Hunt Area TC-02 Trout Creek (TC-02)
The Pueblo Mountains and south Catlow high desert: 97% public BLM, no trails, no services, and a handful of earned bucks.
ODFW Southeast Region — southern Harney County, Pueblo Mountains and south Catlow country · Last reviewed 2026-07-17
Area
547
sq mi
Public land
97%
approx.
Elevation
4,200–8,634
feet
Motorized
limited
access
Overview
Trout Creek 02 (TC-02) is the western half of the Trout Creek herd range — about 550 square miles of southern Harney County running from the Catlow Valley Road southeast to the Fields–Denio Road, south to the Nevada line, and west along Highway 140 to the Beaty Butte and Hawks Valley two-track country. It is a 2026 creation of ODFW's shift from WMU deer hunts to herd-range hunt areas, and on the old maps it is the eastern slice of the legacy Beatys Butte Unit (70). The centerpiece is the Pueblo Mountains, a tilted fault-block ridge between Fields and Denio whose 8,634-foot namesake summit is the second-highest peak in southeastern Oregon; around it spread the south end of Catlow Valley, Funnel Canyon, and open sage plateau. At 97% public land — virtually all BLM Burns District — access is legally simple and physically hard: no developed trails, long gravel approaches, and Wilderness Study Areas that keep vehicles out of the best country. The shared Trout Creek herd is small (about 1,200 deer herd-wide per ODFW's 2024 plan) and managed for mature bucks with few tags, offered here as any-weapon and archery buck hunts; come for solitude and age class, not deer numbers.
Terrain
A north–south tilted fault-block range dominates the east half: the Pueblo Mountains crest averages around 7,300 feet and tops out at 8,634-foot Pueblo Mountain, with a steep, rugged, rocky east face dropping toward the Fields–Denio Road and a long west slope tilted like a tabletop at 20–25 degrees. West of the range the country opens into the south end of Catlow Valley, Funnel Canyon, and rolling sage plateau toward Hawks Valley and Beaty Butte. It hunts two ways: glass-and-climb in the canyons, draws, and pocket cover of the Pueblos, and long-range spotting across the open sage west of them.
Cover: Big sagebrush and bunchgrass steppe throughout, with mountain mahogany on the rocky ridges, scattered aspen and willow pockets in the sheltered headwater draws and spring seeps of the Pueblos, and greasewood flats on the valley floors. Riparian stringers along small spring-fed creeks are the only tall cover.
Landmarks: Pueblo Mountain (8,634 ft) and the Pueblo Mountains crest · Pueblo Mountains Wilderness Study Area · Van Horn Basin · Domingo Pass · Catlow Valley and Catlow Rim (south end) · Funnel Canyon · Hawks Valley and Beaty Butte country (western edge) · Oregon Desert Trail Section 16 (cross-country cairn route through the Pueblos) · Fields–Denio Road / County Road 201 (east boundary) · Catlow Valley Road (northwest boundary) · Highway 140 (far southwest boundary)
Access
ODFW lists TC-02 at 97% public land — about as open as Oregon gets on paper. In practice, access is defined by three long perimeter roads (the Fields–Denio Road along the east base of the Pueblos, the gravel Catlow Valley Road on the northwest, and remote paved Highway 140 far to the southwest) and by rough BLM two-tracks like the East Beaty Butte/Ackley Camp, Hawk Valley, and Funnel Canyon roads that form the western boundary. The Pueblo Mountains interior is a Wilderness Study Area with vehicles limited to existing routes, and there are no developed hiking trails — the Oregon Desert Trail crosses the range as an unmarked cross-country route navigated by old rock cairns. Expect to park low and climb. Wet weather turns the clay and lakebed roads to impassable gumbo; carry recovery gear, two spares, and extra fuel, and treat every interior two-track as high-clearance 4x4 only.
Managers: BLM Burns District (Andrews Resource Area), Small private ranch parcels (valley bottoms and around Fields–Denio corridor)
Access points: Fields–Denio Road / County Road 201 (east base of the Pueblos, Fields to Denio) · Catlow Valley Road (northwest boundary gravel) · Highway 140 (southwest corner, Denio-to-Adel highway) · Funnel Canyon / Hawk Valley / East Beaty Butte-Ackley Camp BLM roads (western two-tracks)
Species notes
Mule Deer
limited qualityTC-02 shares the small Trout Creek herd — roughly 1,200 deer across the whole herd range, stable, with the highest buck ratios in eastern Oregon (three-year average 34 bucks per 100 does against a 25-buck objective) and deliberately scarce tags. Deer are thinly scattered through the Pueblos' draws and pocket cover rather than concentrated; expect long days between sightings and a real chance at a mature buck when you find one.
- →Hunt the Pueblos' sheltered headwater draws and aspen/mahogany pockets — in this dry range, the deer live where shade, feed, and spring water stack up.
- →Glass the tilted west slope and canyon mouths at first light from the two-track country west of the crest, then plan a stalk or a climb.
- →Work the steep east face's brushy chutes and rims from the Fields–Denio Road side for bucks bedded out of the wind.
- →Cover country between water sources; springs and seeps are mapped sparsely, so mark every green spot you find.
- →After the first October storms, watch the lower benches and valley-edge sage — the herd is migratory and drops out of the high country as winter pushes in.
