Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Deer hunting in far northeastern Nevada (Trout Creek Mtns)

I have enough pref points (8 long years worth) to do the premier Oregon mule deer hunt, which is in the Trout Creek Mountains in far SE Oregon. There's not much info out there about that area that I've been able to find, but I'm thinking that perhaps since Nevada manages that part of the state differently (Oregon gives out very few tags), there might be more from Nevada guys??

Anyway, if you've hunted that area I would very much appreciate hearing about it. Thanks.

Other than drive through the area, I can't help you.
But the state of Nevada's website can. Log on to ndow.org/hunt/resourses/advise or somewhere in that neighborhood. Look up Zone 031/Mule Deer and see what they say. I seem to recall that's a prime area for throphy mulies. Very few tags issued each year and pretty good access.
You can also call that district's biologist and see what he has to say. I've obtaioned some really helpful information using both metods. E

Call the ODF&W bio in Burns. 541 573 6553. I believe they just finished their counts about 2 weeks ago.

Thanks. I have a call into them. I like talking to those guys.

I'm hoping to hear from someone who's hunted there... or even BEEN there. Steens is all the closer I've been to that part of the state. That area is a long ways from anywhere!

Sounds like Nevada manages it as a trophy unit too...

Do you mean North Western Nevada?

I hunt the Idaho Owyhees for lions and sometimes go into Jordan Valley for fuel and food. Big Country out there. If you have that special of a tag, you would be an idiot to not scout it out first. Just start knocking on ranch doors. Someone will let you hunt and they often tell you where they see deer.

I have never been to Trout Creek OR, but I know the Owyhees well, and honestly, I wouldn't hunt the timbered ridges. I see the biggest bucks on the rimrock canyon edges that look more like goat country than deer country.

Hunted Idaho Unit 40 just outside Jordan Valley with a buddy last year. Awesome country and great people in that neck of the woods! Our timing was a little off, but the guys who were there during the peak of the rut had a heyday. I'll keep applying in hopes of drawing someday!

Jeff, if you mean between highway 95 and NV 240? I have. Around the Pine Forest Range and the Santa Rosa Range. NV units 31 and 32.
Some very nice bucks, but few and far between the last couple of years. Mountain Lions.
The Oregon Idaho Border sits about dead center of Northern NV.

I have not hunted Trout Creek for deer in Nv. but have driven around in that area and I have hunted Chuckers, coyotes ands rock chucks on the Idaho side. I most always see deer in that area..I have worked cattle across the line in Nv. and about 10 years ago, right after the Idaho season closed I saw about 10 monster bucks in a couple of hours while looking for some strays up in the rimrocks. I guess they had run to Nv. because of hunting pressure or maybe they are always there, don't know. I have a friend that drew a sheep tag close to there, not sure exactly where, and he says he has seen some really big bucks on the Idaho side but not a lot of them...also up in the rimrocks.

I scouted that area a few years back in July and I still have the BLM maps around here somewhere. We had dirt bikes along and could travel over some of the semi-volcanic trace roads that would simply eat-up your 4-ply truck tires ... (if you do go, I�d recommend you take along two extra mounted spare-tires ... some �shade� and all the gas/water and mosquito-repellant you can carry). We saw way more antelope than deer, but the few shooter Mule-Deer bucks (tall and massive but not wide) ... were (naturally) hanging around the Aspen groves on the heavily posted Private-Property, up at the higher altitudes. We did Trout, Willow and Whitehorse creeks. The State boundary wasn�t well marked (in the boonies) and the only way we realized we had tracked into Nevada, was by GPS.
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Not to burst anyone's bubble here ... but before you stop the newspaper and hold your mail ... you need a REALITY-CHECK here.

Trout Creek has 52 tags authorized for 2009. Last year (2008), 38 of those tags went to people with preference points ........

11 tags went to people with 10 (or-more) points

only 27 of the 49 applicants with 9 points drew the tag ... those remaining 22 (undrawn ) applicants will all have 10 points for the 2009 draw ....

101 applicants had 8 points last year (none drew a tag) .... all 101 undrawn applicants (from 2008) will have 9 points this year ... That makes at LEAST 132 Hunters ahead of you in points .... and only 38 tags in 2009 will be awarded by pref-points.

So you have the same chance of drawing a Trout-Creek deer tag in 2009 with 8 points ... as Hillary does of becoming Miss-USA.

... Silver Bullet

So many Pirates ... so few Lifeboats

Silver Bullet,

Sounds like it's a year harder to get, then it was a few years ago when I last looked. It was an 8-point tag then. Oh well. It isn't looking like my bro is going to be ready this year, anyway.

