Tag Archives: Hunting Stories

Cathedral Rock Access Debated – By Dylan Darling – Bend Bulletin

December 21, 2012 Frank Biggs 1 Comment

Frank,
Here’s my story.
Dylan
—–
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. —

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Czar The Wonder Horse

August 20, 2012 Frank Biggs 2 Comments

“Czar”

The Best Hunting Horse

When it comes to hunting and phases (cowboy-mid life) that we all go through in our lifetime of hunting is sometimes very interesting. I have always had wonderment about horses, having worked on getting my Merit Badge in the Boy Scouts at Camp Baldwin up near Dufer, Oregon when I was a kid. On that outing of two (2) weeks, it was all about having the horses jump over logs and riding a Palomino. The idea was to lay back on the trail so the wranglers wouldn’t see us doing so! By the way, the Palominos’ weren’t the best horses on the trail. It only took me some 20 years later to get worked up on horses again!

I would like to say that Czar was the wonder horse of all! He was in the aspect of his hunting skills, which included the ability to climb and never wanting to stop. I would have to turn him downhill so he would take a rest! Lower the ramp on the horse trailer and he would come running and load up! He was not a fast horse by any means, but he did get there always! Czar had the ability not to be distracted by the blood of game, or anything else that might be on the trail as a distraction. When I first had Czar I took him up to Pilot Rock on an elk hunt up Little Pearson Creek. We came upon a fresh Cougar kill of a deer on Government 80, the snow was about a foot and half deep, Czar walked up to the kill and smelled it, then moved on!

Czar came into my life after renting horses to hunt the Steens Mtns., in Southeast Oregon in the mid eighties for deer. It was a real mess on that hunt with the rented valley horses, with there inability to work the east slope with mountain trails, or load up on the trailer. The horses would want to work you up against the fences with one mounted on them. It had to be the worst time on a hunting trip in my life. The hunt, which should have been a great harvesting hunt, turned into nightmares. This included having to chase a loose horse around in the sage brush at Hampton Station at 1AM! The man that rented the horses had told me they were hunting horses of the best quality as was the horse trailer made out of an old Rambler axle. It was all crap, but than there would have been nothing to talk about if it had all gone well! I had to go back the following weekend and hunt McCoy and take a buck using the old truck!

Talking about that hunt with my Uncle Dave and that I needed to get my own horse for hunting, Uncle Dave said he would sell me Czar, as he now had a younger horse called Brandy for his hunting. I knew that Czar had hunted Texas Butte and Madison Butte in the Heppner Unit in Oregon for elk. He had packed out many elk from Texas and Madison Butte. A deal was made and I would pull Czar from Uncle Dave’s place in Oregon City and take him to Madras.

Bubba diggers — Czar came to the company dinner! He crossed Union Ave in rush hour! Great Horse!

I quickly went out and got a two (2) horse trailer, trade a rifle (Colt AR-15) for all the tack that I would need. It was great to be running a sporting goods store and having all the right vendors to work with. Including having a special scabbard made for my left-handed Weatherby Custom 340. I still have that scabbard today some 25 years later. I made arraignment with a rancher in Madras, Oregon to leave Czar. I was told in those days that you got to take the horse out of the valley and turn them into a mountain horse. The great thing about Madras place was there were always rimrock, water and feed for horses.

dePearsonCrk — Czar up at near Haskel Springs

I did most of hunting for deer and elk in the Pearson Creek area outside of Pilot Rock a great deal, but had drawn my first Snake River Elk. I would be hunting on the South End of the unit and would hunt north of 32 Point and go into Summit Creek. I was fortunate to have a customer that wanted to hunt the Steens and traded information on the Snake with me! The first year I was un-successful in harvesting a bull, but the following year I harvested a good bull that won the pool pot (280 bucks). I had made a very long shot (won’t give you the distance as you won’t believe me) on the bull and he was on a steep hillside in Summit Creek. It took me more than an hour to get to the bull some three ridges over. I had to finish him off in his bed (long range round had hit him in the neck) on the steep hillside with blow down. I tied the rack up so the bull would not slide and get stuck in the blow down, so I could quarter him out. After doing so I ran, yes ran up the hill to the ridge road (marathon runner) to get Czar. I got Czar down close to the elk, I had ground tied Czar which was a great mistake, and he slipped and went down with both front legs over trees that were down. Quickly pull the lead rope knot and got him back up to shack off the experience. I had to move Czar to a flat spot on the trail about 100 yards away. Like I’ve told you all he was a great horse with character! I had gotten new bags for Czar and loaded up the quarters, still having a head & rack with the backstrap and tenderloins to get loaded up. My buddy Ben Olsen came along with my other horse, one that was given to me by an old boss. Ben was always a hunting partner that knew what was going on and could read my mind. It was the first time for mare to be used for hunting and she did pretty good getting down into Summit Creek with Ben leading her down to Czar. The rest of this story in the Snake was not so nice, with the mare balking over a tree limb and flipping over backwards and rolling down the hill. Ben was on her fast and un-cinched the saddle. She got back up on all fours, but in the end I let Czar go and he led the mare out of the canyon with the loads. When Ben and I finally to too the top, Czar and the mare were standing at the trail-head. Many times while hunting in the Snake, I had left Czar on the Ridge Road in the timber and hunted the canyons below. He would always be easy to find, as he seem to know when I would get close and I could hear him neigh.

