Maury Range bucks - Oregon

SteelieP17 · May 4, 2006

Hey, I'm getting ready to put in for my Oregon tags and I'm considering putting in for the Maury Unit. I spent a little time up there scouting for elk last summer and it looks fantastic. I was wondering if anybody has hunted that area for bucks, particularly southeast of Gerry Mountain and, well, Mule Deer Ridge (seems like a good place to start). I'm looking for a 24"+ buck, just a nice, mature muley. Any help would be extremely appreciated. Thanks.

huntindude · May 5, 2006

Most of the good bucks in that unit are on private land and there's lots of private land there. like all units in Oregon the deer numbers are WAY down and even the private land hunters are not doing very well. it's some great muley country and all it needs is deer, if you have some luck it's not hopeless but I wouldn't burn a bunch of points on that tag if it were me. I live in eastern Oregon and I still don't know where I'm going to put in for, it's a bad time to be a deer hunter in Oregon.

lostinOregon · May 5, 2006

Huntindude is right, most of the elk and deer get pressured into the private land. good luck whatever you decide

easymoney · May 6, 2006

LAST EDITED ON May-06-06 AT 08:02AM (MST)[p]And even the ranch that I get to hunt on is getting pressure from poachers and guides...

Stop Global Whining

SteelieP17 · May 8, 2006

Thanks, guys. I'm only going to burn one point on it, and I don't have any better ideas. I live in south-central Oregon and I see the same slow, lingering decline of deer numbers. Two years ago I burned 4 points on the Whitehorse (generally a damn good bet) and in 10-12 days of scouting and 8 days of HARD hunting we saw 4 bucks, none of which were worth a damn. I've been dialed in on archery elk in the Ochocos for about 8 years but now I need to find a new place to hunt, so I figured I might kill two birds with one stone and check out the Maurys. Thanks again. Back to the drawing board, I guess...

PullShootExplode · May 8, 2006

There are still animals in there it is a matter of getting off roads and where atvs won't go. The problem I see is with Ochoco going to only 500 tags your going to see people in the Maurys, Silvies and grizzly unit alot more. I would suggest checking around the recent burn area such as Davis Lake fire and the B&B complex. Just my .02

SteelieP17 · May 9, 2006

Thanks, PullShootExplode. Thanks for the excellent suggestions. I was considering the crowding of other units during archery elk, but I still want to rifle hunt deer somewhere around there, somewhere desert-y. That burn around Davis is an excellent suggestion for bulls. I will definitely check it out. That's a double-edged sword about the Ochocos going to draw only. I think it was way overdue, but then the reality sinks in, I can't go there this year. This last year was ridiculous. There were people/atvs/roadies everywhere. Five years ago the place was so vacant of people we weren't sure if we were supposed to be there!?!