Tag Archives: Public Land Hunting

Hunting Equipment, Successful Hunters 2016

Scott’s 2016 Juniper Pronghorn Hunt

September 18, 2016 Frank Biggs 2 Comments

Juniper is one of the premier Oregon Pronghorn Hunts

“I am also a long time subscriber to onXmaps and use it religiously.”

First off.. Thank you Frank for the tips… As many know the Juniper unit antelope hunt is an incredible opportunity. I was fortunate to have unexpectedly drawn the coveted tag with only a single preference point. The news came as a great surprise and the time to scout was severely limited with my prior commitments. This lead me to some online research and the discovery of the Bwana Bubba Adventurers. Upon contact with Frank, he sent me some places to look in search of antelope. This being my 5th Oregon antelope tag, I had set my sights on killing a high caliber animal. This is my story…..

Scott and son checking out a herd of Pronghorn in the Juniper Unit in Oregon

On to the hunt… Due to previous commitments with my oldest son, I was unable to make the season opener and did not arrive in the unit until Monday afternoon. My son and I quickly setup camp, made a sandwich and headed out in search of our quarry. We immediately headed for a spot Frank had pinpointed for us. We weren’t 15 minutes from the trailer when I had spotted an animal apparently fleeing a waterhole that someone was driving into. It was immediately evident the animal was a billie antelope and we fought to get into a better position to see. We caught up with him 4-5 different times, but every time he was 750+ yards away and we just couldn’t make a good determination what caliber animal he was. Based on the glances of occasional clarity, he appeared to be a really solid billie with good height and prong length. This guy’s worth a second look… The adventure continued into the sage and a few hours passed before any antelope were spotted in some nearby fields. There were a few billies, but nothing worth watching to see if an exit from private was going to be a probability. The evening found us trekking across what seemed to be an endless plateau of sage in search of the billie we had encountered earlier in the day. As we hiked in search of our prey, the probability of killing an animal in 4-5’ tall sagebrush seemed a monumental task. As darkness overcame us, the billie had gave us the slip and was securely hidden in his native territory.

Day 2 – We awoke early and headed to another location marked by Frank that allowed us to glass in a Westerly direction. As the light slowly illuminated the desert floor, we patiently glassed a large bowl full of tall sage. We found one good representative billie in the 13” range with decent prongs managing a small group of nannies a little over 500 yards from our position. This was an easy pass and we moved on. The next few hours we drove, hiked and glassed numerous locations to only find a few nannies and two very young billies. Upon exiting the area we stopped to speak with another hunter whom was struggling to find any antelope in the area. With this information and what we had also encountered it was determined to mark this spot off the list of places to revisit. It was decided to head a little further South and explore during the heat of the day. The road that separates N. Juniper and S. Juniper seemed like a good choice. After a dusty 4 hour ride in the truck, we determined our choice was less than stellar… Not a single antelope had been found upon the stretch of road. We came out few miles North of the Narrows and made the decision to head further South. After traveling another hour South we made the turn back into the unit again. The next 10-12 miles were bumpy and dusty, but our hopes were high despite not locating any animals. Then, all of a sudden we located several animals. As we continued to glass, more and more of the tan and white creatures appeared scattered amongst the cattle in the area. The next several hours were spent locating and investigating billies. By the time the sun had set we had passed on 10-12 billies ranging in size from 8-13” all within a 3 mile radius. The drive back to camp was long and filled with discussion around our discovery and future prospects.

Day 3 – Again an early rise took us in search of the billie we saw that first day. Finding a decent vantage point, we set up and glassed the sea of sage in search of the elusive animal. As the sun rose and the temperature quickly climbed we decided our search was futile. No animals to be found…. While departing a billie was located off the side of the road seemingly careless of our presence. Luckily for him, we again were not interested in what he had to offer and we both moved on our separate ways. Arriving back at camp, we packed a healthy amount of supplies to ensure lunch and dinner were covered and pointed the truck South again. Arriving at our location early afternoon we quickly located several groups of antelope. One group had a dominant billie that was definitely coming into the rut and spent all his time head down checking the nannies. With the heat waves in full effect, it was quite challenging to judge him at over a mile but we again passed feeling he didn’t meet our standards. A couple miles further down the road another group was spotted over a mile away and we began closing the gap. Once within 900 yards we took another look from atop a small rise. It appeared there was a group of billies and one worth taking a closer look at. We geared up back at the vehicle and prepared to sneak in for a closer look. Due to the lack of terrain, we struggled to get within 600 yards of the group. Finally, by crawling on our hands and knees we closed the gap to 470 yards. This was when we were able to determine with confidence there was a billie in this group worth our precious tag. Unable to get into a prone position I was far from comfortable taking a shot at that distance. A small bunch of taller sage was 70 yards ahead and I felt I could get the needed elevation to setup for an ethical shot. As we crawled toward the sage two additional billies began running in from the East and gained the attention of the target group. This gave us the opportunity to quickly close the remaining gap and approach our target. I quickly began setting up for the shot on the bedded billie. Before I was able to settle in, the other two billies came into the targeted group and put them into alert. Before I could react the group had quickly traveled away and was now acting very nervous at 800+ yards away. A quick assessment found that we could access some tall sage and attempt to move close enough for a shot. As we progressed thru the tall sage the group again became anxious and didn’t let us get within 600 yards before moving off to a ridgeline where they again met up with yet another group of antelope. Our cover was good and were able to again move toward the group leveraging the tall sage. The antelope went over the rise and we picked up the pace. Looking up a single billie had turned back and was now staring us down at 300 yards. A quick assessment put him at about 13” so we waited for him to move off and we proceeded toward where the group had went. Just after cresting the ridgeline a group of antelope materialized on the opposing hillside. I snuck up to a shooting position and quickly picked out the largest billie. As the billie chases a few nannies It just didn’t look right to me. At 450 yards the billie just didn’t look right… I hesitated long enough for the billie to move out of range. Just as I sat up to scratch my head and figure out what happened, my other billie came out from under us. He had been over the roll of the hill and just out of site from our position. He and the others that were traveling with him now joined the other group that now totaled about 50 animals. The group seemed to be settling down and we backed off in attempt to parallel their position to get closer. When we felt we were close to parallel we eased to the edge using sage for cover. Our silhouettes didn’t even break the ridgeline before the large group began moving away again. We sat and glassed them as they traveled over the next rise… Quickly deliberating about our next move we noticed another single billie traveling in our direction. A quick assessment found him to be too small and we decided to give the group one more chance. The sun had set and light was quickly leaving as we pushed the half mile to the next vantage point. We crested the top to see them already 800+ yards away and still moving. We were unable to get within a ½ mile of them. Aborting the mission we would come back Thursday and try again…. It was a couple miles back to the truck in the dark and a couple hour drive back to camp that night.. It was decided while traveling back we would move camp in the morning in attempt to be closer to our quarry.