Cobra -Czar 001 — Czar and Cobra at Wild Bill's Place

Czar never let me down in the 10 years that I had him! Czar made a number other hunts with me up at Wild Bill’s place up on East Birch Creek. Wild Bill was an old time horseman and rancher, so horses was the way to go. Of course it was required to pack a six shooter side arm also. I once loaned Czar to old Chuck Megeske to use on an elk hunt out of Heppner. He and his party had 8 cow tags. They hunted in the snow and Czar drug all the elk out from what Chuck informed me with pictures! I think he was feeding his Care Home folks with all the elk meat though!

When I started to hunt the Grizzly Unit in Oregon, Czar was not longer needed and I sold him, the Mare and all my tack, including the trailer to an old hunting buddy MJ. He used Czar for guiding for about 4 more years and finally retired Czar to a mutual rancher outside of Ashwood, OR. His daughter needed a 4-H horse during her High School years in Madras, Oregon.

The modes of operations for hunting the Grizzly Unit was either walk in or use a Quad to get from point A and B. Spot the game and go after them in the sage, juniper and rimrock on foot!

On the way to Steens 003 — Coming out of the lake! Great hunt with Ben!

Going to the Steens Mtn. — Coming out of the lake! Great hunt with Ben!

: The road to Frenchglen, pulling Czar! Yes we did cross the lake!

Video's All Types, Videos U Tube Hunting

Videos on U Tube – Wildlife Links

July 8, 2012 Frank Biggs Leave a comment

The following link are to videos I have put on U Tube via Bwana Bubba:

LINK: Bwana Bubba @ U Tube

There are many videos on the U Tube Channel!

Cobra

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William L. Biggs U.S.Navy Korean War – DAD

March 19, 2012 Frank Biggs 3 Comments

Do sons give credit to their dad’s for the paths they take in life?

While my father is still alive, I thought I should write things about him that is important to me over the years! First off, this is a young man back in about 1953 that takes on a ready made family. I was about 3 and my brother Steve was about 2 when Bill Biggs met Barbara Trumble, a widower at a very young age. Our natural father died in the Columbia River going back to the ship in an automobile accident in 1952.

It is funny how one as they gets older have total recall on the past, yet can’t remember where they put their truck keys, guess that is why most of us have a special draw or bowl for short term memory!

Having not known my natural father that I can remember at he was a Merchant Marine, Bill Biggs aka Dad from here out in this writing took us boys as his own. As I look over the years I would have to say it was that way and we always looked to him as Dad. No I never called him daddy, just dad! He was in the U.S. Navy for a number of years and this I can remember, so it was for some years forward to about the age of 6 for me. He served during the Korean War as a Navy Radar Man, in those days they would have to write backwards on a see through board so the CO and XO see what was going on in the Command Center. When he wrote is was always in printing and never script. His A’s were always flat on top!

I know we lived in Astoria, Oregon up on top of the hill while station aboard the U.S.S. Oriskany he was on was station at the once famous Tongue Point at Astoria,OR. I know that he never caught sneaking out of my bedroom window and going to the outside refrigerator to just crack open the Coke bottles and sip a little pop. I made sure they were all at the same level, each and every bottle!

Later Dad was stationed at Alameda,CA as the ship he was on the U.S.S. Oriskany, a famous aircraft carrier that was used even in the Vietnam War. The circle of that ship is pretty small, for as a kid in Tongue Point, I was able to go aboard the ship. Later while I was stationed in the Philippines in 1970, I did Comms with the COMSEC team aboard the ship. I had a chance to go aboard the ship TAD, but chose Vietnam with the 5th Marines instead! My brother Steve was over in Vietnam at Yankee Station aboard the U.S.S. Coontz DLG9, running cover for the U.S.S. Oriskany in the battle group. Steve was there when the Oriskany had a major fire aboard the top deck! You could see the fire from more 18 miles away with the naked eye! Glad I was not aboard!

My dad was of Danish & American Indian ancestry and was a statue of a man with broad shoulders, tall, lean and jet black hair with green-blue eyes. In the old days out at Janzten Beach there was a swimming area with high dives. One that was brave could got to the high dive and actually dive into the Columbia River. I still remember as a kid, him doing that in a Swan Dive and having perfect entrance into the river. One would have thought that John Weissmuller was diving into a lagoon.

