I have mentioned this before, but most laugh about the shear though of wearing sunglasses while hunting Pronghorn – Antelope or any other game animal.
A funny thing when a customer of mine told me about his Pronghorn hunt in Wyoming with a bow. The buck was coming in close to his blind. Like most humans he blinked and the startled Lope jump and head to the distant hills. By my experiences I have learned to know that especially Pronghorn have better sight than me and can see my eyes above all else. It they can’t see your eyes, they can’t tell your human! Take heed on this! Bwana Bubba
I personally liked the green lens with brown frames. Bwana BubbRay Ban Seafaer are easy to raise when glasses.
A hunter should make contact with a Game Biologist. In the State of Oregon, these biologist are very happy to help. As one biologist that I have know for more than 30 years once told me “my job is to help and without hunters, I would not have a job”
ODFW has a major budget deficit and last year came up with idea of special tags big game tags, creating some cash flow revenue. Those that got one of the special tags through a drawing might just have a chance to hunt most anywhere and with a rifle even hunt during a bow season or extended season. Many older hunters have just given up hunting, as their old haunts just don’t have the game as it was prior to 2000. Other than the old boys in the hunting culture, I do not believe that the younger generation has caught up with the problem of predators.
Seems all great, but we have a real problem with the big game population in this state. I spend much of my time from April to August taking wildlife pictures and working areas at key times of the day looking for big game. In just 4 short years many of the great haunts are void of the great bucks that I would find. The Cougars especially have worked over the area well. I won’t waste my time to hunt these areas anymore. I have move into the rural areas closer to the city to find game… The Cougars use to follow the game coming down from the mountains during the winter months. Now with the shortage of game to eat, they are now showing up in the lower valleys in the summer months. It may seem to those reading that I am bias, but I am not. It is about what is more important, the chance for someone to see a Cougar, Wolf or even a Bear in the wild or preserving the big game that you can see anytime. Once the game is gone from the area the predators with move to new feeding grounds. It takes the depleted area a fairly long time to recover the mature bucks and bulls in the area.
Bear season Oregon is a bit different and not all year long. The draw tag season from April 1st, to May 31st normally. The general season opens August 1st and ends December 31st on the west side of the Cascades and November 30th on the east side of the Cascades. So one has to glass and find bears, a bit tougher to do, than getting a do to tree a bear. Government hunters can do whatever to get a problem area done. Special tags are issued for timber companies to handle bears in Oregon…
I believe that anyone that is hunting in Oregon should have a Cougar tag and Bear tag on their person. Many times hunters have run into the overabundance of Cougars in a particular area and shot a Cougar, did not have a tag. You will be ticketed and in some cases it could have been life and dead encounter, you might or might not get out of the ticket if caught.
In Closing: I will give a few instances for 2016 from some of hunting buddies, plus I will put out a few key areas with onXmaps HUNT map pictures for those that want to challenger their talents to find a Cougars. Bear season is just about over, but send me and email and I can direct you to spots in the future.
2016 Owyhee Deer Hunt: MJ and BO drew the tags for the great Owyhees in Oregon. In the day as I remember the Owyhees, the bucks were big and plentiful, sort of a pick and choose hunt for big Mulies. MJ and BO have private land to hunt on breaks of the Oregon/Idaho border on the Oregon side. Having done a great deal of planning and making calls, they truly thought they had it dialed in. The land was in prime condition for Mule deer habitat. During their week hunt, only a few small bucks were seen, remembering they had made an early scouting trip in August 2016, with the same results. The local ODFW biologist told them they hit at the wrong time… Very experience hunters that in the past were used to finding big Mulies. The hunters over on the Idaho side still have the Mulies of size, as they control the Cougars still with dogs.