Day 4 – We woke early and immediately worked on breaking camp. On the road by 9:00 we headed to the Narrows. A quick check-in at the Narrows campground had us headed for our hunting grounds before lunch. We again saw a few groups of lopes on the way in and decided the billies were not what we were searching for. Pulling into the drainage we left the big billie in the night before we parked the truck, gathered our gear and went afoot. After cresting a rise just out of site of the truck we were immediately pinned by some nannies. The range was 300 yards as we squatted in the open terrain. Wouldn’t you know it, they were in curious mode and wanted to check us out. Not knowing what may be behind them we stayed put. The nannies came to 64 yards before deciding to lose interest in us. Unfortunately when they did spook, they went the same direction we were traveling. We rose up and went about 75 yards when we saw the original group of 8 billies from the day before standing 450 yards away. I saw the one billie that was noticeably larger than the other 7 and knew this was our group. I needed a better shooting position and found a mound of dirt 50 yards ahead. The nannies had now joined the group of billies and they were becoming increasingly anxious. I quickly got into a shooting position on the mound and my son began calling yardages. 350, 375, 400, 375…. The group was unsure on what direction to depart, I had to shoot quick. I identified the large billie thru the 95 degree heat shimmer and followed him until he momentarily stopped. At the report of the rifle the lope immediately dropped in his tracks. I rolled over and gave some high fives to my son as the remaining group galloped away in a dust storm. Gathering up our gear we headed over to claim our trophy. Approaching the billie, there was something wrong…. This was not the billie we had hunted the previous day. In my haste, after chasing him miles the day before and not being able to get within 800 yards of him, I had taken the wrong animal. The heat shimmer and my haste had resulted in harvesting the wrong animal. Although saddened by my actions, we were also very happy with having harvested a beautiful animal that is proving to be excellent table fare.

Success after a long hunt of checking out many on the run. Great looking Oregon Lope

Thanks again Frank for your aid in making this a fantastic trip!

Pronghorn from a previous hunt in Oregon

Hunting Equipment, Successful Hunters 2016, Uncategorized

Derek’s 2016 Steens Pronghorn Hunt

August 31, 2016 Frank Biggs 1 Comment

A new predator in the hood has taken a liking to

Pronghorns the Steens Mountains

Derek's hard earned Pronghorn from the Steens Mountains in Oregon — Derek’s hard earned Pronghorn from the Steens Mountains in Oregon

The most frustrating hunt I have ever had! Left early Friday morning and after shredding a drive belt on the truck in Madras, Oregon made it to The Narrows south of Burns by 11:00 to start scouting. The plan was to ask landowners to hunt the pivots in Princeton. After talking to 3 owners I was informed that they had seen very few antelope this year, in the past there where 100’s and were considered pest.

They rack up the missing antelope to cougar problems. So that said went to 2^nd spot Dry Lake just south. The lake was half full and had multiple camps around it. Talk to a few campers/hunters and said they too had seen only a few antelope in the area. My son and I only saw 1 herd of Lopes that were staying around the Round Barn in Diamond on private land with only a very small buck in the herd.

The week before I had talk to O.D.F.W. & B.L.M., Burns, Oregon and all had said the same thing, very good water year and the antelope were spread out everywhere making them difficult to find.

We moved south to New Moon Rd. Check out the waypoints I was given from Bwana Bubba based on using onXmaps HUNT and my Garmin GPS and did stop at all overlooks and canyons to spot. Saw nothing, 3 hours later we were at the end of the road at Fish Lake. Went to the top of Kiger Gorge and talked with a few camps that we set up on the road leaving the view point. Again no one had seen Antelope. Frustrated we headed back down and to the HHH road, above Fish Lake to get away from the main road. Had a very hard time finding a place to set a tent, thought we might have to set it on the edge of the road at one point. Found a meadow on a spring head right above Fish Lake on edge of private ground. With the lots of batches of Aspen trees were surprise at the lack of any animal signs. The Steens seems to be a dead zone with very little wildlife left…

Started opening morning glassing the open basins to no a fail, only a lonely doe across the Blitzen Canyon. Decide to break camp around 10:30, and headed back to main road. Came around the last corner and 20ft in front of the truck are 2 doe Lopes and seconds later 40 more crest the ridge in front of use. I jump out of the truck and go to the back of the truck and the Lopes all cross in front of use at 50ft away; there was 1 very nice buck in the middle of the herd. They see a fence in front of them and panic and turn around and pass us again, yet the buck is buried in the middle of the group. As they crest over the ridge he almost gives me a parting shot, but gone. We run up the road only to see they are circling the ridge above us heading back towards Fish Lake. We run up the road and rush to the ridge line were I get an open shot at 150yds, but cannot take it as I knew they were on the wrong side of the fence on private land. We watch the herds for over 10 minutes, traveling miles to the top of Kiger Gorge where they were fired on by the hunters camping on top.

Frustrated we went for gas in Frenchglen. Talking to other hunters, all had the same story can’t find Lopes. Decided to skip going back to New Moon Rd and opted to head to the South Loop Rd south of Frenchglen. Drove and glassed for a couple hours. Lots of water holes and all were still wet. Saw A few other hunters driving and glassing. After only seeing herds of horses and cattle heading back towards highway 207, our goal was to find small spur round to get off on our own. At a junction I saw a rancher unloading his quad and hay bales. Stop and talked to him and was informed he had seen a small group of Lopes every day for the past week right above us working the area. He suggested a hunt strategy and told us about water holes up the old road he was using. We did the hunt the spot, saw no Lopes only horses so decided to make camp in the area. The area was more deer country with juniper trees and draws with open plains in between.

