garneroutlaw
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- Messages
- 27
Hi all, I drew a unit this year that is pretty hard to hunt. It is dominated by pine woodlands with large tracts of pinyon juniper and plains. Very little desert-like habitat is present. It is a world class unit for elk, but deer are a different story. My scouting trips this year has led me to focusing in on a river bottom which is loaded with willows, bitterbrush, and all sorts of goodies. I just spent an evening/morning glassing, but with no success (wish I had more time). Being so close to season opener, I an going to opt to stay out until the season starts. Was wondering if you guys have any success stories of hunting river canyons and tactics you may have used to bring one home. My biggest concern that comes to mind is escape routes. Will the deer take the risk to come down to the river bottom at all? They seem to be predator traps to me, and right across from my camp was an obvious cougar den in use. Should I purely focus in on terrain that provides the best escape routes from the river bottom or am I digging into it too much? Thanks for reading.