Deer Hunt Area FX-02 (Fox 02)

The lay of the area

This area draws most of its ground from the Northside unit, with smaller parts of Beulah and Heppner. ODFW's walk starts in John Day, follows US 26 to Prairie City and Co Rd 62, climbs through forest roads including FR 13 and FR 6005, then drops to Unity, up Highway 7 and Co Rd 20 to US 395, and back along the Middle Fork and North Fork of the John Day River. Baldy Mountain, Dixie Butte, Deardorff Mountain, Grouse Knob and Ragged Rocks are the named high points.

Burns on the forecast

ODFW's forecast sends deer hunters to country that 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 where deer are starting to come back. ODFW also reports that populations remain below objective while buck ratios are at or above it, and that spring fawn ratios were lower than desired. John Day, Canyon City, Mount Vernon and Long Creek give you plenty of places to base yourself. Less than half the area is public, so a land-ownership map matters as much as a topo map.

The ground ODFW draws for this hunt

ODFW's Deer Hunt Area FX-02 covers about 1,518 square miles measured on ODFW's own polygon, and ODFW rates it 41% public land. It takes in parts of these WMUs: Northside (about 73%), Beulah (about 15%) and Heppner (about 11%). Named features inside the line fall in Grant County and Baker County. Elevation runs from about 1,842 to 7,585 feet. The highest named points are Baldy Mountain (7,585 ft), Dixie Butte (7,576 ft) and Deardorff Mountain (7,160 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.

Hunting fire country

Fresh green growth pulls deer into burns, but open burns leave little cover. Glass the edges where the burned ground meets unburned cover, and sit above the transition at dawn. Dead snags fall in wind, so don't camp under them.

Choosing a base and a method

Deerhorn Camp, Middle Fork Campground and Magone Lake Group Campground put you inside the forest side, and Grant County Fairgrounds RV Park suits a rig close to Canyon City and John Day. The rifle hunt and the bow hunt both cover a buck with visible antler. Bowhunters should key on water and shaded benches, since early-season deer sit tight. Rifle hunters should expect more traffic and plan a walk past the first road bend. Long Creek and Mount Vernon are both close enough for a quick fuel and ice run. If you shoot a buck deep in a drainage, quarter it and make several trips.

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.

• FX102 Fox 02, Oct. 3 - Oct. 14: 1,210 tags, one buck with visible antler.
• FX102R Fox 02 Bow, Aug. 29 - Sep. 27: 770 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.

• Northside (about 73% of this area): 658 hunters, 221 animals, 34% success over 3,497 hunter days.
• Beulah (about 15% of this area): 1,322 hunters, 663 animals, 50% success over 6,202 hunter days.

Roads in and the nearest towns

The longest named roads through this ground are US 26, FR 12, CR 20 and NF 2045. The nearest towns are Long Creek (8 mi), Mount Vernon (13 mi) and John Day (14 mi), measured from the centre of the unit.