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To give hunters more time to report their hunts in the new electronic licensing system, the deadline to report 2018 hunts has been extended to April 15, 2019.
Big Game Hunting
Columbia Area
The transition from forested foothills of Mt. Hood to the beginnings of the Columbia Basin offers big game hunters an array of opportunities. The challenge can be finding public land or getting permission to hunt on private land.
Area units
Much of the western portion of the Columbia Area is national forest. The deciduous and pine forests are home to deer and elk. To the east are vast stretches of agricultural lands. Although access can be challenging, there are pockets of public land for the intrepid hunter.
Species in Columbia Area
Black bears can be found throughout Oregon. Both fall and spring hunting opportunities are available.
Tag Sale Deadline (General):
Black bear: Sept. 28
Bear (SW Additional): No deadline - general season tag must be purchased prior to deadline to be eligible for additional tag.
Tag Sale Deadline (Controlled):
Day before earliest hunt period opens
For hunt details and controlled hunt information, visit eRegulations
California bighorn sheep have a wider range in Oregon than their Rocky Mountain cousins, and are usually found in Oregon's high desert terrain.
Roosevelt elk are the third largest land mammal in North America. They are named after President Theodore Roosevelt, who created what is now Olympic National...
Black-tailed deer make their home in the timber and heavy brush of western Oregon. Recently disturbed habitats such as clearcuts or burns -- with their...
This smaller of Oregon's two elk subspecies can be found in the East Cascades, Blue Mountains, Klamath Mountains and Basin, and the Columbia Plateau. Elk...
Rocky Mountain mule deer are native to eastern Oregon. Explorers in the early 1800s reported a scarcity of big game, but 20 years later gold...
Oregon has about 6,000 cougars statewide, up from an estimated 200 in the late 1960s. Cougars are found in all suitable habitat in Oregon and...
Tag Sale Deadline (General):
Cougar: Sept 28
Cougar (Additional): No Deadline - General season tag must be purchased prior to deadline to be eligible for additional tag.
For hunt details and regulations, visit eregulations
CONTROLLED
Pronghorn antelope are the fastest ungulates in North America, capable of reaching speeds of more than 50 miles per hour. Oregon is home to about...
Tag Sale Deadline:
Day before the earliest hunt period opens
For hunt details and controlled hunt information, visit eRegulations
The Western gray squirrel is the largest native tree squirrel in the state. Requiring only a hunting license, it's a good introductory game species.
For hunt details and regulations, visit eregulations
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Opportunity for kids
Mentored Youth Hunter Program allows youth 9 through 15 years of age to hunt without first passing an approved hunter education...
Buying a license or permit
Unlike general season hunts where anyone can buy a tag over-the-counter, controlled hunts are limited entry hunts that require you...
How to hunt big game
See the latest and historic data about big game hunting statistics for different hunts.
Where to hunt big game
Where to hunt big game
All funds raised by deer and elk auction and raffle tags go directly to the Access and Habitat Program....
Where to hunt big game
Private lands accounts for just over half of Oregon’s land base and include farms, range lands, wetlands, forests and stream...
Where to hunt big game
Oregon Open Fields is a grant that the A&H Program has been awarded from the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)...
Current conditions and opportunities to fish, hunt and view wildlife. Updated weekly by fish and wildlife biologists throughout the state.