Southeastern Oregon deer guide.

Redside · Mar 8, 2007

Just wondering if anyone has heard of High Desert Outfitters out of Adel, Oregon? Chuck Messner runs the guiding, and from talking to him seems like a hell of a nice guy who knows his stuff. Just want to know if anyone has hunted with him or has heard of someone hunting with him. Thanks

baltz526 · Apr 16, 2007

LAST EDITED ON Apr-16-07 AT 09:23PM (MST)[p]support your local guzzlers. OHA life member,lapine oregon... i have hunted the beatys butte unit twice, the outfitter with tags in the unit. has in the past, set up camps and leaves them unattended for long periods of time. the hunters we talked to bought there tags through the outfitter was directed to the campsite and never saw the outfitter again. called it a drop camp. some of this area has no deer in it anymore so if you get a tag in any area of se oregon be ready for long days and no deer in lots of areas. there are pockets with deer and if this outfitter is guiding you to them, you have a good chance for a medium buck, 3 to 5yr olds. i hunted the whitehorse unit last year, out of the approx 20 bucks i saw the two largest where 3yr olds i passed on both. on the 12th and last day of the hunt i shot a 2yr old spike for meat. the steens unit is way down on deer numbers also but if your outfitter has access to the large ranch on the southside you will have a good chance at a nice buck. it all depends on the unit your tag will be good for, more than the outfitter

SteelieP17 · Apr 23, 2007

Just out of curiosity, baltz, were you in the south end of the Whitehorse or the north. I've spent a TON of time out there and I'm always curious about the deer. Haven't been out there since '04 when it flat SUCKED. Shoot me a PM if you don't mind. After '04 I swore I would never set foot in that God-forsaken place again (without an antelope tag) but it gets in your blood.

lostinOregon · Apr 25, 2007

I know a guy that loves whitehorse, he hunts it when he can draw which was 2 years ago. He hunts hard and went 6 days before he saw a deer. Killed a nice 4X4 and then the next day he and his dad found a bachelor group and killed another nice buck. I don't think the hunt is for the weak at heart that needs to see a lot of deer, however there are a few out there.

Rich

HighDesert · Apr 27, 2007

LAST EDITED ON Apr-27-07 AT 06:06PM (MST)[p]Well I can say this Redside. Chuck Messner is an incredible guide an incredible man. He is the reason I got into guiding was the job he did. My dads 1994 sheep Hunt chuck climbed a 60' High Juniper to find the ram we were on. Chuck is a great guy you will not go wrong with him. If you book with him for the Trout Creeks he will hire Zach he always does. Zach is a great guy and knows the creeks real real well.

Baltz I am sorry to hear you had such a tough hunt in Whitehorse. I am a guide down there as well and lets just say unless you spend countless hours in the field and are there every year you will not find great deer. That is the thing that sucks about Oregon Right now is things change. Every year they change deer habits habitiat all of it change.

For instances we will use Whitehorse for instances. 2005 saw 17 different bucks in one draw during the season all were immature bucks iwth one decent 4x4 amongst them. 2006 there is not a critter in this draw that same 4xd4 8 miles away in a different draw. No hunter so we did not kill him. During 2006 he was a 28" 4X4 so this year he is a smoker and I have already found him. There are lots of good bucks in that unit if you go above and beyond normal scouting. But that is what it takes. I spend over 100 days a year over there between Warner, Hart Mtn, Beattys and Whitehorse. My advantage is a secret but I cover more ground and I do not own a chute plane either but I am telling you there are some great deer still in the desert.

baltz526 · Apr 30, 2007

===support your local guzzlers. OHA life member,lapine oregon=== i'm a deer hunter, so i find deer. in the whitehorse unit i scouted the antelope creek country with one of the 2 bighorn tag holders for 6 days of his hunt. found a bachlor herd of bucks with two shooters in it. i saved this group for my backup during the season. i hunted the sheepsheads for 2 days preseason and 6 days of season, in all that hunting i saw three bucks and 21 does/yearlings one buck was a 3yr old 3x3 the other two where 1 1/2yr old forked horns. i'm not a road hunter or 4wheeler hunter i hike. i spent 1/2 day moving camp to the soldier creek area on the border, have hunted the idaho side 5yrs. spent one day hunting the bachlor herd i found during the bighorn hunt, crossed up warm springs canyon from threeforks in my f250 (only tore off one step and dented the under carrage a bit) hiked in the 1 1/2 mile inside the wilderness study area and found 4wheeler tracks all over the nonmotorized vehical area and no deer or fresh tracks. hunted a few other honey holes on the west side of the canyon not a track, just 4wheelers. spent the final 5 days of season looking at little bucks on soldier creek and the surounding area, passed on 20 1-2 yr olds and 2-3yr olds at sunset on the last day, i shot a 2yr old spike. for freezer meat. the whithorse has pockets of deer, but some areas that had deer in the past are barren. i talked to hunters who have been hunting the pole creek breaks for years, they had zero success last year. it would take me about 5 seasons to hunt the whitehorse unit, with pretty good coverage, but i saw no reason to go back. hunting the beatys butte unit for two seasons i shot 4yr old bucks on the 8th day both years. these where the oldest bucks i saw, hunted the juniper unit one season, never saw a buck, but i was chasing a pair reported in antelope season. in a very low deer number area.

