Should it be this hard?

[Bugling Bull]

I'm with Whiskey, to me its more about expectations. Kinda like a kid at Christmas who wants something so bad but doesn't get it and is disappointed. He doesn't see all the new toys he got, just see's what he didn't get instead. Over time he gets over it and is back at the tree next year to open those presents just like we are back in the woods doing what we all LOVE to do.

[Old Hunter]

The secret is to get excited, and look forward to the hunt instead of the kill. Impossible to be disappointed that way.

[ivorytip]

amen. latey, unless archery hunting, while hunting i go with the mindset of looking for a good place for a solid bear bait. everything beyond that is a much added bonus. if im working my @$$ off for an elk and dont see any i end up real bummed. if i find a good place to hunt bear and cross some fresh game sign im on cloud heaven.

[Tracker]

With the amount of dry weather we had here in Oregon at the end of the summer and the amount of timber property closed. It was not as productive of a year for animals as years past. I was once told "if I judge my hunt by the success of killing animals then I'm hunting for all the wrong reasons" . It was a very good year.

[Umpqua Hunter]

Timberstalker, you are right, Oregon is a VERY tough state to hunt. As you mentioned, due to the environmental issues, there in very little logging on public land, and it was those clear cuts and the reprod that were the deer and elk factories. Now those areas are so overgrown, they are nearly unhuntable. Also our predator problem (cougar) is out of control. I had game cam pics of four different cougars behind my house. I don't think people who haven't hunted the west side of the Cascades have any idea how tough it is to hunt here. If you can be successful here, you can be successful anywhere.

I have lived here in Oregon for the past 30 years and I now do 90% of my hunting out of state. My thoughts are, my time is money, so I'd rather pay for an out of state license and have a great hunt, with success, than hunt weeks in Oregon.

As you may know blacktail deer success tends to run around 15-20% success here, and elk success tends to be closer to 10% in most units statewide. In Wyoming for instance, there are numerous units with two, three, or four times that success rate. I have a general rule of thumb, and that is I know I work harder then the average hunter and can usually have about twice the success on average.

I have very very few good spots here in Oregon, on the other hand, I can pull into a brand new area in Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Arizona or Colorado with no prior on the ground scouting and in a couple days have a fairly good handle on the area I am hunting and have a great hunt. In 25 years of out of state hunting, we have rarely not filled a tag, and when we do, it is usually because we held out too long for a trophy.

I would certainly look into hunting opportunities outside of Oregon, particularly in the better limited entry draw areas.

[Rock 2.0]

It took me years to get my first buck. I learned so much, and more importantly got to spend time doing what I loved the most. Hunting is less about the kill than the whole experience to me. Seeing the sunrise over the mountains in the morning, finding a new spot to work over, the heart pounding that comes with seeing nice deer. All that and more. Since that first buck I haven't failed to fill at least one deer tag, I think those years of trying and failing taught me ALOT! And I am thankful for every day in the woods. So stick with it, analyze this year and what you could have done differently and get pumped for next year!

[Timberstalker]

It took me years to get my first buck. I learned so much, and more importantly got to spend time doing what I loved the most. Hunting is less about the kill than the whole experience to me. Seeing the sunrise over the mountains in the morning, finding a new spot to work over, the heart pounding that comes with seeing nice deer. All that and more. Since that first buck I haven't failed to fill at least one deer tag, I think those years of trying and failing taught me ALOT! And I am thankful for every day in the woods. So stick with it, analyze this year and what you could have done differently and get pumped for next year!

My story is a little differant. I started out being very successful. I killed my first buck when I was 12, by the time I was 21 I stopped shooting small bucks, it was getting too easy. Now im 42 and way more experianced than I was even 10 years ago. I have a hard time finding any buck now days. I took my step daughter on her first hunt this year. She was able to get a tag for a unit that takes at least 3 years to draw though the "first time hunter" program. I hunted her for 5 days as hard as she could stand without it becoming a job, she really wanted a deer! We saw one buck that she never got a shot at. For a unit that takes 3 years to draw, it shouldn't be that hard.

[DryFlyGuy]

Based on the information you've provided, my opinion is that it should not be that hard. I would try hunting some different areas if I were you.

[marcusvdk]

Well said bitterroot. I have also hunted much hard this year and been out hunting a lot more then normal and been unsuccessful so far getting close to the end of deer season out here in michigan. But my buddy goes out for 3 days gets 3 deer, his dad out for 2 days 2 deer and my dad out for 10 days and gets a deer (all but one was a doe). Sometimes its just not your year you just got to keep it up and keep trying you can't get something if your not out there. And being apart of other peoples success can help keep you encouraged to keep trying.

[goatpoop]

This was a frustrating year for myself. I spent about 11 days during archery and did not hear a single bugle while hunting. I had gotten permission to hunt on limited public land for three days. On the first day I spotted about 30 elk in with a decent bull. The terrain was flat and there were some hills. I spent about an hour or two getting within two hundred yards. As I was crawling to close the distance, the ranchers came onto that section to gather their cattle. That caused the elk to spook out of there. I understand getting cattle out but that early in the day. The next I went into the timber area, ran into some elk and by the time I saw them it was too late. My scent was going towards them. The elk did not know what I was and walk out their. As soon as they were out sight I ran to slash pile and had elk cross in front of me. A 300' 6 point stepped out last as I pulled my bow back. As I looked at him through my pins, I realized he was too far away. 73 yards to be exact, way beyond my shooting abilities.
Luckily I was able to shoot a small bull during opening day of rifle. For some reason he was bugling all morning. I'm glad I could fill my freezer but I wanted to shoot an elk with bow. I will have to utilize my game cameras more and do more scouting this summer. I'm still looking for a new honey hole. Maybe I will check out all these new burns for game. Hopefully it will not be another smokey and hot fall again.