Next morning were up glassing before daylight on the plains above camp looking out towards Hart Mtn. Saw nothing, around 7:30 I get a buzz from my son who has locate the group in a draw find a mile above camp. 20 mins later I’m in the same area hugger under a Juniper tree watching the group in the draw. Saw 2 does and 4 yearlings mixed through the Juniper trees at 400yds, after 5 min I see a buck moving in the trees. My son decided he would move down the draw cross it and get to the other side. I was afraid they would see him and move up the draw out of range. The buck was now at 375yds. I decided I better make the shot as I probably will not see him again. I was getting ready to make the shot when I saw the does; they were closing their distance, walking right towards me up the old road. Told my son to stay put and turned the radios off. The does and yearlings passed to my right just 40yds away the buck was trailing, so ended up taking the shot at 60yds, dropping him in his tracks. There was 10 minutes of per thrill as he closed the distance to me on the road, thought for sure something would go wrong or the does would see me. Took care of the Lope and broke camp, was on the road by 11:00AM with the Lope in the rear seat of the truck and A/C on high.

Derek D.

Hunting Equipment, Hunting Ideas, Successful Hunters 2016

Kenneth’s 2016 Owyhee Pronghorn Hunt

August 26, 2016 Frank Biggs 1 Comment

Scouting more than 200 miles for Pronghorn

Hi Frank
Thanks a lot for directions that you sent me. I scouted from Wednesday to Friday and cover more than 200+ miles. Majority of the scouting was in my Ford truck in 4wd low range. I found a dandy buck on Tuesday morning on the south side of the Mahogany’s running off three other bucks from his 6 doe harem, between water and the bedding area. This I know, because I had spotted him and the doe’s the day before just as they entered the brush at 10AM. I camped in my Ford FX4 truck high above them that night and would hunt down in the morning.

The next morning I worked myself out on the bluff I figured I could find him. I found him, ranged him in at 350 yards with my Bushnell rangefinder and made the 1 shot kill with my Browning A-Bolt in a 7mm Remington Mag, topped with a Leupold V-3 4.5×14 50MM Gold Ring scope. Other items in my bag to make the hunt successful were my Garmin GPS with onXmaps HUNT Oregon chip and GIS hunt map.

Thanks Bubba

Kenneth D

Elk Gunting, Hunting Equipment

Bwana Bubba’s Thoughts – Reaching Elk miles away.

May 28, 2016 Frank Biggs 4 Comments

Chasing down Elk from afar!

Thoughts go back to my early days of hunting elk with a rifle and bow. I would rifle hunt in the eastern part of Oregon for Rocky Mountain bulls, while bow hunting was in the western part of Oregon for Roosevelt bulls. So those early hunts to the east were about going into the timber and waiting for elk to come by within shooting range. One thing I never did was to build a fire to keep warm, but my uncles all did it. I remember on one hunt Uncle Floyd was deep into the pines up near Texas Butte. You could hear him cough, as he was a smoker, plus he had his fire going. That was something that his sons and I would never do. Low and behold a nice respectable 5X5 came by his fire and he put him down… So in the western part of the state, we would go into our favorite spot and walk pockets listening for elk movement and try to get in close enough to get shot. They never seem to do the calling like Rocky Mtn. elk would do. This process of hunting worked for us in those days.

This happens to be from the 2015 first season Rocky Mtn. Elk season in Oregon. It is an old haunt an my son and his cousin, knowing the area, but never running a GPS went hunting with the new Garmin 64's and onXmaps Hunt Plat map installed. As you can see he stayed legal. There is some access for the public near the river, that is grandfathered in for about 50 years or more. In this country it is about seeing the elk, deer and pronghorn and chasing after them. Open country with Junipers, sagebrush, rimrock, cheat grass and seed grazing grasses. — This happens to be from the 2015 first season Rocky Mtn. Elk season in Oregon. It is an old haunt that I have introduced my son too. So my son and his cousin, knowing the area had never used a GPS went hunting with the new Garmin 64’s and onXmaps Hunt Plat map installed (I demanded they have them to stay legal). As you can see he stayed legal. There is some access for the public near the river, that is grandfathered in for about 50 years or more. In this country it is about seeing the elk, deer and pronghorn and chasing after them. Open country with Junipers, sagebrush, rimrock, cheat grass and seeded grazing grasses (after range fires).

Getting to the basis of this article about chasing elk down as I would put it came about some years later when we were bowhunting the rimrock, juniper and sagebrush of central Oregon for big mule deer bucks on the B.L.M., National Forest that was bordered and encompassed with private land. One particular deer scouting trip prior to the opening archery season, glassing at a mile into a basin we could see from our observation point while looking for the famous bucks of the Big Muddy, we spotted elk, not just one elk, but about 12 bulls, all being branch bulls.

This bull was spotted with another bull at about 2000 yards. I shot this bull at 50 yards. Both bulls were taken, one by myself and my partner, after we split up in the draw. We watched the bull at about 200 yards split up.

This launched our elk hunting in this country for more than 20 years and still to this day when I have time. Spotting elk from distance does give you an advantage; this has led to least at 85% average of getting elk this way for me, partners and others within the hunting circles. I will say that in the early days, GPS and mapping (software) was nil. Most of the guys I hunted with were all past military and few of us still in the military, so venturing into the so call unknown and reading the land was pretty easy going.

I have found glassing ridges, hillsides, shaded areas and even into basins on an afternoon after the average hunter has headed back to camp and settle down for the late afternoon and evening happens to be my favorite time to glass for elk. The country is vast with B.L.M. and National Forest for miles in all directions. You have been glassing for about 30 minutes and you spot a group of elk which you feel is about 2 miles away. You can see with your binoculars there are some pretty good bulls in the herd. They are just grazing, with a few bedded down. It is said by most that we have probably harvest more elk in the afternoon after 1PM, than ever in the morning hours.

This bull was taken by my son. We all spotted the elk at a mile away. I decided with my son, Brian Henninger's brother John and a buddy of my son to go after him. I got my son within 50 feet of the bedded bull. In the picture if Brian Henninger PGA. On this hunt all the hunters got a bull within 2 hours of each other. — This bull was taken by my son. We all spotted the elk at a mile away. I decided with my son, Brian Henninger’s brother John and a buddy of my son to go after him. I got my son within 50 feet of the bedded bull. In the picture if Brian Henninger PGA. On this hunt all the hunters got a bull within 2 hours of each other.

