X3A

[Tmarcussen]

Looking to get ahold of an x3a tag. Looking for some areas to check out. I’ve never hunted the area and just went on a scouting trip this weekend. Just drove around for the most part getting a good idea what I’m up against. Trying to find a couple areas to narrow down my scouting trips. I have time to put in to scout. I don’t mind hiking my butt off to locate some good bucks. Any info would be much appreciated.

 

[3x2]

Were there any areas that you found particularly interesting while you were driving around last weekend? It might be easier to narrow down some areas to scout if you mention what looked productive to you and then have members chime in on if you are on the right track or not.

 

[Tmarcussen]

The areas that stuck out most to me were shaeffer peak because there are no roads close to it. To get in there you have to get out of the truck so there might not be much pressure. Delta lake stood out to me as it borders private and is a water source year round. The other place I looked at was likely peak it looked good but I could definitely see it being a place that would attract a lot of hunters. I’ve been doing a lot of scouting on onx as well and have found an area by adin, coyote reservoir? Looks promising. You can get to the reservoir by vehicle but there is a ton of blm that is not accessible by vehicle. Looks to be sage brush

 

[ART_SKYD]

Make sure you double check that area around coyote reservoir on onxmaps, a big portion of that area is the Hayden hill game refuge. I wouldn’t focus to hard on water sources, most of that zone has water sources all over the place, a good amount are year round. It was a dryer than normal year though. The deer seem to feed out of the timber and into lower sage/ juniper areas more just before season begins, does will usually hang bedded in or near those areas. Bucks will sometimes bed in those areas but most often higher in timber in my experience. Weather definitely helps move more bucks into those low lands. A lot of roads and most hunters will hunt it that way so if you hit some of those “pockets” you can’t see from the trails they can and do hold deer.

 

[Tmarcussen]

That’s weird on my maps it shows coyote lake in the center of blm and a lot of blm around it. It doesn’t show any refuges. Good to know. Thanks for the heads up. I plan on heading back in July to scout some more. Only this time I will get to the spots early and glass to see what’s out there coming out. How is shaeffer peak. Looked pretty good when I took a stroll up there.

 

[ART_SKYD]

State game refuges is one of the layers you can turn on. Haven’t been on Schaeffer peak so I can’t say seen it from the highway but that’s about it.

 

[Calbuck]

Game refuges are not well marked on Onx as I have found. There are bucks all throughout the unit. I would definitely look at areas away from the road.

 

[Hammnit]

Shaeffer has some patches of brush and some open hillsides. Good deer country. Saw a decent buck up there years ago scouting for archery.

 

[Tmarcussen]

Good to know! Next time I go out I will definitely spend some time in that area

 

[huntindad4]

No recent experience on the unit but would recommend a peek at the burns on the unit.

This was hit by a car on 139 about 5 miles north of Canby a couple years back. Good genes.....

 

[lif]

****. That was a stud.

 

[huntindad4]

Yeah....sad....

 

[mod700]

Damn shame, that's a toad... like to of seen him finished out.
Mike

 

[Tmarcussen]

What a slob! I talked to the biologist and I think
I’ve narrowed down where I’m going to spend the most time. 139 and Canby is the border I believe. Anything north of Canby is x2 but I definitely spent some time in that area. I have a camera up over in that area

 

[huntindad4]

Yes 139 is the border for x2 and x3a going west/northwest of Canby to the Junction of the Lookout road then it becomes the border for x1 and x2.

 

[Pjbilli]

What a slob! I talked to the biologist and I think
I’ve narrowed down where I’m going to spend the most time. 139 and Canby is the border I believe. Anything north of Canby is x2 but I definitely spent some time in that area. I have a camera up over in that area

Did you have any luck in the area? Or did you try out schaffer peak? Drew this tag this year and have been looking into the same areas