Now getting to the future with Dad! I remember his hunting trips with Uncle Dave and when he bought the Mannlicher Schoenauer in 30-06, from the once famous Foster Sporting Goods in Portland, OR. He and Uncle Dave bought one each. Over the years, which are many times, I have given a bad him time about not getting that rifle. The truth is Dad it was more of a jest, as that darn thing is right handed and has such a high comb, it would definitely beat me up. I would hope that Dad did give some hunting or sporting thoughts to my sister’s son Michael and pass it along to him. That rifle can not ever be replaced in the 21st Century!

I remember a Bobcat skin that I had in my room that Dad had shot as a young man on the Feather River outside of Sacramento, California as a young man. He was riding on the fender of an old pickup and killed the Bobcat with a 22 rifle. He was a crack shot.

There are a couple of short stories as a teenager that I could have gotten into trouble, but Dad was pretty cool about it. When I got to go on my first Goose hunt to Summer Lake in Oregon, I remember being on a dike in the middle of Summer Lake. I had 5 boxes of shotgun shells and shot every one of the shells. When I got back to Dad and his hunting partner, with no birds or shells, he asked me “what were you doing”, as they had a stack of Snow Geese on the ground. I told them, I shot at every goose and duck that flew over me and none fell out of the sky. He just shook his head, and later at Sauvies Island, I learned how to lead a bird! Shooting targets with a 22, I never had to lead!

Another time while I was still at home before going in the Navy, I would have to be at work at 1:00PM, but would get up at 0300 and if not caught going out the door I would head over to the Deschutes River at Warm Springs to fish for Redsides. If caught by mom I would have to back upstairs and get up at 0600 and fish for hatchery fish on the Clackamas River. I would race over to the Deschutes in my 54 Ford at 4000 RPM; it would take me an hour and 15 minutes to get there. Never got a ticket once going there. Anyway this particular day I did not have work, so I got back at about 1700 Hour and had the Redsides in the kitchen sink and Dad got home and looked in the sink. “Son those don’t look like Clackamas River trout” With a smile he turned and went into the living room with a cup of Coffee!

When High School, I was going to Benson and I was on a rifle team with my cousins with Lucky 22’s. They all had 22 target rifles and I did not have one. My dad talked my mom into getting a German made Anchutz 22LR Target Rifle in left-handed for me at Meyer & Franks’, yep in those days they sold rifles. It was a really big deal to get this rifle and not have to borrow one. Later they both allowed me to switch from Benson Polytechnic and go to Franklin H.S. so I could shoot on their rifle team. He put up with my political fight with the school district to make it a Varsity Sport, which happened after my senior year!

There is a lot that I remember about Dad over the years, like the time while I was in Vietnam he sends me a picture of a Boone & Crockett Canadian Moose he killed up near Fort St. Johns in B.C. That picture was pretty famous with my Marine counter parts.

When I got back from over seas, we hunted a number of years together for Blacktail deer and Mule deer. The last hunt was pretty special as I saw him make a very long range shot with that Mannlicker outside of Ashwood, OR on nice mule deer buck. That was a great hunt as we both got bucks on that trip. Then there was a Blacktail deer hunt down by Falls City, OR, which I learned on that hunt was never to say, “There’s a buck”. As when ever that was said, a Blacktail never got shot! I have taken that forward in all of my hunting!

Dad also took me on my first deer hunt when I was in the 5th grade and not yet able to carry a rifle. The following year I took hunter safety.

“My first hunt that I went on with my dad was with Uncle Dave and his group of hunters, such as Uncle Harry, Uncle Monroe, Uncle Floyd, Jack Carroll, Danny Carroll and Bill Biggs (dad) to Egypt Wells, outside of Riley, Oregon. With the old 55 Studebaker loaded to hilt and trailer loaded also. Of course that group all tagged out on Mulie bucks up in the Silvies.”

In closing we also did a great deal of fishing and spent many trips up to Ollialie Lake near Mount Hood and many trips to the Metoluis River at Camp Sherman.

One last memory of how tough he was is during the gas shortages in the 80’s, he had the Chevron Station at the Memorial Coliseum on Broadway. Tough time with fights in getting gasoline for cars and all gas being allocated. Dad wore a hand gun (Colt 357 6″) on his side during the many months of this scam by the government and oil companies. He never got robbed or confronted at his place of business!

Thanks Dad for guiding me in the correct direction to the Right!

P.S. The Navy was ok also, giving responsibility in Life!

Hunting Equipment

Cathedral Rock & Rock-Horse Heaven Proposed Wilderness – Limited BLM Access

January 17, 2012 Frank Biggs 3 Comments

BLM Mule Deer before the Archery Season! — This is about hunting and trying to find a big buck sometimes

Under this proposed Wilderness Act, BLM Access will be limited access to the BLM lands and the parties involved on the private sector would compromise by having a trail-head with limited access which would now be on their land and not on the once county road they want vacated. Just think about having arm guards asking for your hunting liscense before entering Public Land!

Since this involves everyone that uses Federal Lands for pleasure, sometimes a voice needs to be heard and sent out to fellow outdoor enthusiasts!

