Oregon supports healthy populations of elk and deer in its mountains, forests and steppe. Whether it’s a secretive black-tailed deer in a Coast Range jungle or a Rocky Mountain elk bull on a Blue Mountain bench, hunters in the Beaver State have an exciting challenge ahead of them.
Hunters can target three types of deer in Oregon: the mule deer, which roams east of the Cascade Range crest; the black-tailed deer inhabiting the denser forests west of the crest; and white-tailed deer in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon.
Roosevelt elk, largest of the elk subspecies, roam the deep forests west of the Cascade crest, while Rocky Mountain elk frequent the tableland and mountain forests of central and eastern Oregon.
Roosevelt elk are especially plentiful in the northern Oregon Coast Range, while the northeastern plateaus and canyons harbor some of the densest Rocky Mountain elk populations in America.
Oregon’s diverse terrain makes for challenging hunting. Hunters in the rich conifer forests of the Coast Range and west-slope Cascades contend with devil’s-club thickets and steep, tangled slopes, while rugged breaks and deadfall are obstacles in northeastern Oregon.
Consult the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s annual “Oregon Big Game Regulations” manual, available online and in hard copy, for vital information.
