was one group of 4 bucks that were all 20”+ 4x4 types with the best one being around 25” wide and 155” class.

We only saw one old mature buck with a group of 7 does. 28” ish very heavy 2x3. Very impressive looking buck. We covered about 1/4 of the very large unit, only that one spot held deer, the rest we covered was completely barren of deer with little to no sign. We were there at first and last light, mid day you would not see but a few.

A different E OR unit I’ve hunted on and off since the mid 90’s used to give out up to 1,200 tags at its peak, most years 600-750. In 2025 under 300 tags. I used to see 50+ deer a day there in the areas I frequented, now single digits in the same areas.

If you want to start hunting the east side my advice is to pick a unit you can draw often, every 2-5 years, scout it well and go hunting. If you go in cold, you will likely be frustrated. Our mule deer are struggling vs the recent past, but good fun hunting is still out there.

Thanks for the information. I'm willing to work hard to find them. Hunting a unit every 2-5 years is gonna be my strategy. I'm located in central oregon so I can drive any direction to scout.

 

[BlacktailTracker]

Oregon legit sucks

Lol you're not wrong, but I got to work with the hand I got.