PIW Mule Deer

Fellow Hunters,
I was lucky enough to draw one of the coveted Nevada PIW Mule Deer tags. Due to family circumstances and my schedule, I'm not going to get much time for scouting. My question to you all...would you hire a guide or rely on fellow hunters for tips and advice? Time is more of the issue vs cost of hiring a guide. I'm comfortable not filling the tag if I don't have a chance at a "once in a lifetime" type trophy.
Thanks in advance for any help.

If you have the cash hire a guide since it isn't a tag you can get every day

Are you a resident?

No offence, but sounds like you already know the answer based on what you asked. I'm not a guide fan and not rich either. That is a great tag. If you can't get the time or the resources and you want to make the best of it and have the extra money, hire a guide. Can't believe I'm saying that.

Also, as dumb as this may sound, enjoy it. These kinda tags can be high stress. Enjoy the tag you have and make the best of it. You'll figure it out. Easy for me to say. Lol.

What kind of buck are you looking for with this tag and what seasons are you going to hunt i.e. Muzzleloader archery rifle?

Thanks for the reply. I am willing to hunt any season and I am willing to not fill the tag if I'm not able to get a chance at an exceptional buck (200+). Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Hiring a guide is where I'm leaning. That being said if I were go whithout a guide, is there a season and unit or 2 to concentrate my efforts on? Thanks

LAST EDITED ON Jul-22-16 AT 11:29AM (MST)[p]Pm sent

I would hunt late rifle in area 22 or 6 if it was me. Of course that is going on old research and the year my dad drew the PIW tag. It was about 7 years ago. He went unguided and only hunted rifle. We hunted early rifle in 6 then late rifle in 22. Saw a lot of nice bucks n both. A couple of great bucks in each as well. I later wished we hunted 6 late though. He missed a 190 typical in 22late and we saw a monster we couldn't get to because the deer wouldn't stop in the junipers and just kept moving away.in the thick junipers. I was later told we should have gone to where we last as him and tracked , the dirt there is good for that
I liked 6 better as it is more open and I like to glass, you can glass 22 also but it is much thicker. Juniper is like carpet in there.
We also hunted 194 or 196 way late (between Christmas and New Years) which has great potential but is weather dependent and we didn't have weather enough to move the deer down but enough before the hunt to drift the snow and make access difficult to impossible.
Like I said my NV info is old so research it there may be much better places to start.
Dad ate his tag but enjoyed every minute of the hunt. Someone above already pointed it out but I will say it again MAKE SURE TO ENJOY THE HUNT! There will be people who will hear you have the tag and place expectations on it and you will place expectations on it and that's ok to a degree as it will keep you off the trigger and you will enjoy more hunting. But know the buck YOU are happy with and shoot him if the opportunity arises, unless he's standing next to a bigger one. Don't let him walk based on still having another hunt way late (194-196 or others) that may be weather dependent. You may not get weather, we didn't. Unless you just want to soak every second out of the season in which case do exactly that.
If you take people take only people that lift you up not people that pout when you're not seeing deer or pout when you kill a PIG because they are jealous.
Bottom line enjoy this tag you probably won't see it for awhile. I hope you kill a monster, but most of all I hope you enjoy the hunt. Good luck.

Bill

People who work for a living are quickly being
overwhelmed by people who vote for a living.

200" is a tall order anywhere, but especially NV. I would say your best chance at a deer of that caliber would be Area 24 or Unit 231. That said, you should find the best guide you can, book early and be prepared to pay a fair price for the amount of scouting it will take to turn up a 200+ buck.

NV is a great state to hunt mule deer, produces some great bucks every year and they can randomly come from any number of units. NV just doesn't have notorious units like the AZ Strip or some of the well known units in UT where you can set a very realistic goal of 200+ imho.

"You can fly a helicopter to the top of Everest and say you've been there. The problem with that is you were an a$$hole when you started and you're still an a$$hole when you get back.
Its the climb that makes you a different person". - Yvon Chouinard

I missed a 200 class buck in area 6 they exist but few and far between

I would hire a guide if you're not going to be able to scout. That's too good of a tag to not make it count. I would recommend Deep Creek Outfitters. I just started working with them and we've got a handful of 200"+ bucks found in southern Nevada.

Shoot me a text or give me a call if you're interested.
Jason
435-256-7882

Thank you all for the information. I will get a plan finalized in the next week or so.

7Rumhntr,
Don't overlook the area 13 late.

In my opinion, scouting for a hunt like this is almost impossible unless you are planning on hunting a specific unit. Just to many places to look.

Good problem to have!

NVMDF