# Fillmore Oak Creek Deer



## Bdaddy (Jan 26, 2017)

I have 14 points for deer that I would like to burn. Im thinking Ogden late Muzzleloader, which I am very familiar with the unit. Or, Fillmore oak creek. I have never stepped foot in this unit. 
I have done some research on Oak creek and see that it is a very tough hunt. Would horses be usefull on the unit? Are there trails to get around on? 
Is the unit mostly private? What type of Deer are out there? 
Thanks


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Going to take 18 pts for a shot at a LE muzzy Oak Creek tag this year.


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## Blackie6 (Jul 7, 2014)

Goofy elk is right. I have a uncle with 18 points that has been putting in for the oak creeks muzzy. 
If you were able to draw it, there is plenty of public land. Horses are great, but also some areas that are better without them.


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

I would not take horses on the Oak creeks--it's not a long distance type hunt. It's very steep, very rocky and rough country but you don't need to cover a tremendous distance to get anywhere--it's all just straight up! Maybe mules but honestly if you can hike I wouldn't hassle with livestock on that unit. Of course some guys love livestock and it's part of the experience but not a necessity on the Oak creeks.


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## Bdaddy (Jan 26, 2017)

Thanks for the feedback. After I posted I checked the odds. Goofy is right it will take a few more years. I am still considering it though. Is the unit worth 18 years? I don't really care about score but I do like seeing deer that make my Jaw drop, If you know what I mean. I haven't seen that in the ogden unit so I am leaning toward something like this. 
Thanks


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## Packout (Nov 20, 2007)

Problem is that when you have 18 points, the Oaks ML tag could take 20+ to draw. When you have 21 you might be there or it could take 22. So is the unit worth 21 points? 21 years waiting? That is for you to decide. But then again, is the Late ML hunt on the Ogden worth 14 points? Again, personal goals are at play here.

I spent 11 points on a hunt in CO a couple years ago. Waited almost half my adult life to go on that hunt. Was it worth that wait. Nope. (And I killed a nice buck)


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## Bdaddy (Jan 26, 2017)

Stupid Point Creep


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

The Oaks have produced some great bucks in the past few years. The problem is after word gets out, everyone applies. If your dead set on certain unit, it will be worth it, maybe. As years pass, the number of "quality" bucks can lessen. Something else to think about.


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

The Oak Creek is a tough unit. Low deer numbers, that's why they don't give out that many tags plus the buck to doe ratio is not real good. Which is another reason the tags are held so low. So what you have is about the same amount of hunters as on the henries but only about half the deer. Most of the biggest bucks are being killed by guided hunters.
One of my neighbors from Grantsville had the rifle tag last year and he really got his butt kicked both scouting and on the hunt. He ended up killing a very average 24" 4 point.
I've spent some time on there the last couple years trying to decide if I want to put in sometime in the future but I also struggled to find very many big bucks. 
I think I'll try scouting another LE unit this summer and see what else I can find.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

I had a coworker that had a muzzie tag 2 years ago down there. He also got his butt kicked and killed a 16" 3pt on the last day. Lots of guys were sending him pics of big bucks and offered to help him take one for a fee, but he couldn't afford it so he hunted with his dad and brother. He also ran into blocked roads and several mossback "guides" (thugs) that made it hard to get around. I don't know how good of a hunter he is, but he hunted every day of the season and did not have a good experience. In his 3 or 4 weekend scouting trips he did, he only saw 2 bucks that I would consider real trophies.


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

The Oak Creeks have Nephi and Delta nearby. Guides are watching that unit year in and year out all year long. I spend a lot of time on the unit and see guys out looking at deer a lot. It's not a huge unit and pretty close to a fair number of hunters, the guides really have it figured out. Without that guide knowledge, going in blind would be a huge disadvantage. 

It is a steep nasty pig to hike and there are plenty of nooks and little side canyons bucks can hide. I love the Oak Creek range but I know it more than most and I wouldn't recommend it for a run-of-the-mill LE deer hunter, not for 18+ points anyways.


