X5a tough hunt!

Bucksprig · Oct 20, 2018

Well I just got back from a very hard hunt in X5a! Took 10 points to draw, I knew this was not an easy hunt but I had high hopes I would be able to get it done. My dad, brother and I spent 13 days hunting. My brother was able to take a decent 18-20" 4x4 on opening Sunday. Over the next 10 days we were only able to find 2 other small forkies! Needless to say my dad and I came up empty. Very dissapointing. Anyone else hunt there this year or have any insight? Beautiful country but very hard to find the bucks

264mag · Oct 20, 2018

Sorry to hear this , lots of cats in that country.

6x7 · Oct 20, 2018

Lots of cats everywhere

bullskin · Oct 21, 2018

I hunted nearby last season. I found several mature animals, but none with the antler development I waited five years to shoot. In the end I ate tag soup. Disappointed? Maybe a little, but I did get to enjoy nine days of hunting, doing it the way I like it, and I only saw one other hunter the entire time-and he was a long way off. If I have any regrets it is only that I do not get to do this more often.

The truth is, most of those who fill their X tags are pinning them on forkies. Unless one spends a lot of time scouting, and is willing to walk miles rather than idle along on an ATV, then one's chances of locating a big buck are probably better in a unit one knows well and hunts regularly.

Bucksprig · Oct 21, 2018

Yea there was defiantly a lot of road hunting going on! I think you are absolutely correct in the scouting aspect. I was only able to get in 5 days on two separate trips in July/august up there. Was not able to turn up any bucks but it really helped to learn the country. Seems like most of the hunters were crowded into one small part of the zone. Once you left that area there was not another soul around for miles. I guess I'm a rookie at finding deer in the sage but man I tried like heck!

Forester · Oct 21, 2018

I had that tag a few years back and had pretty much the same experience. Some really neat country to hunt but tough to find decent bucks. What areas were you guys trying if you don't mind me asking?

Bucksprig · Oct 22, 2018

Man I hunted all over in there. N horse lake, snowstorm, and a bunch of lowlying areas on the east side. Seen the most animals up in the fredonyer area as well as every other tag holder in the zone. Once out on the east side or actually just anywhere out of the fredonyer area never saw another soul. I'm wondering if the majority of the deer just hang in the trees? I spent many days trying to find animals in the eastern part of the zone away from other hunters and just couldn't seem to find em. 95% of the deer I saw were in the trees area. What were your observations when you were in there?

Forester · Oct 22, 2018

I was there for almost the full hunt and we covered those areas plus spent a couple days around cleghorn flat. We found deer in most of the spots we checked but never anything mature. It did seem like we saw a lot of deer in the trees, mostly does. Unless you live close and can spend a lot of time in the area on a regular basis I would say it is very challenging to find a good buck. Heard of a local guy being all excited about shooing a dink so who knows. All I know is those roads are brutal! Most of them are made almost entirely out of jagged rock and how I never blew a tire is beyond me. Really enjoyed being out there in that country but I won't be waiting around for ten years to go back.