Nevada Area 24

So after the initial euphoria of getting this tag I realized I was confused, and then gave confusing info. Somehow, through dumb luck, NDOW gave me two consecutive muley tags. One last year (2023) in area 10, and now this year (2024) for area 24. The saying "I'd rather be lucky than smart" seems to apply. This tag is one of those "once in a blue moon" situations. Will be updating this thread as I move along in the process of scouting and during the 26 days of the October hunt season. If I continue to be lucky, there should be some great photos/accounting of the adventure. This'll be a DIY with help from a friend who knows the area pretty well.
 
If you have the time to put in A LOT of scouting you'll see some absolute monster bucks.
That being said you will also be contending with guides and their many sub-guides in that area as we did when my son had the same tag a couple of years ago.
Also don't overlook areas that look like there wouldn't be any deer down very low in the desert.

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If you have the time to put in A LOT of scouting you'll see some absolute monster bucks.
That being said you will also be contending with guides and their many sub-guides in that area as we did when my son had the same tag a couple of years ago.
Also don't overlook areas that look like there wouldn't be any deer down very low in the desert.

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This tag I've got some things to help out I'm going to take full advantage of. We live within a few hours of much of the unit and am familiar with it from other times in it from the past. Because we're so close, scouting it a lot will be possible. Your hints and advice are appreciated...thank you.
 
There are lots of big critters here, but there are lots and lots of juniper to hide them too. I’m focusing on 241 and 242. So far, glassing, being out on foot, hunting burns, hunting water has turned up one shooter. He saw me first, so I didn’t have a chance to get my weapon lined up. Got seven days left to make it happen. If anyone has some strategies to hump juniper that I might not have thought of yet let me know what I’m doing wrong please.
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Sorry about the granny pictures. It was almost dark and I was taking iPhone photos from far away. If I can figure out where either of these two bed, I will kill one of them for sure.
 

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If you have the time to put in A LOT of scouting you'll see some absolute monster bucks.
That being said you will also be contending with guides and their many sub-guides in that area as we did when my son had the same tag a couple of years ago.
Also don't overlook areas that look like there wouldn't be any deer down very low in the desert.

View attachment 326811
This is the kind of stuff I would focus on if I had the tag. I've trapped in some of this country and saw tracks and a few deer.
 
This is the kind of stuff I would focus on if I had the tag. I've trapped in some of this country and saw tracks and a few deer.
I've seen those tracks where there's water. Finding their beds or glassing them elsewhere is the problem. The reason NDOW reduced the quota for 24 is deer are on a downtrend here. I'm camped next to folks who are DIY hunters that are putting up hard cash for landowner tags. Even they aren't seeing deer.
 
How did your hunt end up going? I'm a Vegas local, envy your recent tags and would love to hear how this turned out for you.
 
Tbh, unit 24 was probably not the best choice for a hunter of my experience. It is a great area, and there are some very big mulies, but, for me, finding them was impossible. If there is ever a next time, I'll have the experience to know exactly where/how to hunt the unit. Anyone getting a buck tag there, and planning on doing it DYI, had better have the time to scout many days ahead of the opener. Unless dumb luck is the strategy to be employed.
 
Unit 24 is always the first choice on my application. Been trying to draw it for many many years because it's one of the best units for BIG bucks there is.
But they are few and far between.
 
Unit 24 is always the first choice on my application. Been trying to draw it for many many years because it's one of the best units for BIG bucks there is.
But they are few and far between.
Best of luck, some day you'll draw it. I arrived on the day after the opener. On the second day I met up with a real nice NR guy who told me it took him 30 years to draw the tag. Fate/luck, whatever you call it, was with him. He and his wife woke up after daylight the morning after he arrived. They decided to hop in the jeep and take a ride up towards the Utah border near Beaver Dam State Park. On the way there, he spots a nice BIG buck 150 yards off the road through the burn area they were moving through. Slam on the brakes, hop out, drag the weapon out, rack a round. All while the buck is standing there looking at them, gets fed up with all the commotion, and starts pronking over the hill. Guy throws himself down in desperation on a roadside berm, gets on the buck as he's almost gone, fires one round and KILLS the buck. When he finished telling me the story, the only thing I could think of to say (with a grin) was "Well, I'd rather be lucky than smart."
 
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