It is now to setup a plan to get onto these elk, as it is about 1400 or 2PM in the afternoon with visibility of at least a mile.

Getting this plan underway in the 21^st century is so much easier with Garmin GPS’s and onXmaps HUNT mapping software and being able to dial in the lay of the land with precision accuracy, sort of like getting 10X’s on a target during a shooting tournament…

First off, I would have my Garmin GPS, with the Montana being my favorite which is loaded with my onXmaps HUNT PLAT map. Seeing that there is a peak off in the distance between the elk and myself, I can judge the precise distance to the elk with the mapping and GPS. The maps are up to date and show the private, federal lands, state lands and other.

This bull was spotted at about 1/2 mile away. On this bull, I thought it was another bull seen earlier. Only had a side profile when I launched a 210 gr. Nosler Partition at 600 yards.

The second thing I am going to do is install a number of waypoints, such as the peak and the proximity of elk as I see it on the map.

Now I take a look at the topo aspect of the terrain with my GPS and my eyes, working on a quick plan to cover the distance to within a ¼ mile of the elk. The elk appear to be very comfortable were they are and I feel they will settle down in the area for part of the evening.

Personally I have always felt to cover the ground quickly, whether I am running, sliding down a hill, but always slowly down coming up on a rise. Many times I personally feel that mistakes are made by taking too much time getting in the zone of the elk.

This bull was called in to within 20 yards after being spotted about 1000 yards away. We covered ground to within 100 yards of the herd. A bit of small bull and cow call called him in. Plus we had cut off some of his cows.

During my pursuit I am mentally thinking how I am going ambush the elk. I also assume that the elk will be close to where I had made sight of them. If rifle hunting, the thought of the ambush will be different than if I am bowhunting the elk as to how close I close the distance. I am a loner, but if I have a partner, he is going to be in my shadows normally, but under the same game plan. I am in combat mode when working this scenario during the hunt.

Along the way I have checked my GPS and even put more waypoints, which gives me a mental picture, plus I have setup estimated time to get to my final observation point, whether a vantage point above or even level eyesight.

This bull was spotted from a mountain top a very long ways away. Michael Jame of Bend, OR took him out at 100 yards. Michael has always been a believer of getting in fast.

Now if I am rifle hunting, I will be on the ready and try to have a vantage point within my comfortable shooting distance. A great deal of time that doesn’t always happen, but I have set this stalk up the way it works for me. I know my weapon or rifle of choice that I use on elk and I also know the capabilities of its shooting distance and putting the elk down.

Oregon Elk (7) — This bull was shot from long range, but spotted earlier in the evening along with another bull of the same size. Three bulls were taken within 10 minutes of each other. After my son’s bull was down and heading back, heard a shot in another basin. That shot was from Brian Henninger. Two bulls came out of the basin, one dropped from Brian’s close range shot. The other bull stopped, by that time I was on the hard deck in the prone position with By-Pod flipped down. Raised 4 feet over the back, pulled the trigger on the 340 Weatherby with 225 gr. Barnes X and the bull dropped in his tracks. “Never seen anyone shoot that far” (John Henninger). My comment was the Barnes X must have given it a heart attack. No time to chase this bull down, take the shot or let it go.

When it comes to archery, I am more of a stalker of elk too within shooting range, a great deal depends with the elk, being in the rut or not, but I always have cow call and a bugle if I am going to work the herd and bring a try bull in.

With the technology of GPS (Garmin) and onXmaps HUNT mapping software, the hunter can pinpoint the game. As said before, my thoughts have always been to move fast and not worry about being careful about foot noise, until I am within a ¼ mile. In reality this is one of the funniest ways to hunt down an elk in my opinion! My partners and I have taken many bulls over the years by hunting this way.

#onxmaps #teamhunt #huntsmarter

Frank Biggs aka Bwana Bubba

Archery Talk - Posts, Hunting Equipment

Bwana Bubba’s Thought’s – Mobile Devices – onXmaps HUNT

April 22, 2016 Frank Biggs 3 Comments

There is an old saying by Sailors’, “is you’re “Ditty Bag” complete?” A sailor would rely on the “Ditty Bag” to have his most important items in it… No “Ditty Bag” with the essentials for the hunter, outdoor adventurer, fisherman or hiker is an incomplete tool bag. Today’s “Ditty Bag” will appear as a duffle bag or backpack of sorts.

I see it everywhere, the youth and now even the older generation using mobile devices. There are so many APPS out there; a mobile device can do just about anything imagined. APPS have made it easy for everyone to navigate through a daily routine.

“Ditty Bag” A major essential for the complete outdoor person would be an IPad or IPhone or Android Device and last not lest a Garmin GPS (Color Screen – Micro SD Slot). My mobile device is Apple IPad that seems to go everywhere with me and has the onXmaps APP. It is the great research tool that I have in my “Ditty Bag”, it’s like a talking encyclopedia, only it is visual and easy to understand. As simple as turning on the device, opening the onXmaps HUNT APP and then letting my fingers do the work.

There are three (3) ways to think of the essentials when it comes to mapping in my mind. The mobile device is for scouting and in the field use. The laptop (most common computer) is for scouting and the GPS is all about in the field and scouting secondary.

I have 18 layers of information that overlay the 12 available basemaps, also with 5 western states PLATS loaded on my IPad. The operator gets to decide which overlay or overlays, basemap or basemaps they want to use in their research or the use in the field. Many outdoor people use their phone such as an Android or one of the many Apple IPhones for everything. The onXmaps HUNT APP makes it quite easy to use in the course again of daily routine.

onXmaps Hunt - Easy to use! — onXmaps Hunt – Easy to use!

The list is long, but each and every layer & basemap is a valuable tool to those that want to gain knowledge! One has to study the land and learn the habits of the game to be successful.

Another thought is that we meet a lot of people in the field and most like to talk about their hunts or adventurers; I have found many to give road numbers, landmarks and whatever else embellishes the adventurer. End result is that I am going to absorb the information and it is loaded to my IPad, GPS and laptop.

