Utah-Beaver Unit Rifle Hunt

LVTHNT

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Two of us made the trip from Arizona to Utah to see how the new units would affect the hunting pressure and to see how the deer herd was doing. It had been 20 years since hunting in Utah for the general rifle deer hunt. There was so much orange last time I was there I moved on and have not been back. We hunted the first two days of the hunt in the Beaver unit. We saw 20 bucks, and nothing over 140? small four point bucks. Is this typical? I was surprised that we didn't see better bucks. It was warm and with a storm rolling in we thought it would be better to head home and maybe go back for the last few days of the hunt, hoping that maybe the hunt would get better.

My question to all of you guys that hunt Utah and this area, is the lack of quality bucks typical?

Will the coming storm make any difference in the unit for the last few days of the hunt?

Maybe it will take another 3-5 years for the new unit system to help out the quality?

Your thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks
 
I don't know the Beaver unit all that well, but if you saw 20 bucks in two days on a general Utah unit, you had a great hunt. Sure there are bigger bucks in that area, but they have been harassed now for almost 3 months straight. When big bucks see and hear all the commotion of the general season, they timber up and become nocturnal in my experience. I doubt 3-5 years is going to change that significantly, but hopefully it helps some.
Unfortunately the storms are not supposed to get down that far so I doubt that is going to make a big difference either. But if you want to kill a big buck, you have to be out there as long and as often as you can.
Good luck
 
I agree if you saw twenty bucks you did well. I have hunted Beaver unit many years and I may have saw twenty bucks but I think they were the same five bucks each day. I thought the unit hunting was to be managed by number of buck to doe ratio, but from the looks of the number of tags, they have just added in some units and taken away in others to come up with the same total, which leads me to believe they are not really managing the deer herd.
 
I spent last weekend on the Beaver and only saw one buck, a small fork horn. I'd sure like to know where you were to see 20 bucks in two days. My operating theory is that the warm weather and lack of moisture has kept the deer up high and in the timber. But what do I know, I sure wasn't where the deer are.
Bill
 
On a general unit in Utah, I'd shoot a 140" buck at first light on opening day... But I haven't shot any good deer in my life yet. You guys did well.

As far as the smaller units, I hope that within 2-3 years, there will be a little better quality in the deer herd, but I think it will get to where CO is, some general units are good, some not. Next year I will have 2 pref points for a general unit, and 9 for LE. I hope to hunt the Books next fall, and the following fall, I hope to use my 3 pref points to hunt a decent general unit with my rifle... But I'll need some direction from friends on here as I have not hunted a general unit with my rifle since, well, ever. (I hunted N. Utah on private for several years as a kid, but that ended in 2004)

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24
 
I hunted the Beaver on the muzzy hunt. We had 5 tags, hunted hard for five days and maybe saw a couple that would push 140". We never got any shots, they were too far, and dang smart. Quite a few forkies around; but it sounds like you were in a pretty good spot. I would have shot a 140 on opening morning.

Layemdown

"Vegetables are not food, vegetables are what food eats!!"
 

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