"People who are serious about deer hunting still have a pretty good chance," Castillo said. "Higher elevations and Forest Service lands have not been effected by the hair-loss syndrome."

Marne Allbritten, an assistant wildlife biologist in the Roseburg office, reported that deer in her region are doing well. "Last season, I heard everything from 'I tagged the nicest deer I've ever gotten,' to 'I didn't see a single deer the whole season and I drove hundreds of miles,' " she said.

"The majority of the blacktail population is on private land and around farms," Allbritten added. "We're seeing some very nice deer on national forest lands." Her advice: Scout first.

In the Santiam, your best bet for a blacktail buck is in the high country. Find vantage points on timbered slopes, or use a stand to watch dense bedding cover, trail crossings and clearings.

The Western Oregon archery season runs Aug. 26 through Sept. 2, and bowhunters have three late-season hunts. The Alsea, McKenzie, Santiam, Siuslaw, Stott Mountain and Willamette units, and a portion of the Indigo Unit in the Willamette drainage, will be open from Nov. 18 through Dec. 10. Archers can also hunt from Nov. 11 through Dec. 3 in the Evans Creek, Melrose, Rogue, and Sixes units. From Nov. 25 through Dec. 10, a portion of the Saddle Mountain Unit will be open to bowhunters.

The West High Cascade Buck season, a controlled rifle hunt, runs Sept. 9 through 17. This hunt includes parts of the Santiam, McKenzie, Indigo, Dixon, Rogue, Keno and Fort Rock units.

The western general centerfire season in the Cascade buck area begins Sept. 30 and runs through Oct. 20, opening again from Oct. 28 through Nov. 3. Hunting in the Coast Buck Area runs Sept. 30 through Nov. 3.

EASTERN OREGON
Steve Charron from Gilroy, Calif., headed north to hunt in Oregon's Ochoco Unit with Go West Outfitters, which you can contact by calling (541) 419-1027, or visit them online at www.gowestoutfitters.com. During archery season, guide Shawn Jones had been watching a big buck, but wasn't able to get close enough for a shot. On opening day of rifle season, the rules changed.

The buck was unusual, in that it stayed low along the brushy creek bottom rather than bedding on the high slopes.

Rifle season opened foggy and rainy. Visibility from the usual vantage points was poor, so the pair still-hunted along the canyon edge. From a low knoll, they spotted a small group of bucks. The biggest one turned his head, and Jones knew he'd found the buck he was after. Already within rifle range, the pair waited for the buck to turn broadside.

Charron finished his hunt before lunchtime. Later, the buck would score 192 Boone and Crockett.

Last year's cutback on tags has paid off in Central Oregon. Brian Ferry, a biologist in the Prineville office, said that he'd seen "some of the better fawn ratios in the last decade or decade and a half. And higher buck ratios."

The Grizzly Unit came out of last season with 15 bucks per 100 does and 61 fawns per 100 does. In the Maury Unit, biologists counted 18 bucks per 100 does and 64 fawns per 100 does.