LAST EDITED ON Jun-15-09 AT 01:46PM (MST)[p]I see at least a few 150+ deer out of X12 each year. Some bigger, and a lot smaller. It's an interesting unit and diverse. You can pack into the high country and see big bucks or you can stay mobile, glass big, and hunt the open sage and see big bucks. Both work. Either way, if you get off the roads or trails you will see deer. I watched a P&Y buck (that wasn't done growing) last year in an area that was less than 1/2 mile from a major road but it was in a hidden pocket that you would never have known about without hoofing it a little. Most of the spots I know are like that. That deer was there all Summer until my brother blew a stock on him (twice) and pushed him out. A few years ago I missed a 175 type buck that I had watched all Summer too. He was on the same face where I had found him over a month earlier. This spot was only a couple miles from the vehicle but straight up. He was in a herd with 11 other bucks and a few of them were nice 4x4's too. My buddy had a blown stalk on a monster 3x4 in the same area too. Not necessarily hard to get to, but hidden. The big bucks are still there. It's just not the good old days. Look at the hunting pics on the Ken's Sporting Goods website. There have been some darn nice bucks killed the last few years.
Both the alpine and the sage hold deer but not all of it. There are pockets that hold more deer than other similar looking places. In my experience, whether it's 1/2 mile or 10 miles in, the areas hidden from the road or trail are where the deer are. Extensive glassing is key.
Take one of the main veins into the hills (Bodie, Lil Walker, Bircham, Buckeye, Green, etc.) Find a two track and take it away from the main road, park and walk, sit and glass. Or park at a trailhead, hike in a few miles, get off the main trail and over a ridge or two and glass. You'll find deer.
I'm probably not telling you anything you don't know, but I always think that sticking with what you know will give you an advantage over hunting new country, even if the stats might indicate better overall success.
