Deer Hunt Area JT-02 (Juntura 02)

Big, open public ground

The area draws mostly from the Malheur River unit, with the rest from the Owyhee unit. ODFW's boundary starts near Crane at Highway 78 and Crane-Buchanan Road, follows US 20 to Cairo Junction and the Oregon-Idaho line at Nyssa, then drops along the Owyhee River and Owyhee Reservoir to the Dry Creek arm and Crowley Road. Duck Creek Butte, Star Mountain, Crowcamp Mountain, Stockade Mountain and Swamp Creek Buttes are the named summits.

The Coleman Creek fire

ODFW's forecast says the Coleman Creek fire burned a very large area north and west of Coleman Creek this year, and its effect varies depending on where you are inside the burn. For deer, it points hunters south into the Stockade mountains, or east to what used to be the North Owyhee unit. ODFW also says buck ratios across Juntura are slightly above objective, and Harney County's herds are stable in drought. Juntura, Jordan Valley, Homedale and Burns are the closest towns, and US 20, US 95, US 395 and OR 78 are the highways that frame it. With nearly three quarters of the area public, you won't run short of room, but you'll want a map that shows the fire boundary.

The ground ODFW draws for this hunt

ODFW's Deer Hunt Area JT-02 covers about 2,385 square miles measured on ODFW's own polygon, and ODFW rates it 73% public land. It takes in parts of these WMUs: Malheur River (about 70%) and Owyhee (about 30%). Named features inside the line fall in Malheur County and Harney County. Elevation runs from about 2,184 to 6,126 feet. The highest named points are Duck Creek Butte (6,126 ft), Star Mountain (6,029 ft) and Crowcamp Mountain (5,886 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.

Plan around closures and water

Check BLM and ODF closure pages before heading in, since some small fire closures remain. The forecast also says hunters should work water and burn scars, and it flags early mornings and late evenings as the best times for moving deer. Pull up the fire perimeter on a map and decide whether you'll hunt the edge, the unburned island or the country beyond it.

Big country, long days

Roads such as Crowley Road, OR 78 and US 395 give the main routes in. Slocum Creek Campground, Birch Creek Historic Ranch and the Jordan Craters area are the listed camps, and the nearest towns, Juntura, Jordan Valley, Burns and Homedale, are all a drive. Bring extra water and fuel. The rifle hunt has the most traffic, the bow hunt gives time to scout water, and the youth hunt gives a young hunter extra days before the main season ends. Glass long and often, then plan a stalk with the wind. A buck taken on rough ground should be quartered and packed out in loads.

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.

• JT102 Juntura 02, Oct. 3 - Oct. 14: 402 tags, one buck with visible antler.
• JT102R Juntura 02 Bow, Aug. 29 - Sep. 27: 116 tags, one buck with visible antler.
• JT102T Juntura 02 Youth, Sep. 28 - Oct. 14: 22 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.

• Malheur river (about 70% of this area): 1,007 hunters, 417 animals, 41% success over 5,172 hunter days.
• Owyhee (about 30% of this area): 412 hunters, 262 animals, 64% success over 1,828 hunter days.

Roads in and the nearest towns

The longest named roads through this ground are Crowley Road, OR 78, Crowley-Riverside Road and US 20. The nearest towns are Juntura (14 mi), Harper (26 mi) and Adrian (44 mi), measured from the centre of the unit.