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Oregon requires all hunters under the age of 18 to complete a hunter safety education course before hunting in the state. Upon completing the course (and a Field Day for youth), participants will receive a Hunter Safety certification number and card. Adults are also encouraged to take the online course, as it may be required for out of state hunts. Note: Youth under the age of 9 may struggle with the course material and may not have the physical strength needed to safely handle a firearm during a Field Day, particularly during muzzle control, loading, and unloading drills.
Nov. 20, 2024 If there’s not a photo, it didn’t happen Submit your hunting photo to ODFW and we might use it here or elsewhere on MyODFW.com. Currently open Cougar ( check current harvest numbers), bear, coyote Announcements, resources Black bear harvest update See the recent numbers for black bears harvested to date in each hunting unit. CWD – what you can do Chronic wasting disease is a fatal disease infecting deer and elk across North America. It has now been found in three bordering states – Idaho, Washington, and California, but has not yet been detected in Oregon
Oregon's recreational fisheries for Pacific halibut and bottomfish are constrained by bycatch of yelloweye rockfish, an overfished species. Many of the regulations on these fisheries exist to keep bycatch of yelloweye rockfish within sustainable limits, in order to help the stock recover (for example, depth restrictions in the bottomfish fishery, and no lingcod or rockfish during all-depth halibut days). ODFW encourages anglers to reduce impacts by using descending devices to release yelloweye rockfish, and better yet, to avoid areas where they might be caught.
When it comes to turkey hunting from a ground blind, popup blinds are ideal. Popup blinds set up in minutes and are easy to move around. You also can construct a blind from natural materials, but it’s time consuming and you can’t take the blind with you to your next hunting location. The best blind for you One-person popup blinds are small and portable, but there’s not much room to move. Unless a bird approaches and stops directly in front of you, you may not get a shot. The best blind for most turkey hunters is a larger, two-person, 360º
Spring turkey hunting is about appealing to a tom’s urge to mate. Fall hunting, on the other hand, is about keying in on a flock’s daily routine. Look for a lone bird As fall turkey flocks become established, there’s a pecking order in each group. It’s not uncommon for a lone bird – usually a jake or young tom – to be wandering by himself looking for a flock to join. If you spot a lone bird, waste no time trying to get in front of him to set up and call. Don’t intimidate the lone bird with aggressive calling
A box calls is the most popular turkey call, and is a good choice for new turkey hunters. Box calls not only are easy to use, but they can sound very realistic. A box call can create a wide range of yelps, clucks, purrs, fighting purrs, cackles and gobbles. If you can get yelps, clucks and purrs to sound good on a box call, you’ll routinely bring in birds. Parts of a box call Box calls come in two parts – a narrow rectangular box with a paddle attached at one end. Attached with a single screw in the center
Pot calls, often called slate calls, are friction-style calls that are easy to use and produce a range of turkey sounds. Parts of a pot call A pot call consists of three parts: a pot, a calling surface and a striker. The pot holds the slate and acts as a sound chamber. There are holes drilled in the bottom for sound to escape. To keep from covering the holes, hold the pot with the tips of your fingers, keeping it away from the palm of your hand. Pot calls can be made to be all-weather, with the right striker. The
Mouth calls, also known as diaphragm calls, can seem intimidating but they have some advantages over other kinds of calls. Mouth calls are popular with Oregon turkey hunters because: They're easier to keep dry during wet, spring seasons than are box or slate calls. Since the the call is in your mouth, you can call in a turkey without moving and possible spooking the bird. With practice, they can produce very realistic turkey sounds. Parts of a mouth call There are four parts to a mouth call. Starting at the outside of the call there’s: The tape. The tape stops
Turkey hunters using a shotgun face a very small target – the head and neck of a turkey. Combine that with today’s specialized turkey loads shooting very tight patterns, and making a clean kill shot might depend on a steady shooting rest. Turkeys are nervous-looking birds that seem to never stop moving. Because of their monocular vision and eyes set on the side of their skull, turkeys are often moving and bobbing their heads to try to decipher what they’re seeing. Consider a shooting rest If you’ve got your gun in a ready position, and are waiting for a turkey