New guy hunting in oregon.

[Afpkdhnc]

I just moved to southwest oregon from the east coast. This is my first time hunting for elk. I have my oregon general bow tag and have been hunting the northern side of the chetco unit. I've found tracks, some droppings and one scrape. I was thinking to push more near the scrape since thats the best I have found. I would like to hunt in the Sixes unit since you can take cows there too but it seems mostly shut down due to fire hazard. If anyone has advice or input it would be greatly appreciated.

Details of where I'm hunting: the camping area is at 3700 on top of the mountain, the droppings were in a meadow at the top then scattered down. The tracks were around 3400 feet down and the rub was at 3000. Theres a creek at the bottom at 1200. The terrain is thick shrub with patchy trees from an old fire.

[Indian Summer]

One thing I'll say is a scrape doesn't have much value to hunting elk like it might with deer. It's not a rutting ritual with them so all it really means is an elk was there once. It may even be from a deer.

I'm a realist. The reality is that it takes time to learn how to find and kill elk. You are going to need to be patient. The first thing you need to do is pick an area to hunt. narrow it down. That way you can invest some time getting to know it. To see the big picture you need to look at one puzzle piece at a time. At the same time you can pay attention to what other hunters are doing. That will all take time so use this season to learn as much as to try to kill an elk.

The good news is that you have found fresh sign so you know you've found elk. You'd be surprised how long that can take in some places. So unless you have something better up your sleeve I see no reason to relocate. Plus you live where you hunt so your learning curve will be pretty steep.

With that said if I were you, being new to the area I would do two things. I'd carefully cover some ground, more than if I knew the place like the back of my hand, and get to know it. In the meantime I'd zero in on a couple places to hang a stand. If you get an elk close enough it could be the best chance a rookie in new country has for a quality controlled shot opportunity.

The third thing I would do is stick around these forums, read and ask any questions that come to mind.

Welcome to ElkNut Forums Adam. Make yourself at home.

[GhostStalker]

There is a ton of private land in the Sixes unit. However, the Sixes unit has one of the highest populations of elk and yes you can take a cow. If you want to kill and elk in that unit stick around Ag lands

[SquidHC]

I'm hunting the Oregon Coast and finding all the hunters up in high country, and all the elk down in creek bottoms. If I were you I'd hunt low lying valleys with creeks until we get some rain.