Over the course of many years I hunted, fished and hiked a great deal of the Oregon. Some has been on private land with permission, but the majority of it in the last 30 years has been on B.L.M and National Forest. Many that used B.L.M., (Bureau of Land Management-Public Land) know that B.L.M. has some of the greatest opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking, mining claims, or just looking for rocks and fossils. We are quite lucky in the Western States to have so much B.L.M. to use for outdoor activities.

A great problem exists in the Western States with B.L.M., land-locked B.L.M. and private. Specifically, I am referring to a large private landing holding in Central Oregon where this has major problem for almost 30 years Recently I spoke with a person (government employee) about B.L.M. lands that are land-lock on this private holding and lack of access. He commented that you can work the corners (checker board BLM) by using Global Positioning Systems. To his amazement I told him that it was against the Law to do so. Regardless of your ability to jump the corners and work them, you still come in the land owner’s air space.

The particular area I am addressing is east of Madras, Oregon and near Historical Donnybrook and borders the John Day River, with both Wasco County and Jefferson County have county roads in the land area. To many it is known as the “Big Muddy Ranch” notoriously it was known as the Rancho Rashneeshpuram. Today it is known as the Washington Family Ranch, which is under the direction of Young Life.

Rah Sign Only — This is the sign of the past that were posted on BLM, just not the private! So now we see NO TRESPASSING SIGN w-Washington Family Ranch! Remember if this Act goes through you will find these signs on the Public Road most likely!

There has been a bill drawn up by a couple of Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to do a Land Swap between a numbers of private property owners with B.L.M. encompassed on their lands. The name of this Bill is S. 2963, Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven Wilderness Act. I believe the idea of consolidating the B.L.M., which has been land-locked since before my time. I am not sure though that it should become a Wilderness Area. After looking at the proposed map of the land swap, there is at least one major issue and that there is no public access to Cathedral Rock.

From what I see one Young Life will have greater benefits then the public would with the present proposal. The greatest concern is the issue with public access to the lands. Cathedral Rock or Coffin Rock would be the toughest proposal due to lack of road access touching the land. There would be on river access on the John Day River and that side of the land is extremely steep and if I remember there is only one real slot to come in from the river. For years now you could have access to the B.L.M. in the area via the N.E. Muddy Creek Rd. The public could get to Wagner Mountain (Cathedral Rock) and Horse Heaven via the N.E. Muddy Creek Rd. Understanding from reliable sources; Young Life has tried to vacate the roads. What his means is that the county road that goes into the area will become a private road. The result is a portion of the proposed land swap could only be used by Young Life and that would be for hunting purposes most likely. In a recent land hearing, the comment by the Director of Young Life is that they would regulate the usage of the road at specific times of the year. The comment was made that the ranch is has youth on the ranch and want to regulate people in the area. Young Life themselves have hunts going on the ranch during the big game season and bird season. Since the Washington Family donated the land to Young Life there is great deal of the money generated from the hunting on the ranch! It was once said when Young Life took over that land that they made comment that to the effect of wanting to put up a game fence 8’ high to keep the game on the ranch. It is strange but understandable that you can’t find a link on the Washington Family Ranch (Young Life) page for hunting or even fishing, rest assure they have it and there is a Game Director for the Ranch!

I personally believe in Young Life’s mission statement!

At this point there is no real benefit to the public or others such as Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs who might have sites in the old B.L.M. that are cultural importance to them to have access.

According to Town Meeting it was said, Young Life feels that all hunters want to trespass their lands to gain access to the B.L.M. or just trespass to hunt. Majority of the public does not realize that Young Life has patrollers during the hunting season patrolling their lands and the B.L.M. (will stop you on the B.L.M.) via truck, ATV or horseback. It should also be known that much of the B.L.M., lands ATV’s are no longer allowed, and you have walk in. There is a section of land east of Donnybrook on top of Gosner Road (Horse Heaven) that many hunters and hikers will camp at. During the hunting season patrollers of Young Life will come into the B.L.M. area that hunters camp on and take vehicle license numbers down and sometimes there have confrontations. This is a known fact, as I myself have experience a number of times of the years. One such encounter was with handgun carrying patrollers on B.L.M. and be accused of trespassing on their lands. I find that this person(s) are now a private land holder (Jefferson County Fire Cheif) next to Young Life property and has been involved to have the Muddy Road vacated and how the land should be used. I made a comment to the Director of Washington Family Ranch at the time, “are you planning to shoot hunters”, his comment back was “we will do whatever is nessacary to protect our lands”. I then asked him why does he feel he has control of the B.L.M. and have gun carrying patrollers on B.L.M.!

My experience is on public record in the Wasco County Courthouse in The Dallas, Oregon.

Why should Young Life, or any other major land owner be able to determine who can be on B.L.M. Far as I am concern, it will lead further to major private land holders having even more control of public land. Just the fact that Young Life wants the road vacated goes along what has happen in many cases in the west with roads being vacated and Federal Lands become permanently landlocked with no Public Access!