Pronghorn
common opportunityThe open sage of south Catlow Valley, Funnel Canyon, and the Hawks Valley plateau is classic Oregon pronghorn country — the legacy Beatys Butte Unit is one of the state's storied antelope areas and carries ODFW 400-series controlled hunts. Antelope are the animal a deer hunter here will actually see most.
- →Glass the valley floors and plateau edges early, when herds feed in the open and heat shimmer is low.
- →Sit water in dry years — stock ponds and spring overflows are magnets in this scarce-water country.
- →Use dry washes and low sage ridges for stalks; the ground is flatter and more open than it looks.
Bighorn Sheep
limited trophyBighorn sheep are a flagship species of the Pueblo Mountains — BLM lists them among the WSA's notable wildlife, and the legacy Beatys Butte Unit carries ODFW 500-series once-in-a-lifetime sheep hunts. Deer hunters glassing the rocky east face have a fair chance of turning up sheep in the process.
- →Glass the steep, rocky east face and rimrock of the Pueblos crest, the range's core sheep habitat.
- →Plan sheep effort as a backpack or long-day hunt from the Fields–Denio Road side — there is no motorized shortcut into the WSA.
- →Talk to the ODFW Hines district office and BLM Burns District before a sheep hunt for current band locations.
Pro tips
- →Scout water first: mark every spring, seep, and aspen pocket on the Pueblos before the season — deer, pronghorn, and sheep all pivot around the same scarce water.
- →Use the tilted geometry of the range — glass the long west slope from the western two-tracks in the morning (sun at your back), and the east face from the Fields–Denio side in the afternoon.
- →The WSA's roadless core is the refuge; the hunter willing to camp on the crest or climb 2,500 feet from the east side hunts essentially alone.
- →The Oregon Desert Trail corridor across the Pueblos is a useful route-planning reference, but treat it as a navigation exercise, not a trail.
- →Fill fuel and water at Fields every time you pass — it is the only reliable resupply, and a detour back mid-hunt costs half a day.
- →Call the ODFW Hines district office before the trip for the current read on where the Trout Creek herd summered and how the water year shaped up.
Watch out for
- !Navigation is on you: no developed trails, few signs, and big, repetitive sage country. GPS with offline maps plus paper backup is mandatory.
- !The Pueblos' east face is steep, loose, and rocky — a fall or a twisted ankle here is serious, and help is many hours away.
- !No cell coverage and no services inside the area; a breakdown on a remote two-track is an emergency without a satellite communicator.
- !Wet clay roads become impassable gumbo — watch the forecast and stage back to gravel before storms.
- !Wilderness Study Area rules limit vehicles to existing routes; cross-country driving is a citation.
- !The Nevada state line is the south boundary and is unmarked on the ground — know where you are near Denio and along Highway 140.
- !Deer numbers are genuinely low; this is a solitude-and-age-class hunt, and hunters expecting steady sightings will struggle.
- !Rattlesnakes are common in the rocky low country during the warm early season, and surface water may be dry by fall.
Logistics
Fields Station on the area's northeast corner is the lifeline: fuel, a cafe famous for burgers and milkshakes, a small store, motel rooms, and RV hookups — and it is the only reliable resupply for a hundred miles in most directions. Denio Junction sits at the southeast corner; Burns (112 miles north) and Winnemucca are the real supply towns. Nearly everyone camps on BLM dispersed sites off the perimeter roads or two-tracks. There is no cell service across most of the area — carry a satellite communicator, offline/paper maps, extra water (surface water is scarce and unreliable), extra fuel, and two spare tires. Getting here is the hunt's first test: every approach involves hours of gravel.
Nearest towns: Fields, OR (northeast corner — store, cafe, fuel, motel), Denio / Denio Junction, NV (southeast corner), Burns, OR (about 112 miles north of Fields), Winnemucca, NV (full services, south via NV highways)
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Oregon sources:
Research sources: ODFW 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations — Eastern Oregon Mule Deer Hunt Areas (TC02 boundary description, 97% public lands) · ODFW — Trout Creek Hunt Area TC-02 page · ODFW — Beatys Butte Unit 70 (legacy unit boundary and hunt series) · ODFW Mule Deer Management Plan, Appendix 1: Management Objectives and Herd Range Reports (Trout Creek herd population, buck ratio, tiers) · ODFW Proposed 2026 100-Series Buck Deer Controlled Tags (Trout Creek 02 any-weapon and archery hunts) · BLM — Pueblo Mountains Wilderness Study Area (fault-block terrain, crest elevations, bighorn sheep) · Oregon Natural Desert Association — Getting Started in the Pueblos (Oregon Desert Trail Section 16, cross-country navigation) · Wikipedia — Pueblo Mountains (Pueblo Mountain 8,634 ft, range setting between Fields and Denio) · The Fields Station (services at Fields, OR)
FAQ
- How big is Hunt Area TC-02 in Oregon?
- Hunt Area TC-02 (Trout Creek (TC-02)) covers about 547 square miles, ranging from roughly 4,200 to 8,634 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Hunt Area TC-02?
- Approximately 97% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: BLM Burns District (Andrews Resource Area), Small private ranch parcels (valley bottoms and around Fields–Denio corridor). Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Hunt Area TC-02?
- Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Bighorn Sheep. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Oregon agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Hunt Area TC-02 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.