No big deer next year

[gonehunting]

Am I the only one that thinks next year is going to be a tuff hunt? Everyone I know has killed decent bucks this year. I personaly have seen more 4 point bucks killed than little ones. All the deer you see in the back of trucks are nice as well.

 

[YoungBuck]

I think this was a low harvest year in Idaho....at a check station that is in the same area every year I noticed that there had been more elk than deer harvested...usually it is the other way around by a long shot. Most everything I have seen in the back of peoples rigs have also been elk...and small bucks. I did see one 4 point in the back of one guys truck....and the biggest the game warden had seen was a 27" 4 point.
Hopefully next year I will see some of the bucks I had a chance at this year....I had an awesome year and cant wait till shed hunting starts!
YB

 

[Bornforhorns]

what state are you speaking of?

 

[ridgerunner]

He's not talking about WA, there are no big bucks here, they are all in Utah.

 

[bagger]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-29-04 AT 10:44PM (MST)[p]I found it to be hard hunting in the area I was hunting this year. I was able to take a 3pt. I think next year it will be better.

Bagger

 

[gonehunting]

Im talking about northern utah

 

[ktc]

There hasn't been a big harvest where I hunt. The "after work" spots got hammered though. Most of what I have seen has be tiny with a few decent ones taken. No more than usual.

CUT TAGS BACK JIM AND DON!!!!

 

[DallanC]

>
> Am
>I the only one that
>thinks next year is going
>to be a tuff hunt?

Yes, I think we are in for a massive winter and I am concerned we are going to have a bad winterkill.

>Everyone I know has killed
>decent bucks this year. I
>personaly have seen more 4
>point bucks killed than little
>ones. All the deer you
>see in the back of
>trucks are nice as well.

All the little ones NOT getting shot will be big ones next year. As I said in the other identical thread, isnt that what MM people have been wanting for years now? LOL... leave the little stuff to grow up.

Also, no doubt there has been a great harvest of mature bucks... odds are great alot of mature deer will make it through the hunt and if they survive winter, there should be a few amazing ones next year.


-DallanC

 

[money4huntin]

I also am quite concerned. I shot my first buck this year, a 20" wide, 22" tall four point. My area saw an all time high for mature deer being harvested. A 26" four point, 28" 4x5, 30.5" 5x5, plus a few other 4's that I have heard about but not seen. I think the snow really brought the larger bucks down into more huntable areas. It is exciting, yet a little disturbing. It might make the next few years tough for larger more mature bucks. Maybe it is all relative and we will still see some large bucks for next year, pending the winter mellows out from here.

 

[antlerrick]

This is kind of confusing to me..

It seems before the hunt, there was a lot of comments on Utah having no deer, now we see this post stating that more people that usual are getting big bucks, and lots of little ones are getting shot as well.
I agree that Utah still needs a lot of help with it's deer herds, but with all the deer being taken due to the storms pushing them down, maybe it is not as bad as some are saying. I spend lots of time in the mountains and this past year I can say I did not see many bucks, but now the hunt has come and the snow has fell, seems like there are bucks everywhere. Maybe the bucks are there, just that they are getting a little smarter and tend to live in more out of the way areas..
I hope this is the case, and I hope that this is a peek at the Utah's future for deer.
This is just an observation I have made and wonder what you all think...
My 2 Cents, and probably only worth 2 Cents!!
a*r

 

[IdahoBugler]

I think Idaho had an above average in harvest this year. Atleast with the hunts that lasted until the 31st. The snow brought the deer down early and everyone was shooting like crazy. I have heard of more deer shot this year than any other. Mostly 4 points to.

Later,
IB

 

[Jake_Sorensen]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-02-04 AT 12:10PM (MST)[p]I have seen more four points killed this year than 2 points, I went out expecting to see a ton of spikes and 2 points and out off all the bucks I saw on opening morning only 3 of the 12 of them were 2 points and and 1 was a spike and the rest were small 3's and one nice four that I got Jewed on, but I guess that's my fault for making a crappy shot, but lessons learned I guess, I hit him back further than I wanted and he ran about 300 yards and while I was tracking his blood trail he got craked by another hunter, so I hussled over there just to have the guy say did you shoot this deer earlier, and when I said yes he said well sorry I already have my tag on him, but hey it was fun to see as many deer and bucks on opening morning in the northern region, but last Saturday was a joke I went to a different area up Logan Canyon Saw 170 Elk (not including what we saw in hardware ranch) and only 3 does the whole day. Whats up with that?

