I had an archery hunt there. Went to the north/east high country and didn't see much so went back to mid country burns, found one and some does. Went to check Thompson like you said, very generous by the way, steep, thick, takes an hour to walk a mile uphill, good stuff. Ran into a guy said the deer he saw in summer all disappeared. Well I just so happened upon a real big mountain lion. Found its sign first, full of deer hair and looked like the size of someone's loose pet tiger. Then the flash of tan right at dusk. So, I have an idea of where some of those deer went. There's bear sign in the area, but the bear scat piles were half the size of the lion's. I would be up for linkup trying to get another tag or thin the predators there.WARDO,
Sorry. A few guys get a little tired of the “I just drew XYZ tag and need to know where to hunt” type threads. If you have been on MM very long they do tend to get a little tiresome. That being said, I feel generous so...I have had the best luck finding bigger bucks just east of Thompson Peak in the north fork of Dalton Canyon Creek. It will require a decent hike and good glass but you should be able to find a 180 class deer. I have never had any trouble turning up numerous 170 class bucks and always have found at least one over 180 in that canyon.