Utah Mule Deer

[HuntinFool]

I'm a youth hunter in Utah and I'm going to put in for a limited entry buck. I was thinking of the bookcliffs or the henry's. Any suggestions?

 

[400bull]

How lucky are you feeling? Unless you are one of the luckiest buggers on the face of the earth you don't have much of a chance at drawing a Hennery Mountains tag.

400bull

 

[HuntinFool]

Well I'm really young so I have a lot of years ahead of me to draw.

 

[one_dryboot]

If your willing to wait put in for the best unit so when you draw it will be a hunt of a lifetime. But, Ten or twenty years down the road there might be a better unit then the Henrey mountains.

 

[BigBuckKiller]

I got drawn for the Henry's in 2008 with 5 points as a non resident.

 

[Bman9900]

No doubt it happens, in fact it happens every year to some lucky soul, but the odds are overwhelmingly against you. With that said, as you build points you may as well put in for the best hunts because if you're going to get lucky you may as well hit it big!

 

[HuntinFool]

What kind of deer could I expect out of the henry's and the bookcliffs?

 

[cantclosethedeal]

The book cliffs are PACKED with 160-170 class deer. Very fun hunt, but true trophies are tough to dig out. All the roads are on top. You can drive around, stop and glass, and stalk multiple deer per day.
The Henrys are something else entirely. You will see legit 200in deer with very young faces. World class monster buck heaven. One drive around the loop road just before dark with scare you to death.

 

[Daxter]

Most of the bucks I see in the Book Cliffs are 140-150 class, and there are A LOT of them. I think a 170 deer is a shooter out there. I would love to spend some time on the Henry Mtns. and see the bucks down there. Book Cliffs is a very fun hunt, but if you are dead set on something that scores really high B&C or a 30"+ buck, I think there are better units. Good luck in the draws.

Dax

 

[HuntinFool]

What are some other units that might be good to keep in mind?

 

[tabbyhntr]

Never count out the san juan or paunsagant...

 

[HuntinFool]

Are there a lot of deer in the henrys?

 

[buglinbilly]

These were from the Henry's late in 2009.

There are quite a few bucks down there and it would be a great hunt for you.

Good luck and have a good one. BB

 

[HuntinFool]

Would those be considered shooters down there?

 

[CATMAN]

Not for me, but for some. If you want a truley big buck then put in for units with the best success rates for big bucks. The heneries is at the top right now, but a few years down the road...who knows? Paunsagant, and San Juan should never be overlooked. Good luck on whatever you decide. Hopefully in 20 yrs your not still wondering what unit to put in for

 

[HuntinFool]

Thanks for all the great info everybody

 

[Roy]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-15-10 AT 05:24PM (MST)[p]Hey HuntinTroll - great post, but what you should really do is forget the Books and the Henry's - any idiot can draw a tag for there. The really cool hunters buy special waterproofing equipment for their rifles and make the swim across the Great Salt Lake and hunt Antelope Island with night vision goggles. That's a better solution for you IMHO.

UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)

 

[BrowningRage]

All of these guys have given you great advice on these two units, but I feel they may be a bit optimistic of the points system.

I don't think the Bonus Points system is going to be around long enough for you to obtain enough to draw EITHER of these units. The point crawl gets further and further away each year... It's like interest on a home.

If you are just now starting off, you can put in for any unit and when you don't draw, you will receive the same point as when you don't draw the Henry's or the Books... In 15 years, (assuming we still use the bonus point system) max points for the Book Cliffs will be around 21 points... And for the Henry's it'll be around 30. The point Crawl will continue to outrun you on any unit where a lot of people put in... You could luck out in a few years so it may be worth your time... Maybe.

I think the DWR and such are trying to figure out a way to either faze out the points, or possibly create microunits so that more Bonus point holders can draw each year...

I dunno how they plan on countering for the point crawl though... Just seems like the points don't have much of a future...

 

[kawboy]

I say put in for ensign ranch, if you draw that while your young they will even show you a good buck. It is a quality hunt. If I had the cash I would buy a landowner tag from them.

Rub some dirt on it, ya sissy!

 

[Daxter]

Browingrage nailed the problem with the point system. UT doesn't give enough tags out to go through very many applicants each year, so the points required to draw a unit increases each year. I have 9 points for deer and thought about waiting another 6 years to draw a Henrys permit. Then I looked at the real numbers and did the math. I am looking at 80+ years to be guaranteed a rifle tag (unless a bunch of guys ahead of my start dieing of old age). I really think UT needs to merge the bonus and preference point systems and make people burn their points every year that they get a deer tag. Make people choose between hunting every year or saving up points to draw a quality unit. It think it would be a win win, it would make it easier to draw both types of hunts.

Dax

 

[Prism]

That's the sobering truth! It amazes me how many hunters don't realize how long it's going to take to draw a Utah LE tag. There's always the small chance of swinging a random or expo tag I guess.

As for the original question... If it were me applying as a youth I'd apply for a management tag on the henries or pauns. I think 35% of the tags are still being set aside for youth.

The best thing you could start doing right now would be to apply for points in every state you can. If you don't start now you're gonna kick yourself down the road.

 

[AWHOLELOTTABULL]

Other than the a couple of premium units, the statement "Utah Mule Deer" is an oxymoron! The Henry's don't count because the vast majority of Utah deer hunters will never get to experience a hunt there. Sorry to jump the thread but it kills me to put Utah and Mule Deer in the same sentence!

It's always an adventure!!!
www.awholelottabull.com