Anyone do well in Wyoming Region G in 2010???

[cross]

My partner and I hunted our ***'s off for a week in Region G last fall. Up 2 hours before daylight and stayed on top (10k+) until the sun went down. Back to camp 2 hours after dark. Then repeat.

I saw at 170+ buck 2 days before season started and don't know if we saw even a 160 buck again. We had good glass, each carried spotters and we would see 20 to 30 bucks per day but no good ones. Lots of 18" 3-pointers, and some forkies, and quite a few 23" to 24" little 4x4's but no big ones. One day we saw about a 26" 3x4 but he didn't quite make the cut. Here's a photo of him below:

But as you can see, he's not very heavy and tightly crab-clawed:

I know that a few people killed good mule deer in Region G last fall but I was very dissapointed by the fact that not only did I not kill one (not really a surprise) but I didn't even see one. I'm not talking a 180 or 190 buck but not even a 170 buck after season started. Not a first or last light going over a ridge a mile away.....Never!

My partner and I were both very dissapointed in the amount of effort we spent for the results. I'm a decent game spotter and my partner is slightly better than I am. Just bad luck or did any of your run into scads of 23" 4x4s and no good 26" 4x4s? The areas we hunted had been recommended to us by a friend who had hunted the areas hard back in 2001 to 2005 for a 34" buck. He passed many good 26" and 28" deer but only once had a chance at a 34" deer and another hunter blew it for him. Has Region G seen its best days? Is this just a slump or mearly bad luck?


Cross

 

[805_Sniper]

Hi yawl!

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I think there will always be a few huge bucks in any given unit if the genetics are right and the winter kill isn't severe. I think what you experienced in G may be about normal, since everybody says to keep going there for a big buck. You can't keep taking big numbers of them every year and expect that to continue forever if they don't have time to grow to their potential. The buck in that picture looks like a very young deer to me, so he may be a good one in two or three years if he makes it that long.

 

[kcebcj]

I don't know anything about area G in Wyoming but have been chasing big mule deer bucks my whole adult hunting life mainly in Utah, Colorado and now Idaho. Here's what I have learned. By the time you hear of an area that has "big bucks" it's usually too late. You just have to do the homework yourself and go hunt where they live and are not pressured. Those pockets are still there.

Like Topgun says there will always be a good buck or two in a area that has the right genetics and they are able to make a good living for the 5 + years it takes to mature but getting lined up on one of them during the hunting season is really slim

The buck in the photo that 805 posted is what it's all about. You take a couple like that in your lifetime legally and you can die with a smile. There are just not a lot of them guys runnin around anymore.

One more thing the 5 best bucks that I have taken have been shot after jumping them out of their bed. It is extremely rare to see a buck such as the one 805 posted in plain sight or even moving during the day especially during hunting season. They are in their beds before daylight and stay there all day unless pushed even during the rut.

Good luck with your pursuit of big bucks. It's my favorite thing to do. Elk are second.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

kcebcj---I think you really touched on something that many don't realize in their pursuit of big bucks. I read of the good old days back in say the 60s when guys would go out and there were nice bucks all over the hillsides and it was sort of pick and choose. Maybe it wasn't that easy, but reading old hunting stories and stuff sure makes it seem that way. I think in the last 40 or 50 years the big mule deer has slowly evolved into the way a mature whitetail behaves. You either get lucky and jump one or somebody else jumps him and he makes a mistake trying to get back into another hidey hole! Guys talk about bucks being stupid in the rut, but even then in the limited areas where there are open seasons, I don't think they are out there all over the place saying: "here I am, shoot me!", LOL! A really good muley buck over 180", I believe, is now about the hardest trophy of any animal to obtain legally in North America and not because there still aren't a decent number of them out there!

