Story by Keith Ridler

The Bulletin

To be a hunter, you need wide open spaces and game to hunt.

And those are two things Central Oregon has in abundance.

Central Oregon’s huntable land is made up of the Deschutes and Ochoco districts. The Deschutes District is divided into five hunting units: Metolius, Upper Deschutes, Paulina, and small parts of the Wagontire and Fort Rock. The Ochoco District has three hunting units: Grizzly, Ochoco and Maury.

The hunting units range from mountainous (Ochoco and Upper Deschutes) to mostly forested (Metolius) to just about all sagebrush (Wagontire). Some units contain elements of all terrains.

”You have typical high desert habitat to open pine forest to fairly heavy conifer-type forest,” said Steven George, an ODFW biologist based in Bend. ”You have a variety of different habitats that you can go to hunt in. That’s probably one thing a lot of places don’t have that huge diversity.”

Inhabiting this widely disparate habitat are a wide variety of game species.

Elk are present in all the units, with the Maury and Ochoco managed for trophy animals. That limits the number of hunters allowed in the units but results in larger elk, with a fair number of five- and six-pointers taken each year.

That means hunting tags for those two units are some of the most sought after in the state.

Conversely, those units are managed at the other end of the spectrum for deer, with more hunters allowed.

The Paulina Unit has been historically a good producer of mule deer, said George, though numbers are down somewhat in recent years.

Central Oregon also contains two wilderness areas the Three Sisters and Mount Jefferson that hold some trophy mule deer for hunters willing to travel on foot or horseback.

Hunters can also pursue Pronghorn antelope, black bears, cougars and bobcats.

Large ranches, particularly in the Ochoco District, have in the last decade began offering ”fee hunting.” Basically, landowners sell access rights to hunters, who then have the opportunity to hunt game on private land.

Many of the big game hunts in Central Oregon are controlled, meaning hunters must be fortunate enough to draw a tag to hunt deer or elk. But there are several hunts that can be participated in simply by purchasing a tag.

Cost for a resident hunting license is $17.50, and less for hunters who fall in special categories. The cost for tags varies according to species. A deer tag is $14.40, and a tag for elk is $29.50.

A Sports Pac is a good deal for some. It costs $105 and includes a combination hunting/angling license and tags for deer, elk, bear, cougar and turkey.

The hunting seasons for different game species varies. The 2001 Oregon Big Game Regulations booklet explains in detail the dates and areas for different hunts. The free booklet is available at sporting good shops and ODFW offices.

Waterfowl and upland game bird hunting is popular in Central Oregon as well, though knowing specifically were to go for each particular species is important.

Pheasant hunting is limited in the region, and in the Ochoco District, waterfowl hunting is somewhat of a challenge as most of the best hunting area are on private land.

Turkey hunting has come on strong in the last decade in the Ochoco National Forest’s Metolius, Grizzly and Ochoco units.