advice from the pros

[dino]

Im looking for some mature muley hunting advice from the pros on here. Please dont reply if your one of the guys like me that shoot only 150'' bucks and nothing over that. I have read that some late season large bucks that dont go into the rut stay up high as long as possible,before the snow pushes them down. Is there any truth to that ?

[Chuck]

I don't know if this will help you, but I'll tell you anyway.

Once when I was a teenager I was hunting mulies with a well known mulie hunter. The season was late, in December I recall, back in the early 60's. We fought our way up a narrow valley, scanning the openings on our adjacent hillside. Snow depth was over our knees and powdery. I made every effort to use the bush to pull me along, and I was behind him - not having fun at all. I carried no gun.

Suddenly, we spotted a string of about seven or eight monster bucks working their way across the hillside, going in single file toward the larger valley. The snow was to their chests and they would stop frequently. They did not seem concerned that we were only a couple hundred yards distant. We had to get closer, he told me, so we swung to face them and the miserable climb ahead of us.
When we had closed the distance to his satisfaction, he rested his .270 against a small tree limb and dropped one of the smaller bucks. The remainder hastened their pace and were soon out of sight.

When I questioned him as to why he took a smaller buck, he replied that it was for eating and not for looking at. And why they were travelling along like that? He said that they were migrating out of the deep snow area to the more wind swept ridges of the main valley. That made sense to me and as the snow was deep everywhere, coming down offered no benefit. Does this story suggest that snow is of little concern until conditions become severe for these bucks? I think so. We saw NO does or signs of them. Possibly post rut I think.

[Elkhound]

LOL.....I like small bucks. When you have to pack them forever...the smaller the better.:wink:

[dana]

Dino,
Yes it is true. Epecially occurs in V-shaped valleys, where from the alpine to the valley bottom is only a short jaunt (swim in powder). There are some big ol' bucks that will stay up high as long as they can. If the snow conditions are right, they can spend all winter up high. Hard pack snow eating the tops of the balsam and eating other veg in tree wells. Many old mature bucks learn that the herd can actually be a detriment to them. Where are the predators? Where the herd is. Stay well away from the herd and you don't have to deal with predators.

[dino]

Dino,
Yes it is true. Epecially occurs in V-shaped valleys, where from the alpine to the valley bottom is only a short jaunt (swim in powder). There are some big ol' bucks that will stay up high as long as they can. If the snow conditions are right, they can spend all winter up high. Hard pack snow eating the tops of the balsam and eating other veg in tree wells. Many old mature bucks learn that the herd can actually be a detriment to them. Where are the predators? Where the herd is. Stay well away from the herd and you don't have to deal with predators.

Dana I have a spot like that near my cabin. I tried for the first time last year to see if I would see anything up that high and in snow that deep. I saw a bunch of does one small buck and a little 4 point that I shot. I actually had to use my sled to get there and hike with snowshoes on which was so exhausting I really couldn't walk very far. I have high hopes for this mountain but none of my trailcams have ever taken any pics of anything mature. How would I know If the mountain even holds any mature deer?

[dana]

The misery slippers take a while to get used too. After 6 months of daily use, you become a master. ;)

Preseason scouting in the summer would tell ya if there are mature bucks there or not.

[frenchbar]

I think it varies a bit with different ranges ..some of the bigger bucks will stay up top till or near end of season ...i know of spots that are breeding grounds around 6500 ft that the bucks are sticking around with the does till late nov early dec. it also dont take long once your up high late season to figure out if theres game or not.

[dino]

dana the summer prescout I have done and when I wasnt scouting, my cams were in motion, lots of little guys but nothing big. I am not ready to give up yet on that mountain but this might be my last year trying. There is so much other area to check out and so little time. Thanks for your help.
frenchbar the mountain Im pushing is about 6500-7000 feet high and no alpine just rocky bluffs, ridges and lots of thick timber above a bunch of old cutblocks. The area is as dana explained, a v shaped valley that climbs steep to the mountain top that the animals can easily migrate down to the valley bottom in just a couple of hours or less. I hunt it usually the last couple of days of the nov 10 season closure . There is lots of anmals there and I really mean lots but no big guys. thanks for your help to bud.

[frenchbar]

dana the summer prescout I have done and when I wasnt scouting, my cams were in motion, lots of little guys but nothing big. I am not ready to give up yet on that mountain but this might be my last year trying. There is so much other area to check out and so little time. Thanks for your help.
frenchbar the mountain Im pushing is about 6500-7000 feet high and no alpine just rocky bluffs, ridges and lots of thick timber above a bunch of old cutblocks. The area is as dana explained, a v shaped valley that climbs steep to the mountain top that the animals can easily migrate down to the valley bottom in just a couple of hours or less. I hunt it usually the last couple of days of the nov 10 season closure . There is lots of anmals there and I really mean lots but no big guys. thanks for your help to bud.

the 6500 -7000 ft rocky bluff and ridges and small grassy pockets hidden from the wind will be your freind:-D late season.