As you note in my “Ditty Bag”, I also have my Garmin Montana GPS, this is also a must when in the field. Sometimes, in a deep dark canyon, you might not have mobile device reception and I rely on my Garmin to be accurate in tight areas…

The savvy hunter or outdoor persons will purchase the whole meal deal, everything for the mobile device and for the Garmin GPS (colored monitor-micro-chip slot) and or download to the computer to up-load to the GPS, then back to the computer. I back-up my waypoints and adventurers to my laptop.

I have only touched surface of what this great mapping tool can do for you, it is time for you to buy and check it.

My “Ditty Bag” has the following items in it, Garmin Montana GPS/onXmaps Hunt software, IPad/onXmaps Hunt APP, Benchmade Knives (2), 12×50 Bausch & Lomb Binoculars, Nikon SLR Camera, Oregon Hunt/Fish License/Tags, rubber gloves, matches, Leatherman, toilet paper and money! Everything else, I pack in my hands or on my body…

My lasting thought to all that read this is, with this technology, inertly trespassing is a thing of the past. In many states, it is the requirement of the trespasser to know where they are and law enforcement and landowner does not have to prove you were trespassing…

Frank Biggs aka Bwana Bubba

Uncategorized

Bwana Bubba’s Thoughts – Native American Hunting Rights Are Thinning The Herds

December 12, 2015 Frank Biggs 12 Comments

Native American Tribal members have the treaty rights to hunt on all public land anytime!

Since this article has raised a great deal of eyebrows from Native Americans, let it be written that the poachers are not the majority of Native Americans. This article is also based on Oregon and not other states. Since all that is written has backup from hunters, I will leave it written as it is. One other question, how many of the Native American Hunters are 100%?

This is what a couple of poached bucks could look like in the back of a pickup!

The hunter may be unaware of illegal activity, unless it happens in the area he or she is occupying. Those of us who have spent a great deal of time in the field hunting, fishing, hiking and camping have chronic knowledge about big game poaching. I never paid attention too, was the fact that the Native American has been subject to poaching for a long time on off-reservation public-private lands. I thought poaching was done by outlaw hunters capitalizing on the opportunity of out of season, night hunting, closed lands, horn hunters or other illegal means to get it done. There is an old saying in life “if the janitor talks about it”, usually is true, in this case law enforcement officers have talked about it, besides eye witness to the incidents.

My son during the 2015 Rocky Mountain Elk big game hunt in Oregon, in a hunt unit made up of B.L.M. land (limited road entry) and private land, he and his hunting partners, it came apparent that there is a problem with poaching of big game with Native American Tribal Members, hunting off-reservation involvement. Opening day in this limited entry by road area along the John Day River, the group were stopped by Oregon State Police Game Officers. They had just finished a hunt from hunting from the top fence line down to the river, when the OSP Game Officers confronted them. They were asked numerus times about the poaching of a large bull elk and the wasting game meat, plus severing the rack off. After three times of the direct accusations and rebuttal comments back, the OSP Officers backed off. The hunters now had open dialogue with the OPS Game Officers’ of what they had encountered.

Knowing my son and how I have mentored him to hunt and visualize the out of place objects or situation’s, noticed that things had not been right all day in the hunting area. His group was the only elk hunters that had made a camp in the area, but there were a couple of other vehicles that were in area, traveling all over the open roads and the hillsides (off-road). JR took pictures of one particular pickup that had no good written all over it. The OSP Game Officers thought it was strange that he had done this Intel, but later the tire tracks matched the tire tracks at the kill zone. Since JR., has friends that live in Madras, Oregon he is well aware of the Tribal members and their appearance.

Cutting to the chase on the “elk hunt from hell” as my son would put it; there were 6 mule bucks and 1 bull elk that had been killed on private along the boundary fence. A great deal of meat wasted, all the racks had been sawed off. The MO was the same for all the game animals that were within 100 yards of each other. The deer carcasses were stacked up on each other. Plus the fact the animals were shot prior to opening morning. A great way to have a hunt ruin with a special opening day for a selective group that the Federal Government has given special privileges too prior to the regulated Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife opening day.

There was a great discomfort with the poaching; the private lands around the B.L.M. were now being patrolled heavily, plus legal hunters being watched around the clock by the land owners that scanned the hills with spotting scopes and binoculars. With all the activity, there was not going to be any elk harvested by legal hunters. The elk had moved into non-road areas, deep into rim rock of the interior on the private land.

So have any of you ever read the Treaty of June 25, 1855 for Tribes and Bands of Middle Oregon. Treaty, you find that the Warm Springs Indians are subject to only their laws and rules when it comes to hunting? The Game Commission is the tribal council and not the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. Tribal members can get their tags from Human Resources free. Then there are the ceremonial tags that they can get when a tribal member dies of 3 deer and 1 elk. My understanding, though not in writing that I can find, the numbers might be greater. In the treaty tribal members can hunt on any federal lands, basically anytime… In thought, I suppose they have to kill 3 deer to make one, since they are only taking the choice meat, (blackstrap & hindquarters) sort of like the tendency of the Wolf when it comes to consuming. You have to make note that Indian Reservations are a sovereign nation within the boundaries of the United States of America. Oregon State Police have not justifications on reservation lands.

“Cultural hunting” shall mean the exercise of traditional, ceremonial and subsistence tribal hunting rights.

I would like to make a comment, if it is about cultural hunting, then why not hunt in the cultural method of the past with bow-arrow or spear, this way at least the game has a chance. Plus in their traditional ways of the past it would have been by canoe, horse or walking, not by a red Toyota Tacoma or white T100 Tundra pickup. When you can hunt basically year-round, when the deer, elk and other big game are in the wintering grounds with little chance for escape, I truly have a major problem with a treaty that dates back to the 1900’s. Times change and market hunting has long since left this country. This is the 21st Century, no longer the 19th Century with misguided or outdated privileges. Game populations cannot withstand over hunting and with little regard to the state’s big game laws. Hunting tags are normally regulated by the ODFW in this state from census on game during the winter months and harvest counts.

Oregon State Police Game Division find it extremely difficult to control and prosecute the tribal members guilty in game & fish violations on non-reservation lands. Public law enforcement cannot enter Tribal lands to catch the guilty. I found a great comment that the federal government (enforcement) has little to do what goes on with the 326 land reservations in the United States of America. In the State of Oregon there are 9 Federally-Recognized Tribes with 100 different sub-tribes within the 9 tribes.

