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OVERCAST Temp: 70 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Saturday, October 4, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend October 2, 2003 Hunters need to be prepared for opening weekend By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Thousands of deer hunters will venture into the woods Saturday for the start of blacktail buck season, and there’s one big question on everyone’s mind — where are the deer? For the first weekend of October, that means in the highest of places and the lowest of places of southwest Oregon. Migratory blacktails remain in high-elevation summer range while the increasing lowland herds remain speckled around the Rogue Valley floor, prompting hunters to travel afar or across town to fill their tags on opening weekend. "We always tell people that, unless you know of a local herd, don’t even bother being below (elevation) 3,000 feet," says wildlife biologist Mark Vargas, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. "These deer are migratory animals, and they’re really not migrating yet." Advertisement But hunters better migrate to their local sporting goods stores over the next two days if they wish to take part in buck deer seasons on both sides of the Cascades. Friday evening is the deadline to buy controlled buck deer tags, general-season deer tags, fall general-season bear tags and general-season cougar tags. And those who wait can expect to find long lines. More than 200,000 people hunted deer in Oregon last year, but as of Sunday only 135,334 hunters had purchased their tags, according to spokesperson Anne Pressentin Young of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Salem. Just how many of those deer hunters are successful during opening weekend often hinges upon the weather. The combination of some early rains as well as last weekend’s record-setting heat wave have left the woods still crackling, so stalking deer could be difficult. The general season in eastern Jackson County runs through Oct. 17, when the annual deer-hunting hiatus occurs to make way for the general Roosevelt bull elk season. Rifle-hunting for deer resumes Oct. 25 and runs through Nov. 5. For hunters who prefer the Applegate Unit or other areas that fall under the coast-buck seasons, hunting runs from Saturday straight through Nov. 5 because there is no break for mid-October elk hunting. The Rogue Unit of northeast Jackson County has 26 bucks per 100 does this year, while the nearby Evans Creek Unit has 24 bucks per 100 does — both solid numbers heading in to the season. Tracking southwest Oregon’s annual deer migration is something biologists as well as keen outdoorsmen do regularly with cameras set up on deer trails. Just what gets the deer to move here remains something of a mystery. Migration from summer range to lower-elevation winter range typically occurs heavily in late October and into November, but the start varies. Game-counting cameras now stationed along key Jackson County migration trails are showing no movement yet — something common over the years. "It’s nothing you can say with any statistical confidence," Vargas says. "It’s just something you learn from the cameras." However, deer start to move before storm fronts move into the area, an indication that barometric pressure changes could play a key factor, Vargas says. "It’s assumed that they’re reacting to something," he says. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times