Well, we had another pretty good storm over the last couple days, so I thought I better go check the herd.
Obviously, the rut is over and now the deer are acting like deer again and 500 yards is about their limit for tourists.
In 3 seperate canyons, I probably saw over 300 deer.
I actually counted 135 legal bucks, but only 2 whose sheds I would bother to pick up and NO serious G3 quality bucks. There is a solid 28" forky and a very heavy, very wide 4x4, busted up so bad that he almost looks like a Longhorn steer. Fully 75% of them have broken antlers, to some degree or another.
The down side is that the Big Guys' have not shown this winter at all......we have MANY people looking for them. Several guides have been scouting the winter herd and the tule elk herds.
The Sierra Big Horn sheep have moved back up, so possibly, the older bucks are still able to feed at some higher altitudes.....optimistic.
The up side is, there are many, many legal bucks that should show some good antler growth for the 2009 seasons. X9B, X9A and X12 should be good this fall.
The winter range is in AAA shape and we will have zero starvation issues in the area.
The bottom line here, is that there WILL be plenty of deer for the 2009 season and the G3....as it stands now, will still have possibilities.
Anybody with questions, feel free to ask. Unless I tip over, I will still be in it next season.
Obviously, the rut is over and now the deer are acting like deer again and 500 yards is about their limit for tourists.
In 3 seperate canyons, I probably saw over 300 deer.
I actually counted 135 legal bucks, but only 2 whose sheds I would bother to pick up and NO serious G3 quality bucks. There is a solid 28" forky and a very heavy, very wide 4x4, busted up so bad that he almost looks like a Longhorn steer. Fully 75% of them have broken antlers, to some degree or another.
The down side is that the Big Guys' have not shown this winter at all......we have MANY people looking for them. Several guides have been scouting the winter herd and the tule elk herds.
The Sierra Big Horn sheep have moved back up, so possibly, the older bucks are still able to feed at some higher altitudes.....optimistic.
The up side is, there are many, many legal bucks that should show some good antler growth for the 2009 seasons. X9B, X9A and X12 should be good this fall.
The winter range is in AAA shape and we will have zero starvation issues in the area.
The bottom line here, is that there WILL be plenty of deer for the 2009 season and the G3....as it stands now, will still have possibilities.
Anybody with questions, feel free to ask. Unless I tip over, I will still be in it next season.