I have a cousin who loves the outdoors, living in the portland area. He hunts deer and is a fishing fool, but has never hunted elk. He wants me to come up and hunt w/ him in the two zones that are outside of Tillamook. I was wondering if anyone has hunted there for these rosevelts? How good is the area? Any tips? I would appreciate any input from someone who has been there. Thanks.

Who said we have elk in Oregon? Sorry they're all gone,they left! just kidding.I grew up on the Oregon coast,living in the valley now.I lived a few miles out of Tillamook in Bay City.Of the two units,I prefer the Wilson unit which is the site of the Tillamook Burn,in the 30s,the elk rebounded after and I think its still the best in the area.Its extremely rough country so be sure your'e both in shape for it as theres hordes of valley folks (and coasties)in there road hunting,you'll want to get off the beaten path.Make sure your buddy gets in there before the season or better yet does his deerhunting in there and knows the area and where your're going.I.E. get the homework done.Your'e up against some stiff competition,beleive me those Tillamook county boys put in some work,know the area!The last elk I shot down there I spotted from a mile or two away,and ended up having to drive 12 miles on logging roads to get across two rivers and get within a quarter mile of him,to begin the stalk.Shot him from about 100 yds and then realized the rig was at least a quarter mile uphill,up there somewhere in that cloud!Get every road map available,BLM,foresty service,etc.This of course also applys to the Trask Unit of course.Also 10X50 binoculars and good spotting scopes.The best luck I'v had other than early morning,is early to mid afternoon,along the edges of clear cuts.Big animals they get up to feed often.I'll be there in one of the units.Also check the regs,first season in the Trask and Wilson is mid deer season and the second is Spike only.
Jeff

I'd have to second jrs' opinions. It is really rough hunting. It is steep, thick, and wet. There are some huge elk in there, however. I've seen some big herds with big bulls in the salmonberry canyon. But getting to them is hard.

Good Luck,

-Steve

Don't believe what you hear, there are no elk near the coast...well, maybe a couple.

Does your cousin have a 4X4? if so I would focus on the trask unit if you don't care about quality horns other wise the Wilson unit has better quality as well as larger body elk. The area that I hunt whenever I don't draw a controlled elk tag is again in the Trask unit between Browns camp and Henry Hagg lake.What neat about this area is that at Browns camp everybody(non-hunting purposes) ride their ATV, dirtbike and 4X4 which pushes the elk herds toward Henry Hagg lake and meanwhile all the fishermans, runner and mountain biker pushes them towards Brown camp from Henry Hagg lake, so therefore the elk are pretty much stay in a 10 mile radius. What would be even better if you have a motorcycle or a rotak being that there are trails everywhere to ride on, but it is very easy to get lost. Also if your cousin decide to go scouting before elk hunting season and comes across gated road on private timber land, he needs to know that most private timber land opened their gates for hunters in the fall.
Good luck.

THANKS GUYS! I really appreciate it the info.

Two years ago I spend some days in Oregon.
I travel from Portland to Boise in Idaho.
Very nice part of the US .On the tripp I saw a lot of ELK near the road.
Must be a nice place for hunt!
HKW

Spike...

Those photos wouln't be from the Jewell wildlife refuge - Would they???

Herr Hauke,

I assume that you saw most of those elk in Eastern Oregon. Those would be Rocky Mountain elk. They live in much more huntable habitat, IMHO. It's much more open and dryer on the Eastern side than the Western side (Roosevelt elk, sub species of Rocky Mt. elk). But both sides can be un-godly steep .

Take Care,

-Steve

Steve,you are right!
Is there a difference between the Rockymountain and the Roosevelt Elk?
With Waidmannsheil from Germany

JDS,

No problem butting in. I'm sure most people know more about this subject than I.

Herr Hauke,
Here is an interesting article on the various sub-species of Elk:

http://www.bowhunting.net/NAspecies/elk1.html#subspecies

Take Care,

-Steve