Jake

 

[MichaelJ]

I know that a lot of my friends have taken good bucks in/near the entiat in WA this year. That early snow/frost really started the rut, and the migration. Kind of dissapointed. I struck out for the 3rd year in a row. Didn't even see a legal buck. It's all good though, next year I'll be able to get out and do a lot more scouting than this year.

Michael~All Gods creatures welcome... right next to the mashed potatoes and gravy.

 

[Crazy4Sheds]

In my area of Northern Utah, I have seen tons of awesome bucks killed this year. I could name at the least ten people just in my hometown(which is very small), that got a 180, or bigger buck. I have never seen so many big bucks taken out of this area. The thing that worries me is that there has been lots of "good class" bucks that have been killed. I'm not talkin 180+ i'm talkin just under that.. I think all of those "good bucks" that have been killed will effect next year, cause they never had a chance to turn into mature bucks, so i'm thinkin atleast in my area that too many good class bucks have been takin and I think it could effect next years hunting, but I pray that it doesn't, but i guess the only way to truely tell is wait til next year!!

 

[D13er]

If nobody kills a big buck it's because there aren't any, if everybody kills a big buck there won't be any left. You guys wouldn't be happy if you were hung with a new rope.

JB

 

[Silentstalker]

I guess the post stating Utahns go big or go home was a joke huh? Congrats to all you who killed big bucks. That is after all why we hunt is it not? I am jealous that I could not go rifle hunting this year. Maybe I will have to do the dedicated hunter!

Chad

 

[BUL_KRZY]

In the Northern region area I've scouted since July, I've seen more big bucks ( that I hadn't seen earlier in the year) since the snowfall. These bucks were all alive the last day of the rifle hunt as I watched them in the scope. These bucks were 170-195 class bucks. I passed on a few decent bucks opening day and don't feel bad at all about not taking a buck this year. I hope to get my buddy on a nice buck during the extended archery hunt.

Now if they can out-live the fact that no winter range exists in this area, I think there will be plenty of nice bucks next year. I'm actually optimistic about next year based on what I've seen throughout the summer and rifle hunt this year.

BUL_KRZY

 

[ktc]

As always the bulk of the "big" deer were 20-24 inches that I personally know of. I didn't see any more dead ones than normal.

Utahn did not go big, they did not go home, and yes guys it is pretty bleak out there. Just my observation.

Maybe the proclamation should define, little, big, nice, ok with a bow, and works on the last day.

 

[DallanC]

How about the 27" buck living at the gravel pit all year? Hes still there.


-DallanC

 

[ktc]

Now I am not trying to start nothing here, but I have frequented that very gravel pit many a time this year glassing. At no time did I ever see this 27" buck. I am not saying he doesn't exist, but I surely never saw him.

I have also spent lots of time glassing the mountains around town there, riding high and riding low, and never did I see a buck that would exceed 20."

People claim lots of big bucks, but I will say it once again, either I cannot judge size or I am blind. My guess would be I am blind and not good at spotting deer.

 

[shedaddict]

I think this is a very interesting thread. From what I know and have seen, the way it seems to be for most hunters here in Northern Utah is that most of us on the general hunt only have access to certain, usually fairly limited hunting grounds. I think this year so many mature deer were killed because the snow pushed them onto areas where more of us have access to. With the deer population how it is, the general hunt has been tough on trophy hunters the last few years because the weather hasn't pushed deer out of their comfort zones. It's exciting to see this many mature deer tagged because people were thinking that numbers like this didn't exist anymore. It's also concerning though because so many were killed and the winter might be hard on them too. I think it will be interesting to watch how the deer fare in the future in correlation with the weather preceding and during the hunt. There will be big deer around somewhere for a long time, but the question is whether or not the weather will push them out of their safety zone, where some mature bucks are practically invincible because of their experience and smarts.
Do you guys agree or disagree?