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Oregon Alsea and siuslaw units

Kevvy711

New member
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
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Location
Davison, michigan
Anybody ever hunt these units. I see tags are over the counter and field and stream had it as a number 1 public lad elk hunt. I just wonder if there would be a ton of hunters in it after the publication came out. Also I heard they get some nice trophies out of here.
 
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I just finished up spending a week up there for my first OTC tag bull hunt. It is some of the hardest terrain/brush I've ever hunted. Extremely steep and heavy brush. Imagine spending 45 minutes following a game trail that parallels a road, and it taking only 3 minutes to walk back to the quad where you started. Out of the four of us, we didn't even see one elk on public land. Saw them plenty on private though. I put in about 3-7 miles a day on foot through the brush, mostly on overgrown roads and down a few draws but as it was my first time, it was more of a learning process than a hunting trip. The elk sign is there, but the elk are tough to find. Also found out from a local that the forrest service disperses the herds with fired blanks a few days before the season. That sure doesn't help fill the freezer! And the coast is overrun with hunters, everywhere! Every area was full of road hunters, at least every 3-5 five minutes you would pass a truck. Out of the 15-20 hunters I talked to, only one was successful in seeing a spike on the road, then chasing it down a hill to get a shot. Not sure if I'll go back as it's tough to leave the family for a week, spent $1000 on food and tags, and come back empty to the old lady pissed off because the newborn was cranky. And if you go, stay away from Baker Beach just north of Florence. No elk and it's chock full of hungry mountain lions. I had one stalk me for quite some time and try to ambush me from 15' away. Got super lucky catching eye shine and was able to get a shot off in it's direction to scare it away!
 
Just to be clear in the most brushy overgrown jungle terrain you've ever hunted the forest service disperses the elk before the season?? Wonder how they find em...
Be skeptical of what you hear in small towns from I-5 to 101...
 
Just to be clear in the most brushy overgrown jungle terrain you've ever hunted the forest service disperses the elk before the season?? Wonder how they find em...
Be skeptical of what you hear in small towns from I-5 to 101...

They disperse them from there usual hangouts, mostly in the few meadows that do exist on public land. And, oh you wonder how they find them?? Maybe, just maybe because they work there year round and keep track of the herds:rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the info. Sounds like more hunters than I want to deal with. Maybe I'll keep searching some other areas. Any more info is still appreciated.
 
From Skkeeter's response, it sounds like it might be a pretty good spot. ;)
 
" I see tags are over the counter and field and stream had it as a number 1 public land elk hunt."

You might let that subscription run out.
 
Hmmm...you hiked for 45 min then got back to your quad. You talked to 20 guys and one guy saw one from the road. It's tough to run into 20 guys when you're off'n the road, just sayin. From the years I spent there I will say that the Alsea unit is probaby one of the worst road hunting units around.
 
Hmmm...you hiked for 45 min then got back to your quad. You talked to 20 guys and one guy saw one from the road. It's tough to run into 20 guys when you're off'n the road, just sayin. From the years I spent there I will say that the Alsea unit is probaby one of the worst road hunting units around.

Since your all over my ass to explain everything about my posts.......... I spent 7 days up there total. 3 scouting and 4 hunting. Spent two days and two nights in one spot. Venturing out on the quad and hiking every available place I could find that didn't involve dropping 1000' off the side the ridges. Most of it was game trails, and old grown over logging roads. We were at 1700' in that area. Left it the 3rd day and spent the rest of the season driving around in "trucks" scouting new areas. Mostly just looking for good sign and hunt able areas away from others. So yeah, did a lot of hiking, a lot of driving, and a lot of talking. Feel better now?
 
I have sentimental attachment to the Alsea unit and Whiney Rd in general. It's where I cut my teeth on my hunting career. I spent a week archery hunting a herd of 100 elk that I saw every day and never got a chance at a shot. I would walk into the woods with my bow in hand and set down in a spot for no reason and have bulls walk right by me and I'd screw it up somehow. I'd set my bow down to take a whizz and while holding my short bow a bull walked 15' behind me...of course this was all before I really knew what I was doing so nothing like that has happened since.
One thing that comes to mind is that it was the #1 public land elk hunt...not that I agree with F&S but there are bull elk, there are big ones and there's tons of public land.
It's also a freakin jungle out there!! It's thick and can easily be discouraging. If you're lookin from the road you will not do well. The ones that shoot em from the road are loggers and they know to the minute when a herd will be in a specific place. If the animals are visible it's for a short period of time, then they're on the edges of clearcuts. A herd can be bedded down 20' into the treeline of a cut and you could glass it for hours and never know they're there.
I've actually been on the edge of a clearcut waiting for a herd to come into the timber and watched guys glass the cut from the road and not see em.
The Oregon coast range is a very difficult place to hunt and consistently have success.
 
While I don't know about the units in question....if you're only walking for 45 minutes and not willing to drop/gain 1000 feet in elevation to hunt public land elk, success will likely be hard to come by.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome to the forums guys......... Just trying to relate my experience to the op, but get snubbed in the process and taken out of context. Guess I should of stuck to the forums where my post count is bigger and my join date is older.
 
No I am not an Oregon resident

The reason I was asking is because, IMHO, if your gonna pay for a non-resident tag you will have alot more opportunity in CO, MT, or WY.

I have hunted the OR coastal units and consistent success can be had, but it is tough no doubt. I stopped hunting there for a reason. I believe rifle success rates are in single digits. I think you'll see alot more elk in other areas.
 
Just to cut thru the fat, those two hunts are a long long way from the best public land hunts in this state.
OTC tags and "best hunt" don't go hand in hand in any state.
 
I myself just got done hunting the Oregon coast. I actually live on the west side of the valley in the Siuslaw unit. I hunted most of the OTC deer hunt and the 1st coastal elk. Yes its like a jungle, yes there's a lot of people and yes there is a lot of elk. Its just not easy at all to hunt.
 
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