Oregon Unit MURDERERS CREEK Mule Deer Hunting Guide

Murderers Creek is one of eastern Oregon's storied mule deer units, spread across 736,112 acres of high desert and timbered ridgelines in the Blue Mountain country. With elevations ranging from 2,351 feet up to 9,042 feet, the unit offers a huge diversity of terrain — from sagebrush-covered lower benches to steep, timbered high country — that supports a resident mule deer population hunted hard every year by both Oregon residents and nonresidents drawing in from out of state.

This unit has built a reputation over decades as a legitimate mule deer destination, and the numbers back up the interest: harvest totals regularly run into the 400-600 deer range annually, with well over a thousand hunters in the field most years. Public land makes up 77% of the unit, giving DIY hunters plenty of room to work, while a modest 9% wilderness designation means most of the unit remains readily accessible without the logistical complications that heavier wilderness units present. For hunters trying to decide whether Murderers Creek deserves a spot on the application list, the data tells a nuanced story worth digging into.

HuntPilot Analysis: Is Murderers Creek Worth Applying For?

Murderers Creek deserves serious consideration for hunters who value both public land access and long-term trophy potential, but it isn't a slam dunk for every hunter — the wildlife survey numbers raise a caution flag that shouldn't be ignored.

On the positive side, 77% public land ownership means this unit is genuinely DIY-friendly. Hunters aren't fighting for scraps of BLM or National Forest ground squeezed between private ranches — the majority of the unit is open to hunt without needing landowner permission or leased access. The 9% wilderness designation is low enough that road and trail access remains reasonably practical across most of the unit, without the extensive pack-in logistics that heavily-wildernessed units demand.

The trophy picture is a genuine draw. Counties overlapping Murderers Creek carry a strong history of trophy-class mule deer entries, which signals that this landscape has consistently produced mature, well-antlered bucks over the years. That kind of sustained trophy pedigree is not common, and it's a major reason this unit shows up on serious mule deer hunters' radars year after year.

Where hunters need to pay attention is herd composition. The five-year survey average from 2021-2025 shows an 18:100 buck-to-doe ratio, which is low relative to healthy mule deer benchmarks and suggests either herd pressure, tough winters, or both have been limiting buck carryover into older age classes in recent years. A ratio in this range typically means fewer mature bucks per doe in the population at any given time, even in a unit capable of producing trophy animals historically. Hunters should treat this as the more reliable read on current herd health rather than any single strong year.

Harvest success has also been erratic. The unit posted a 0% success rate in 2018 (from 949 hunters) and just an 18% rate in 2017, before climbing back into the 40s percent range from 2020 through 2024. That kind of volatility suggests either significant regulation changes, hunt structure shifts, or environmental factors (drought, winterkill, fire) have influenced deer numbers and hunter success over the past decade. The recent stretch of 43-47% success from 2020-2022 and a 45% success rate in 2024 is a positive trend, but the historical swings are real and hunters should go in with realistic expectations rather than assuming recent numbers are guaranteed to hold.

Bottom line: Murderers Creek is worth applying for if a hunter is drawn to its public-land accessibility and historical trophy quality, and is willing to accept that current buck:doe ratios point to a herd that isn't at its healthiest right now. This is a unit to watch and apply for opportunistically rather than a guaranteed trophy factory every single year.

Harvest Success Rates

Murderers Creek's harvest data over the past decade tells a story of real variability:

• 2024: 1,255 hunters, 559 harvested, 45% success
• 2023: 1,343 hunters, 506 harvested, 38% success
• 2022: 1,168 hunters, 507 harvested, 43% success
• 2021: 1,279 hunters, 603 harvested, 47% success
• 2020: 864 hunters, 406 harvested, 47% success
• 2019: 8 hunters, 6 harvested, 75% success (very small sample)
• 2018: 949 hunters, 4 harvested, 0% success
• 2017: 925 hunters, 168 harvested, 18% success
• 2016: 904 hunters, 148 harvested, 16% success
• 2015: 888 hunters, 186 harvested, 21% success

The contrast between the 2015-2018 stretch (success rates mostly in the 16-21% range, with an anomalous 0% year in 2018) and the 2020-2024 stretch (success consistently in the high 30s to high 40s percent range) is striking. Hunters researching this unit should note that whatever hunt structure or tag allocation existed in the mid-2010s appears to have shifted meaningfully by 2020, producing much higher and more consistent success rates in recent years. The 2024 season's 45% success rate on 1,255 hunters represents one of the strongest recent years for both hunter participation and success combined.

Trophy Quality

Trophy data for Murderers Creek points to a unit with real substance. Counties overlapping this unit carry a strong history of trophy-class mule deer records, indicating that mature, well-developed bucks have come out of this landscape consistently over time. That's a meaningful signal for hunters chasing a genuine trophy-caliber buck rather than simply filling a tag.

