Thursday, July 23, 2026  |  Oregon's Outdoor Journal
Home Bullet Casting: Getting Started with Cast Lead Loads for Pistol and Rifle

Home Bullet Casting: Getting Started with Cast Lead Loads for Pistol and Rifle

Casting your own lead bullets cuts ammunition costs by 5-10x and is more achievable than most handloaders think. Here's the gear, alloys, safety practices, and process to get your first pot of bullets off the ground.

By HFR Staff  ·  July 23, 2026
Reloading the 6mm Remington: Oregon's Most Underrated Flat-Shooting Deer and Varmint Cartridge
Reloading

Reloading the 6mm Remington: Oregon's Most Underrated Flat-Shooting Deer and Varmint Cartridge

Overshadowed by the .243 Winchester for decades, the 6mm Remington is faster, more accurate at long range, and a genuine performer on Oregon's open-country deer and varmints. Here's how to reload it right.

July 23, 2026
Oregon's Mt. Emily Unit Archery Whitetail: Hunting the Blue Mountains' Most Underrated Public Land Buck
Hunting

Oregon's Mt. Emily Unit Archery Whitetail: Hunting the Blue Mountains' Most Underrated Public Land Buck

The Mt. Emily Unit west of La Grande holds a strong whitetail population on public land in Union County's Blue Mountains — and almost nobody hunts it. Here's how to scout, access, and tag a public-land buck this August.

July 23, 2026
Pine Hollow Reservoir: Summer Largemouth Bass and Crappie Fishing in Oregon's Wasco County Foothills
Fishing

Pine Hollow Reservoir: Summer Largemouth Bass and Crappie Fishing in Oregon's Wasco County Foothills

Pine Hollow Reservoir sits at 1,700 feet in Oregon's Wasco County, offering consistent largemouth bass and crappie fishing with minimal pressure. Here's how to target both species during the summer months.

July 23, 2026
Black Canyon Wilderness: Backpacking Through Oregon's Most Remote John Day Country
Backpacking

Black Canyon Wilderness: Backpacking Through Oregon's Most Remote John Day Country

Black Canyon Wilderness in the Ochoco National Forest is one of Oregon's least-visited designated wilderness areas — 13,400 acres of deep volcanic canyons, perennial creek, elk country, and genuine solitude in the heart of the John Day Basin.

July 22, 2026
Reloading the .300 Norma Magnum: Extreme Long-Range Loads for Open-Country Elk and Mule Deer
Reloading

Reloading the .300 Norma Magnum: Extreme Long-Range Loads for Open-Country Elk and Mule Deer

The .300 Norma Magnum delivers extraordinary long-range performance with heavy, high-BC bullets. Here's a complete handloading guide covering brass, primers, powders, and field-tested load data for Oregon big game hunters.

July 22, 2026
Jordan Valley Unit Archery Mule Deer: High Desert Bucks in Oregon's Remote Southeast Corner
Hunting

Jordan Valley Unit Archery Mule Deer: High Desert Bucks in Oregon's Remote Southeast Corner

The Jordan Valley unit is one of Oregon's most overlooked archery mule deer destinations — vast BLM public land, minimal hunting pressure, and genuine opportunity for spot-and-stalk bucks in some of the state's most dramatic high desert terrain.

July 22, 2026
Owyhee Lake Fishing Guide: Largemouth Bass, Crappie, and Catfish in Oregon's Largest Desert Reservoir
Fishing

Owyhee Lake Fishing Guide: Largemouth Bass, Crappie, and Catfish in Oregon's Largest Desert Reservoir

Owyhee Lake stretches 53 miles through one of Oregon's most remote desert canyons, hiding world-class largemouth bass, black crappie, and channel catfish. Here's your complete summer fishing guide.

July 22, 2026
F-Class Shooting in the Pacific Northwest: Getting Started in Long-Range Target Rifle Competition
Shooting

F-Class Shooting in the Pacific Northwest: Getting Started in Long-Range Target Rifle Competition

F-Class is the long-range precision discipline that lets you shoot at 600 and 1000 yards without the added stress of field positions and cold bore shots. Here's how to get started in Oregon and Washington.

July 21, 2026
Reloading the .222 Remington: The Benchrest Legend Oregon Varmint Hunters Should Rediscover
Reloading

Reloading the .222 Remington: The Benchrest Legend Oregon Varmint Hunters Should Rediscover

Long overshadowed by the .223, the .222 Remington remains one of the most inherently accurate small-bore cartridges ever made. If you have a rifle chambered for it — or have been thinking about one — here's how to reload it right.

July 21, 2026