I've seen does and fawns, I've been high and low, I've even seen tracks that might have been made by a buck, but apart from one little spike buck mid-September I've yet to come across my first mule buck in WMU 412. I'm giving up on that little area that looked so promising. Next time I'll try something different. The crusty snow is not making things easier, either. And it looks like I have other engagements every day next week!

Lots of shooting today though, in the area, somebody used three shots, another one two, and a bit later some guy fired about 12 shots. Probably sighting in or so.

If anybody is planning on taking the Bar C road one of these days, beware, it's very slippery!!

Frans

I was in a new area(to me) last week. Tracks everywhere,lookedlike an expressway in places,but only saw 3 does.
Frans, Have you heard this old joke, Hear 1 shot in the bush,means Indian got a deer,hear 2 shots in the bush,means a whiteman got a deer,hear 3 shots in the bush,means whiteman missed! derf

Hi Frans. I was visiing a buddy of mine in 348 the other day and must have seen 20-30 mule deer, maybe half a dozen bucks. Only a ccouple were REAL nice one's though. All draw in there though, and I believe that the only reason we were seeing them is that one of his neighbors left his alfalfa field standing, so they were all traveling to and from. - Dan

I was thinking of trying unit 417, to end the season. maybe spend the weekend. When I drove up FTR in spring I saw a lot of deer on the road there. Bit of a gamble though, that might work out all wrong. I'll get a whitetail doe tag just in case at 5 minutes to 12 the mule buck is still alive and an opportunity presents itself.

Frans

Hey Frans.
I hunted 412 pretty hard in the mid 80s to mid 90s.
There are a ton of huge mulies that live there. The hard part has always been to get to them.When my buddy first took me there in 1984, I thought he was either joking or insane.We went in with his 1978 3/4 ton 4x4 Suburban with chains on all four wheels.Often winching ourselves through the rough spots. We would get there the evening before the hunt and break out the front of a beaver dam on meadow creek.By 4 am the water level was low enough to attempt to get through.One year we left his exhaust system in that beaver dam and picked it up on the return trip home strapped to the roof.
We used to often joke about "Hunting high and hard for late season mulie deer". And hunt high we did.Extremely high. Sheep hunting high.
These deer were at the edge of the treeline where it meets the hard rock.
Often these mulie bucks were ambushed at first light as they picked their way through rock outcroppings to bed down.
We used to come in on the BAR C road, and head north at the Y.That was too tough on the truck so we started coming in on Meadow creek.There is a fire look out on top of Black Rock Mountain. This would be a good place for you to start.
Good luck.

Thanks for that input! I've been scaling the slopes of Black Rock Mountain a bit. I was now revising my strategy to come in via the Enviros Camp road (not officialy named as such), say 3/4 up Bar C, turn North, open the gate which says No Shooting, and continue North and then West, basically bringing you NE of Black Rock Mountain, and work my way up the slope there. I've been there earlier in the season, but with all the snow now, the approach from the South is a bit long. I've been on Meadow Creek Trails a bit, but the ruts put in by the off-road crowd are so deep and muddy, that on my own, without winch, lift job, big wheels etc, I'm not going to venture there again.

Thanks again...I've got some time next week, I'll try to get out early and get up high!

Frans

Sheeeessshhhh ! Hunting them mountain mulies is painful .. even to hear about ...