Unit 39 Idaho Archery Success

[Kiwi]

I have gotten a couple questions about this hunt through PM's. I figure it is best that I just comment on the post. IMO if I was wanting to go kill a mule deer with a bow especially a mature deer this would not be my hunt of choice. I hunt General OTC in NE Oregon and see way more mature deer that are much more stalkable every day I chose to deer hunt. A buck is easier to find during the summer in the velvet sitting behind glass and much easier to stalk up on when he is alone in the hot sun sleeping or possibly with another buck or two. During the rut the deer hardly hold still for more than a few minutes at a time and are always on edge, the does more so than the bucks, you also have way more eyes watching for you and the animal are way more alert when it is cold. The picture of the big buck was taken through my binoculars and that was the closest I got to him, not because he was spooked and saw me but because the deer were just moving around rutting and the country was too steep to keep up with them on.

In the four days we were there and hunted the buck i shot was the only buck I had within range and he had me pegged before I ever saw him. Opening morning in the general season here in Oregon I made 4 different stalks to within less than 100 yards of several bucks much bigger than this one. That is the only day I even hunted mule deer in Oregon and I hunted them for about 3 hours before continuing elk hunting. The reason this hunt is so appealing to me is because it is an additional opportunity to hunt deer with my bow that doesn't fall in the middle of my Elk Season and it is only 2.5hrs from my house. I know if I put four full days in deer hunting in Sept. I would see way more deer and many more mature bucks than we saw on this hunt, if I didn't elk hunt all of Sept. I would be headed to some of the open country here in Oregon or ID to hunt deer with my spotter.

My point is I will continue to do this hunt because it is another opportunity to hunt for me that doesn't mess with my hunting season here at home, my advice to anyone that is just looking for a good archery mule deer hunt would be to look for a hunt during the summer when the bucks are easy to find and the weather is nicer, I see a lot more deer here in Oregon during the general season while elk hunting than we saw in Idaho. Obviously this hunt is doable and I had a great time, but I have been on much better mule deer hunts and much easier hunts, I think anyone who is coming on their first mule deer hunt or traveling and spending lots of money to do it will be very disappointed with this hunt. If I wanted to plan a dream mule deer hunt it would be an early summer Colorado archery high country hunt and not central ID. I live close and had free lodging in Boise plus I already had a license, I only spent like $150 all together on this hunt which was awesome.

Great info. Thanks!

 

[fishing4sanity]

That's some beautiful terrain you were hunting and congrats to both of you on your bucks. Maxxis, that's about as quick as you can get a buck from field to wall, great job.

 

[duckhunt]

Awsome hunt. Well done

 

[Southern Elk]

Congrats!

 

[havgunwilltravel]

Great write up, well done on your hunt.

 

[Maxxis31]

Nice buck and Great Job!! I noticed the rut seemed earlier this year for sure, i don't think that is typical but this whole year was weird, deer shed their velvet a couple weeks early too here at home? Normally I would still be seeing rutting bucks here at home too, all I have been seeing are 3-4 year old bucks hanging out with does, a few are OK but all of the big bucks split.

I took my first archery deer on this same hunt. I killed mine on Nov. 23rd, At the time we found that the deer weren't hardly rutting at all. In fact if you look at the picture of mine his neck isn't hardly swollen at all. We did see one buck bigger than mine that was rutting extremely hard but none of the others appeared to be rutting very hard. I agree that this is just a good hunt for people who hunt elk all of Sept. and would still like an opportunity for deer. I've been archery hunting for 3 years and hadn't really tried for deer very hard so this was a great first buck for me. Congrats on yours as well!

 

[Maxxis31]

Thanks every one for the positive remarks!!

I always try to boil them out right away before they start to smell, It only takes about 4 hours to get one totally clean. If I ever kill a really nice buck I will probably take it to someone with beetles because I always seem to break the inner nose bones a little with the pressure washer when doing deer.

I tried to soak my first bull and let the bacteria in the water clean it but couldn't handle the smell after a few weeks so I boiled it out. I dry heaved the entire time I was spraying it off, and was covered in stinky rotten flesh when I was done, remembering that is pretty good motivation to get them done quick. Its also nice and relaxing to sit around and watch them boil after getting back from a hunt.

Maxxis, that's about as quick as you can get a buck from field to wall, great job.