[Salty]

Only the pros? lol. OK. The biggest bucks are in the ditch. Right around the next corner so make sure your coffee is in the cup holder at all times :cool:

[dana]

Dino,
If you have fresh snow, cover the area looking for hawg tracks. A hawg track is something you can drop a 300 win shell in and still not touch the ends. If that shell fits both length ways and width ways, you have a definate hawg. That is when you then start to dog it. One will never know what kind of headgear that track will lead too, but it is very safe to say he'll be mature.
Best place to find those kind of tracks is to look where Frenchbar said.

[frenchbar]

Only the pros? lol. OK. The biggest bucks are in the ditch. Right around the next corner so make sure your coffee is in the cup holder at all times :cool:
theres another thread for advice from pains in the ass somewhere ..gotta be:wink: not a pro ..but a wore out veteran lol..play a tune island boy:-D

[Salty]

Island boy's only been here for 20 years buckwheat I come from the interior :wink:

[dino]

Island boy's only been here for 20 years buckwheat I come from the interior :wink:

I spent 30 years on that island until I got voted off.LOL I could never get the mentality over there, its like being stuck in grade 11. the best move I ever made was getting off that rock. When I said pros it was directed at guys like the ones that replied to this thread, if your one then give me your two cents maybe I can learn something from you.

[BCrams]

Im looking for some mature muley hunting advice from the pros on here. Please dont reply if your one of the guys like me that shoot only 150'' bucks and nothing over that. I have read that some late season large bucks that dont go into the rut stay up high as long as possible,before the snow pushes them down. Is there any truth to that ?

better believe it


a guy i knew doing some early season backcountry skiing came upon a big buck pushing chest deep snow at the edge of the alpine
I chased and tracked a huge typical in Reg 5 at over 5000 feet and into the alpine the last week of November. Many bucks were up high in thigh deep snow while everyone was hunting the snow free sage brush.
I tracked a huge non-typical at high elevation in the rhodo one mid November.
a friend flying a helicopter told me he saw a bunch of bucks one day in November with bucks in the sub alpine scrub pushing chest deep snow
sometimes the biggest bucks don't show up down low until January / February when the snows finally push them down

[Bistchen]

Frenchbar, Dino, and Dana. I am heading out on a solo Alpine hunt for a possible 4 point and or Black bear tomorrow. This thread has pumped me up so much, I dont think I will be able to fall asleep now. Thanks for your knowledge. I went scouting a few weeks ago, and saw nothing, so this thread has given me hope again. Thanks for the advice too ! I may owe you guys one~

[frenchbar]

Frenchbar, Dino, and Dana. I am heading out on a solo Alpine hunt for a possible 4 point and or Black bear tomorrow. This thread has pumped me up so much, I dont think I will be able to fall asleep now. Thanks for your knowledge. I went scouting a few weeks ago, and saw nothing, so this thread has given me hope again. Thanks for the advice too ! I may owe you guys one~

Always go with a lot of confidence:-D in yourself ..it helps ..lots of bears out ..glassed a sow and a cub up yesterday at about 6000 ft just below the alpine.. with the weather clearing a bit after todays snow and rain ...u should do ok ..good luck .

[dana]

The weather has been brutal here the last couple of days. I was workin pretty low today and was getting snowed on. Being in the highcountry in weather like that can be life and death if not prepared. Bring some good rain gear and warm clothes and be safe. If you have a break in the weather the hunting could get really good. The bucks that summered up high will have hunkered down for the last couple of days and will be lookin at feeding hard once a clear trend comes in. Focus on the subalpine zones as they would have been riding out the storms in the timber.

[Bistchen]

Thanks again, Dana. I am bringing the appropriate gear for all season hunting. I Will be sure to focus on the bottom of the V-shaped valley in the sub-alpine.

[Jagermeister]

Dana said, "..........Bring some good rain gear and warm clothes and be safe. .........".
And I say, put them on before you get wet and cold. Once you're cold, you are cold and it is a monumental task to get warm again. Being wet will get you to hypothemia in very short order.

[swampthing]

The book "mule deer" talks about this. Some bucks dont participate in the rut for some reason. Valerius said somthing about this being a survival method of the species. I might have to dust off that book and re-read it.