LE Buck Quality

[One_Duck_Limit]

Book Cliffs, Vernon and Diamond Mountain all take around 13 points to draw the rifle tag. On average, what quality of buck do you think is the upper end? 160"? 170"? 180"?

 

[yoteduster]

I know there was a 190+ taken off diamond last year and there might be a small handful of 180 class bucks in the books but not many imo don't know about Vernon there was a Vernon tag auctioned off Friday night for 6500.00 so there must be a little interest in that unit so that's my .02 cents worth

 

[shootem]

I spent 5 days during the rut last year in the book cliffs and never saw a buck over 170. I’ve been to diamond mountain a few times but not lately. I think the mountain holds some real good bucks IF you can find them on public land. Vernon is good and will be a good option with majority of bucks taken in the 160-170 ball park and few that are in the 180-190 range. If I could pick a unit between those three it would be Vernon.

 

[pushin_30]

Those units are mostly 160-170 class age. Yes there are always a few bucks taken each year that are that 180.190-200 inch class. My buddy drew Vernon archery last year and killed a 196 buck and was after one larger but most of the bucks he was seeing were in the 160-170 range.

 

[Shadow]

What I know of them, 150-160 would be an average expectation and 180 would be a top end buck but it seems every year each one produces a whopper or two.
I think those three units are really a toss up, far as quality.

 

[goforbroke]

I have a diamond my muzzy tag and I haven’t found one over 170. If you see one let me know. Super fun place with lots of bucks though. I am excited for my hunt and plan to look at lots of deer and shoot a great 160-170” deer at the end. If I find one bigger -awesome.

 

[legacy]

The only one of those units I can speak of is Vernon (since I’ve spent some time out there). I like Vernon because it’s close to home and its a huge unit. One of the biggest bucks I’ve seen on the hoof was on Vernon a few years ago. I know most of the hunters on Vernon hunt a specific area(s). My suggestion for Vernon is to look in areas that you wouldn’t think would produce many deer/bucks. They give out a lot of tags on Vernon but there’s a lot of areas on that unit that get quite a bit less pressure. It’s a pretty fun hunt that can produce some very nice bucks on occasion. Pushin_30’s insight on average size is accurate. You’ll see a ton of smaller bucks though.

 

[deerkiller]

I know of 3 180”+ deer killed so far on the Vernon this year. If you spend some time figuring out the unit, you can’t find decent deer. I Imagine that’s the case with all LE deer units. If GS units can produce 180”+ deer when they are managed for opportunity, LE deer units managed for “trophy” quality will definitely have potential to grow bigger deer... In theory of course

 

[hunt30]

I’ve seen a couple of 200”+ bucks taken off the Books in the last couple of years. Also a couple of really good bucks off the Vernon. That said, I agree with what the rest have said in that the average buck off each unit is probably 150”-160”.