39 Late Archery

bchap05 · Nov 9, 2015

LAST EDITED ON Nov-09-15 AT 11:03AM (MST)[p]Opens tomorrow. I have been a rifle hunter most of life but got into archery last year. Did the late 39 and saw a ton of deer. Didn't get anything but it was fun trying to out smart them. Which is pretty difficult.

My dad and I typically go to units with less people and fewer roads during rifle so we can hike in without being surrounded by 4 wheelers. So even though I live in Boise I'm not that familiar with 39 other than last years adventures.

Last year I just went above Arrowrock more on the just past cottonwood to willow creek end of things. Saw like 100 deer a day but it had also snowed a decent amount so you couldn't look anywhere without seeing deer. I feel like my spot I found in there is pretty solid but I'm not sure without snow. Now that this year has been warm do they typically still make it that low at this point? Or I would I be better to start deeper in towards Browns Creek/twin springs, or towards Prairie?

Not looking for a honey hole its just hard to decide where to start as the unit is massive, and everything looks the same over there (steep, sagebrush draws.

Drove towards Prairie yesterday to Rattlesnake creek to scout a bit and really had no idea where I'd start if I went that way. Everything looks the same again.

I'm picky with rifle and don't shoot at anything below a solid 3 pt. I'd guess the bigger bucks are probably still up higher. But being new with bow I'm not as picky during archery so just looking for a general area to start with this warmer weather.

Muleyfanatic · Nov 9, 2015

There should be as many deer in the spot you found last year. A lot of deer have already migrated. The spot I late hunt in 39 we saw around 100 deer with 5 or so decent 4 points this weekend. Normally we don't see as many deer until later in the season but they are already there. The bucks are already rutting hard...

bchap05 · Nov 9, 2015

Nice thanks man. I'll give that spot the first shot and see what I come up with.

twsnow18 · Nov 9, 2015

Anywhere near the reservoir. I prefer the south side. This storm from last night and today will put lots of deer down there. Brundage is showing 8" as of last night at 6800' and Bogus has gotten 3-4" at the lodge. Try not to get run over by deer.

bchap05 · Nov 9, 2015

>Anywhere near the reservoir. I prefer
>the south side. This storm
>from last night and today
>will put lots of deer
>down there. Brundage is showing
>8" as of last night
>at 6800' and Bogus has
>gotten 3-4" at the lodge.
>Try not to get run
>over by deer.

haha I remember someone told me that last year. Then we literally almost did get run over by deer

bchap05 · Nov 11, 2015

Made it up today. Saw about 60 or so. Pretty sure 59 were does might have been 1 buck. I figured with the rut they would be together. Going to go higher tomorrow I guess

boise · Nov 11, 2015

Went out green gate at blacks creek just pass county line after work. Fair amount of deer 5 bucks all little guys but they were sniffing and cruising. Only saw two four wheelers and roads pretty crappy already.

andrew12gauge · Nov 11, 2015

Went up Harris creek yesterday. Hunted an area I'd never hunted before. 17 deer sighted, 2 of which were bucks, a little forky and a 3 I would've hung my tag on if I could've made it happen. Snow made for loud walking. Going to try and hunt below snowline today and hope that most of the south facing slopes at least will melt off by this weekend before fresh snow is supposed to come sunday

andrew12gauge · Nov 12, 2015

Went up blacks creek today. Saw 60 plus deer and a few bucks but nothing that would've been worth packing out of the hole I was in. Lots of does without bucks around though which I thought was odd

bchap05 · Nov 13, 2015

Had a big 5 pt following a doe today. At 60 yards, I wasn't paying attention yet and putting on face camo and the doe busted me moving slightly. Instead of walking right in front of me at what would have been 40 yards they turned and went up hill as I watched and cussed putting my face paint.

Saw 30 elk and around 30 deer, 2 decent bucks, 1 good buck (the 5pt), and 3 forkies. Would have seen more but had a disaster that ruined the rest of the day.

lip_curl · Nov 13, 2015

you cant do that. what disaster? how is the road around the reservoire?

bchap05 · Nov 14, 2015

>you cant do that. what
>disaster? how is the road
>around the reservoire?