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## Blackie6 (Jul 7, 2014)

The creeks is no different then any other unit. A guy draws the tag, steps foot for the first time in the unit a few months before his hunt, spends most of his scouting time learning the unit and then complains that there isn’t deer. I see it every year out there. I spend a lot of time scouting it and I spend the hunts there. I’ve never seen a road block or any of that BS. The guides out there are actually pretty cool. It’s not the easiest place to find deer and like stated, it’s some of the nastiest country to hike in. But if you plan to learn any unit the year of your hunt, you will rarely succeed to the potential of that hunt.


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## legacy (Sep 30, 2007)

Had an friend in 2017 who had an Oak Creek muzzleloader tag. He was absolutely disgusted with how his hunt went. He ended up not killing a buck at all. But that's hunting. But like has already been said here, there are good bucks on the unit just like other LE units. Are there other units that are a little more friendly and have more deer numbers? Absolutely! It comes down to where you want to focus your time and do your homework. But that's the key with any unit...doing your homework. And like Blacie6 is getting at, don't wait until a few months prior to the hunt to finally set foot on the unit (no matter what unit it is) or you'll regret it.
My best friend also had an Oak Creek rifle tag in 2017. He's from Delta, his kids live in Oak City (And my mom and dad are from Oak City & Delta) and he/we have quite a bit of knowledge about the unit and have spent a lot of time there. His attitude was that he was going to kill a 200" buck and anything less was a failure. He was pretty confident he could make that happen. Well, long story short, he hunted for 9 days and didn't kill a 200" buck. He killed a buck on the very last afternoon that he wasn't totally happy with. My wife also had a tag in 2017. Anyway, IMO it can be a fun hunt, but be prepared for it. Oak Creek is kind of a beast of it's own.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

Oak creak is one of the best units for big bucks "IF" you can get a tag! I helped on a rifle tag a few years ago and only saw one hunter. Never saw all these guides people are talking about. We killed a REALLY nice typical buck. Seen quite a few nontypical bucks off that unit over the last 5 to 10 years go 200" to 220".



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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

swbuckmaster said:


> Oak creak is one of the best units for big bucks "IF" you can get a tag! I helped on a rifle tag a few years ago and only saw one hunter. Never saw all these guides people are talking about. We killed a REALLY nice typical buck. Seen quite a few nontypical bucks off that unit over the last 5 to 10 years go 200" to 220".
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


This is a VERY misleading statement.
Once again, as of 2018, Oak Creek is NOT an easy unit to hunt and there are many canyons that you can spend the day in and not see a single mature buck.

The statement from swbuckmaster can be said about many of our general units too but if you don't know the unit, it will take a lot of time to figure it out.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

It doenst matter what unit you hunt YOU are going to have to spend time scouting it to find the good bucks. My statement about good bucks on that unit is NOT miss leading!

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## Bdaddy (Jan 26, 2017)

I think that for the most part the replies given, answer my question. It sounds like the oak creek unit has the title of being limited entry but the deer are not there. It kinda reminds me of a Ron white joke. He's asking his landscaper to replace a tree that it is dead. The landscaper peals some bark on the tree and say's see its still alive. Ron looks at the landscaper and says " let me explain to you what I want in a tree" 
I'm no different than most in that I can only scout so much. It sounds like a hunt that would require a ton of scouting only for the chance to see maybe one or two bucks.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

Bdaddy said:


> I think that for the most part the replies given, answer my question. It sounds like the oak creek unit has the title of being limited entry but the deer are not there. It kinda reminds me of a Ron white joke. He's asking his landscaper to replace a tree that it is dead. The landscaper peals some bark on the tree and say's see its still alive. Ron looks at the landscaper and says " let me explain to you what I want in a tree"
> I'm no different than most in that I can only scout so much. It sounds like a hunt that would require a ton of scouting only for the chance to see maybe one or two bucks.


