G6 kern river hunt

he_down · Nov 19, 2013

Hi all,
After striking out in all of the out of state draws I decided to burn my 10 points in my home state on the kern river. I've been patiently waiting for my turn to hunt, and more importantly I'm waiting for some weather to get the deer moving. I've talked to the area biologist, and scoured the archives for information. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the situation. My question is what's should I expect as far as antler quality? I saw pictures of the bruiser the lady shot in 2008.( Just google G6 kern river and It will show up). So I know what the area is capable of, but how rare is the occurrence of harvesting a buck like this? I plan to start scouting this weekend.

nickman · Nov 20, 2013

You answered your own question. The weather is the major factor here.

The rut will occur one way or the other, but without the snow on the Kern Plateau, you will have way fewer bucks to hunt into the unit.

"If you get upset or offended by ANY website forum
post.....especially mine, you need serious
intervention!"

hntnfsh67 · Nov 20, 2013

Bart,

Have the same tag...for the same reason (Didn't draw my usual CO unit). Have also done similar research. Have talked to a couple locals as well. There are some brusiers that come from that hunt but a buck like that one you are referring to is a rarity. I think something in the 24" range is more likely. Seem to be more 4x3s and 3x3s taken than straight 4x4s. People seem to take quite a few forks on that hunt too. I am up in Portland Oregon and will be down there the day before the hunt. Moved up here from California after I drew the tag. If you want to PM me we can exchange #s and talk a bit more about it.
Good luck and pray for snow!

Matt
"Opportunity is missed by most people
because its dressed in overalls
and looks like work."
Thomas Edison

peez3006 · Nov 20, 2013

he_down

I returned your PM. I think 24" is a good goal. I've seen one buck as good as Robin's.(HERS!) Don't hold your breath waiting for another. But there's always the chance of one bigger! Next best buck was Nolan's from a couple of years ago. 26" and heavy, with a couple of extras if my memory serves me right. My buck was a 25" heavy 3X2. We've seen some nice 22-24" bucks, but to be honest, they are rare. Trophy is in the eye of the beholder. Get in there and have fun!

Don P

he_down · Nov 20, 2013

Thanks everyone for the information. At least we know the genetics are there, and lighting can strike again right! I replied to you Don and I'm going to pm you Matt. Thanks Nickman for pointing out the one thing I have no control over..The weather. The biologist said the weather IS the determining factor on this hunt as well.

Bart

sageadvice · Nov 21, 2013

I just love to go on late season hunts! I've not hunted the Kern area at all but have been 4-5 late hunts in my days and have found them most productive for at least better than average bucks and you never know when a monster might come in during the night to take over for your normal 4x4 that had his hopes up.

As you probably already know, Does like to get ready and breed in certain places each year. When you find groups of does, keep checking them each day to see who shows up. Lots of times, big chunks of habitat won't have anything on it and then a little basin might have 30 deer in it. Keep looking until you find the does. That's my experience anyway...good luck on you guys hunts!!

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

brdhuntr · Nov 21, 2013

I would PM highcountry hays,he lives in Bakersfield,and i'm sure he will be glad to help you out.

nickman · Nov 22, 2013

Snowing HARD in there now. If you were going to scout, this weekend would be your best opportunity.

They will ALL come out from under this storm. Some bucks may go back in when it lets up, but the does will mostly stay down. The bucks will use the same route in 3 weeks or so when the rut starts.

"If you get upset or offended by ANY website forum
post.....especially mine, you need serious
intervention!"

califhuntn · Nov 24, 2013

Hey Bart,

Good luck. Hope you kill a good one. Have you scouted yet.

Jeff

he_down · Nov 24, 2013

I scouted the area on Friday morning. I went up to 9200 ft. I thought I'd see more tracks. The visibility was poor due to the storm. The brush was thicker and the terrain was steeper than I thought it would be. There was a number of others scouting as well.Thanks Jeff I hope I get a good one too.

BPKHunter · Dec 2, 2013

Any chance they will rut during the hunt? I do not have the tag, I have hunted and joined others on a couple late season hunts here in Idaho and it is fun. If they are rutting those big boys can really cruise. They will be sitting with a group of does for half a day, but they may up and run off and just pull up with another big group of does far far away.

My best buddy and hunting pal since I was 15 drew this tag and it will likely be his best bet at a decent deer, the A zone bucks he mostly hunts will never get this big. Any tips I can share with him would be appreciated.

