M. Ireland
New member
Well, I took all of these pieces of advice and we managed to put together a pretty darn good hunt. First off, the people we encountered were among the nicest people I've ever met. I can't say enough things about the folks at Powder River Taxidermy.
We had mild weather for our whole trip, saw plenty of deer, and managed to shoot a couple of decent 4 pointers. We saw bucks every day, and even a few that were sniffing around does. Both of our bucks were our personal best. That being said, most of the deer we hunt out here are blacktails that are just a bit bigger than a black lab.
Had we hunted harder, or been more picky, I'm sure we could've found bigger bucks. I think I did the exact thing I've heard Randy joke about on his show; shooting the first 3 year old 4 pointer they see!!! I believe we did just that. For me, I wanted a 4 pointer, a buck bigger than anything I've shot before, and most importantly, something that got me excited when I saw it. My buck fit that bill.
We had some epic stalks, got to see a ton of deer, and in some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen. Eagles, antelope roaming the hills like ants, pheasants, grouse. It was perfect.
I think we skirted out right before a week of rain started. I kept in touch with a couple other first timers I met through this very thread throughout their hunt. One of them hunted the same time as we did and did quite well. The other had his first day of hunting on the first day of the rain. It sounds like they hunted their tails off and couldn't turn up anything worth shooting. Wet, muddy, and nasty every day of their hunt. Again, I think we got lucky with weather.
The small parcel advice was great. We shot our deer on State land and BLM....not on the BMA.
I think the best advice I could give after our experience is get off the road, hike to a high spot, and glass. Every time we did this, we found deer.
Again, I appreciate the pointers and look forward to going back next year.
We had mild weather for our whole trip, saw plenty of deer, and managed to shoot a couple of decent 4 pointers. We saw bucks every day, and even a few that were sniffing around does. Both of our bucks were our personal best. That being said, most of the deer we hunt out here are blacktails that are just a bit bigger than a black lab.
Had we hunted harder, or been more picky, I'm sure we could've found bigger bucks. I think I did the exact thing I've heard Randy joke about on his show; shooting the first 3 year old 4 pointer they see!!! I believe we did just that. For me, I wanted a 4 pointer, a buck bigger than anything I've shot before, and most importantly, something that got me excited when I saw it. My buck fit that bill.
We had some epic stalks, got to see a ton of deer, and in some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen. Eagles, antelope roaming the hills like ants, pheasants, grouse. It was perfect.
I think we skirted out right before a week of rain started. I kept in touch with a couple other first timers I met through this very thread throughout their hunt. One of them hunted the same time as we did and did quite well. The other had his first day of hunting on the first day of the rain. It sounds like they hunted their tails off and couldn't turn up anything worth shooting. Wet, muddy, and nasty every day of their hunt. Again, I think we got lucky with weather.
The small parcel advice was great. We shot our deer on State land and BLM....not on the BMA.
I think the best advice I could give after our experience is get off the road, hike to a high spot, and glass. Every time we did this, we found deer.
Again, I appreciate the pointers and look forward to going back next year.