Contact to Comment to: Greg Walden U.S. Congressman

Doc Hastings U.S. Congressman Natural Resources Committee

Big Game Hunting, Hunting Equipment

The 2 Frank Sr.s Grizzly Unit Elk Hunt

October 11, 2011 Frank Biggs 1 Comment

There was has been a time period when I did rifle hunt for elk, as most of my partners were into the rifle hunting of elk. This particular story is about a great rifle hunt for Rocky Mountain Elk in Oregon. The hunt involved my brother Steve and one of my running partners Frank Phillips.

Frank Phillips and I had drawn Grizzly Hunt Unit -Oregon second season elk tags and poor Steve had not drawn the Grizzly tag and ended up with a general season tag and would have to hunt the Biggs Unit that lay across the rural Highway 218 that split the two units.

In those days those us that hunted the B.L.M., State Lands and some private that were encompassed within or near the “BIG MUDDY“ or to my group named the “Rajneeshpuram“, kept hunting the area as quiet as we could. Not wanting it be known about how many elk lived in the rimrock, Junipers and sagebrush land that was overgrazed by cattle in and around Donnybrook, Ashwood, and Antelope closely guard for many years. The “Bhagwan-Shree-Rajneesh“ and his followers were to thank as they kept more than 60,000 acres closed to hunting, managed the creeks, built lakes and planted crops. I believe we first sighted Elk in about 1983 while bow hunting for the monster Mulies of the area, while glassing back at the at observation towers of the “Rajneeshpuram“ (tower had 365 degree viewing, plus sleeping area for the guards).

Biggs at Earls 004 — 2 Bulls with this type of antler taken out of the gene poll!

On with the story that started with Steve and myself meeting Frank in Madras, with him being dropped off by his wife as she was heading to Black Butte Ranch outside of Sisters, Oregon. Keeping a low profile we got a couple of rooms in Madras at Huffy’s Motel easy to come and good to where we were hunting (45 minutes).

Since Brother Steve was going to have to drive down to the lower part near Clarno, Oregon and head into the BLM or maybe even Sorefoot, he would be dropping us off for our hike into the interior. We started out at about 4:30AM by being dropped off at the Microwave Complex on the road and we would check out the main basin near the “Baily Ranch”. The first part of the hike in would be about 4 miles of downhill with lots of rocks to maneuver through.

In that country when it rains the going get rough as the soil is more like clay and most difficult with caking up with as much as 4’ on the soles of your boots. Now both Frank and I were in great shape running as much as 30 races a year and putting in about 150 miles a month running. If it were today and kicking our legs out to get rid of the mud, probably have to have knee surgery. It was tough and one wonders what the heck we were doing and why not wait for the ground to dry out. We had the land to ourselves and during the whole hunt never saw another hunter. A well-kept secret, plus most want to hunt first season to get first lick on the big bulls. Little do they know that the big bulls get pushed out of the National Forest to the south of this area? So easy for them to find refuge in this open country where they can lay and watch there backside.

Biggs at Earls 002 — Looks pretty good from this angle!

We reached the basin that is near the big pine, the only big pine in the area, pretty close to the head waters of Current Creek. We did have access to a number of ranches in those days. Funny all of the land owners are now gone or dead, thus today much of this is not hunt able except with hard cash in the form of 10K or more. The B.L.M. holds elk still, but not in the numbers it once did with the predation from the Cougars, plus all the fires on private land has changed the landscape and habitat.

As for numbers, let me tell you about the 250 plus elk that were spotted by Rick Baily once near the lake. After 2 hours of working into the grazing herd, Rick and his buddies were able to take 9 bulls. This area is B.L.M. and one can sit above this place near Horse Heaven and glass for hours and never get bored!

So we are in the basin and I am starting to glass, as I know the area well and would find the bulls. It is the same spot about 3 years prior that my partners got there a few days early and decided to scout, though my advice was to scout and leave it for the opener. I believe that M.J. made comments on that opener day that they jumped 16 big bulls at the black rock. Oh! Yes! At times one would not believe the bulls that we would find!

My binoculars are Bausch & Lomb Elite 12 X 50. I love big glass with light gathering capacities as that is what I need in the early and late afternoon while glassing canyons and draws. It wasn’t long before I spotted a real nice bull, I would put him at about 320″. Since Frank was my guest, I gave him first opportunity to take bull out. I figured the distance to be about 375 yards and since he has taken deer at great distance in the Eagle Cap of Oregon, it should be no problem. Funny he asked me a question on “how are we getting this bull out of here if I kill him?” Not a problem with the quad for me! Now Frank is sorting out if he wants the bull and I was looking for bigger bulls as this was going to be the last time to hunt with a rifle for me for Elk.

He did not take the shot on the bull and I am sure he was worried about get the bull out of the basin. Some years earlier M.J. killed a bull in the same basin and ended up rolling his quad and having it and the bull on top of him. So the bull survived and with hindsight, I should have just shot the bull and got it over with early.