Mechuck · Dec 3, 2013

Scouted a bit this past weekend for a budy that has the tag .seen a buck breeding a doe so yeah they are rutting!!!! We seen 4 buck 2 shooters.

BPKHunter · Dec 9, 2013

Any Reports?

Foothills12 · Dec 9, 2013

I'm curious as well.. Anyone have any reports? I know the area fairly well would have liked to got out and looked around..

hntnfsh67 · Dec 9, 2013

LAST EDITED ON Dec-09-13 AT 11:06PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Dec-09-13 AT 10:57?PM (MST)

Just got back to Portland.....long drive but a fun hunt. will do a complete write up after I get unpacked and spend some time with my lil girl. We got weather And I took a nice buck. 22 1/2 wide 4x3 with eye guards.
Thanks to Don P for advice on what kind of bucks to expect
And thanks to all the other helpful folks out there.
Matt
"Opportunity is missed by most people
because its dressed in overalls
and looks like work."
Thomas Edison

Foothills12 · Dec 9, 2013

nice buck!! Looks like the snow came down..

bobby7321 · Dec 13, 2013

We weren't able to make it up the first couple of days because of a soccer tournament in LA. So we went up on Tuesday. Still a good bit of snow on the ground. We saw quite a few deer, lots of small dinky bucks. We were hiking in 2-3 miles off the road each day and kept seeing deer concentrating in one area. got there nice and early on the 12th and just setup the spotting scope and settled in. just as it got light I could see this buck chasing a doe. Couldn't really tell what he had, but could see he was heavy. I ranged him at 600. We decided to hoof it up to a small knoll which would cut our distance in half. Well took us about 30 minutes to get up this knoll which was almost vertical, and while we did this we sent deer scrambling all over the place. When we got to the top there was nothing there, we figured we had spooked everything within a mile of our location. We sat there pissed off for about 10 minutes and then out of nowhere a doe walks out. Shortly after, our guy walks out. 250 yards. boom. done deal. We knew he was heavy and narrow, so he would definitely do, based on what we were seeing. He ended up being perfect in my opinion. A really cool set of antlers to have (euro mount) and not big enough to worry about getting a shoulder mount (less to pack off the mountain!). He ended up being 3 on one side, and 2 on the other (broken off)

Shot him at 7am, chopped up and in the packs by 9:30, back to the truck by 12noon. A fun hunt and good times with my brother (his tag). Calves and thighs are hurting today boy! There is some steep terrain in that unit, trekking poles saved the day.

We stayed at Durwood also. Sheila is awesome. Definitely recommend staying there for anyone who has this tag in the future.

appleman · Dec 13, 2013

That is a way cool buck---congrats!

DWarcher · Dec 13, 2013

Sweet buck...congrats!

he_down · Dec 13, 2013

I want to thank everyone who gave input on this hunt. It was great information And made the hunt a successful one.
I arrived the day before the opener. I scouted that morning and afternoon. I ran into the local game warden and he gave me some tips on where he had been seeing some bucks. That helped me zero in on an area that I had been driving by but hadn't glassed. That afternoon I located a buck with some does. On opening morning it snowed. Hunters were parked along the roads waiting for the storm to let up. I initially had planned on parking at a trailhead but someone was there and the visibility was poor so I decided to head lower and try to Catch something on the road. The deer were bedded and the bucks came out at evening when the storm began to clear. No shooters were seen on opening day. Day 2 I was hiking early up the trail to a vantage point. I spotted 35 deer and three dinks. In the afternoon I hiked to a spot off the main road and found 3 bucks rutting with does. They were decent but not shooters. I ran into the warden again and he advised to get a buck sooner than later because it was going to warm up by the end of the week and the bucks could move back up. On day 3 I headed back to where the bucks were rutting the Afternoon before and sure enough there was a 4x3 rutting some does. He gave me a 350yd shot so I took it.
This was a fun hunt. The snow was crucial in getting the animals moving as well as making them visible in the dense brush. I believe we had the perfect conditions for this hunt because the deer were spread very thinly throughout the unit.
another hunter said that it is a soft migration. It also seemed that some migration routes were more active than others. The biggest buck I heard about that had been killed was a 27" 4x3 on opening day, but I never saw it with my own eyes. I want to thank Don P for his insight as well as the advice from others on this topic.

20" 4x3 with eyeguards