Originally Posted by
apocalypseoutpost
Update/Edit/Aditional Information:
I am 40+ years in age. I am intrested in big game hunting (such as deer, elkd, and moose), Samall Game (Rabit and Squaril), as well as bird hunting (turking, duck and geese). I currently have a rifle chamered in 308 win and will be eventualy wanting to go bow hunting when finaces allow.
That makes it a bit easier to offer advice. Being in your 40's offers some advantages over being a teenager as your budget is usually larger and more stable. I honestly don't know about the hunting mentor program and had never heard of it until JW mentioned it. FWIW, JW is a Master Hunter (at least IMHO) and has been hunting, teaching and mentoring hunters for decades. I'd strongly encourage you to send him a PM (Private Message) through this website as he requested. And JW, I think it would be super helpful for a lot of newer members if you posted more about the Learn to Hunt hunting mentor program as these types of questions tend to come up a lot. From what you've posted so far, it sounds like the program would be a Godsend to many newer hunters.
I would again strongly suggest you take a Hunter Education class. You will learn how to safely hunt, weapon safety, ammo regulations (like no lead shot on ODFW wildlife areas, etc. and a lot of useful information that a new hunter needs to know. If you want to see what Hunter Education (Safety) classes Oregon offers, check out the below link.
https://myodfw.com/articles/hunter-e...ses-field-days
Apocalypse, the reason I asked what part of Oregon you're in is that in general, most of Eastern Oregon has draw only big game zones which are usually hard to draw for. Western Oregon (along the coast) has some zones that are much easier to draw for. If you check Oregon's Fish and Wildlife website (ODFW), you can see what zones are available, drawing odds for big game and actually find a lot of useful information. Your .308 rifle would be perfect for deer, elk and moose.
For small game like rabbit and squirrel, you will only need a license and to hunt during whatever seasons Oregon has for those animals. You won't need to draw a tag for them. Your .308 would obviously be too much gun for either but a .22 Long Rifle would be perfect.
For upland game like turkey, duck and geese, you will need a shotgun. You might want to check out hunting pheasants as well cause they are lots of fun to hunt. Hopefully this helps point you in a good direction for learning more about hunting., Welcome to the forums.