Deer Hunt Area AD-01 (Aldrich 01)

A new area built from three WMUs

Aldrich 01 replaces WMU hunts. Just over half the ground comes from Murderers Creek, about a quarter from Ochoco and roughly a fifth from Silvies, so this is mostly the old Murderers Creek herd range.

The boundary starts at John Day, runs east on US 26 to Prairie City, south through Seneca on US 395 and then around by the Silvies River and the Hines Logging Road before swinging back to US 26. Strawberry Mountain and Indian Spring Butte are the high points, and the low ground is below twenty-five hundred feet.

Burns that are bringing deer back

ODFW's forecast says deer favor the vegetation that grows after fires, in areas burned in the past five to fifteen years. It names the Shake Table Fire on Aldrich Mountain, the Canyon Creek Complex and the Monument Rock burns as places showing increasing deer, and a good place to find a buck.

The forecast also says populations remain below management objectives, but buck ratios were at or above objective. Seneca, Mount Vernon, Canyon City and John Day are the nearest towns.

The ground ODFW draws for this hunt

ODFW's Deer Hunt Area AD-01 covers about 2,188 square miles measured on ODFW's own polygon, and ODFW rates it 66% public land. It takes in parts of these WMUs: Murderers Creek (about 53%), Ochoco (about 23%) and Silvies (about 20%). Named features inside the line fall in Grant County, Crook County, Harney County and Wheeler County. Elevation runs from about 2,392 to 9,032 feet. The highest named points are Strawberry Mountain (9,032 ft), Indian Spring Butte (8,539 ft) and Graham Mountain (8,538 ft). ODFW's line is the legal one, so check it against a current land-ownership map, and get permission before you cross private ground or a locked gate inside it.

Check access before you commit

ODFW's central Oregon forecast says large wildfires are closing public land in places and tells hunters to check the national forests and BLM pages. A closure can change a plan the week before opening, so look again right before you go.

The same forecast says the mild winter gave high over-winter survival, so there should be more yearling bucks than usual. Expect to see young bucks, and pass them if you want an older one.

Pick your weapon and your window

This area has a rifle hunt, a long archery season and a late bow hunt for whitetail. Archers can chase bucks through the early fall when deer are feeding on burn regrowth near water. Rifle hunters get a short window, so scouting counts.

Glass burns and open slopes at first and last light. In a dry year, find water and look on the nearby slopes. Roads like Price-Twelvemile Road, NF 37 and the South Fork John Day Road reach both the burns and the timber.

On steep ground, plan the pack-out. Quarter the animal and keep the meat cool.

ODFW's 2026 buck deer hunts on this ground

Seasons, bag limits and tags come from ODFW's 2026 regulations. Check the current book before you apply or go, because these change every year.

• AD101 Aldrich 01, Oct. 3 - Oct. 14: 1,100 tags, one buck with visible antler.
• AD101R Aldrich 01 Bow, Aug. 29 - Sep. 27: 624 tags, one buck with visible antler.
• AD101R1 Late Aldrich 01 Bow Whitetail, Nov. 14 - Nov. 28: 21 tags, one buck with visible antler.

The 2025 harvest in ODFW's numbers

ODFW has no harvest figures on the new hunt areas yet. Its 2025 statistics are by WMU, for all deer hunters, every season and tag type, so these are the units this area was drawn from, and each covers more or less ground than the area does.

• Murderers creek (about 53% of this area): 619 hunters, 337 animals, 54% success over 3,155 hunter days.
• Ochoco (about 23% of this area): 1,473 hunters, 318 animals, 22% success over 7,857 hunter days.
• Silvies (about 20% of this area): 739 hunters, 351 animals, 47% success over 3,522 hunter days.

Roads in and the nearest towns

The longest named roads through this ground are NF 16, National Forest Development Road 43, CR 62 and US 26. The nearest towns are Seneca (15 mi), Mount Vernon (16 mi) and Canyon City (20 mi), measured from the centre of the unit.