Secret spots question #2 ?

[Craig]

How did you find your Secret spot?

-Reserch
-old family hunting spot
-friend told you were to go
-just found it while out hiking
-overheard were someone else shot something
-luck / found it on accident
- any other ways you found your secret spot.

Just looking for some fun post.

 

[longrifle]

My secret spot lies in the bottom of a hell hole. It's a steep drainage that few people will hike into. You can only ride on horseback 3/4 of the way down because it gets too steep and rocky. I avoided the area for years because it was too much work, but I soon discovered the farther or deeper I went, the more success I had. It's easy going down, but really hurts coming back up with quarters on your pack.

I shot a little 3x3 buck 3/4 of the way down about two years ago and will never do that again, he really wasn't worth the effort. I shot the buck at about 6:30 pm and didn't finish packing him to the top until midnight. It was snowing, cold, and I think I started to hallucinate at one point as the trees were starting to move in on me like the legend of Sleepy Hollow.
OOOOHHHH, spooky lodgepole.

Longrifle

 

[ridgerunner]

I think any of the above could lead to a secret spot, for me its the hours spend pouring over topo maps and areial photos trying to find that one basin that is overlooked, off the beaten path, too far in, etc. That and talking to lots of different people who have hunted the area I'm interested in. Of course, I've got a long list of potential secret spots that I haven't found time to scout yet, although I just got back from checking one out that holds great potential. Too much country and not enough time. I think its hard to get away from the grass is always greener somewhere else syndrome. I've experienced that lots living in Washington with other states, but we have some pretty good hunting here as well, just have to work a little harder for it.

 

[BrianID]

I have several secret spots. I have found a couple of my best ones by wondering "what's over then" and then spending time scouting those areas to find out. There are a few spots that were shown to me by family and one spot that a friend took me to.
Finding a new honey hole to hunt that coming fall is always enjoyable.

 

[dakotakid]

I get mine from looking at the pics here on MM.com, thanks for all the tips guys. Keep'em coming.

Mike

 

[soupcreek]

Here is what I did.
A friend shot a decent (140 class young buck with lots of potential) from the road. I looked at Topo maps of the area, and chased up into 2-3 different more remote basins in the area. All were fairly remote, and I saw a few more 'decent' bucks. My little brother made a killer hike to another ridge in the area and found a good bachelor herd with a couple dandy bucks. I looked at the maps again and found a much easier hike into that ridge. I have been there about 6-10 times now and have successfully found a bachelor herd there with atleast one really good buck (160-180+) every time. I have also found a couple stray big ones in the same general area.
I am really excited to chase them again in October.
To give you perspective about my 'Secret Spot' here is some information:
My brother's initial hike into the ridge covered almost 10 miles including gaining and losing 1000+ vertical feet 3-4 different times and carrying his bow over cliffs. The way I found in to the ridge is only about a 2 hour hike through windfalls and one 1000 verticle feet climb. Going there my way is the only route to the ridge and it is through a 30 foot pass in between two giant rockslides That pass cannot be seen from the road. I found the pass simply by taking the two hour hike through the deadfalls hoping I could find my way through the rocks when I got there. The spot where the deer always are is about 11,500 feet in elevation (kills the lungs). You have to hike out of one drainage and into another. The ground is public, but the bottom of the drainage that its in is private (thus blocking the general public access that way)and the hunting is very closely regulated on the ranch (thus adding to the production of big bucks).

So in short this is how I found my secret spot: I learned from my friend, researched the area, tried and failed, got help from my crazy brother, tried again, and finally found my very own secret spot. There is actually another basin in the area that is set up similar (behind a private ranch with very little public acces) that I want to try someday. I guess when I run out of bucks at my spot, I'll try that.
Good Luck,
Soup

 

[ICMDEER]

The BEST way to get them is to follow DK this time of year. But you've got to be real sneaky.

 

[wehunt]

listen to ever hunting story you can, then follow up on them.

 

[BuckSnort]

I hacked into Deerkings GPS and stole his waypoints

Actually I don't think I have any secret spots,it's hard to get away from the crowds here in CA. That will change soon now that we have some horses.

 

[AspenAdventures]

Is anywhere a secret?