2011 Archery Elk/Deer Hunt: Another hunting partner from my past went to a new haunt near an old haunt. This is an area that the government hunter has taken out more Cougars than 4 times the quota of the Cascades, which are 271. ST has during bow season taken a Cougar and on the same day could have taken another one. 2016 he had two Cougars at 100 yards from him at this ground blind. His 1911 could not get the job done at 100 yards in the timber. I also feel they are braver and human scent or the fact Cougars are keen on knowing, fear little. Deer were very scarce, though the elk were in good numbers. The Heppner Unit has been known as an elk breeding area…
My son this year (2106) during a rifle deer hunt near an RV Park outside of a rural town jumped two mature Cougars. He did not have a tag and knew what would happen if he had killed them. The deer population was way down and the team only got one 2 year old deer about 2 miles from the sighting…
Another comment is from my buddy Mark D., who lives near Oregon City, Oregon on 90 acres. Five Cougars have been sighted during the month of August 2016 around this place. His place is within 15 minutes of a major city. The deer are way done on this place, as he has cameras out. Just recently he caught sight of one decent Blacktail buck. The elk have not been on his place for more than 6 months.
2016 Pronghorn hunt for one of my onXmaps HUNT hunters. I had suggested him talk to one of the ranchers in the flat lands in the Steen’s Mountains Unit. He was told by the rancher that the Pronghorn are scare, less than 5 years ago they were pest on the ranches and farming lands. The big C word (Cougars) came out. The hunters had to hunt very hard to find a good buck, not a monster. The Steen’s Mountains of Oregon once produced the #2 B & C Pronghorn… Those us that have hunted the Steen’s Mountains for big Mulies, which are gone now. No longer a pick and choose style of hunting there. The Steen’s at one time was 4X4 or better hunt…
Let us not forget about the resilient Coyote that roams all of North American. Ever thought about asking a chicken or duck farmer to hunt the Coy Dogs that will lay in wait free roaming egg layers…
So in reality the states that have a problem with predators are the same states (metropolitan cities) that were Blue in the recent election, giving the point that we know those that are the loudest and not using their common sense for the good of all…
“There is a place for predators, but they should not replace renewable resources in nature”
“The elected politicians of any state must take in account the outcome of a bad decision that they have made bowing down to a small load group of “Tree Huggers”, much like the Old Growth Spotted Owl farce”
A few photo from onXmaps HUNT IPAD Mobile Mapping:
The Warner Unit in Oregon, known for Pronghorn, Deer and even Elk. A key spot for removal of Cougars.A great deal of B.L.M. in the Steen’s Mountains, near Diamond, Oregon. Elk, Deer and Pronghorn roam these hills. This area was well now for big Mulies…This is the east slope of the Steen’s Mountains. Big Horn Sheep, Deer and Pronghorn work this area from the valley floor to 10,000 feet. Cougars have been working all of the Steen’s for a long time.This map is of an area in the Rogue Unit in Oregon. The Cougars have worked close to Willow Lake RV Resort. The Blacktail population is down from previous years.onXmaps HUNT Oregon chip and GIS hunt map.
The bedding area!
Through time in the field, knowledge comes to all!
None us come out knowing everything. So over the years I have absorbed a great deal of knowledge about hunting Pronghorn – Antelope that roam the high plains and arid lands of the United States. Pronghorns are one of the most magnificent mammals that has survived since the Ice Age. It is one of the few living links to the Ice Age. They are an ancient species dating back about 20 million years and are the lone survivors of a family of hoofed mammals found only in North America (Antilocapridae) A little history class for hunters!
A nice heavy buck, maybe next year!
Oregon truly is a sleeper state for hunting Pronghorn – Antelope – Lope or Dinosaurs! Problem is getting a tag for resident or even non-resident. Many non-resident hunters put in for many states, with the hope of drawing. As for those of use that live in Oregon, getting a tag runs from 8 to 25 years for a rifle tag and 1 to 3 years for archery. Sometimes you might be lucky and draw a tag based on the hold back tags put in random draw. As a biologist friend of mine once told me Oregon’s Pronghorn units all hold Boone & Crockett warrantable bucks. Biggest problem is holding out for the big buck, judging bucks, know the whereabouts and what unit has the best possible chance for a trophy buck.
