Quick Tips
- It's easy to get lost; carry a GPS unit and mark your vehicle
- Get into roadless areas to find mature animals
- Get permission to hunt private land to escape hunters
- Bow and shotgun hunting only in Cascade Head-Lincoln City area
| species | general Size | trophy potential |
|---|---|---|
| Columbian Blacktail Deer | 80"-100" | 110"+ |
| Roosevelt Elk | 240"-260" | 280"+ |
On The Ground
West of Dallas and east of Lincoln City on the coast, this unit is heavily hunted for Roosevelt elk and blacktail deer. The land is heavily forested and has lots of roads, steep in places and brushy almost everywhere except fields, meadows and recent clearcuts.
This is a difficult unit to hunt because of steep terrain, heavy cover, lots of roads and many other hunters who can buy over-the-counter general tags to hunt bucks and bulls.
Terrain
This unit is brushy, steep and mostly forested with hundreds of clearcuts and other logging sites that provide good habitat for blacktail deer and Roosevelt elk. The southwestern part has some terrain exceeding 2,000 above sea level, but most land is below 1,000 feet in elevation.
Roughly 500 square miles
15% public land
Elevations from 0-3,600 feet
Vegetation
Most land is forested with spruces, firs, hemlock and other trees while there are hundreds of clearcuts that have been grown over with grass, brush and saplings and some larger trees. These openings have browse for deer and grass for elk, but the area gets so much hunting pressure that bucks and bulls have learned to be mostly nocturnal, rarely venturing into the open during hunting seasons.
Access
Much of the land is in the Siuslaw National Forest, where roads give access to virtually every square mile. Most roads are open to highway vehicles as well as small ATVs. Only street-legal vehicles are allowed on some roads. A few miles east of Lincoln City, Siletz Bay and Devil's Lake are about 50 square miles of public land that are easy to access. Most of it is National Forest land, but there is also some BLM land on the edges, including on Hogback Mountain and Diamond Peak. Farther east is another big chunk of national forest on Condenser Peak, Laurel Mountain and Mill Creek Ridge, but much of it is arranged in a checkerboard pattern with private timber company land. The rest of the unit is almost entirely private, although the George T. Gerlinger State Experimental Forest west of Falls City is state owned.
Rickreall Regulated Hunt Area is closed to motor vehicles Nov. 1-30
No vehicles allowed on nine square miles in the Luckiamute area in Units 17 and 18
In the Stott Mountain and North Alsea area, some roads are closed Sept. 28-Nov. 27
Camping and Lodging
Dispersed camping is allowed on most National Forest land. The Forest Service promotes “Leave No Trace” camping practices. Backpackers may camp almost anywhere except where posted. Motels are in Lincoln City, Dallas and Falls City. Seahorse Oceanfront Lodging has rooms at reasonable rates on the coast and gets good reviews.
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