Well, we spent the entire season in Modoc ...and were not disappointed. We arrived a couple days early, which allowed us to do some follow up scouting. Friday, we found two 28"-29" 4 points out in the middle of the boonies...and decided this was the area we would concentrate on.
Opening day...dark 'till dark - no deer
Day two...dark 'till dark - no deer
Day three...same
Day four...CRAP!!!
We would have left the area, however we were seeing some VERY nice tracks. My brother and I also have D16 tags, which we fill every year, so the game plan was "go big or go home."
We did stay in the same general area for a few more days and finally figured out what the problem was. The wild horses up there have absolutely over populated. We could hardly hunt a juniper line or sage flat without bumping 20-30 horses. I don't want to go on a rant...BUT IT"S BAD!!!!! We couldn't understand why we just couldn't locate a single deer, but we were seeing the tracks. Then it hit me...all of the tracks we were seeing were running. Since we were the only ones in there... we figured the horses were busting them out ahead of us.
The next few days we came at the area from a couple different directions and simply could not get around the horses. So on to plan B.
Being familiar with the area, we had already decided to concentrate on the more open juniper areas that had very low deer densities. We knew these areas have traditionally held very large loner bucks. Once in a while you will find a small bachelor group (2 or 3)...but normally all of the bucks will be similar and large. So Monday we go to an area that had held some very large bucks in the past. First light, about 500 yards into it, we catch a glimps of movement out ahead of us. A quick run around a few junipers to get a better look and there they are...MORE HORSES! (CRAP!!!) Well...we were already into it so we changed direction a bit and hunted over towards a small rim. I arrived at the edge first, and my brother made a small swing out to the left around the corner...and it finally happened. I hear deer bust out in front of him and get a VERY quick look at them before they get around the corner. Two bucks, the first one I would say is 34"-36" wide with extras! I only saw the right antler on the second one, but he looked like a boomer too!
We hunted those two bucks for the next two days. We did see couple of smaller 25ish bucks...but were going to hold out. One the third day we had a rare north wind and were able to hunt the area from a better direction. At 2:30 in the afternoon, I am hunting in some spotty open junipers and all of a sudden two deer get up in front of me. I throw the glass up and immediately recognize the two bucks. They take off running and so do I. Every time they come out in the open I get set up for the shot and then they are behind the next tree. Finally, after a 200 yard sprint, I am totally out of air! I can see an opening about 250 yard out and they come running out into it, slightly quartering and almost directly away from me. Side by side with one just slightly behind the other. Both bucks are huge, but the front one is noticeably larger. So I put the crosshairs on the back of the neck of the front buck...hold my breath for .00009 seconds and pull the trigger. BANG....down goes the second buck! I go running up there and HOLY SH!!!T. Even though it was the smaller of the two...he's a TOAD!!!!
I ended up hitting him in the base of the horn and that was all it took. The buck is only a 3x3 but carries mass all the way up...is 30 3/4 inched wide...and is the largest bodied deer I have ever taken. (Dressed out on the scale at 252 pounds) The other buck was probably 4-5 inched wider and non-typical...and will haunt me for years!
In short, this X zone has some great bucks in it. Those junipers and ROCKS are very difficult to hunt and not for everyone. We did take a break a couple of times and hunted some timber areas in which we saw 40-50 deer every day. Easy to find a 22ish buck but, burning 8 points for a 20-22 inch buck would have been silly for us. Again, the areas we hunted held very few deer. In 10 days of hunting these areas, we counted a total of 16 deer sighted total for the two of us.. 10 of them were good bucks-4 of them were huge bucks and two of them were just bodies going through the trees. I cannot say it enough...the horses are a HUGE problem and we saw 200-250 at least! My brother held out and ended up shooting a 24" young buck with long tines....but it was a quick shot and he thought bit was a bit larger, but it was getting late and his feet hurt
PS: For the tag police...the tag is on the right antler but I am hiding it with my hand
Opening day...dark 'till dark - no deer
Day two...dark 'till dark - no deer
Day three...same
Day four...CRAP!!!
We would have left the area, however we were seeing some VERY nice tracks. My brother and I also have D16 tags, which we fill every year, so the game plan was "go big or go home."
We did stay in the same general area for a few more days and finally figured out what the problem was. The wild horses up there have absolutely over populated. We could hardly hunt a juniper line or sage flat without bumping 20-30 horses. I don't want to go on a rant...BUT IT"S BAD!!!!! We couldn't understand why we just couldn't locate a single deer, but we were seeing the tracks. Then it hit me...all of the tracks we were seeing were running. Since we were the only ones in there... we figured the horses were busting them out ahead of us.
The next few days we came at the area from a couple different directions and simply could not get around the horses. So on to plan B.
Being familiar with the area, we had already decided to concentrate on the more open juniper areas that had very low deer densities. We knew these areas have traditionally held very large loner bucks. Once in a while you will find a small bachelor group (2 or 3)...but normally all of the bucks will be similar and large. So Monday we go to an area that had held some very large bucks in the past. First light, about 500 yards into it, we catch a glimps of movement out ahead of us. A quick run around a few junipers to get a better look and there they are...MORE HORSES! (CRAP!!!) Well...we were already into it so we changed direction a bit and hunted over towards a small rim. I arrived at the edge first, and my brother made a small swing out to the left around the corner...and it finally happened. I hear deer bust out in front of him and get a VERY quick look at them before they get around the corner. Two bucks, the first one I would say is 34"-36" wide with extras! I only saw the right antler on the second one, but he looked like a boomer too!
We hunted those two bucks for the next two days. We did see couple of smaller 25ish bucks...but were going to hold out. One the third day we had a rare north wind and were able to hunt the area from a better direction. At 2:30 in the afternoon, I am hunting in some spotty open junipers and all of a sudden two deer get up in front of me. I throw the glass up and immediately recognize the two bucks. They take off running and so do I. Every time they come out in the open I get set up for the shot and then they are behind the next tree. Finally, after a 200 yard sprint, I am totally out of air! I can see an opening about 250 yard out and they come running out into it, slightly quartering and almost directly away from me. Side by side with one just slightly behind the other. Both bucks are huge, but the front one is noticeably larger. So I put the crosshairs on the back of the neck of the front buck...hold my breath for .00009 seconds and pull the trigger. BANG....down goes the second buck! I go running up there and HOLY SH!!!T. Even though it was the smaller of the two...he's a TOAD!!!!
I ended up hitting him in the base of the horn and that was all it took. The buck is only a 3x3 but carries mass all the way up...is 30 3/4 inched wide...and is the largest bodied deer I have ever taken. (Dressed out on the scale at 252 pounds) The other buck was probably 4-5 inched wider and non-typical...and will haunt me for years!
In short, this X zone has some great bucks in it. Those junipers and ROCKS are very difficult to hunt and not for everyone. We did take a break a couple of times and hunted some timber areas in which we saw 40-50 deer every day. Easy to find a 22ish buck but, burning 8 points for a 20-22 inch buck would have been silly for us. Again, the areas we hunted held very few deer. In 10 days of hunting these areas, we counted a total of 16 deer sighted total for the two of us.. 10 of them were good bucks-4 of them were huge bucks and two of them were just bodies going through the trees. I cannot say it enough...the horses are a HUGE problem and we saw 200-250 at least! My brother held out and ended up shooting a 24" young buck with long tines....but it was a quick shot and he thought bit was a bit larger, but it was getting late and his feet hurt
PS: For the tag police...the tag is on the right antler but I am hiding it with my hand