So now I am wanting to go cross country and head towards Earl’s place near Hwy 218 and that was about 6-8 miles line of sight. We did go cross country and it took a great deal of time, as we were getting tired of stopping every 300 yards and kicking the mud off of our boots. It really sucked and we were not seeing any elk on the way, only big bucks which did help take the mind off of the mud. Lucky for use Earl had a few pieces of land that connected, as we did not have permission to hunt David D. or Lowell F. Ranches.

Now we have gotten across the DMZ and were working up into in Cold Camp Creek on our way to Maupin Butte or Hasting Butte. There was a section prior to Maupin Butte that held a lot of Elk and Mule deer. There was always running water from a spring, plus the good grass that grew in there. We were now getting the chance to use the river bed to move and no more mud. The rain had stopped some hours before and the ground was getting firmer for us.

As we reach the first draw, we were quick to spot three bulls moving quickly through the trees, with one being a rage horn and the other two being spikes. Then came along a couple of decent Mulie bucks and finally a brave coyote taking up the back of the group! At this time I figured there was someone else coming from the Cold Camp Road to the West?

We let things settle for a while and then started to work down the draw and get up on the plateau and glass again. All of a sudden I spot a big and I mean big bull with about 15 or so cows. As I am getting down to take aim on this bull that was at some 600 yards plus I hear Frank say “now if you miss I kill him with my 270”. I wanted dearly to take the shot, but with those thoughts in my mind and the conditions not in my favor, I decide to let the bull drop over the plateau. He was not going anywhere and I could find him easy.

Now I was shooting a Weatherby Mark V Left Handed Custom in 340 Caliber, 26″ Magnaport barrel, Leupold VariX II 2.5 X 10 50MM and cranking out a 210gr Nosler Partition at about 3300 at the muzzle. Not a problem for long range shots. That rifle is still around and is one elk slaying rifle and I can tell you elk have fallen at distances I can see with the naked eye.

So now we are on the move and have gotten on the other side of the plateau and figured the bull was just over the edge. Ah! No bull or any elk around! We made it a couple of steps more and I spot an elk up in a draw off of Maupin Butte at about 1200 yards I figured. The hunt is now on and I asked or more like told Frank to head to left and I was heading to the right and straight forward once I got some cover. It was long as I was running so Frank would not get to the spot before me, he gave up his chance and it was my opportunity to tag the bull. I made it to what I thought would be the best place to have cover and equal height to the bull, but it would be a cross canyon shot. When I get there it is about 5PM or close to it, low light and what I see is a side profile of a big bull. All I see is antler mass and I am on the ground without looking at this point tri-pod down and taking instant aim at the bull that is at around 625 yards. I put the crosshairs on his back and let it rip (the 340 is sighted in at my standards at 500 yards)! I hit the bull in the boiler room, but he didn’t move! The cows made quick escape of the ridge! As they say if it isn’t on the deck, keep shooting. I take another shot quickly and hit the bull in the left front leg above the knee; he now of course falls over as he is on a side hill. Now one has to remember I only saw the side profile and figured it was my big bull I had seen earlier. Frank P. and I reach the bull at the same time! “Damn, it’s the wrong bull! Great mass but the bull had a bad pedestal and the left horn was all distorted and rolled back in! I pulled my tag out and tagged the bull!

The first season, my old time hunting buddy Ben Olson had taken a bull about 10 miles to the southeast at Horse Heaven that had the same issues, his had the right horn with a bad pedestal and the left horn was a massive six point. We did need to get the gene pool out of the area.

Now while we were quartering the elk and capping him, old brother (younger brother) was hunting in the Biggs Unit. He had run into old Mary M., who had a ranch on both sides of Hwy 218, who told him a monster bull that was in her place crippled up. I can’t believe that he did not ask permission to kill the thing. All I know is he worked the line below here fence line looking for the bull. She had told him that he appeared to be heading to the river (John Day). He never found the bull!

It is now coming on darkness as we would have to meet Steve at the gravel pit (which one you ask?) at exactly 6:30 for pickup. With my Hawaiian style of quartering an elk we had the elk capped, skinned and bagged in 45 minutes. With a quick hustle off the mountain, being able to hit Earl’s access road to the Maupin and Hasting Butte we came to the gravel pit at 6:30PM and Steve was there on time for pickup.

We were tired and needed to head back to Madras, get showered up, eat a steak and relax for a while. Frank P.; say “we can get the bull out in the morning”. I said no we get the bull out tonight or I will. I remember Frank P. looking at me a strange way!

We got back and get a hot shower; head over to the restaurant at Huffy’s and have a real dinner. All pain is gone, the temperature is dropping (31degrees) and full moon is now out with the sky opening up to stars and the moon. I got Steve on board and Frank P. is now in favor of getting the bull out at night and being able to hunt for his BIG bull in the morning. There is still was that monster bull in the area for him to take.