This archery buck scored 78″ 13 1/2″ with 6 1/2″ Prongs.
We did not go blindly into the hunt unit, as there was a game plan to check out many different areas of the unit in a short period of time. We did get into the unit prior to the hunt by one full day to scout. We had about 4 game plans with the A, B, C, and D plan changing with the sighting of bucks. The final plan of the day became a A plan for the opening morning. I was successful on my first Pronghorn hunt to get a buck that scored 85″. He and his does had come into the same waterhole that we had seen them at, the evening before. At about 0715 the buck came to the waterhole. The rest is history at 250 yards from the rocks! Point being prepared and having options on the hunt.
This buck scored 85″ after be on the fireplace mantel for a year. He is 16 5/8″ with 6″ Prongs. Prongs are high on the horn, a key element.
Over the following years in this particular unit it put out many trophy Pronghorns. This does not include the ones that a few missed during the hunts and the hunter came up empty handed…
One of the greatest lessons that I learned with hunting Pronghorns is the use of the binoculars and patience. Finding vantage points and glassing over massive areas. Pronghorns have always been the animal, you don’t see me now, but wait long enough I will be standing there. Amazing creature that has intrigued me for many decades. Even on that first hunt, we glassed from afar and it paid off. I always look for mass from a side profile of the head. If warranted, I have a spotting scope to do a better judgement of the buck. Many times the heat waves in the high desert are so bad that there seems to be an illusion of what you see. So seeing the side profile is most important. Length is not always as important as mass and the high of the prongs (cutters) on the horn.
Mapping is very important for hunters, whether it is Pronghorn hunting or any other movement in the outdoors. I find it is almost as important as the optics and the weapon of choice.
Until recently, lets say 1998, most of us would have B.L.M. maps or other maps to find places to hunt. The GPS came along and it was OK, to know where you were, but not much good to know where to go. A few software companies tried back then, but were crude and not very accurate. Along comes onXmaps HUNT (2008) and what a success story for the company and the people that use their products. It is a lot of fun to have knowledge of places to hunt (landmarks), take them and mark them in the mapping software on the computer and then move them to the GPS. A great way to share information that is accurate. Like having a snapshot of a hillside that you have seen, but now you get to remember where it is. Better yet, at times when using the software and Google Earth via the laptop to Garmin GPS, it like watching TV… Remember by using this software, you might even be able to find a rancher or farmer that dislike Dinosaurs and will give you permission. For DIY you’ll find that you just might not need a guide for out of state hunts. Many got it figured out how to hunt public land for Pronghorns! onXmaps HUNT
BLM and the Private Food Plot via Google Earth and onXmaps HUNTYou figure it out how you want to hunt. Find legal land and game! From onXmaps HUNT VieweronXmaps HUNT mapping from the computer.
We all have options on what caliber to hunt with for Pronghorns and my thoughts are no different. Having many calibers to choose from, I am a firm believer to go big on this medium size mammal. It is not the fact that a 243 Win, or 257 Weatherby won’t get the job done, but I don’t remember to many times that the wind was not howling after the sun comes up. My favorite light caliber is the 257 Weatherby, but if I get one chance to get a tag in 15 years and I have to make that 500 yard shot due to not being able to crawl within 250 yards, I will take my 30cal to get the job done. Shrugging your shoulders with that comment, just think about not getting there with the shot… There are many great calibers and my first was taken with a 7mm Remington Mag. Overkill, ya it might be, but still a 30 cal 180 grain that is going to make a hole in and out most likely. I do know I will have a kill shot and and not have to track the buck very far in most cases. One has to be comfortable with the rifle and trust what it will do or what you can do.
This archery buck score 86″ 14 1/2″ with 8″ Prongs. Very heavy mass.
