After 20 years of applying, I finally drew a Wenaha unit bull tag in Northeastern Oregon. Many believe it is the very best unit in Oregon for large public land bulls. I’d been playing the points game in almost all western states, and this was the final state in which I had significant elk points. Being my home state for the last 15 years, I’ve been able to hunt Oregon with over-the-counter archery or rifle tags while continuing to accumulate points.
For the last several years, I had been researching the unit and knew that even though there were a lot of elk in the unit, it would not be easy to take a big bull. It’s big country, and during the rifle season, big bulls can be hard to find. For that reason, I started talking to Brian Sanders from Oregon Backcountry Outfitting three years ago. Brian was raised in the Wallowas and has hunted and guided in the area for years. He also runs the Wallowa Pack Station near Joseph, Oregon, so he spends a great deal of time in the mountains. He puts multiple people in the mountains watching and looking for bulls throughout the year. With 20 points, Brian felt I was likely to draw this year but emphasized that I needed to be in good shape and be able to shoot well. I spent the summer and early fall getting in shape and shooting my rifle. As October 28th approached, I felt I was ready for the hunt.
I arrived at elk camp on the afternoon of October 25th to 15 degree temperatures and about 6 inches of snow. I spent the next day acclimatizing to the area and getting my gear ready. On October 27th, we rode horses to a spike camp in the wilderness area. Our camp was located on a ridge overlooking a number of deep, isolated canyons. Our plan was to hike the ridges and finger ridges to try to spot post-rut bulls in their secluded recovery areas. Brian and his team had targeted three large bulls that they had seen during the archery season that they thought were in the general area. That afternoon, we hiked to a vantage point overlooking a couple of canyons and spotted several bulls, including a 7x7 from his target list. Based on the location of that bull, we made our plan for opening morning.
We were up and out of camp before first light and hiked about one mile down the ridge to a position above where we had last seen the 7x7. Along the way, we hiked down a couple of finger ridges to try to get our eyes on the bull. We had encounters with a couple of smaller bulls and a few cows as we moved down the canyon. The terrain was steep and thick with timber. Occasionally, we could hear the bull grunt. We moved down a finger ridge and felt we were within 150 yards of the bull, but we couldn’t see him. By late morning, the wind shifted and started blowing down towards the bull and we made the decision to work around the basin and try to approach the bull from the other side of the canyon.
It took us 90 minutes to cross the canyon. Along the way, we met up with one of Brian’s guides who had spotted another bull from the target list located in the same canyon but in a slightly more accessible location. One of his spotters had last seen this bull two days before in a different canyon about five miles away. We followed a finger ridge deep into the canyon to try to locate and get across from the bull. Near the bottom of the canyon, we were able to locate the bull feeding in thick brush and tall trees. He would feed out into a small opening and disappear into the brush and then feed out again. We ranged him at 445 yards, I set up my scope on the next opening, which happened to be about the size of his body, and waited for him to appear. After a couple of nervous moments, the bull showed himself. I put the crosshairs behind his front shoulder and squeezed. The bull jerked at the shot and turned into the hill. I could just see his rack and outline of his body above the brush. I put the crosshairs below the antlers and put a second round into his back. He collapsed and rolled down the hill.
It took us 45 minutes to cross the canyon and locate the bull. The bottom of the canyon was steep, rocky, and choked with brush. It was a perfect location for a big bull to hide. We found the bull lying in alderwood brush that was about 8 feet high and very thick. The bull was absolutely beautiful with a large, wide 6x6 frame and a sticker off his left royal. The antlers were dark with a yellow tinge on the bases from rubbing in the alderwood.
We hiked out in the dark and got back to camp totally worn out. Brian and his wrangler brought in horses the next morning to recover the bull. It was a terrific hunt and certainly worth the wait. Brian and his team, Uncle Bryant, who cooked, John, the wrangler, and all the spotters were a pleasure to work with and great guys to boot. I could not have been more pleased with my hunt.
Oregon Elk
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