We reach the gravel pit at around 10:30Pm, un-load the quad, Steve left the area to go sightseeing and try to talk with Mary M. and try to get permission to hunt her place in the Biggs Unit.

Frank P. and I take the road up between Maupin and Hasting and hit the fence line which we now follow-up as far as we can. Thank goodness the moon was out as we weren’t running with lights, needed to keep the secret of the hot spot. Earl hated quads anyway and only let them be used once in a while… We make it to the spot and quickly load the quarters and head onto the quad. Frank says he will walk back down and I tell him “nobody walks, get on and hold on”. The whole roundtrip took some 45 minutes and Steve was back for the pickup on time.

Steve did not get permission to find the bull on Mary’s place! We get back to Huffy’s in about an hour. Take the bull and put it the shower of one of the rooms. We did not want anyone knowing we had taken a bull. Plus I did not want to haul the elk around with us for the next day’s hunt.

Sunday was going to Frank P.’s day and I would get him in on the big bull for sure. We got dropped off at the gravel pit on Hwy 218 again by Steve and head back to the kill area. Funny where my bull died, walk about 50 feet you could see Hwy 218…

We venture down past Maupin Butte, past the swamp and into the next basin above the Bhagwan’s place. You could see the old school buses and I could see a massive amount of elk bedded down! Surely the big bull was amongst the cows bedded in junipers somewhere. For more than 30 minutes I glassed and never found him. I then said to Frank “remember those large tracks we crossed about 500 yards back in the draw” “yep” “well those have to be the bull’s tracks and he probably knew we were on him and pulled himself out of the herd”. We can get him Frank, let’s haul ass and get him in the next basin, he is going to want to re-group with the herd sometime.

This is where I was blown away on the opening weekend by my running partner. “Bubba, I got a luncheon date with my wife at Black Butte Ranch at 12:30”

deElk new perspective — In the velvet, this is what Frank P. Sr. could have gotten!

Thus ended the hunt of a lifetime, which I know Frank P. would have killed the biggest bull ever.

The following year Frank hunted the Grizzly Unit with his boys and they got a spike out by Horse Heaven…

Successful Hunters 2011

Roger’s 2011 Steens Antelope Hunt

August 30, 2011 Frank Biggs 3 Comments

Rogers_Lope2 — This picture tells it all about the hunt! Great shot after the kill!

Roger had only got a hold of me this summer about the Steens Antelope Tag he had drawn. I gave Roger some waypoints and I believe even a jpg paper map. I had another fellow hunting the unit, but it is a large area to hunt, so I felt they would not cross paths which they didn’t! So here is Roger’s great story of his hunt, which I have enjoyed to read which all of you will!

Hi Frank,

Thanks so much for the advice provided for my Steens Mountain antelope hunt. Your advice was the difference between success and tag soup for me. As requested here is a short story and photo of my buck. A very small price to pay for the knowledge provided.

After 14 years I was finally able to draw my Oregon Antelope tag. My wife and I decided Steens Mountain would be a great spot to hunt due to the high success rate and legendary scenery. The trip and hunt, although a calamity from start to finish, did end nicely and we were not disappointed!

I reached out to you after discovering my work would allow no scouting before the trip. In addition, I would be traveling to Steens Mountain on opening morning instead of hunting. I was fretting to say the least. I obtained the hunting GPS maps you recommended and even got a new Garmin 62s GPS to use with them. This was an awesome GPS/map combo that did contribute to my success in the end. The waypoints you provided were great starting points for the search and put us square in the middle of good antelope territory.

My wife and I started out from Portland early Saturday morning with a lot of high hopes and anticipation. This bubble was soon burst however by a flat tire while crossing Mount Hood. This little delay cost us our Saturday and we were not able to reach Steens Mountain until Sunday afternoon. On Monday, the 3rd day of the hunt, a time when most hunters were finishing up, we found ourselves just getting started, with the antelope scattered and wary. It was Wednesday before things started to settle down and we were able to spot a few small herds, though some were now missing the buck.

Thursday morning things were looking up, we had a couple of herds to setup on and again anticipation was high. But again a problem… First thing in the morning, we had an axle issue that forced us to miss the whole days hunt and travel to Burns for repairs!

Friday morning, we were back on the road but a whole week of hunting was fast disappearing. And I had not yet put my sights on a buck. I was starting to dread becoming a member of the “20 Percent Club”, that unfortunate group of Steens Mountain antelope hunters who fail to fill their tag. We tried some road hunting, to cover more ground and find a herd. We were finding them, but once these already fuzzed up antelope saw a truck, approaching them was all but impossible. We tried all the road tricks, like slowing down just enough to drop the hunter out the passenger door and then driving on, but no good, these antelope had seen it all.

