Area 6 Deer Options

[greatbasin]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-26-10 AT 11:01AM (MST)[p]I have a question for those of you who have hunted area 6 deer. Is the late rifle hunt worth the wait compared to the earlier rifle hunt? It seems like it should be but the stats seem to suggest otherwise. The difference seems to be 3-5 points...that's a lot of additional waiting. Thanks.

 

[brownie]

I haven't hunted the zone myself, but have been with my boys in that zone on two different hunts. One of them had the early tag three years ago, we saw lots of bucks, just not any giants. He ended up killing a good four x four. My other son had a bull tag in that zone last year. The elk season started the day after the late rifle hunt. We saw tons of big bucks on that hunt, but like always, thats not what we were after. There was an age class problem in that unit, the bucks we saw were mature, or they were just yearlings. No in between bucks, big forkies or small three points. But, there were definatley some busters in that unit in the first week of November.
Hope you get drawn, thanks, Brownie.

 

[greatbasin]

Brownie, thanks for sharing your observations on age. I noticed the same thing a few years back in unit 72 due to a severe late winter storm that nearly destroyed 2 generations of deer.

 

[fatrooster]

I also elk hunted with a buddy last year and saw the opposite. Lots of medium bucks but no bruisers and few forkies. fatrooster.

 

[Jazz]

I hunted the late season last year. I didn't notice the age class issue at all. I saw numerous 3-4 year old bucks that were very good but not quite what I was looking for. I didn't see a large % of extremely young bucks either. Of course I didn't see lots of really old or mature bucks but from my experience you never do. I did see one very good mature buck and I ended up with him. A really good typical. I did notice that most bucks were typical with really tall horns and not particularly wide. Didn't see much for non-typical genetics either. Loved the hunt. I saw two other "youth" tag holders and nobody else that was really hunting very hard. I do believe the earlier hunt will have more people but that can be an advantage sometimes.

 

[piper]

Its a big area, one part can be different from another part,and a lot of it has been hit by drought and has had winter range problems over the years.The advantage would be at the end of the late hunt when they are starting to rut.

 

[buck09]

Haven't had a deer tag for this unit, but know a portion of the country quite well. I have been putting in for the late hunt my 1st choice the last couple of years due to my thinking that this zone holds a monster somewhere out there. It is a huge area with lots of hideouts. My opinion is that no matter what tag you have in the state of Nevada, there is a possibility of getting a big buck with a little luck and hard work. Late hunt just for the chance of an early rut and early weather pushing the deer out. Early hunt though, to give me a better chance at drawing the late hunt. haha.

 

[NVMDF]

Ive spent time on both hunts in the past few years, and IMO the change with the dates is very slight, by the end of the early hunt you start to see some rutt activity, the problem with the late season is that your summer scouting is pretty much a waste. The early hunt changes the deer so much in the month of October, sure, some of the deer hang out till late snow pushes them, but most go to the winter areas snow or not. I would rather have a early tag. I think pre season scouting is worth more than a couple hot does. Area 6 has its places, but very few places that you can get away from a road. With the bucks coming out of area 7 the last couple years, I think its a better choice, and the deer migration patterns are much more predictable. Ive seen more 200"+ bucks come out of 7 in the past couple years, but Ive seen more 200"+ bucks come out of area 10 than both 6 and 7 put together. take your pick, its all good.

NVMDF