For the most part the crimes within the Reservations are handled by Tribal Police. My turn on this is in relationship to non-reservation lands: “is a crazy quilt of jurisdiction that allows the government to ignore things.” “How did things get this way in a country that’s not only on but within our borders, and what is being done to fix them?” The answer is two words that come up as often as “with impunity.” Those words are, “It’s complicated.”

I have no problem with subsistence hunting at all, but why is it in the instance that all bucks were taken? How does in the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife set the quota’s for hunting or even fishing the following years? Oregon State Police Game Division have their hands tied and spend a great deal of wasted time, trying to find the culprits of the violations that are Tribal members. This is about hunting off reservation at their leisure, a luxury that non-Tribal citizens do not have.

I have talked with un-disclosed Oregon State Police Game Officers Retired and this has been going on in their lifetimes. Within the game unit non-reservation lands, those that border Tribal lands, it extremely tough, as tribal members can enter from their roads into these hunt units and exit. From what I understand there are only few Tribal police on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, north of Madras, Oregon.

Over the years, I guess I was just blind to what I saw in the field at times or on the river banks, such as fishing net with 100 plus rotting salmon, 100 yards downstream from a hatchery… An eyewitness sees and hears that 30 undersize sturgeons are taken on the Columbia River by a Tribal Member, remembering other American citizens cannot fish for sturgeon on the Columbia River. When asked by the OSP Officer why, the comment back was “they taste better when smaller.” Another recent incident that was given to me by reliable sources, 2015 2^nd season Rocky Mtn. Elk hunt in the Heppner Unit, Tribal members sell three branch bull elk to white hunters for 100 bucks each, using a pickup truck with hoist to load into the hunters trucks. 2015 1^st season Rocky Mtn. Elk in the Heppner unit, hunter sees a pickup with a hoist in the back and wonders, what the heck is that for… If you want to read about game violations on the Oregon State Police Game Division section on their webpage, you’ll see that there seems to be no arrests on Tribal Members. OSP Game Officer’s seem to have there hands tied in this great astoristy of Oregon’ big game animals being dwindle by blatant poaching by a few.

There are many incidents of poaching by Tribal members that the public is un-aware of, such as the 9 Roosevelt cow elk remains, with the heads left at the sight along the upper Siletz River on the Oregon coast off-reservation National Forest lands during the late archery season. They had been taken with a rifle.

One last incident of poaching by the Tribal members hunting off-reservation with the killing of 9 mule deer does out of a ranchers hay field. This information is first hand from a rancher in the West Biggs Hunt unit when I called him last week about Tribal member poaching. The Oregon State Police Game Officers were called in. There was not much OSP could do to the Tribal members, other than criminal trespass on private land. The rancher did not want to press those charges…

Most think that the Warm Springs Indian Reservation only encompasses the parcel off of Hwy 216 and Hwy 26 in Oregon. Well this is a very large chunk of land on the east side of the John Day River that borders BLM and goes un-checked with access from tribal members. The Warm Springs Indian Reservation has more than 1 Million Sq. Miles of land, making it the largest in the State of Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife is very lenient with tags that go to the Tribal Game Commission. In the Siletz & Grand Ronde reservation area, 25% of the allotted tags for a hunt unit within or near the reservation go to the Tribal Game Commission.

Basically all the Tribes in Oregon have the same basic Treaty from the 19^th Century. The Klamath and Modoc Tribes and Yahooskin Band of Snake Indians even have a treaty. From my readings they can hunt any land that might have encompassed the original lands, which is approximately 2.2 million acres that they roam for more than 14000 years. All the years I spent hunting the B.L.M., National Forest and Sycan Marsh area for Pronghorn, I rarely saw deer in a deer rich environment. I understand that within the 21^st Century these tribes just might get their heritage lands back after the Federal Government force them to be vacated with a payoff. In this case the descendants will be the winners.

I will give a defense for the Native American, it is said that the On-Reservation resident Tribal members are poor and have little. Food for thought comes from a recent set of photos of a Deschutes River Bighorn Sheep that was harvested by a Tribal member. What I saw in the pictures was a bit disturbing. I saw no meat on packs in the pictures and I did see a full-curl broomed off ram, that the head was severed at the neck joint. In point no meat (I am sure they boned out every bit of useable meat into tiny packs), but better yet, if so poor why would you have wasted a large full shoulder cape most likely worth at least a $1200.00 and a life size cape around $3000.00 to a taxidermist. So for about 45 minutes to 2 hours of capping, one could make some fast cash.

In my opinion non Native American Tribal citizens of Oregon, plus the non-resident big game hunters, need to stay attuned to what happens in the field. I don’t believe, unless Tribal member poaching on off-reservation public land is stopped while in the field there is little that can be changed.

Bwana Bubba

I welcome comments back!

Archery Talk - Posts, Uncategorized

Bwana Bubba’s Thoughts – Hunting Methods & Rates of Success

November 6, 2015 Frank Biggs 1 Comment

So what type of hunter are you?

The question is did you count all the points of the racks of these mule deer bucks, that you jumped, or did you react to the eye and engage?

We all have a purpose to our hunt and our style of hunting, which is not always the same as others. It’s a cliché: 10% of the hunters may get 90% of the game but in my opinion that is really based on the how we hunt. This article includes some examples too make you think about your mistakes and successes. It may give you an idea as to how you stand vis-a-vis others in terms of methods of hunting and rate of success.

Yelling Out! Many years ago after coming home from overseas, I took my father hunting with me. We were hunting in western forest lands of Oregon with vine maple, underbrush, ferns and alders. The distance between us was no more than 100 feet. During this early morning hunt, I was jumping a number of Blacktail deer bucks at close range and would yell out “there’s one,” and Dad’s comment would be “where”? On that hunt, I could have very easily killed a buck, yet we did not get one. I wanted to see my Dad get a buck. As you might suspect the deer were on alert and took evasive moves.

A buddy known as MJ once yelled at my son because he did not tell him he was shooting at a deer, as he did not get a chance to kill one of the deer. I told MJ that I have taught my son to react to the situation. My son had jumped the small group of bucks in the draw. He took the shot and got his buck! Believe it or not deer do have great hearing. If my son had yelled, “there’s a buck”, they surely would have not gotten any of them. On this same hunt, I spotted a dandy 4X4 and said to MJ “there’s a big buck”, he said “where”? He did not get the buck, yet he had time if he had been paying attention.

