No kill pics in this thread.I ended up eating the tag.I drew unit 34 after 5 years and hoped this would be the place for a trophy mule deer.I got a lot of help from a person on this site which really narrowed down my search in a HUGE unit.I only had 3 1/2 days to give to this tag.I also got to the unit during the last week of season.I got up on day one from the back seat of my rental suv;my plane got in an hour and a half late by running out of gas half way to Denver,lol.With this I couldn't find the cabin rental I had booked for my trip that night in the dark.The lodge is in the middle of nowhere and on a not so great dirt road.So I wake up after a rough night sleep and head off to a canyon I knew about from a member on here.I get there and glass up 9 doe.I work my way along the rim but see no more.I decide to drop down into it and up the other side to checkout some hard to get to areas further in.I find no more deer,and head out to go find the
lodge.I find it and 3 guys from Louisiana are there in another cabin and have 2 bucks down.Ilook at the deer and they weren't anything I'd be shooting,but they weren't bad either.I guess the biggest at maybe 140" 4x4,and the other,also a 4x4, was smaller with not much spread or point length.They were happy and that's all that matters.They give me some good intel on where they are seeing deer.I head down to that area and start spotting deer from the road in the mahogany bushes.I then watch as a buck tops the hill an feeds over to my side.I get my spotter on him and see hes a decent 4x3.I watch him for a while and plan a route to get closer.I head up after him,and when I get to his location,hes gone.I just wantd a closer look but doubted he was a shooter to me.On my way down the hill towards my car,I'm glassing close to a hundred deer;all doe,yearlings and little Y bucks/spikes.I cant find a racked buck anywhere.I catch movement of a deer going over a fence,and see its a decent buck.He was the best buck I saw during my hunt.I close in on him and have him broadside at 160 yards and he has no idea I'm around.I look him over time and time again.He's also a 4x3 but not the same buck I originally went to go look at.I decide to let him live
It took 5 years to get the tag so I hoped for something better then 140-150",and that's the best that buck would score.I continue to my car as now its almost dark.At least I found a ton of deer and planned to be back next morning.Go back next day and spend all day looking over the entire area,and did about 8 mile loop till it got dark.I saw an unreal amount of deer but not one racked buck.I would guess I saw around 100 deer easily.I ran into a warden during the day and he suggested another spot.I decide to check it out on day 3.I get over there and don't glass up a single deer;morning wasted.The lodge owner told me of 2 nice bucks he saw the day I arrived ,as I had dinner,at a location close to the cabins.So after the wasted morning hunt,I did a quick run to casper for gas and food.I get back and head over to the spot he told me of,and he knew what size deer I wanted.I start walking in the WIA,and immediately see 3 deer up on a high knob.Its 3 doe and a Y buck.I keep moving along a find a few more doe and then a deer I cant figure out as dark is closing in.I head back to my car with only 1/2 day hunting left.As I pull up the driveway to my cabin, I see 2 bucks with a few does.I get closer and the one buck is finally the shooter I'm looking for,except its dark and well past shooting hours.Decision time for my last morning before I have to head back towards th airport.I decide the shooter buck lives deep in the timber behind my cabin and be tough to find.Figure my best odds are where I've been seeing the most deer.I go back to there in the morning and see plenty of deer again but again no bucks of any size.My hunt is now over.Of course as I was driving out the weather forecast was calling for a 20* drop in temps with snow showers for the next day.That to me would have got the deer moving but its a day too late.I hunted the entire time in 60* temps and I think the big boys were still up high in the timber out of my unit
I had a fun time and don't regret not taking home the buck I had dead to rights.The unit wasn't as good as I hoped but think weather and being the 2nd week hurt my hunt.I will use my boys points on the unit I think in another year.I saw some real studs for antelope in the unit.I know 3-4 of them would have gone 80"+.One was just unreal in size.This was suppose to be my father/son hunt but my son didn't draw the goat tag.He would have got a true giant.When he draws the deer tag, I'll be there a couple days before the opener and hope to find him a good buck.I ran into one other hunter so pressure is non-existant at least 2nd week of season.There were a lot of elk hunters up in the timber but nowhere near me.Not sure its worth 5 points in the special draw to get the tag.And eastmans has the buck/doe ratio at 39-100 which from what I saw is way off.I'd say maybe 10-100 is more like it.The lack of even decent racked bucks was a little frustrating.Doesnt seem like a unit you can be real picky in for a trophy though I know they are in there