This brings up another subject: Making sure you have great shot placement and anchor the Pronghorn down. Tracking for trying to find a Pronghorn in the sagebrush after a hit from afar, might just lead to not finding it. Years ago one of my hunters that I gave waypoints to shot a monster lope in a large sagebrush flat. It was late and darkness was fast approaching. He decide to wait for morning! A great mistake as one loses focus of what he or she might have seen with the shot. With a Pronghorn left overnight, the coyotes have already taken are of it. You might be lucky to find the horns, but in many cases the horns have been taken care of also. Anchor the animal as with any animal in it’s tracks or close proximity.
In my time I have done a great deal of scouting and researching of Pronghorn or Antelope as most call this great animal from the past in Oregon and the rest of the Western States, where they roam in huntable numbers. For archery hunters in many of the Western States you have a chance to hunt every year for Antelope. Whereas with a rifle you might have to wait some 8-25 years to draw a tag, at least in the Oregon. I have hunters in Oregon that are now hunting almost every year with the bow. A great challenge to hunt with the bow, but what a rush and accomplishment to harvest up close and personal. You’ll find hunting with the bow for Antelope a great sport that you won’t be able to stop doing. I have been told by my hunters that they have had the best experience hunting Antelope over anything else they have hunted in North America. It could be that they see a lot of Antelope while hunting them. Since competition for tags is so great, some of use will wait the whatever years to get the rifle tag, get it done and the following years put in for a bow tag. Not many years ago in Oregon and I am sure in other states, you put in for a rifle tag and make your second choice a bow tag. I do believe that I did this at least 10 times over the years. Very fortunate to have harvest a number of great bucks with the arrow. Now I find that many are taking great bucks with the arrow in many hunt units in many states.
This is a great buck, worthy of any wall! Didn’t have a tag, but hunting season was upon us. 100 foot photo op!
I one thing I have learned after all these years and not even being in some of my old haunts for many years, is that Pronghorn are animals of habit from generation to generation. They cover the same ground and do the same things from one generation to another. Most of the land in which they live never changes. There was one buck that my friends & hunters chased for about three years and never got. I really wanted him for myself is what all thought. He would be located in the same spot within a 1/4 mile and escape basically the same way. His escape route was not one you could cover and he knew it. Now if we ambushed him in his normal spot he could have been taken. He was one of the biggest Antelope I ever hunted. I did get one hunter on him at very close range with a standing broadside at 250 yards. He missed the buck and the hunt was over for him! The hunter who I knew well told me he had been a Marine Sniper… A few years back I went back to a spot which I hunted and guided about 20 years ago. The only thing that had changed is the B.L.M. put a solar power water pump on a water hole in one of my favorite spots. Even the old ranchers sign was still there and he had been gone for a long time. The sign had stated in so many words that you were crossing into his lands. This happen to be B.L.M. that he leased, but did not own. Now you know one of the reasons to have a mapping and gps system that lets you know your legal. Many times my hunters tell me, “WOW”, you were right on the money for Lopes being there…
This is a great buck taken in Oregon also in a 2 season unit.
I have seen mature bucks standing in the middle of a back country road in B.L.M., marking the road. No, not by scratching but by urinating in the middle of road. Once someone knows some of the peculiar habits of Antelope, you can use it to your advantage. Such is the case a couple of years ago when I spot a group of Antelope in a 5 tag unit. I wanted the picture of the buck and just knew he would go around the mountain and want to get back into the hole. He did just that and my son asked how did you know?
Not a big buck in a 5 tag unit, but it was nice to be able to read his mind! He cut my path at about 75 yards, trying to double back to the basin!
I have taken a great deal of Antelope with the bow and all but a rifle kill has been from stalking. A great deal of the bow hunters I know do wait on water, but you have to have patience. One of my GPS Hunters – Bowhunters sat for two (2) days for more than 12 hours. He as been successful two (2) years in a row on the same waterhole. I do love to stalk them and arrow them before they know I am there. Antelope do lay in the sagebrush flats and with a lot of glassing from a vantage point you can find them and stalk within bow range easily.
Which one is the shooter in this crowd?
