Tuesday, August 25, 2026  |  Oregon's Outdoor Journal
Oregon Pheasant Hunting: Willamette Valley Release Sites, Resident Birds, and Season Prep for October

Oregon Pheasant Hunting: Willamette Valley Release Sites, Resident Birds, and Season Prep for October

Oregon's pheasant season opens in October, and the Willamette Valley offers some of the best rooster hunting in the Pacific Northwest. Here's where to find birds, what to expect from ODFW release sites, and how to prepare for opening day.

By HFR Staff  ·  August 25, 2026
Suppressor Ownership in Oregon: NFA Process, Wait Times, and Hunting with a Can
Shooting

Suppressor Ownership in Oregon: NFA Process, Wait Times, and Hunting with a Can

Oregon is suppressor-legal for hunting, and the NFA process is more straightforward than most people think. Here's everything you need to know to own and hunt with a can in the Pacific Northwest.

August 25, 2026
Deschutes River Summer Steelhead: August Wade-Fishing and Fly Tactics for Oregon's Premier Canyon River
Fishing

Deschutes River Summer Steelhead: August Wade-Fishing and Fly Tactics for Oregon's Premier Canyon River

The Deschutes is Oregon's most storied steelhead river, and August marks the beginning of the summer run. Here's how to wade fish and swing flies for wild B-run steelhead before the crowds arrive.

August 25, 2026
Reloading the 6.5 Creedmoor for Oregon Deer and Elk: Component Selection and Field-Proven Load Data
Reloading

Reloading the 6.5 Creedmoor for Oregon Deer and Elk: Component Selection and Field-Proven Load Data

The 6.5 Creedmoor has earned its reputation for a reason. Here's how to build accurate, terminal-performance handloads for Oregon's deer and elk seasons.

August 25, 2026
Archery Mule Deer on Oregon's Biggs Unit: Columbia Basin Sagebrush Bucks
Archery

Archery Mule Deer on Oregon's Biggs Unit: Columbia Basin Sagebrush Bucks

The Biggs Unit offers some of the most underrated archery mule deer hunting in Oregon. Here's how to scout, stalk, and arrow a Columbia Basin buck before the crowds arrive.

August 25, 2026
Zumwalt Prairie and Chesnimnus Creek: A 3-Day Grassland Loop in Oregon's Wallowa County
Backpacking

Zumwalt Prairie and Chesnimnus Creek: A 3-Day Grassland Loop in Oregon's Wallowa County

Zumwalt Prairie is one of the largest remaining bunchgrass prairies in the Pacific Northwest — and one of the least-visited backpacking destinations in Oregon. A 3-day loop through the preserve and into the Chesnimnus Creek drainage rewards patient hikers with unobstructed Wallowa Mountain views, massive elk herds, and silence you can almost feel.

August 24, 2026
Reloading the .270 Weatherby Magnum: Roy Weatherby's Flat-Shooting Classic for Oregon Open-Country Hunters
Reloading

Reloading the .270 Weatherby Magnum: Roy Weatherby's Flat-Shooting Classic for Oregon Open-Country Hunters

The .270 Weatherby Magnum is the fastest factory .277-caliber cartridge ever produced — capable of pushing 130-grain bullets past 3,300 fps. For Oregon hunters chasing mule deer and pronghorn in wide-open country, handloading it correctly unlocks everything Roy Weatherby promised.

August 24, 2026
Solo Backcountry Archery Elk Camp in Oregon: Shelter, Food, and Meat Care for the One-Man Hunt
Hunting

Solo Backcountry Archery Elk Camp in Oregon: Shelter, Food, and Meat Care for the One-Man Hunt

Going solo on backcountry elk means doubling down on planning — every decision about shelter, food, and meat care carries extra weight when there's nobody to help you problem-solve at 6,000 feet. Here's how to build a functional one-man elk camp in Oregon's backcountry.

August 24, 2026
Youngs Bay Fall Chinook: Bank Fishing Oregon's Astoria-Area September Run
Fishing

Youngs Bay Fall Chinook: Bank Fishing Oregon's Astoria-Area September Run

Youngs Bay is one of Oregon's most overlooked fall Chinook fisheries — and if you time it right, you can load the cooler without fighting the crowds upstream. Here's everything you need to know about bank fishing this Astoria-area estuary from late August through September.

August 24, 2026
Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge: A 3-Day Backpacking Loop Through Southeast Oregon's High Desert
Backpacking

Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge: A 3-Day Backpacking Loop Through Southeast Oregon's High Desert

Hart Mountain is one of Oregon's most remote and rewarding backpacking destinations — a massive fault-block escarpment rising 3,600 feet above the Warner Valley floor, surrounded by sagebrush sea and wild pronghorn. Here's how to do it right.

August 23, 2026