SteelieP17 · May 1, 2007

Hey baltz526, sounds like we've been in the same country. That seems to be the story, though, places that used to have deer have nothing now. I bow hunted Antelope Creek in '01 and shadowed a bachlor herd with two nice (rifle) shooters in it for two days but never got close enough to shoot. I also glassed another herd of bucks with a daddy in it up at Louse Canyon, lost 'em in the breaks. Met some sheep hunters who tried to put me on an alleged 30" buck in Rattlesnake Creek, but I found that first group on my way in. Went back in '04 with a rifle and there was nothing. Sheepheads, nothing. Antelope Creek, Ten Mile Rim, nothing. And we hiked our a**es off and went cross-eyed from glassing. Scouted all of that country like fiends over the Summer and saw a dozen does and one young 3X4. During the season (7 days of HARD hunting) we saw a half-dozen does and one little forky limping for his life. It was eerie, the deer were all gone, like aliens took them or something... I'm an expert at fixing flat tires, however. That Owyhee Desert is brutal on rigs.

baltz526 · May 1, 2007

==support your local guzzlers. OHA life member,lapine oregon== when i hunt the desert anymore, in the f250 i carry one spare under the truck and two in the back. since i started doing this i have not had a single flat. do you know where 5points is? if you ever want to kill a bunch of coyotes this is a good spot. one tip for hunting this country, when it is hot and nothing is moving anywhere look in the hottest most open places you can find, then look for small sage patches. the deer will lay in these open spots in the shade of these sparce sage bushes, to get the wind that blows across these open flats. the hotter it is the more likely you will find them in these spots.

NorthSide · Jun 18, 2007

Good morning all. This is my first run at this monster muley forum. I have drawn a North Warner rifle deer tag and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on tactics and / or areas to hunt in this unit. I drew the Hart montain archery tag four years ago and packed in above Guano Creek. It was great. I could have shot no less than twenty bucks in a week, but there was nothing that I could find over 160. I enjoyed this hunt enough to begin putting in for a rifle tag in the desert and North Warner seemed to be the best with the exception of the Trout Creek Mtns. I generally do not rifle hunt so any advice would help. The consensus is that the South East desert is low on deer numbers and I would agree. Patients is king.

SteelieP17 · Jun 18, 2007

This is better that Christmas! I put in for Hart Mtn. #2 and drew it. I was kind of shocked, considering how many points I had. Now I have issues... I've spent time all around Hart Mtn. but haven't monkeyed around up there too much, except spotting bighorn for the helluv it. So, any suggestions on where I should start looking? I have a couple of ideas, but I'm basically going blind. I'm going to head out there June 30 for my first scout, so I'm jacked. I live pretty close (3 hours) so I feel I can get some time in up there (just broke off my summer wedding so I have time on my hands

). Any help, greatly appreciated. I just want to start finding deer and take it from there. I'm definitely willing to walk and would prefer to actually. Thanks a bunch in advance.

NorthSide, the only part of the North Warners I've messed around in is the extreme east side along Lynch's/Fish Creek Rim. I've seen BIG bucks up in there in the past. Haven't been out there in rifle season, but I know people who know people who do pretty good up there.

NorthSide · Jun 18, 2007

SteelieP17
I did a lot of research before I went on my Hart Mt. hunt and feel really good about the options there. I actually packed in and hunted for four and a half days in one area and then moved to a new are for the rest of the hunt. I could have harvested a lot of nice 140 to 160 bucks, but at the time if you didn't harvest a buck the tag was still good in general archery season. My notes are at home, but I spoke to the biologist multiple times and scouted it twice before I hunted it. Dwight Schuh was on the same boulder patch I was on opening morning so the area has promise. I hunted just south of Warner Peak close to the head waters of Guano Creek. There is an aspen patch there that I camped in and there was water just on the back side of this camp. Looking back I would have probably spent more time hunting the area west of camp. It is steep and rugged but I do think the bigger bucks are in there. I hunted that whole upper ridge from Warner Peak to the end looking into Crump Lake. The biologist told me that bucks die of old age up in that area and they may, because I sure didn't find him. Be wary of mosquitos when scouting. It was unbearable on one of my scouting trips. The good news is when I was scouting I did see a few 180+ bucks. I just never found them during the hunt. Good luck and if you speak to any of your friends about North Warner let me know. Thanks.

NS

SteelieP17 · Jun 18, 2007

Thank you very much, NorthSide! Excellent info. If I do hear anything more about the North Warners I will definitely let you know. Very much appreciated stuff.

mark53656 · Aug 14, 2007

Read your message. Sounds like you may spend some time in the Trout Creek/Oregon Canyon Mountains. I drew the Trout Creek Mountain tag after 9 years trying. Been in there off and on for the past few years and have seen some bucks. Not trying to pry for spots, just curious if you have seen any big ones in recent years. I need to keep motivation level high. Headed into the Oregon Canyon end August 25. Live in Redmond, even that is a haul. Thanks.