You would be wrong but that's your choice. Dont let a bunch of guys applying to this hunt discourage you from hunting a unit you want to hunt. Then again if you're such a wishy washy guy take their advice and ask the same question about any other unit in the state. You will get the same answers with half saying the unit sucks.

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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

swbuckmaster said:


> You would be wrong but that's your choice. Dont let a bunch of guys applying to this hunt discourage you from hunting a unit you want to hunt. Then again if you're such a wishy washy guy take their advice and ask the same question about any other unit in the state. You will get the same answers with half saying the unit sucks.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


Give me a break!
He's the one that brought up the fact that he has read it's a tough hunt and I agree. I know my neighbor wishes he had his 18 points back right now.
Your the one that said it's one of the best units in the state for finding big bucks and I disagree.
Hell, I wouldn't even put it in my top 10 best LEs.
In the past two years I've spent 9 days scouting the unit and two of those days were mid Nov. and in the middle of the rut. I only saw a couple bucks I would say went over 170" and nothing even close to 200".
The reason I scouted as much as I did was because I have family that live in Southern Utah, including my oldest daughter. I would drive right past the unit on my travels down South. So I would usually spend an evening and the next morning scouting during these trips.
I really wanted this unit to produce for me because it's not that far from my house but unfortunately it has been a disappointment.
To specifically answer some of the P.O.s questions.
- Some areas would be good for horses but many of the canyons are narrow and it would be hard to get a trailer up them, which would be a long ride from the bottom while all the atvs when zooming by.
- there are several atv and hiking trails on the unit.
- the unit is mostly public up high.
- What type of deer? Pretty sure they are all mule deer.
There have been several comments about bucks on the unit already.
PM my if you have any other questions.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

The anyweapon bid deer permit for Oak creek sold for $39,000 at the Expo last night.
Someone wanted it pretty bad!


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

goofy elk said:


> The anyweapon bid deer permit for Oak creek sold for $39,000 at the Expo last night.
> Someone wanted it pretty bad!


This is what I was trying to explain earlier.

-Will that guy be guided and have several highly trained spotters?
Yes, he probably will.

-Will he kill a 200"+ buck?
Yes, he probably will or have the chance to.

-Are the Oak Creeks an easy place to find a lot of bucks from the road or even if hiking in several miles, see dozen of bucks in a few hours?
No, probably not.

What did the other LEs go for?


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Paunsy LO deer tag 36k
Antelope Island deer permit 305k
Utah state wide deer 160k
Arizona state wide deer 330k
Utah state wide lion petmit 27k
Utah state wide Rocky goat 25k
Utah state wide moose 55k
Kaparowtiz Desert sheep 75k
Nine mile RMB sheep 97.5k


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## 7mm Reloaded (Aug 25, 2015)

new trucks, badges and guns for everyone...... again. 8)


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

ridgetop said:


> -Are the Oak Creeks an easy place to find a lot of bucks from the road or even if hiking in several miles, see dozen of bucks in a few hours?
> No, probably not.


I don't think I have ever seen or heard of anyone making the argument that the unit was that way. I don't know a lot about the unit but I don't remember ever hearing anything other than there are some big bucks out there, but it is tough. Who is saying it is an easy unit to see lots of bucks from the road?

And yes, there is definitely something out there that has certain people excited about that unit. I'm sure we'll all know about it by October...


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## legacy (Sep 30, 2007)

One of Doyle Moss' guides personally killed a big buck there last year. That's possibly where some of this is coming from. Moss, Lemon & others have guides basically living on the mountain. Yes, their clients will possibly kill good bucks.


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## legacy (Sep 30, 2007)

Every guided hunter we ran into down there in 2017 had multiple spotters with them. I will say this, all the guides/spotters we ran into and talked to were exceptionally friendly.


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

Vanilla said:


> I don't think I have ever seen or heard of anyone making the argument that the unit was that way. I don't know a lot about the unit but I don't remember ever hearing anything other than there are some big bucks out there, but it is tough. Who is saying it is an easy unit to see lots of bucks from the road?
> 
> And yes, there is definitely something out there that has certain people excited about that unit. I'm sure we'll all know about it by October...