Note: Then there is the issue with sunglasses, I will always wear sunglasses (favorite are Ray-Ban Wayfarer-easy to lift with bino’s with no bind) during the day and “Photo Grays” for the evening hunts. I felt if the game, especially Antelope can’t see my eyes or movement then I could close the gap on them even easier once spotted. I always wore a hat and a backpack with the spotting scope & tripod sticking out of the top. It is what it is with habits and wearing the same pants on every hunt!
Most experience hunters have their ways to hunt game, whether it is from stalking, waiting, ambush or just being lucky and walking into a shoot-able animal. It is whatever works for you, that makes the hunt!
You also have to be patient and let the smaller bucks (“VILLAGE IDIOTS”) go by, so you can harvest the trophy buck.
Just a short little video of a nice buck ( we had him set for the following year) in the Grizzly Hunt Unit in Oregon: Pronghorn in the Big Muddy!
Frank, Here’s my story. Dylan
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Cathedral Rock access debated • Backers aim to open up the John Day; critics say the plan hampers non-floaters…
By Dylan J. Darling / The Bulletin The question surrounding the proposed Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven Wilderness Area Act is clear on a map. Just west of the planned 8,686-acre Cathedral Rock Wilderness Area runs Muddy Creek Road, a dusty and bumpy Jefferson County byway. The right angles of the proposed public land boundary mimic the curves of the old road, leaving a ribbon of private land between the public road and the wilderness. Supporters of the federal-for-private land swap that would make Cathedral Rock a reality say the buffer benefits the public and wildlife, creating a wilderness focused on access from the John Day River. Critics of the plan say it makes access difficult for members of the public who would recreate on public land, particularly hikers and hunters. “One of the major goals is to expand the amount of public ownership along the (John Day River),” said Brent Fenty, executive director for the Bend-based Oregon Natural Desert Association. The group has been working with the private landowners and advocating for the wilderness designation for more than three years. He said the plan would make public a four-mile stretch of the river, adding about a dozen campsites for rafters on an increasingly popular run. While the river would provide a route into the wilderness, it wouldn’t be an easy one, said former Madras mayor Rick Allen. He said anyone looking to hunt or hike the land would have to first float the river unless they had permission from the landowners to cross the private land between the road and wilderness. “I don’t understand why anyone would be supporting this,” he said. Wilderness push Sens. Ron Wyden, and Jeff Merkley, Oregon Democrats, are co-sponsors of the Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven Wilderness Act, which could be lumped together in an omnibus bill for congressional approval with two dozen other wilderness bills spread around 12 states. The Campaign for America’s Wilderness, a program of the Washington-based Pew Environmental Group, called for combining the separate bills into an omnibus bill in November newspaper ads. While he had heard the question about access before, David Dreher, manager for the Pew Campaign for America’s Wilderness, said Cathedral Rock would be a part of the omnibus. “It would be a great win for Central Oregon,” Dreher said. The bill has not been introduced in Congress, which has about a week left in its session, he said. The 112th Congress could be only the second Congress to designate no new wilderness areas since the 1964 Wilderness Act established the process. The 113th Congress is seated in January. Spokespeople for the two Oregon senators said they also are aware of the concerns about access, particularly from elected leaders in Jefferson County, but they still support the plan. “(Sen. Wyden) believes it addresses multiple land ownership challenges presented by the current checkerboard while giving the public more access than it currently has now without the problem of trespassing on private land,” wrote Tom Towslee, Wyden’s spokesman in Oregon, in an email. The Cathedral Rock segment would be named after a rock along the John Day River, and the Horse Heaven segment would be named after a mountain. Both of the geological features would be in the new wilderness. Merkley’s spokeswoman expressed qualms about the access issue. “Senator Merkley believes the proposed Horse Heaven and Cathedral Rock wilderness area has numerous merits, including improved road access to Horse Heaven, and he continues to support the proposal,” wrote Courtney Warner Crowell, his deputy communications director. “He does believe, however, that legitimate concerns have been raised about public road access to the Cathedral Rock portion and that it would be to considerable public benefit if this concern could be addressed.” Trespassing