Haha I normally put it on before I leave but for some reason didn't. The lower part before Willow Creek isn't horrible. Past that has about 75 potholes per 20 ft.

I'm usually pretty picky with my deer and wont shoot unless a decent 3 or bigger. But that's rifle. I haven't shot a deer archery before. Passed on some does last year, but decided if its a buck and in range and a good shot I'll shoot. Had a small forky (barely), walk in front of me today. Ranged him at 40 which I'm usually accurate at. Almost didn't shoot since he was much smaller than I was hoping but the excitement of finally having a buck inside 50 yards after like 8 trips up Arrowrock the last 2 years at 5am kicked in and I shot.

Hit back and a bit high. Probably pretty close to the middle of the body. Maybe slightly back. Arrow didn't pass through and honestly looked like it barely penetrated. Which is really throwing me off. I shoot at 70lbs. So that would lead me to believe I hit bone for sure. Being back and high and the area it hit could only be like the last rib or the spine. The deer didn't fall down. He took off like a rocket, blasting down a steep canyon. We could only see him the first 100 yards or so and then couldn't see down canyon any further. So I didn't think it was spine being that he ran like that and didn't fall. If I missed bone and hit guts I figured he would have hunched and not ran at full blast for over 100 yards. Also the arrow should have gone clean through, it didn't. We searched every where for blood, the arrow, or a track to at least get us in the right direction. I know exactly how he ran, where he cut hard right before disappearing, there are no tracks, no blood anywhere. Right before this tree he made a really really hard cut, there are no tracks there. Makes no sense.

The canyon splits on a knob where we could last see him so unfortunately he could run into two different huge canyons but I do think I know which one he would have went to.

I don't get it nothing follows what typically should happen with an off shot. Going back up to search in a few, going to check the creek bed, where he was just prior to the shot in case he circled back, and thickets. But we have like a mile radius of 2 massive canyons, with zero sign to even try to point us in a direction. I'm not that hopeful. Feel pretty horrible about it, wounding an animal is my worst fear hunting.

lip_curl · Nov 16, 2015

feck. take this down. its crowded enough out there now.

ldjbuff · Nov 17, 2015

Stud of a buck!! Nice work

mallard14 · Nov 17, 2015

LAST EDITED ON Nov-17-15 AT 09:19AM (MST)[p]>feck. take this down. its crowded
>enough out there now.

Like seeing bucks is really going to make that many more people go. Everyone knows that these are out there in the late hunts....get over it.

39 is a huge unit and there is a lot of country. So 10 new guys decide to hunt.

Getting tired of everyone saying there are no deer in this unit or that unit....I understand its crowded but find a spot that is not...there are plenty of them out there.

andrew12gauge · Nov 17, 2015

Mallard you are a beast.

I tried and failed to connect on about a 160 class buck Sunday, no shot opportunity presented itself. Saw a pile of deer in my 2 days of hunting this weekend. 1 other decent buck, lots of forkies. Starting next weekend anything besides a forky I can get a shot on is fair game. I need meat in my freezer

mallard14 · Nov 17, 2015

>Mallard you are a beast.
>
>I tried and failed to connect
>on about a 160 class
>buck Sunday, no shot opportunity
>presented itself. Saw a pile
>of deer in my 2
>days of hunting this weekend.
>1 other decent buck, lots
>of forkies. Starting next weekend
>anything besides a forky I
>can get a shot on
>is fair game. I need
>meat in my freezer

Yeah the deer are there it is just tough to get a shot. Need some luck which I just happened to have that day. Good luck1 Hope you can get a decent one at least!

twsnow18 · Nov 17, 2015

>Like seeing bucks is really going
>to make that many more
>people go. Everyone knows
>that these are out there
>in the late hunts....get over
>it.
>
>
>39 is a huge unit and
>there is a lot of
>country. So 10 new
>guys decide to hunt.
>
>Getting tired of everyone saying there
>are no deer in this
>unit or that unit....I understand
>its crowded but find a
>spot that is not...there are
>plenty of them out there.
>

+1

Great buck, congrats!