I'm talking about the perception that the unit could be easier than it really is.
You get a few people saying how it's one of the best units for a big buck and look what people are willing to pay to hunt the unit. There must be big bucks are over the unit. I just don't want anyone else to fall into the trap like my neighbor did.
I'd say the same thing for the Pauns. rifle hunt. That's it's not an easy hunt either, with how the deer are on the move that time of year.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

ridgetop said:


> I'm talking about the perception that the unit could be easier than it really is.
> You get a few people saying how it's one of the best units for a big buck and look what people are willing to pay to hunt the unit. There must be big bucks are over the unit. I just don't want anyone else to fall into the trap like my neighbor did.
> I'd say the same thing for the Pauns. rifle hunt. That's it's not an easy hunt either, with how the deer are on the move that time of year.


Gotcha. I guess I read those other posts differently. I read them as saying the opportunity is there. I never read into it that it would be easy.

If the Oaks are like the Paunsy rifle hunt...then sign me up! Yes, it can be difficult. But the potential is exciting!


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

Randy Newberg had an archery Oak Creek tag last year. He posted up his hunt on youtube yesterday. He had shots at a couple nice bucks, but ultimately ate tag soup. He archery hunts like me, can get in range, but once in range, the arrows have a mind of their own and never want to hit the animal.


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## weaversamuel76 (Feb 16, 2017)

toasty said:


> Randy Newberg had an archery Oak Creek tag last year. He posted up his hunt on youtube yesterday. He had shots at a couple nice bucks, but ultimately ate tag soup. He archery hunts like me, can get in range, but once in range, the arrows have a mind of their own and never want to hit the animal.


What was a 2016 tag. He drew a Henry bison last year

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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

Vanilla said:


> Gotcha. I guess I read those other posts differently. I read them as saying the opportunity is there. I never read into it that it would be easy.
> 
> If the Oaks are like the Paunsy rifle hunt...then sign me up! Yes, it can be difficult. But the potential is exciting!


Nothing like the Pauns. 
A lot less deer too.
There is potential on any general season.
I have two good friends that have killed a 226" and 235" bucks on general unit public lands in the last few years. Two different units.
There is potential just about everywhere.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

Ok ridgtop says the oak creek unit sucks lmao. It must suck then



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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

swbuckmaster said:


> Ok ridgtop says the oak creek unit sucks lmao. It must suck then
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


Lets see a picture of that buck your friend got.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

ridgetop said:


> Lets see a picture of that buck your friend got.


Not my photo to post

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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

ridgetop said:


> There is potential on any general season.
> I have two good friends that have killed a 226" and 235" bucks on general unit public lands in the last few years. Two different units.
> There is potential just about everywhere.


No doubt. I agree with that entirely. That said, I have a friend that killed a 340+ inch bull on a general season archery elk tag. But I'm still looking forward to my LE elk hunt.


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

swbuckmaster said:


> Not my photo to post
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


You could ask him, since you already hot spotted his unit. He shouldn't really care, you could even black out his face. ;-)


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

ridgetop said:


> You could ask him, since you already hot spotted his unit. He shouldn't really care, you could even black out his face. ;-)


You mean hotspoted you're unit lol he already drew the rifle tag. News flash hes not drawing it again with points in elk game now and point creep.

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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

swbuckmaster said:


> You mean hotspoted you're unit lol he already drew the rifle tag. News flash hes not drawing it again with points in elk game now and point creep.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


Not my unit but knowing that you or your buddy has no plans on hunting the unit ever again, sure explains why you are willing to hot spot it.
I exposed a unit I was hunting years ago on the forum and have really regretted it ever since. I won't openly tell what LE I'll be hunting once I draw a tag like you did a few years ago.
I sure like how your trying to make me look bad though.

Thanks


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