and poaching On the map, private land surrounds pockets of public acres close to Muddy Creek Road. The situation leads to trespassing and poaching issues, said Fenty, of the Oregon Natural Desert Association. Young Life, a Colorado Springs, Colo.,-based Christian group that runs a camp that draws thousands of middle and high school students each summer, owns most of the private acres involved in the swap. Fenty said it has felt the brunt of the trespassing and poaching problems along Muddy Creek Road. Allen said Young Life would be giving up 8,000 acres, including the riverfront land, in exchange for about 12,000 acres overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. Two other landowners would be involved in the exchanges, which would lead to about 18,000 acres of new wilderness. The Young Life camp, the Washington Family Ranch, is the former compound of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and was once known as Rancho Rajneesh or Rajneeshpuram. An Indian guru, Rajneesh ran the commune in the 1980s before his followers were caught poisoning salad bars in The Dalles and plotting to kill local and state officials. He was eventually deported. Most of the public land around Muddy Creek Road is surrounded by Young Life property. “As the land is currently configured, it is not accessible and usable by the public,” Fenty said. Young Life officials directed calls to Rich Ellerd, ranch manager, who did not return messages left Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday by The Bulletin. Craig Kilpatrick, land use consultant for Washington Family Ranch, in an email response to questions posed by The Bulletin, stated that creating two wilderness areas would bring “greater legal public access than now exists.” Consolidating private holdings presents opportunities for “workable land management” with clearly defined borders for rangeland, agricultural and recreational uses, he wrote. Kilpatrick pointed out that numerous conservation, wildlife advocacy and hunting organizations have endorsed the wilderness bill, including Oregon Wild, the Sierra Club and Trout Unlimited, to name a few. An original wilderness proposal, called Coffin Rock, included a parking area on Muddy Creek Road adjacent to Cherry Creek Ranch, Kilpatrick explained. During negotiations that redefined the wilderness into Cathedral Rock, Cherry Creek’s owners became concerned about public access near the century-old ranch headquarters building, he wrote. Cherry Creek and Young Life representatives were concerned, as well, that those property owners would bear the responsibility for rescuing lost or injured visitors along the unimproved Muddy Creek Road, he wrote. The Cathedral Rock portion of the wilderness proposal would only be accessed by the river. Fenty was quick to point out that the 9,200-acre Horse Heaven portion would be accessible by two roads. Pulled support The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners supported the original proposal for the wilderness, with access off Muddy Creek Road. The commission pulled its support in October 2011. Commissioner Mike Ahern said the current plan would make a wilderness that was a “private little playground” for the landowners along the road while the public would be relegated to floating by it on the river and then hiking out of the river canyon. He doubts that the lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are hearing their complaints, though. “I think the train has left the station,” he said. “I think we are going to get screwed on it.” Matt Smith, manager of the Cherry Creek Ranch, said the access issue is overblown; state hunting tag restrictions would limit use of the private land and hunting in the new wilderness. “There should be no controversy here,” he said. The Cherry Creek Ranch is one of the three private landowners involved in the proposal. Smith said it opposed a prior plan for a parking lot along Muddy Creek Road because the lot would have been close to the ranch headquarters, and visitors would have come right through the property. “You literally can bump your side-view mirror on our barn,” he said. He said the landowners tried to put together a plan for access off the road involving seasonal closures, but the county commissioners rejected the notion. Kilpatrick wrote that Cherry Creek and Young Life proposed gate access and seasonal closures that the commissioners endorsed, a position that changed after four public hearings in which local residents sounded their opposition. Now the landowners are only interested in entering into the swap with the federal government, Smith said, because of the limited access to the wilderness area that could stem trespassing and poaching along Muddy Creek Road. He said chances to preserve parcels like the land around Cathedral Rock don’t come along often, and it could slip away. “It would really be a shame to see such a solid deal, such a solid package as this, to go by,” Smith said. —
You have to read the last post to this story from Mike Willis!