That said, hunters should read this trophy history alongside the herd composition data. A strong historical trophy record doesn't guarantee current-year buck density or age structure — it reflects what the landscape and habitat are capable of producing when conditions align. Given the low recent buck:doe ratio, hunters chasing an old, heavy-antlered buck should plan on being selective and patient, covering the unit's diverse elevation bands to find pockets where mature bucks have avoided pressure, rather than expecting mature bucks behind every ridge.

It's also worth noting the county-level nature of trophy record data: these records are attributed to the counties overlapping Murderers Creek, and the same records are shared with neighboring units in those counties. The animals behind those entries may have been taken anywhere within the broader county boundaries, not necessarily inside Murderers Creek's specific unit lines. Still, the presence of that trophy pedigree in the surrounding geography is a meaningful data point for hunters evaluating long-term unit potential.

Herd Health & Population Trends

The most important herd health signal available for Murderers Creek is the five-year survey average (2021-2025) showing an 18:100 buck-to-doe ratio. This is a low ratio by mule deer standards and suggests the buck segment of the population is under some pressure — whether from hunting pressure, winter mortality, predation, or a combination of factors influencing buck survival to maturity.

Hunters should treat this ratio as the headline herd health indicator for the unit right now. A low buck:doe ratio generally means fewer bucks per hundred does are surviving into visible, huntable age classes, which can translate into more time needed to locate a mature buck, even in a unit with strong historical trophy production. This doesn't mean big bucks aren't present — the trophy history suggests they are — but it does mean the overall buck population density is thinner than in a unit with a healthier ratio.

Given the multi-year survey window, this appears to be a sustained pattern rather than a one-off anomaly, which should factor into hunter expectations. Anyone planning a hunt here should scout hard, glass extensively, and be prepared to put in more effort per buck sighted than they might in a unit with a stronger buck:doe ratio.

Access & Terrain

Murderers Creek spans an enormous elevation range — from 2,351 feet at its lowest points to 9,042 feet at its highest — which means hunters can expect everything from low sagebrush flats and rolling foothill country to steep, high-elevation timber and alpine-adjacent terrain within a single unit. This vertical diversity is one of the unit's defining characteristics and gives hunters options depending on time of year, weather, and where deer are concentrated.

With 736,112 total acres and 77% public land, the majority of the unit is open to hunt without needing private landowner access, making Murderers Creek a genuinely DIY-friendly destination. Hunters can expect a mix of accessible lower-elevation ground and more demanding high-country terrain as they move through the unit's elevation bands.

The 9% wilderness designation is modest, meaning most of the unit remains reachable by road and trail without the extended pack-in requirements that heavily-wildernessed units impose. This makes Murderers Creek practical for hunters running day trips or shorter backcountry camps rather than requiring multi-day pack strings into roadless country.

Hunters using HuntPilot's mapping tools can overlay public land boundaries and terrain contour data to identify likely glassing points and access routes across the unit's elevation gradient — a useful exercise given how much vertical relief this unit covers from valley floor to high ridge.

How to Apply

Oregon does not publish per-hunt draw odds in this article by design — hunters should check HuntPilot's Oregon state page and Murderers Creek unit page for current draw odds and historical trends before submitting an application.

Application dates and fees change every draw cycle. For the current deadlines, fees, and draw odds, see HuntPilot's Oregon page at /states/or.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the terrain like in Murderers Creek? The unit covers a dramatic elevation range from 2,351 to 9,042 feet, meaning hunters encounter everything from low sagebrush and foothill country to steep, high-elevation timbered terrain within the same unit. With 736,112 total acres and only 9% designated wilderness, most of the unit is accessible by road and trail rather than requiring extended pack-in trips.

What is harvest success like in Murderers Creek? Recent harvest success has trended favorably, with 45% in 2024, 38% in 2023, 43% in 2022, and 47% in both 2021 and 2020. This marks a notable improvement over the mid-2010s, when success rates ran much lower — 18% in 2017, 16% in 2016, and an outlier 0% in 2018. Hunters should weigh both the strong recent stretch and the unit's history of volatility when setting expectations.

How big are the mule deer in Murderers Creek? Counties overlapping Murderers Creek carry a strong history of trophy-class mule deer entries, pointing to real trophy potential in this landscape over time. However, the recent five-year buck:doe ratio of 18:100 suggests the current buck population may be thinner than in past years, meaning hunters chasing a mature buck should expect to put in significant scouting and glassing time rather than counting on high buck density.

Is Murderers Creek worth applying for? It depends on what a hunter values. The unit offers strong public land access at 77%, manageable wilderness constraints at 9%, a solid trophy history in the surrounding counties, and improving harvest success in recent years. The tradeoff is a low recent buck:doe ratio that signals a herd under some pressure.