I've been having second thoughts about hunting that tag with him anyway. Not because of HIM, but just because I've got a lot of time and money invested in HIS point, too... I buy him and out of state license every year for his birthday, along with deer and elk pref points.

So what that means is, I could go hunt (say) Trout Creek myself. Then, he and I could combine his points, the next year, and still pull off a 4-point hunt together (his 8 points divided by two).

That might make more sense.

I sure wish Oregon would let us manage our points a little. If I could, I'd use 3-4 of mine to do a "good" mule deer hunt, and still have 4-5 points left to do another one. Oh well. I've waited this long, might as well just keep whackin' blacktails another year or two and do the Trout Creek's...

Now there's another little known FLAW in the Oregon preference-point system. If you applied along with your Non-Resident brother as a "Party" ... you would both need 12+ points to draw that tag.

Why ?? .. because with only 50 some total-tags available ... non-residents are limited to a total of just 1 tag a year ....(the Non-Resident limit for deer/elk is 5% of total unit tags). So, if just one non-resident (with 13 points)applies and is drawn ahead of your party .... no other individual non-resident or "Party" that includes a non-resident member... can draw a tag there. Even if you had 9, 10, 11 or 12 points.

Gotta go reload some T-TSX's, for a little range-trip on Monday.
Spring bear snow-depth ... still being reported at 68"

... Silver Boolit

So many PIRATES ... so few Lifeboats

Well, that clinches it then. Plan B.

Silver, I know you are a hoarder of pref points from our conversations about your elk hunt a couple years ago in a unit which shall remain nameless <g>.

If YOU had 8 mule deer pref point, and an out of state brother with the same, what would YOU do? Steens? Forget trying to hunt together, and use them seperatly like I said up above?

The whole damn thing is a PITA...

I say keep the faith and keep putting in for Trout Creek.

Jeff, go to monstermuleys.com and pul up their draw odds calculator, punch in the point info and the area and it will tell you the odds per point for last year, you can figure out pretty close what you need for any draw hunt....Steens might be aa stretch for a non resident with 8 points also....

http://monstermuleys.hunterstrailhead.com/huntsearch.php?ST=UT

This is for Utah, but I think you can figure out how to go to Oregon, the trail is pretty obvious...

If you don't spend some time in the Trout Creeks and get a feel for it you are a fool. It is not the kind of country that a lot of fellas will be comfortable in. Very desolate, "God forsaken" type of land. That and the deer aren't there like they used to be. It would take a lot of work and a lot of scouting to get a 190+ deer out of there.

You aren't going to draw this year so you might as well take a week and go "camping" down there. I bet you don't stay the whole week.

Mark

I am betting you are right....

I mailed me and my hunting partners deer hunting applications today, we applied for the series 100 Oregon deer hunts. Our first choice was South Warners followed by Interstate as our second, we only have one bonus point and we are non residents so we are not to confident of being drawn. Has anyone hunted those units?

Jeff O: I've run around a bit in the Oregon side of the Trout Creeks, and it's grand spot and stalk country. The deer population crashed there about 10 years ago, but has been slowly recovering. It's by no means a spot for a weekend endeavor. Go for the entire season pluse about 2 full days on the front end for scouting. Spike camp thoughts might be beneficial too. Also, be very aware of exactly where the OR/NV border sits.

As to points: I've been thinking about petitioning the Oregon Game Commission for a points banking system. I'm lucky, and have been consistently doing out of state stuff for some time. I'm now carrying enough deer, pronghorn, elk, and bear points to do anything I want. First order is a Wenaha elk tag, probably next year if I don't score an out of state elk tag. After that, I don't see much that's worth expending a dozen or more points on.

With a banking system, one only sacrifices the minimum number of points needed to secure a tag and still retains the remainder. With that design, I could probably score 3 Steens tags in a row.

I think a petition run through the OHA organization might be a successful route. Might give it a go in a couple of months. 1Minute

Hey guys, let's slow down here. That is one of the drier, more open, low density areas. To hunt it, you need to understand a few things and hunt accordingly.
I've done alot hunting in drier, less dense areas. You need to understand what you are dealing with and be prepared to address those conditions.
As to not liking it, that depends on what you like and how you like to hunt. I, for one, happen to like and understand wide open country and enjoy hunting it.
You need to find the animals. So lots of time checking key areas. I'd think water first, and green feed second. For large, older bucks, I'd also think out of the way places where the ATV addicts don't go.
Such areas often have a high ratio of older bucks because of these conditions.
Such areas often offer some high quality bird hunting, and even high quality trout fishing if they have running streams. Other wildlife, like Pronghorn and Bighorn Sheep are other considerations. E