Horniac
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Got back late Tuesday night after hunting the opener. Got there last Thursday afternoon so we were able to get in an evening and a full day of scouting before the Saturday opener. After seeing only one group of does crossing the road right out of camp Thursday night we were a little disappointed. Friday my cousin and I covered 160 miles on my RZR looking for concentrations of does figuring the bucks would be close. The majority of the hunting unit seemed to be devoid of deer and we figured that we hadn't got much migration yet and we were basically hunting resident deer (which is what I expected based on the weather to date). We finally found an area with some deer and found a few small bucks. Almost all the doe groups had bucks tending them and the rut looked to be in full swing. We got some snow for the opener Saturday and went back to the area we had found the deer. Saw a few new bucks but nothing over about 22" wide. Not something we wanted to shoot on the opener. The next day, more snow and howling wind we hunted the same spot and the same draw was loaded with deer. There were about 8 bucks with about 30 does and one I contemplated shooting. Well, the wind was not in our favor, the does got nervous and lined out with the bucks in tow.
We never saw much in the evenings branching out into new areas and as you all know legal shooting time ends at sunset right about when the deer start moving. Monday we hunted the same spot hoping for some new bucks to show up as it was the only area in the unit we could find any deer. We found more deer but a lot of the doe groups now were without bucks. Some bucks were with does, some bucks were cruising most likely looking for receptive does, and some bucks had now formed small bachelor groups. Monday night we hunted another area and we found another pocket of deer with a few small 4x4's. Tuesday morning back to the same spot we had been hunting and the deer had moved off the top down onto the south facing slopes and there seemed to be a lot more does. Go 1/2 mile though in any direction and no deer although the country looks the same as the country the deer are using. It has been a wierd hunt so far and I have not quite got things figured out. I scouted the unit back in September and there don't seem to be many more deer around now than then. Rut seems to have peaked. Not many people aound and you could travel 50 miles on the snow covered roads and not cut a single deer track crossing the road. It was a cold son-of-a-gun too boot and there was still a few inches of snow on the mountains when we left. Not enough to get the migration going I don't think unless you subsribe to the biological clock theory. Going back a week from Saturday to hunt the last 5 days of the season. Weather forecast doesn't look good for us muzzy hunters but you rifle hunters have more snow in the forecast. Hope this helps some of you with a muzzy/rifle tag and if anyone has any theories/ideas/suggestions I would love to hear them. PM me if you want.
Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and their families!
Horniac
We never saw much in the evenings branching out into new areas and as you all know legal shooting time ends at sunset right about when the deer start moving. Monday we hunted the same spot hoping for some new bucks to show up as it was the only area in the unit we could find any deer. We found more deer but a lot of the doe groups now were without bucks. Some bucks were with does, some bucks were cruising most likely looking for receptive does, and some bucks had now formed small bachelor groups. Monday night we hunted another area and we found another pocket of deer with a few small 4x4's. Tuesday morning back to the same spot we had been hunting and the deer had moved off the top down onto the south facing slopes and there seemed to be a lot more does. Go 1/2 mile though in any direction and no deer although the country looks the same as the country the deer are using. It has been a wierd hunt so far and I have not quite got things figured out. I scouted the unit back in September and there don't seem to be many more deer around now than then. Rut seems to have peaked. Not many people aound and you could travel 50 miles on the snow covered roads and not cut a single deer track crossing the road. It was a cold son-of-a-gun too boot and there was still a few inches of snow on the mountains when we left. Not enough to get the migration going I don't think unless you subsribe to the biological clock theory. Going back a week from Saturday to hunt the last 5 days of the season. Weather forecast doesn't look good for us muzzy hunters but you rifle hunters have more snow in the forecast. Hope this helps some of you with a muzzy/rifle tag and if anyone has any theories/ideas/suggestions I would love to hear them. PM me if you want.
Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and their families!
Horniac