Latter Friday morning, we spotted a herd of antelope from some distance, before they were able to spot us. This allowed for a spot and stalk. I was able to work my way to within 489 yards of the herd but could go no further as there was nothing but wide open space between the herd and me. So, I settled in between some small juniper scrubs and started eyeing the buck. He was BIG. After a few days of looking at bucks, once you see a good one, you know it. I was excited to say the least. I got a good shooting position with rifle and bipod and started to contemplate the risks/rewards and even sanity of a 489 yard shot. No wind… I had practiced at 400 yards and felt somewhat competent at that range, but 489 was another story. About then I noticed the herd was actually feeding toward me and a bit to my left. This was my best chance of the week. Now all I had to do was wait them out! But again it was not to be. The herd became very nervous and they were all looking in the direction of a road that I could not see, about 500 yards to my left. They then bolted, crossed under a fence on their side of the field and disappeared. I suspected another hunter had been stalking the same herd and spooked them. I picked up my gear and had started the hike back to the truck, when I heard it… Bang Clang Clang Bang Bang Bang Clang. The herd had been spooked by a rancher with a rattling horse trailer traveling up the road. The only other vehicle I saw the whole day! Such are the challenges of public land hunting I guess.

This is where the GPS/map combo came in handy. While back at the truck, we could see where the antelope had traveled almost full circle and were now visible on a far off rise. The rancher approached our truck on horseback. I explained what had happened and apologies were given and they explained they were in the area to round up some cattle they had grazing the BLM land. I replied, no worries, as the antelope could have just as well spooked my way, which would have been a very good thing. I discussed some property boundaries with the rancher, as the herd had seemed to go under the fence onto private land. I knew this because of the GPS maps. The rancher confirmed that the fence was the boundary between their land and BLM land. The rancher seemed somewhat relieved that I asked about and understood the property boundaries.

The rancher decided to help me get within range of the antelope again. With me hidden between the horses, the rancher attempted to approach the antelope on horseback. The antelope obviously knew this trick too and bolted to places unknown for the day. I spent the rest of the day finding a spot to setup that would allow a good shot, if the antelope returned the next day.

On Saturday morning, last day of my hunt, I walked to the setup spot with just enough light as to not require a headlamp, sat down beside a three foot juniper that was on a small rise overlooking the open field. This gave me a perfect 300 yard shot to where the antelope had crossed under the fence the previous day and also allowed me to cover the opposite side, if they showed up there as well. At 7:30am I saw a buck feeding down the BLM side of the fence line. The buck slowly grazed to about where the antelope had crossed under the fence yesterday. Unfortunately, he was not the same buck from the day before. He was smaller. I watched this buck for about 10 minutes, hoping that the rest of the herd might not be far behind, but no others showed. This buck seemed to be alone. Now I had a decision. Should I take this buck or wait for one that may never show? It was 7:30am, my last day, and some scattered clouds arrived that were beating back the sun. I knew that with the early morning air and clouds, I would be able to get the meat out in good shape. So, I took the buck with one shot from 280 yards with my 25-06. The buck was only 20 yards on the BLM side of the fence. I now have some good meat and stories for elk camp this year!

This is where the GPS/map combo really shined for me. In years past, I would not have hunted an area with such close public/private land boundaries. But the maps allowed me to hunt with confidence and I got my antelope, which I may not have gotten otherwise. I hope to hunt the Beulah unit next year. I know an area where some big mule deer hang out and it too is a patchwork of BLM and private land. I cannot wait…

Thanks again, Frank!

Roger

Hunting Equipment, Successful Hunters 2010

Brandon’s 2010 West Beatys Butte Archery Antelope Hunt

July 14, 2011 Frank Biggs 2 Comments

Brandon 2010 Lope — Brandon’s 2010 West Beatys Butte Antelope 40 yards!

Early on in 2010 after Brandon drew his Archery Antelope Tag for West Beatys Butte with one preference point, he contacted me via email about possilbe Lope hunting sights in the unit. He and his dad were willing to spend some time to scout the area. I worked up some waypoints from the old days and since he had a Garmin Mapping GPS, it made it easy for him to utilize the waypoints.

I thought I would share the pictures from his hunt and a short story about the hunt. The big thing he was successful on this bow hunt and harvested a very good Antelope.

Bwana,

In the above attachment you will find the 2010’ Archery Antelope that I got which you helped me on with the GPS coordinates. You will also see a picture of a really nice Lope that we saw during our scouting trip we did 1 month prior to opening day.

Scouting_Lope W. Beatys Butte — Scouting Lope at waterhole!

I got the smaller lope at the same hole as we saw the larger lope at. There was an average of 20 to 40 lopes using the water hole we found. I shot my lope at 40 yards out of a Primos double bull blind while he was drinking water from the hole. Last year was extremely dry and any hole that had water had antelope around.

The water hole that I hunted which I found while scouting is coordinates:

Top Secret Spot

Thanks again for all the help you were. Your help with the GPS let me find the above water hole which brought me success. There were a lot of antelope around this water hole.

BRANDON B.

Bwana Bubba Adventurers