So theres a current report for any guys thinking of this unit
lodge.I find it and 3 guys from Louisiana are there in another cabin and have 2 bucks down.Ilook at the deer and they weren't anything I'd be shooting,but they weren't bad either.I guess the biggest at maybe 140" 4x4,and the other,also a 4x4, was smaller with not much spread or point length.They were happy and that's all that matters.They give me some good intel on where they are seeing deer.I head down to that area and start spotting deer from the road in the mahogany bushes.I then watch as a buck tops the hill an feeds over to my side.I get my spotter on him and see hes a decent 4x3.I watch him for a while and plan a route to get closer.I head up after him,and when I get to his location,hes gone.I just wantd a closer look but doubted he was a shooter to me.On my way down the hill towards my car,I'm glassing close to a hundred deer;all doe,yearlings and little Y bucks/spikes.I cant find a racked buck anywhere.I catch movement of a deer going over a fence,and see its a decent buck.He was the best buck I saw during my hunt.I close in on him and have him broadside at 160 yards and he has no idea I'm around.I look him over time and time again.He's also a 4x3 but not the same buck I originally went to go look at.I decide to let him live
It took 5 years to get the tag so I hoped for something better then 140-150",and that's the best that buck would score.I continue to my car as now its almost dark.At least I found a ton of deer and planned to be back next morning.Go back next day and spend all day looking over the entire area,and did about 8 mile loop till it got dark.I saw an unreal amount of deer but not one racked buck.I would guess I saw around 100 deer easily.I ran into a warden during the day and he suggested another spot.I decide to check it out on day 3.I get over there and don't glass up a single deer;morning wasted.The lodge owner told me of 2 nice bucks he saw the day I arrived ,as I had dinner,at a location close to the cabins.So after the wasted morning hunt,I did a quick run to casper for gas and food.I get back and head over to the spot he told me of,and he knew what size deer I wanted.I start walking in the WIA,and immediately see 3 deer up on a high knob.Its 3 doe and a Y buck.I keep moving along a find a few more doe and then a deer I cant figure out as dark is closing in.I head back to my car with only 1/2 day hunting left.As I pull up the driveway to my cabin, I see 2 bucks with a few does.I get closer and the one buck is finally the shooter I'm looking for,except its dark and well past shooting hours.Decision time for my last morning before I have to head back towards th airport.I decide the shooter buck lives deep in the timber behind my cabin and be tough to find.Figure my best odds are where I've been seeing the most deer.I go back to there in the morning and see plenty of deer again but again no bucks of any size.My hunt is now over.Of course as I was driving out the weather forecast was calling for a 20* drop in temps with snow showers for the next day.That to me would have got the deer moving but its a day too late.I hunted the entire time in 60* temps and I think the big boys were still up high in the timber out of my unit
I had a fun time and don't regret not taking home the buck I had dead to rights.The unit wasn't as good as I hoped but think weather and being the 2nd week hurt my hunt.I will use my boys points on the unit I think in another year.I saw some real studs for antelope in the unit.I know 3-4 of them would have gone 80"+.One was just unreal in size.This was suppose to be my father/son hunt but my son didn't draw the goat tag.He would have got a true giant.When he draws the deer tag, I'll be there a couple days before the opener and hope to find him a good buck.I ran into one other hunter so pressure is non-existant at least 2nd week of season.There were a lot of elk hunters up in the timber but nowhere near me.Not sure its worth 5 points in the special draw to get the tag.And eastmans has the buck/doe ratio at 39-100 which from what I saw is way off.I'd say maybe 10-100 is more like it.The lack of even decent racked bucks was a little frustrating.Doesnt seem like a unit you can be real picky in for a trophy though I know they are in there
So theres a current report for any guys thinking of this unit
