I've been offered to buy a tag for a muzzleloader hunt in the Utah Thousand Lake area. Anybody have any knowledge or experience about this area for mule deer? quality, numbers, pressure, etc?

The 1000 Lakes is an interesting deer unit. It is only valid on the Forest Service grounds within the unit. The rest of the unit is general season, (private ground). So there is some migration of deer off the forest to private which are then shot. So the quality may not be as good as some other Utah Limited Entry hunts. There will also be some limited entry elk hunters on the unit, but the pressure should be negligible.

It can be a very fun hunt and there is the chance at a solid 5-7 year old buck, which is a rarity in today's mule deer world. The genetics for the area are decent, with a huge nontypical taken from there every few years. There is also a decent width genetic and deer pushing over 28"+ can be possible. So it isn't a premier unit, but it is a good hunt with the chance of decent mature buck. (170+ in terms of score)

I believe that the only tags which may be sold for this unit are Conservation Tags which must have come thru the MDF as they were the only group which was allowed to sell the 2 vouchers for the 1000 Lakes. These vouchers are not season specific, so you should be able to pick your weapon type (archery or muzzleloader, or rifle). Are you buying this from an individual or MDF? Not trying to pry, just wanted to give you info. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the detailed info MC.

I was called by an outfitter that I have used several times in the past. He said he bought it at an auction and he only mentioned muzzleloader (late sept-early oct). Maybe he would be busy during another season. I am real iffy on it as he wants $4000 for the tag. That will put the hunt in the $8500+ range which right now seems pricey for this unit. Pausaugunt or Henry would be different.

Yes, that seems steep to me also, but you never know.?. Maybe he has an ace up his sleeve or maybe his buying client dropped out. I had a friend purchase a 1000 Lakes voucher for $1,800, but that was a couple years ago. For much less than $8,500 I could give you some ideas on better ranches or areas.

You obviously are aware of the hunting conditions in Utah. Because these types of tags are tax deductible, the Pauns tags sell for $12,000+ while the Henry tags push the upper $xx,xxx.

Best of luck this Fall.

quote:

Originally posted by MC:
...the Pauns tags sell for $12,000+ while the Henry tags push the upper $xx,xxx.

Ouch, ouch!

I've read about Pausaugunt (sp?) unit - never had the $$$ to go there even when it was a good deal cheaper. By the sound of it, Henry might be even more expensive, and I have to admit never having heard about that unit... (shamefaced).

Any chance you might tell us more about those two units, and in particular Henry?? Just so I'm aware what I'm missing out on...

- mike

Here is a video still of a deer I saw in the Paunsaugunt last year. This likely was the best I saw but everyday we saw similar. Assuming my link works you should be able to click on the pic and go to an album with a few more pics of the pauns scenery and the lion I took there.

MHO- The Henry Mtns, located in SouthEastern Utah, are probably one of the top 3 units in the US for mule deer. The unit is made up of desert to rolling cedar/sage mesas which butt into mountains that reach over 11,000ft and have oakbrush, pines, aspen, etc, to above timberline. The Henry's mule deer population was struggling in the late 1990s so the unit was shut down to general season hunters. It reopened to hunting I believe in 2001 with very few tags offered (less than 15).

Every year there are giant bucks shot off the unit, as it carries a substantial non-typical gene and a prominent width gene. There have been numerous 30"+ bucks and many over 40"+ killed off the unit. The Henry Mtns also produces many 200"+ bucks (if you like BC scores). The unit is almost impossible to draw for a non-resident and almost as hard for a resident of Utah. Every year there are 2 or so tags which are auctioned for the Henry Mtns and also a statewide Utah deer tag auctioned. The statewide tag brings in the mid $1xx,xxx.

While a great place if you draw, so few tags are issued that there is a glut of solid, huge bucks which will never be harvested. Permits are kept at a minimum to produce high quality and high $$$$$$$ for tags. I have been the area many times to view the deer and hunt the wild buffalo which live there. It is a neat place.

The Pauns on the other hand is slipping in quality, most suspecting that the early season private ranch hunts ($15,000+) are killing the best crop of genetics year in and year out. The Pauns rifle hunt is very difficult, because the deer are migrating thru cedar covered benches and can be hard to hunt. The Pauns premier hunt is its muzzleloader hunt, which has a high demand for tags in both drawings and money wise. The buck pictured above is close to the top end of quality for the public lands portion of the Pauns.

There is another ranch in Northern Utah, which "only" costs $22,500 to hunt, which is producing huge bucks also. It is run by a group of hunters who are controlling harvest and producing huge deer. Some of those who used to hunt the Pauns private areas (Alton CWMU) have gone to the Northern Utah ranch now.

Of course, this is just my opinion, muddied by facts.

Thanks Guys, that was very interesting! "Slightly" out of my budget, but world class trophies don't come cheap anywhere... There are few deer that take my fancy as much as muledeer and red stags!

- mike