Which tag? A26 bass hill bow or a9(x5b) bow?

pacer1975

Active Member
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211
Which tag would you chose and why? A26, rut hunt..a9, only 5 tags, late August hunt. Thx for any input. Stay safe.
 
it’ll be hot but go before they get shot at for a month. the winters are so fickle sometimes i’d bank on the heat putting them where you want them.
no experience in the area but experience archery hunting the heat
 
It's been several years since I've hunted X5B but I will say some big ones were easy to find when I was scouting for rifle season. One 2x3 we saw while scouting I'm pretty sure we saw taken during rifle and it was a hair under 28" and heavy horned. The couple that had him said they had watched him for over a month before the season.
 
I did the X5B archery hunt a few years back and it was one of my favorite bow hunts in my lifetime. I've been bow hunting since 1975. Have hunted most every western USA state, including Hawaii. Add New Zealand and Northern Quebec to that list too. A few factors that help, the hunt is close to home, zero hunting pressure, and I love to spot and stalk Mule deer in the high desert-Sage Brush, Rim Rock, and Mahogany trees. Lots of Antelope, some great Mule deer bucks, and huge Rattlers in X5B. :) Its a 10 out of 10 hunt for me.
 
I did the X5B archery hunt a few years back and it was one of my favorite bow hunts in my lifetime. I've been bow hunting since 1975. Have hunted most every western USA state, including Hawaii. Add New Zealand and Northern Quebec to that list too. A few factors that help, the hunt is close to home, zero hunting pressure, and I love to spot and stalk Mule deer in the high desert-Sage Brush, Rim Rock, and Mahogany trees. Lots of Antelope, some great Mule deer bucks, and huge Rattlers in X5B. :) Its a 10 out of 10 hunt for me.
GReat info. Thx. Can i expect shot oppurtunitys on 140 plus bucks daily? Also have bow hunted since 1972.
 
140+ daily? ha ha. Honestly, in X5B, I think with if you do your preseason shooting-religiously, do the at home research, scout the unit, and hunt the unit for as many days as it takes during the season, you'll shoot a Pope And Young Mule deer or at least have so much fun you'll never forget that tag. And, with the winter we are having, Oh the X5B archery deer season!!! To begin with, check out the threads on this site. Good hunters with good advice.
 
140+ daily? ha ha. Honestly, in X5B, I think with if you do your preseason shooting-religiously, do the at home research, scout the unit, and hunt the unit for as many days as it takes during the season, you'll shoot a Pope And Young Mule deer or at least have so much fun you'll never forget that tag. And, with the winter we are having, Oh the X5B archery deer season!!! To begin with, check out the threads on this site. Good hunters with good advice.
Love the positive feedback. Thx
 
Here is some help with "at home research". (Hint) There is 1 fire lookout and one road that gets you to it. The summer before hunting there I coincidentally met a guy that owns ~160 acres along that road and he says he doesn't shoot any buck under 27" after the locals laughed at the first few bucks he killed when he first bought the property (landowner tag). His property is well posted.

That is not where we got our bucks though. Of course we hunted it the year after most of the zone burned so vegetation was limited at best.

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We were up there in 2020 and 2021.
Vegetation is still lacking so from an archery perspective it may make it a tad tough. Hope to get a random tag again in the lifetime. Saw some great bucks that people drove right by.

Already committed to glassing for multiple friends when they draw the tag. Very fun zone.


Sit down be patient and let the glass do the work.

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You don’t have to road hunt. But the zones small enough big deer live where they want especially that time of year.

In 2020 there was a 6x7 or 7x7 can’t remember killed that had been living right next to the road. Slipped past all the archery hunters. Don’t overlook any spot.
 
23 digest is out. Its a $21 fine not to report but 60% success in a26 from last year. All 5 a9 tags never reported???? Wierd and a headtwister.
 
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Looks like the department’s harvest success for X5B archery was zero percent. I don’t think that means that none of the 5 hunters failed to report.
 
That’s not what it says. No reported buck harvest is different than no harvest reports. It could be a combo of some not reporting and some not killing.
Again, you burn 12 years of pts. And all 5 guys walk out with tag soup? Didn't happen unless all 5 were looking for 200 plus or couldn't shoot.
 
2018 4/5, 2019 5/5, 2020 4/5, 2021 1/5. 2022, nobody reported.thats from the cafw website. That's reported tags. So I guess burning 14 years of points for a bow tag in x5b is a waste of time? heck, i will put in for bass hill backyard hunt then.
 
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To my knowledge as in I saw the deer

2020 3/5 tags filled
2021 2/5 tags filled
2022 1/5 tags filled
So you saw the 2022 1 tag that was filled? How big was the buck? 140? 160? 180 plus?Pts? I have the pics of 2.
 
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Curious how bass hill will be this year. Never been but I hear most of the big bucks are in private? any private in that area have trespass fees?
 
IMO it's very possible for an archery hunt with just 5 available tags to have all 5 tags go completely unfilled. If that number was 30 tags then I would probably question it, but not with 5 tags. Archery is tough no matter what and X5b is not a cake-walk of a unit to hunt either.
 
I have pics of 2, 3rd? Who knows. Can't believe 2 were returned for medical and all the alternates said no thx. Took 11 pts. Last year to draw a9.
 
I have pics of 2, 3rd? Who knows. Can't believe 2 were returned for medical and all the alternates said no thx. Took 11 pts. Last year to draw a9.
Are there alternates identified for deer tags? I know there are for sheep and elk, but I didn't think there was for deer tags. If you draw a deer tag in the draw they send out the tags to people, unlike the the other tags where they notify you drew and you have to agree to take the tag and submit payment.
 
No alternate on deer. I know for a fact at least one of the three tags issued was filled but unreported. I also am 100% positive two of the tags were returned. So if 2 out 3 tags were filled but unreported, that's not bad.
 
Here is some help with "at home research". (Hint) There is 1 fire lookout and one road that gets you to it. The summer before hunting there I coincidentally met a guy that owns ~160 acres along that road and he says he doesn't shoot any buck under 27" after the locals laughed at the first few bucks he killed when he first bought the property (landowner tag). His property is well posted.

That is not where we got our bucks though. Of course we hunted it the year after most of the zone burned so vegetation was limited at best.

View attachment 105008Looks very familiar haha
 
You don’t have to road hunt. But the zones small enough big deer live where they want especially that time of year.

In 2020 there was a 6x7 or 7x7 can’t remember killed that had been living right next to the road. Slipped past all the archery hunters. Don’t overlook any spot.
Most definitely right have pictures of both 6 and 7 point buck I have done very well in A26 twice and X6a multiple times. The bucks are out there just do the time of scouting and glassing.
 
Most definitely right have pictures of both 6 and 7 point buck I have done very well in A26 twice and X6a multiple times. The bucks are out there just do the time of scouting and glassing.
Eye guards don’t count ;)
Woke 710 as in Remington 710?
 
No I used to race and it was my number but my dogs name is Remington do chuckar challenge with her but I got you guys on pics and I’ll throw last years a11 buck
 

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