Over the years, while hunting with groups of hunters situations I believe we create situations in which there are too many distractions.

Sharp Eyes and Sensitive Ears. Some years ago while on a Pronghorn scouting trip in eastern Oregon with a buddy that seemed to always fall asleep even on the roughest roads, I would catch sight of coyotes in the middle of an abandoned road or dry lake. I would say “there’s a dog”, he too would say “where” as he was trying to gain eyesight after dozing off. Coyotes can hear the voices within the truck. From then on, I just kept my mouth shut. When I saw dog (coyote), I would just push on the emergency brake (holding the release lever so it would not make noise), bail out and take the shot. My partner, still dozing, had no clue and would wake up and say “what the heck you shooting at?” I took 5 dogs on the trip, with him dozing off all the time. We still talk about that maneuver of mine.

Stopping to Count Points. Some years ago, an old hunting buddy had been successful getting a nice Rocky Mountain Elk bull off of the B.L.M. near the John Day River hunting by himself. MJ was pretty good about getting it done, with a partner or solo, but usually never hunting together, but taking routes in different canyons. On this particular hunt, he had run into my Commanding Officer in the Navy. MJ knew of Rod and had met him several times. Rod was hunting with an old friend of his. MJ said he would show them bulls in a basin he had spotted bulls earlier in the hunt. MJ lived up to his offer and put both of them on eight bulls at about 150 yards out. Well, Rod and his buddy saw the bulls and counted all the bulls’ points and finally decided (after the bulls took off running) to shoot! Moral of the story, be in combat mode and react to what the eyes see instantly and not over think! Game moves a lot faster than you can get setup.

Combat Mode. So let’s start off with the type a hunter, the person who seems to be always successful. He or she will have the hunt lined out the year before. Most of the time, the hunt is totally about them and getting it done. I like to call it the Combat mode of hunting. The mind is focused on the end result of getting the game down. In many cases they are solo hunting in the sense of immediate contact with other hunters. There might be a partner or partners, but rest assured they are in the field away from others. All of their senses are tuned into the surroundings within their space. The person that most likely can make the 300 yard running shot, or have his arrow clear a 12” opening in a tree and hit the 50 yard distance target… you can be sure he or she is totally focused!

Knowing Your Area. There are the party hunters (hunters only) that love to hunt together and try to do it every year at a specific hunting area. It is about the gathering, though each and every one of them wants to be successful on the hunt. They know the area like they know their own yard. I find that they are fairly successful in getting game, as they know the routes of the game over the years. They all have their favorite stand they will be at on opening morning. In this case it reminds me of the Hurley’s that once hunted the Pilot Rock area in Oregon. They setup their camp near Foggy Knob or Four Corners up on East Birch Creek. They always had deer or elk hanging in their camp. I know they spent more than 25 years hunting the same spot.

Old buddies that have hunted together for many years and know the area. Third from the left is the Harry Bane, who was the Weatherby Rep.! This was a successful elk hunt in Idaho, in the Selway Unit!

Generations Matter. Now the following camp is an example of some of my first hunting experiences with family and friends. Again we were “party hunting,” but with the spouses that either hunted or not (mostly not), but adding the young grandkids to the mix as well. We would have three generations hunting. I remember talking with my cousin about the good old days that his dad hunted; little did I know at the time, we just lacked the experience the old boys had. We would see one of the old guys coming back with game, having sat around an isolated campfire during elk season to keep ourselves warm. We could not understand how they got it done, as most old boys would smoke. On these hunts it was all about the family and good times. You always wanted to be the one to have the bragging rights that year on getting a deer or elk of any size.

It is the opening day of archery season, you got the jump on these bucks, have you released you arrow to the target buck, before they have reacted to finally knowing you are upon them?

Giving Others the Shot. One of the best hunts is the father or mother that shows their children how to hunt and give them the chance to harvest an animal. This could also go for a mentor that shares all their knowledge with youth or another hunter. In this case, it would be the time we had spotted a monster bull on the B.L.M., I asked my buddy who was also glassing and spotted the bull, if he wanted to go after him. Knowing how to get to the area that was about a mile off, with my son and his non-hunting buddy following along we got into the spot that was close to the last appearances of the bull. I had checked up wind and the area was clear, coming back to the boys, I said he has to be close. I let my son quietly lead into the juniper and sagebrush. JR, jumped the bedded bull at 50 feet and made the shot. The bull was bedded under a Juniper tree. What was great he reacted without hesitation and took his first bull with a gross score of 340. If there had been any hesitation that bull would have made it out of there. JR got to have the bragging rights of the biggest bull taken on a very successful hunt for all.

Just recently on a bow hunt, being in a tree stand I could see the bucks coming into the draw, JR was in a ground blind in the draw. I sat there in a daze watching all un-folding, I had the shot, but something told me it was JR’s hunt and not mine. He could have taken the big buck at 15 yards, but in his mind he knew I was after this buck. He made movement in the blind and the all the deer, but one scattered in the opposite direction. The one buck that caused the others to react, just stood his ground. JR took the 8 yard shot on that buck. Each person on this hunt was thinking about the other person and did not react to the situation. I told him he should have arrowed the big buck! “Dad, he was yours to take”

Pay to Play. So many times we see these days with the social media great pictures of truly great animals taken by hunters. When digging a bit, they are hunting on private enclosed hunting lands. In many cases large sums of money have changed hands to make the success of the hunt happen. This is about how much money one has to be successful. There is little more to be said on this style of hunter. Some years back I got a picture sent to me of a 430” Rocky Mountain bull taken in Idaho. What a great bull that was taken at 100 yards while in his bed. It took a while to get to the bottom of the story, but the bull was harvested on an enclosed 8-foot fenced ranch that sells the bulls by the inch.