The best spots we have found are in the limited draw units, but they are no secret.

We have spots we hunt on public ground that we found by just wondering what it was like up there. The public areas are goood but they are no secret. We just hike so darned far in that only a few other nimrods are there to bother us.

Seems like nimrods must have lots of kids in the off season cause' there are more and more each year. They call themselves (like I call myself) dedicated hunters.

 

[fletch]

The definition of a nimrod, is a mighty hunter, according to Websters...and mighty hunters need something to do in the offseason...like breed!

 

[veghunter]

I researched in the phone book under deer farms,a word of advice, PLAN your exit very carefuly and very quick

 

[FoxFever]

There are secret spots.
Become very familiar with topo maps and how to read
them, if it looks nasty on the map find the way in the
animals use and go check it out. if its really high like
10,000ft plus wait till the first of August to get a good
idea of what is in there. at least thats the case in the
Uintahs(yes there are still secret spots).

Allen

 

[NMHUNTNUTT1]

No secret spots here , we just go to the same areas and glass , glass and glass , alot of preseason scouting , but its not like we have a secret spot no other hunters inhabit . When ever we've had success theres usually been other hunters in the area within atleast a couple miles , it just seem like they are always in vehicles , or walking around , not really paying attention , taking it all in . Some of you know what I mean , I have a friend who hikes mega miles on a hunt without seeing much or at times anything , yet he puts in the miles , he's just lacking the value of paying attention to the outdoors .....I've heard the saying " I'd rather be lucky than good" , but my experiences on past hunts tell me otherwise .....NMHUNTNUTT

 

[grizzmoose]

I hear that ATV's are responsible for ruining lots of people's "secret spots". Maybe we should just follow ATV's around and wait for them to ruin old spots, and then take them over. Is there an animal that does that? . . . waits for some little creature to dig a hole, then takes it over?

 

[sniper101]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-02-05 AT 08:09AM (MST)[p]go out and scout the area maybe you'll find a honey hole

 

[COGriz]

Ya, I always thought it would be fun to put a GPS transmitter on DK's truck and track his movements througout the year! I could then sell the map/GPS coordinates... and retire!

Theodore Roosevelt once said, "The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation, INCREASED and NOT IMPAIRED in value."

 

[Cass]

Most of mine in Nevada have been found by Topo map. I will sit down when I draw a tag for a new unit and go over every single inche before I even hit the hills. Often I have relatives tell me to check out numerous places and those are the first ones I will always check out. My best spots in Nevada have been found awkardly to say the least. Every time I try a new spot in Nevada I find a great buck the first morning I am there. It has yet to fail me in the nearly 10 years i've been hunting nevada. I thought it was luck in Eureka back when I was 11 but now, I don't know. Everyone on here says "Well get some pictures and blah blah blah" Pictures would be great if I wasn't so busy trying to catch my breathe and actually take control of the situation when it presents itself. There has been a lot of places in nevada I have gone for 2-3 days, seen monster bucks and nevada Returned. Why? I don't know. I know of one place where I stumbled on a 30+" 4x4 running with a 30+" 3x3 in the middle of november on a LE Muzzleloader Elk Hunt a few years back and have yet to ever step foot in those hills again. Secret spots are out there, you just have to find them. Most of Mine in Nevada I have hardly ever seen a hunter, My best one I have seen a total of 3 hunters in the 6 years I have been hunting it. There used to be a road when I found it and now the road has been engulfed by floods and is now nothing more then a river bed. Not even a 4x4 quad can get up it. It's 2 miles to the spot all on foot. Now Utah is different. I have my share of honey holes in this state due to my family hunting it for god knows how long. I hunt their traditional places and see great bucks, but my best spot has been found by many many hours of glassing from ridges around the area. 2 years ago my dad blew a shot at a 4x4 about 28"s wide that I nearly stepped on. A little hint, DEER CAN SEE THE YELLOW HERTZ SIGN ON YOUR CAMO HAT EVEN IF YOU PUT CAMO PAINT ON IT! Hiking back out of that canyon we took a spot at where we had been just to relax for a minute. Not 10 yards from where we had taken a break in a meadow, across the valley were two of the biggest bucks I have ever seen. Anywhere.



-Cass