Wednesday, June 17, 2026  |  Oregon's Outdoor Journal
Oregon's Best Outdoor Shooting Ranges: Where Hunters and Competitors Practice Year-Round

Oregon's Best Outdoor Shooting Ranges: Where Hunters and Competitors Practice Year-Round

Good trigger time between hunting seasons requires good places to shoot. Here's a rundown of Oregon's top public and club outdoor ranges for long-range practice, competition prep, and offseason marksmanship.

By HFR Staff  ·  June 17, 2026
Leslie Gulch and the Owyhee Canyonlands: A Desert Backpacking Adventure in Southeast Oregon
Backpacking

Leslie Gulch and the Owyhee Canyonlands: A Desert Backpacking Adventure in Southeast Oregon

Leslie Gulch is one of Oregon's most dramatic and least-visited landscapes—a maze of towering rhyolite columns and slot canyons in the remote Owyhee Uplands. Here's how to explore it on foot.

June 17, 2026
Reloading the .220 Swift: The World's Fastest Varmint Cartridge for Oregon Shooters
Reloading

Reloading the .220 Swift: The World's Fastest Varmint Cartridge for Oregon Shooters

The .220 Swift still holds the factory velocity record among commercial rifle cartridges. For Oregon varmint hunters chasing ground squirrels and coyotes at distance, it's hard to beat. Here's how to reload it right.

June 17, 2026
Oregon Summer Bear: Spot-and-Stalk Archery Tactics for the Western Cascades June Season
Hunting

Oregon Summer Bear: Spot-and-Stalk Archery Tactics for the Western Cascades June Season

Oregon's archery black bear season opens in late April and runs through the summer—and June may be the best month of all. Here's how to spot-and-stalk Cascade black bears on your own without bait.

June 17, 2026
Lost Creek Lake: Summer Fishing Guide for Bass, Kokanee, and Trophy Brown Trout
Fishing

Lost Creek Lake: Summer Fishing Guide for Bass, Kokanee, and Trophy Brown Trout

Lost Creek Lake in Jackson County is one of Southern Oregon's most overlooked multi-species fisheries. Here's how to make the most of summer on this deep, clear Rogue River reservoir.

June 17, 2026
Choosing Your First Hunting Rifle for Oregon Big Game: Caliber, Action, and Platform Decisions That Matter
Shooting

Choosing Your First Hunting Rifle for Oregon Big Game: Caliber, Action, and Platform Decisions That Matter

With hundreds of hunting rifles on the market, picking your first one for Oregon's varied terrain can be genuinely confusing. Here's a no-nonsense buyer's guide that cuts through the marketing and focuses on what actually matters in the field.

June 16, 2026
Reloading the 6mm ARC: AR-Platform Precision Loads for Deer Hunting and Long-Range Shooting
Reloading

Reloading the 6mm ARC: AR-Platform Precision Loads for Deer Hunting and Long-Range Shooting

Hornady's 6mm ARC delivers 6.5 Creedmoor-class ballistics from a standard AR-15 lower receiver. Here's a complete reloading guide covering brass prep, powder selection, bullet options, and field-proven load data.

June 16, 2026
Ruffed Grouse Hunting in Oregon: Walking Up Timber Drummers in the Coast Range and Western Cascades
Hunting

Ruffed Grouse Hunting in Oregon: Walking Up Timber Drummers in the Coast Range and Western Cascades

Oregon's ruffed grouse live in the alder bottoms, brushy creek drainages, and aspen pockets of the Coast Range and western Cascades. Most hunters walk right past them. Here's how to find and hunt the timber drummer.

June 16, 2026
Tillamook Bay Salmon: Fall Chinook and Coho Tactics for Oregon's Best Estuary Fishery
Fishing

Tillamook Bay Salmon: Fall Chinook and Coho Tactics for Oregon's Best Estuary Fishery

Tillamook Bay ranks among Oregon's most productive salmon fisheries. Fall Chinook start stacking in late August and coho follow through November — here's how to fish it effectively from a boat or the bank.

June 16, 2026
Drop-Away vs. Whisker Biscuit Arrow Rests: Which Is Right for Your Hunting Bow?
Archery

Drop-Away vs. Whisker Biscuit Arrow Rests: Which Is Right for Your Hunting Bow?

The drop-away vs. whisker biscuit debate has been running for decades. This breakdown covers accuracy, reliability, field performance, setup difficulty, and how to choose the right arrow rest for your bowhunting situation.

June 15, 2026