High Country Deer

Deepcolor · Dec 17, 2017

Honest questions here, no mixed agenda concerning other threads about deer going right now.

Does a certain drainage, canyon, or basin produce big bucks year after year?

Do these areas produce because of feed and water or is it because of other environmental factors? Access for hunters, escape routes during hunting, or just good cover to hide up during shooting light?

Background for these questions.
I hunted region H for the first time in 2016. Identified an area and scouted this area several times prior to the archery hunt. Night before archery found me 5 miles in and surrounded by other hunters. (4 Wy residents, a small army from Utah, a pair from Pennsylvania, and a pair from Texas)
We spent the first 6 days in this area and never found a buck over 170". I did run into Tknez' brother and his boys scouting this area prior to the hunt, had a nice conversation and seemed like a good dude.

A "famous" buck was killed out of H in 2017 and posted up on this site. That hunter was day hunting from his truck and sleeping in a motel room during that hunt.

I know there is no substitute for time on the mountain behind the spotter but a guy has to be in the right canyon or drainage to begin with. Any pointers or input?

HiMtnHntr · Dec 18, 2017

The simple answer is no deer aren't necessarily found in the same areas/ drainages every year. This is why extensive scouting pays off and a lot of guys go guided. There is simply no substitute for feet on the ground knowledge. If your coming in blind you have to get lucky.

dirtygrass · Dec 18, 2017

I have seen the same buck, the same week in exactly the same place, three years in a row, he hangs for about a week. I have never found him after the first week of September. I could draw both 4th season or archery, decided on 4th and never found him. I cover massive amounts of country with my horse all year long.

deerkiller · Dec 18, 2017

big deer are where you find them. sometimes they can end up in some pretty stupid spots, especially if there isnt much human disturbance. that said, there are 3 canyons in the unit i hunt, where i have found at the very least 1 big shooter buck in, year after year. some years its the same deer from previous years, others its a new deer, or a new group of bigger bucks that have moved in, or a combination of both.some areas and habitat are just favorable to big bucks and fit what they are looking for, be it steep rough terrain, thick trees, open sage basins with quakie patches, way off the roads/not visible from the roads, etc... you find an area that just looks like there should be big deer in it, scout it, and find big deer? go back year after year. odds are, if too many other guys arent stomping through it doing the same thing, theres gonna be decent bucks in there more times than not.

Deepcolor · Dec 18, 2017

Thanks for the input, I agree with Deerkiller on deer hang outs and certain areas producing year after year. There is of course the old gnarly buck hanging out with the cows down in the willows every year too.

I am a new comer to this big buck/high country stuff and appreciate the input.

scopenstalk · Dec 18, 2017

I have seen big bucks in the same places year after year. Those places are usually the kind of country people hate hunting because they are hard to hunt. Super steep, hard to glass, and thick cover. Some of the spots I am referring to aren't far from roads either. Distance from the road is becoming less of an advantage as more guys are backpacking, and the advent of lighter gear. In areas with very little hunting pressure, it seems that finding big bucks is a lot more random, especially high country where water is plentiful. Seems like heavily hunted units pushes the bucks to find the small pockets where they wont get harassed, which puts them there year after year.

Tknez · Dec 18, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Dec-18-17 AT 09:10PM (MST)[p]Pm sent

Deepcolor · Dec 18, 2017

PM replied.

AspenAdventures · Dec 25, 2017

We hunt the same patch of pines every year. There is always a great buck. We are talking 20 trees. I can push a good buck out of there every other year.

This is on a Utah General Deer tag. 0 points to draw. 30 minutes from Salt Lake City. Last year my son hit one. He was so surprised when I told him to go with his uncle, sit by that rock, the buck will come over that rock, be ready to shoot in 30 minutes when I push him to ya. We have hunted those trees for 23 years now.

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato

Gator · Dec 26, 2017

We had a spot a lone tree with tall sage around it we could spot check it from a knoll, 4 years in a row we killed a buck there. It seem you killed that years buck then another buck would found that tree and take over that bed, now we only see little bucks under that tree. BUT we look at it every year still.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
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