A little update since the writing of this post! Recently after all these years I have found that Diane Campbell, Wild “Bill” Campbell’s wife is still living on the ranch in Pilot Rock, Oregon! 06-09-2018. Diane put up with all of us that frequented the ranch! One of the greatest places to ride horses, hike and hunt for pheasant hunt, elk and deer hunt!
This picture was donated by Linda Mathison Bill Campbell is on the left…
I had an email a while back from an old friend; well he is younger than me. He had been on a Texas deer hunt with his kids on a friend’s ranch. Mention about a dear friend that is no longer around and that the tradition of the hunt would change. How true his words were to me that day! Over the past 30+ years or more I have had the privilege of hunting a number of private ranches. Some were rancher friends that I have met via hunting with someone else, met in the road near their place, through work and from knocking on doors.Relationships with ranchers change with the times and the conditions of life.This reading with me is about a rancher that I met during a deer hunt near Pilot Rock, Oregon that I was invited on from a Naval Officer that I first met when I was stationed at the Naval Security Group Activity in Imperial Beach, CA. Rod Briece was from the Portland Metro area and was on his active duty obligation. I took him on an unsuccessful duck hunt along the Tijuana border. The day before there were more than a 1000 ducks and geese held up in tidal flats…? This story about a rancher; he went by the name “Wild Bill Campbell”, a rancher that lived up on East Birch Creek outside of Pilot Rock, Oregon. Bill Campbell was a Cattle Rancher, Horse Trader, Husband, Peacemaker, Hunter and mostly a Friend of mine.
As I said earlier I first met Bill on a deer hunt with Rod. Rod was hunting with his usual deer hunting group. I was the outsider invited to the hunt; I came ready to deer hunt prime private property on eastern Oregon Cattle & Horse ranch.Bill’s ranch was along East Birch Creek and had boundaries south near Pearson Creek and the Umatilla National Forest. There are many notorious places that are still thought of by the hunters or persons that roam the area. Such places that might be alone the 4230 road such as Foggy Knob, Four Corners, Little Pearson Creek, California Gulch, Government 80, Sagebrush Flat, Dark Canyon, Merle Canyon, Tamarack Gulch, Cold Springs Canyon, Hascall Spring, Pole Mill Rd, and Spring Hollow just to name a few spots that are like having a GPS with waypoints when talking.Right from the get goes; I knew that I was going to like Bill a lot. Bill looked like he came from out of the “Old West”; never saw him without a Single Action Revolver and or wearing suspenders.
On this hunt Bill gave me knowledge and taught me to be patient, go with the flow. On one particular day I was riding with Bill, he would stop and talk with every other rancher or ranch hand he knew. In my mind I am going is this ever going to get over with, it’s daylight out and I need to be hunting and not BS’n. There had to be a big buck waiting for me in the timber. Later I find out that with Bill talking with everyone, he is gaining knowledge on game and getting us permission to maybe get onto another rancher’s property…
Since that time I have learn to take time out during the mid-day and slow down. Bill was a man of many stories of past times. Bill had a cabin up near Sagebrush Flats that all of us would jockey on the use of the cabin. On the walls were written passages of days spent on the cattle trail moving cattle from the out of the mountains to the valley floor. I remember one passage written by Bill when he was with his father-in-law, “the snow was more than three feet deep, with drifts over your head, wind blowing hard, 10 degrees out, horses tired and a pack of coyotes following their every movement”. If one had foresight they would have taken pictures of these passages on the wall of the cabin. I understand that the cabin is gone, as an outfitter bought the property some years back from Bill’s widow. Being and old horse trader, or better yet a gun trader, I have always felt it to be a privilege to hunt someone’s property. Not much on paying with “Green Backs”, but with something that every rancher might want to rat hole. Has anyone every known a rancher that might not want a new rifle, possible good pair of bino’s, knives or how about a master case of 30-06 Remington 180 gr. cartridges.
