Unit 46 Murderers Creek

The marquee species and the reason this is a hard-to-draw, limited-entry buck unit. As a Mule Deer Initiative focus unit with protected winter range, Murderers Creek carries an above-average age structure; ODFW notes hunters take a good percentage of mature four-point bucks, with a real shot at a heavy old buck.

• →Glass the sage/bitterbrush foothills and juniper benches at the timber-edge transition (4,000-5,500 ft) at first and last light — bucks feed in the open and bed in pockets just above.
• →Hunt the higher pine and mahogany pockets of the Aldrich Mountains in early season; mature bucks hold in shaded north slopes and broken rims well off roads.
• →Cover ground with optics from vantage points rather than still-hunting timber — this is classic spot-and-stalk eastern-Oregon mule deer country.
• →Get away from roads and into the green-dot travel-management areas to escape pressure; pressured bucks slip into the wilderness fringe.
• →Late in the season, watch for snow pushing deer downhill toward (but not onto, during closure) the Schneider winter range.

A strong elk unit reported at or above management objective in recent ODFW district forecasts, producing mature 5x5 and 6x6 bulls. Both bull and antlerless controlled hunts are offered.

• →Hunt the timbered high country of the Aldrich Mountains and the Strawberry Wilderness fringe — bulls hold in dark north-slope timber and steep heads of drainages.
• →For the best mature-bull odds, get as far from open roads as possible; pack into the wilderness or the green-dot travel-management areas where motorized pressure drops.
• →Work meadow and timber edges in Logan Valley and high benches at dawn/dusk; elk feed in openings and retreat to security cover by mid-morning.
• →During the rut window, locate bugling bulls in the wilderness heads of drainages where pressure is lowest.
• →Use creek and spring drainages as travel-cover corridors between feeding parks and bedding timber.

Controlled pronghorn tags are issued for parts of the unit. Antelope occupy the open sage-steppe flats and lower foothills rather than the timbered high country, so opportunity is geographically concentrated.

• →Focus on the open sagebrush/bitterbrush flats and grassland benches in the lower foothills and the Murderers Creek Flats / Schneider area open ground.
• →Glass long distances from high points at dawn; pronghorn rely on sight and use the open country, so a careful long-range spot-and-stalk or terrain-screened approach works.
• →Pattern bucks near reliable water and feed in dry late-summer conditions.

California bighorn occupy the rough breaks along the South Fork John Day and Murderers Creek canyon country; this is a rare, premier once-in-a-lifetime controlled tag split into Aldrich (546A, west) and McClellan (546B, east) hunt areas.

• →Glass the steep rimrock, canyon breaks and rocky bluffs above the South Fork John Day River and Murderers Creek — sheep key on escape terrain.
• →Spend days behind quality glass locating rams from canyon-rim vantage points before committing to a stalk.
• →Hunt the Schneider Wildlife Area breaks and BLM canyon country where sheep are regularly observed in winter and early spring (scout accordingly).

A very limited Rocky Mountain goat controlled hunt is issued in the high alpine of the Strawberry Range. Numbers are small and the tag is rare, but the herd is sparse and scattered, so it is more a hard-won opportunity than a guaranteed trophy.

• →Hunt the highest alpine rock and talus of the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness near Strawberry Mountain itself.
• →Expect a foot-only, physically demanding hunt — no motor vehicles are allowed in the wilderness; plan a backpack approach.
• →Glass cliff bands and high basins; goats hold near the steepest escape terrain at the top of the range.

Black bears are well distributed through the forested Malheur National Forest portions of the unit; both spring and fall opportunity exists.

• →In spring, glass green-up slopes, old burns, logging openings and creek bottoms where bears feed on fresh grass and forbs.
• →In fall, key on berry patches, riparian draws and mahogany mast in the mid-elevation timber.
• →Cover open south slopes with optics at dawn and dusk; this is glassing country, not bait country.

Cougars are present throughout the unit following the deer and elk herds; harvest is typically incidental or opportunistic.

• →Hunt where deer and elk winter and concentrate — the foothill/canyon transition and breaks.
• →After fresh snow, cut and follow tracks in drainages and along game trails.
• →Be ready to take a cougar opportunistically while pursuing deer or elk in mid- and lower-elevation cover.