ldjbuff · Nov 23, 2015

Some hunters in 39 need to know that 39-1 is not a general hunt. I had to argue with 3 guys on Saturday evening who were not where they were supposed to be. They said that arrow rock and Atalanta were too crowded....

bchap05 · Nov 24, 2015

I don't even mind the people most of the time. Makes the deer move, I was more likely to get a shot yesterday the more people there were. The full moon the night before had all the deer bedded by 7am in the snow and shade so they were almost impossible to see without a ton of glassing the shrubs

andrew12gauge · Nov 24, 2015

Well I finally filled my deer tag today, double lunged a doe at 55 yds. Still have an elk tag so I'm going to hit it hard one last time Monday. My doe did kinda get expensive as I lost my rangefinder on the pack out

lip_curl · Nov 24, 2015

LAST EDITED ON Nov-24-15 AT 11:27PM (MST)[p]i went to my normal spot on saturday. ive seen one other hunter there in the last 3 years. sun came up and i spotted a nice buck at the top of the mountain. as i looked at the adjacent ridges, i soon realized it was a 6 man foot race to get to the buck. i talked to some guys at twin springs and they said they had 11 guys in their honey hole. another guy was talking about this particular pic.

the first time i hunted this hunt was 15 years ago. the season was open until later in december and all of the golden safety triangle (cottonwood) was open. we got a good snow and a couple people got some nice bucks. i saw emails showing 2 180ish bucks. the following weekend, there were cars parked at every wide spot between 21 and alexander flats. the icing on the cake was a douche nozzle that was hunting out of a dodge stealth. he was afraid to pull too far off the road in the snow, so he basically parked almost in the right lane and headed up the hill w/ his bow. i setup at the check station on the highway and could see a couple of bucks w/ my spotting scope, there were 3 guys in snow camo converging on every one. i could see 6 blood trails in the snow from the highway. unfortunately, so did the fish cops. the following year, the season was shortened and cottonwood was closed. we all suffered because a few people publicized this hunt. moral of the story is that publishing where good bucks from on the internet is ignorant. if the only consequence was 10 people showing up, agree, no foul. unfortunately more than 10 people read the internet. mallard, congrats on a nice buck, but you arent doing the rest of us any favors by posting where it came from.

bchap05 · Nov 25, 2015

>LAST EDITED ON Nov-24-15
>AT 11:27?PM (MST)
>
>i went to my normal spot
>on saturday. ive seen one
>other hunter there in the
>last 3 years. sun
>came up and i spotted
>a nice buck at the
>top of the mountain.
>as i looked at the
>adjacent ridges, i soon realized
>it was a 6 man
>foot race to get to
>the buck. i talked to
>some guys at twin springs
>and they said they had
>11 guys in their honey
>hole. another guy was
>talking about this particular pic.
>
>
>the first time i hunted this
>hunt was 15 years ago.
> the season was open
>until later in december and
>all of the golden safety
>triangle (cottonwood) was open.
>we got a good snow
>and a couple people got
>some nice bucks. i saw
>emails showing 2 180ish bucks.
> the following weekend, there
>were cars parked at every
>wide spot between 21 and
>alexander flats. the icing on
>the cake was a douche
>nozzle that was hunting out
>of a dodge stealth. he
>was afraid to pull too
>far off the road in
>the snow, so he basically
>parked almost in the right
>lane and headed up the
>hill w/ his bow.
>i setup at the check
>station on the highway and
>could see a couple of
>bucks w/ my spotting scope,
>there were 3 guys in
>snow camo converging on every
>one. i could see
>6 blood trails in the
>snow from the highway.
>unfortunately, so did the fish
>cops. the following year, the
>season was shortened and cottonwood
>was closed. we all suffered
>because a few people publicized
>this hunt.
>moral of the story is
>that publishing where good bucks
>from on the internet is
>ignorant. if the only
>consequence was 10 people showing
>up, agree, no foul. unfortunately
>more than 10 people read
>the internet. mallard, congrats
>on a nice buck, but
>you arent doing the rest
>of us any favors by
>posting where it came from.
>

I've only been hunting it for 2 years but have never seen people like people on here say. Most days I maybe see 1 or 2 other guys actually out walking around. Must be busier up by twin springs and browns