Well Bill was always one that would want something new that he has never had in his gun cabinet. Being able to get some items demo out to me or be able to pick up a new rifle for wholesale, I could not past up the opportunity to do this barter system.We always had a place to stay, leave our horses, go anywhere, do anything, hot meal in the evening and even drive Bill’s truck up into the back country. Bill would be ready to go on a hunt at a moments notice. No one ever had to worry that he would not be ready.
His truck was never without a rifle, six shooter, knives or ammo. On the Ready! The following are a couple of short thoughts and happenings with Bill Campbell.
Remembering when I had a small group of bro’s hunting with me, we were staying at Bill’s and Diane’s House. One of my buddies Steve Pomp was staying thee also. We all bunched in the living room. Yelling all of sudden when Bill’s big black cat jumped up onto Steve’s face. Pitched dark… The object at the time went flying through the room. Steve must have thought he was back in Vietnam…
Oh! Bill was a Reserve County Sheriff and would go out on any call. One look at Bill and I think an outlaw would just put their hands up. One afternoon Bill and I had to go into town to the local market, we had just come out of the canyon above Bill’s main house. We were packing iron on the hip. Getting out of the truck I started to remove my holster and belt. Bill quickly said “Frank no need to do that, we pack here”, so it is probably first and last time that I have walked into a store with handgun on he hip… Looking at us would have most likely seemed like a picture from the past.
Another time Bill had the county veterinarian come out and look at one of his horses that was sick. The county vet., said that he would have to put the horse down, he felt the horse was contagious to the rest of the herd. Bill slowing put his hand on his hip, of course where his 45 Colt was and look straight into the Vets. Eyes and said “I don’t think so Doc”. The Vets eyes went to the size of golf balls and he left most hastily.
There was the time that Bill gave me a pink lariat for my Birthday on an early scouting trip in June. Inside of the package was a set of chaps from the turn of the century and this pink lariat. Bill, his wife Diane and Stick gave a really bad time to me on this gift. It was given to me because I thought I was a macho cowboy from the valley… Anyway I still have the lariat. My lariat was always tied to my saddle, even when I was in the bottom of Hells Canyon.
It reminded me of the great times I spent with “Wild Bill Campbell” at his ranch. One of the most memorable hunts that I had with Bill was a middle of the season deer hunt at this place. Bill had dropped Ben and I off at the head of California Gulch for a two person deer drive. Ben and I split up on the two walls of the canyon and worked our way down into the timber. Ben was a great partner, when working canyons we seem to know were and what the other person was doing without ever seeing them. Anyway I had beat Ben to the bottom of the canyon and was working my way up the center into some down timber and grassy area. All of a sudden I jump a large black bear that was sleeping. The bear jumped up and was on top of a down tree broadside at 50 feet. I had my 257 Weatherby at the time. I quickly shoot into the boiler room of the bear, nothing happen, so I shoot again at the bear into the same spot. The bear is off the tree and running. I shoot twice again at the bear as it is moving left to right into the same spot but on the opposite side of the animal. The big black bear expires in the creek bottom! Now what I said to myself. One has to remember that while shooting the last two rounds I had yelled up the canyon for Ben. Ben came running down and thought that I had a small war going on. To his surprise there was a bear laying dead in the creek and not a big buck. In my mind I wanted to skin this bear and be able to have a life size mount done. We could not budge the bear out of the creek as the creek had steep walls due steepness of walls from spring flooding. We skinned the bear in the creek which took some time to do. No we knew that Bill would want the bear meat, being an old mountain man. Just getting ready to quarter the bear and we hear a truck coming to us down into the canyon. Bill with his Blue and White Ford F250 pickup stopped at the edge of the creek wall. You have to be kidding me, Bill drove to us. Morale of this story, have patience, a rancher can get anywhere to pickup game.
Sometime in 1987 Bill Campbell “Wild Bill” passed away in his favorite sitting chair in the living room. I suppose he had a glass with good aged whiskey in it. He had honor, give you the shirt off his back, lone you a weapon if short and he would open his home to you to stay.“Wild Bill” I hope you are still chasing elk and deer up in the clouds!