Guides Help. There are many that want to only hunt on private lands (non-enclosure) with guides. In conclusion many times the hunter makes great shots on the game and I would say their success rate is around 50% to 100%. Again money is involved in the hunt and the success of the hunter. Most hunters would love to be able to have one or more of these hunts. To have a chance to hunt on a ranch that has big game and is managed for hunting would be quite exciting, I believe sometimes. On these ranches the only fences are the 5 strand barbwire cattle fencing…

Just Ask! Lastly, though the good old boys (ranchers) are slowing riding into the sunset, there still are some ranches and farms a hunter can just ask to hunt and be surprised that they might just get a Yes! They are normally working ranches or farms, with livestock, crops, orchards, vineyards or all of the above. Over the years I have just done the asking and got permission to hunt. In time I found that I wanted to return the favor and would give gestures of my thanks for getting to hunt these places. There is never the guarantee of harvesting game.

This Blacktail buck was on private property that I took the time to ask for permission to hunt.

A funny and very true ending to the last paragraph was about 10 years ago. I knew a rancher in the Steen’s Mountains of Oregon that would allow hunters to hunt Pronghorns. So I helped out one of my vendors and lined up the permission. I knew that the rancher drank soda pop and I told my vendor to get a couple of cases of pop and a new folding knife for the rancher. “Ryan asked me, “why the knife” and I told him you’ll know when the timing is correct. So Ryan gets to the ranch, met and talk with the rancher, the rancher was very busy and told him to go down the road a couple of miles and look for a cattle guard. Ryan was a bit lost, and then he remembered what I said. Quickly producing the knife to the rancher, he was then escorted to the place to hunt with ideas of how to hunt the area. Ryan was successful in getting a trophy Pronghorn. Ranchers and Farmers are not managing wildlife, yet they have a great influence on the survival of wildlife.

Bwana Bubba

Hunting Equipment

Bwana Bubba’s Thoughts – Mapping Technology

August 17, 2015 Frank Biggs 1 Comment

onXmaps HUNT

The technology is here for all to enjoy accurate mapping in the field!

How many people know that Wyoming was the first to make jumping B.L.M. corners a trespassing violation? It is the same in Oregon, as I have tested the waters on this one. There is no need to trespass!

There is technology and mapping resources to keep you from unintentionally trespassing in the State of Oregon and many other states in the continental U.S. that has private land and public land in a mix of blocks with fences and without fences. In many cases hunters find the landowner and gain access to public land or even the private sector.

For many years I have been helping hunters find places to hunt for big game in the State of Oregon. In the four years I have been involved with new mapping technology and giving coordinates or waypoints to hunters at NO COST monetarily, none of my hunters that use the technology have ever had an issue. I have expected them to buy a GPS (Garmin) (colored screen) (SD Micro Ready) that interfaces with the Topo Mapping Software from onXmaps HUNT. Recently I have extended free service for those that are using Android and Apple devices. In this case with the onXmaps HUNT software loaded to the device, I can send them a Google Earth KLM file. This keeps it simple and fast for me to get them into the area, saving a great deal of time in the scouting of an area.

This is what you would see on an Mobile Device from a Google Earth from a KLM file download.

A bit of humor though, when checking back with the hunters after the hunt, I have asked where the pictures and short story are, some have told me “I didn’t find an antelope at the waypoint!” “But I did get kill one close to the spot!”

For those who are savvy with a computer to have the software on the computer and on a colored screen Garmin GPS there is limitless opportunity with the knowledge gained from using the technology.

The great thing about using onXmaps HUNT is that in many states you have the private, private timber lands, BLM, State Lands and National Forest lands distinctively marked for easy reference. In many counties you will see the blocks of private by land owner name. The onXmaps HUNT Information Technology team is always updating the maps when needed!

What does amaze me daily that many hunters who let’s say have waited 12-20 years for a pronghorn tag, still come back to me when they are using their computer to find me and my services and tell me they can’t afford a GPS or they tell me, “I have a paper map.” I don’t even carry paper maps in the field any longer.

This is how my Garmin GPS and Google Earth looks with onXmaps HUNT with waypoints and tracks. You decide if you want accuracy or gray zone!

The major problem with paper maps is that most are outdated and most will not show the small blocks of private land that are on Bureau of Land Management, State Lands (sometimes) or National Forest. Just one example is near Sumpter and Granite, Oregon where there are privately held mines on private land. Always interesting to see the names of the mines in some Oregon’s and other state’s remote locations. You won’t see that on most paper maps, little along on other mapping software. I can guarantee with a National Forest map or road map, you’re going to get a trespassing ticket if you rely on that source to keep you legal. A landowner up in this neck of the woods on an active mine, might not take too kindly to someone trespassing. Now if you had the onXmaps HUNT mapping, you might be able to find the landowner and get permission to hunt. Remember, asking is not that hard to do!

This would be the typical National Forest Map and other mapping companies software on a GPS Device.

Yet to this day in a moment of compassion, I will print a map from my onXmaps HUNT program, scan it and send it to a person so they can hunt. It is just not the same doing this rather than to have the waypoints on a GPS and while at camp, look at them on a laptop for the next day’s hunt. You can make a route to get to that hard to reach spot. For those that don’t have a Garmin, they might only get txt files and try to figure them out on a map. Land ownership and boundaries change over the years, just look at the boundaries of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation today versus 15 years ago.

Now this is the view of the above National Forest land with onXmaps HUNT software on a Garmin GPS.

Having a local tell you, “Once you get to the store in Hampton, there is a road that goes to the north out of town, travel for about a mile, stop at the first tree on the left, turn then once you cross the stream on Grade 7 road, then travel about 1 mile, then turn right at the big boulder with class of 70 painted on it, then up the hill until you see the pine tree, then take the second dirt road to the left” is utterly confusing. Most of us get lost!

I hear of hunters or outdoor people getting ticketed every day for trespassing unknowingly. The fine alone, if they get a good judge with compassion, you could have bought a new Garmin Montana and onXmaps HUNT SD Micro Card, and many sporting goods stores have package deals!

This is my Garmin Montana with onXmaps HUNT software. This is what it looks like and you can zoom in for greater accuracy!

The other amazing thing is that the GPS and the mapping software will give the hunter or outdoor person and insight into the unknown. You’ll find places you can go, that you never knew existed. These places aren’t advertised, but once you locate them by using the equipment, you can make the call or let’s say check with ODFW on private lands on which the public can hunt. Do you really think that timber companies advertise for the public to hunt their lands? They might have some lands open, but they also have some not opened to the public and yet both are posted the same way!

#huntsmarter #teamhunt #onxmaps #bwanabubbaadventurers

Bwana Bubba of Oregon