 

[kcebcj]

kcebcj---I think you really touched on something that many don't realize in their pursuit of big bucks. I read of the good old days back in say the 60s when guys would go out and there were nice bucks all over the hillsides and it was sort of pick and choose. Maybe it wasn't that easy, but reading old hunting stories and stuff sure makes it seem that way. I think in the last 40 or 50 years the big mule deer has slowly evolved into the way a mature whitetail behaves. You either get lucky and jump one or somebody else jumps him and he makes a mistake trying to get back into another hidey hole! Guys talk about bucks being stupid in the rut, but even then in the limited areas where there are open seasons, I don't think they are out there all over the place saying: "here I am, shoot me!", LOL! A really good muley buck over 180", I believe, is now about the hardest trophy of any animal to obtain legally in North America and not because there still aren't a decent number of them out there!

The stories you've read are right on. During the late 60's early 70's my cousin and I hunted in central Utah at the base of Mt Belknap which is 13,200. Half of the hunting was at or above timber line. It was a bad day if you saw less than 20 bucks each. One morning with about a foot of fresh snow on the ground I peeked into my favorite canyon while my cousin worked his favorite line below me about 400 yards. Across the canyon I could see deer moving. There were 12 bucks all in a row moving just above the timber where my cousin was coming through. They were all decent bucks but not of the size we were looking for. In those days that was not uncommon.

Those days are gone! The last time I saw bucks like that during the season was in south east Idaho near Afton Wyoming in the late 70's early 80's.

If you were to hike those places today would be lucky to see a buck. The word got out and the pressure ruined it.

The university of Montana did a study on mule deer bucks in the 80's and concluded that mature bucks were almost totally nocturnal. I absolutely believe that. You can see all the signs of a big buck in a particular canyon but never see him. All you need to do is figure out where he's bedded and where he will go when you jump him and go for it. If you don't get a shot he's gone and won't come back.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I'd say that is a darn good assessment of a mature mulie buck. Incidentally, I love that tag line of yours!!! Is that you and your pony in the picture?

 

[kcebcj]

I'd say that is a darn good assessment of a mature mulie buck. Incidentally, I love that tag line of yours!!! Is that you and your pony in the picture?

Yep that's "Crooked Horse" He's retired now. I found another good mountain horse that is shorter and that makes the gidiup a lot better. I do miss that big horse power though.

I want to apologize to "cross" for getting off subject but when talkin bucks it just goes on and on.

 

[mainehunter]

We put in for a tag in region H with Double Y Outfitters I never hunted mulies before. Whitetail population in Maine is the worst Ive ever seen.We have a camp in the north part of the state.Maybe 1-2 deer per square mile some areas have 0.Any advice would be greatly appreciated.Really looking forward to hunting Wyoming

 

[RH300UM]

I haven't hunted region G but have hunted Region H. Saw some "GOOD" bucks early on. Too many people as the hunt went on. Chased all the bigger bucks to cover. The hot weather didn't help either.
I had a nice, heavy 28 inch buck in my scope and missed him. Found out later that my Nightforce was to blame.
Looking to hunt somewhere else due to the people problem.

 

[Thesteeleboy]

Region G has been on a steady decline for the past 10-12 years. Wyoming is extremely liberal with their big game tags and between that and the Wolf population, the deer herds have suffered a great deal. Wolf's are extremely hard on big buck's, They tend to get extremely ran down during the rut and it makes them very vulnerable going into winter. You can still find that occasional big buck, but the {good old days} for a great deal of the state are gone. There are however still a great deal of 18 - 24" bucks throughout the state, so enjoy. Perhaps in another ten years we will be looking back on these as the good old day's in Wyoming.

 

[RH300UM]

I just talked to one of my buddies. They went shed hunting around this unit on the winter range. He said there were dead deer everywhere. They had a real hard winter there. Could be a hard hunt due to deer numbers vs. people numbers.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

RH300UM---That's what I'm hearing on another website fromm a lot of the guys that are shed hunting there and on over into Utah.

 

[sticknstring]

I got a very good friend of mine that I hunt with up there(he comes here every year)-I didn't even apply for mulie this year, he told me I'd be hard pressed to find a decent deer this year. The winter kill was so bad.