MU 5-2 question

[Lone Ranger]

Have a quick question regarding MU 5-2 and mule deer hunting. The regs list MU 5-1 to 5-15 as any buck Oct 1-31, 4 pt (with the possibility of it going any buck) Nov 1-10, then nothing listed until Nov 21-30.

My question is, does that mean there's no mule deer hunting from Nov 11-20 [I assume so]? We have Nov 9-16th booked off for the hunt because thats the only real time I can get off work this fall. WT any bucks are open as are black bear so there's enough to keep us looking, but the preference is mulie. BTW, are there even any decent amount of WT up around there? One of our guys is coming out from AB (lifelong BC resident but moved up for a few years for work and had to give up his residency because of it) so we have to fill out the paperwork for the accompany to hunt permit for him, and consequently choose which 3 MUs we want to hunt. Just want to clarify this so that we're not doing anything wrong. We might working something further south in region 3 but 5 has become the topic of conversation this year.

Hunting for us is merely for the enjoyment of being out there but it does suck heading home empty handed, so we're trying to find something to keep us busy and happy. Thanks

[shallowH2O]

yes there is no open season on mule deer from nov 11 to nov20

[fireguy]

You are correct about no mulie hunting from Nov 11-20, thats the only question I can answer for you as I don't have any knowledge of the area.

[Lone Ranger]

No worries, thank you for the responses. WT hunting is fine but mulie is my preferred choice, oh well but if I'm quick setting up I can at least get out for one day and still hunt mulies... only thing that sucks about that is that I MUCH prefer to scout for at least a couple days and then shoot one.

I've always wanted to shoot this area since I've hauled through the area so much. If nothing else, it's always a darn good excuse to sit back in some awesome country and drink some brews in the cabin wall tent. LR

[srupp]

lots of bears, some whitetail..but not as many a mule deer..

Steven

Williams;lake region2

[Lone Ranger]

Thats what I figured. Got talking to my roommate, who's always a good hunting buddy, and we're planning on a scouting run in the next month to check the area out.

Steven, would you mind if we bought you a beer (or three!) and picked your brain about the area some time? Cheers

[LYKTOHUNT]

What part of 5-2 are you thinking of

[Lone Ranger]

Not 100% sure yet, its still in the works. I threw an email off to the bossman asking for Nov. 21-25th instead [which actually means 8 days to hunt too and 1.5 days to do the rest]. They're great guys I work for and November's slow for us, I just can't really afford a whole more time off work though right now. Thats 4 pt mule deer time too which makes me MUCH happier, plus its a little later in the season cause the end of October was too warm and a bust for us last year.

Like I said, I've been through the area lots for work but I've never hunted the area before. We're looking for a quiet area thats not flooded with other hunters. We did a WT hunt through Christian Valley last year and it was downright annoying tripping over guys (and we were hiking a lot, oddly enough the road hunting was the quietest). Gang Ranch/Empire Valley was suggested and I started getting the nervous twitches! No way.. We're not asking for any honey holes for sure, just some quiet FSRs to start looking at where we don't have to worry about tripping over road hunters or idiots shooting at anything that moves [I know that can happen anywhere, but quiet equals less chance of being shot at!].

Thanks for the help. We're a quiet bunch who like doing our own thing, and it just doesn't interest me to be tripping all over other hunters if it can be helped. LR

[XPEIer]

why 5-2, do you have a reason to hit that zone for that specific time, region 3 is only 45 minutes further South and IS open during November 11-21?

[Lone Ranger]

Good question. We're coming up out of the FV too and we traditionally hunt region 3 and 8, but we've decided to spread our wings a bit and are hoping to find some quieter country to hunt as 3 tends to get a little crazy at times. Besides, a later November hunt will be nice. LR

[XPEIer]

Lone Rngr, ok you just want to hunt region 5, sounds good. Finding quieter country is a subjective term, what you think is quiet I may think is nuts. I can tell you this, there are road hunters everywhere and if you are not joining them be prepared to get well off the beaten track. Directing you to one spot in 5-2 is tough as it is a big zone. I think anywhere you go will be a pretty good bet, BUT, there is still quite a bit of private property in many of the valleys, so you may want to do some homework there. Shoot me a pm and I can direct you to a few general areas.

xpeier

[LYKTOHUNT]

Seeing as you are not sure about what area 5-2 you are going,all I can offer is my experience in the area east of Quesnel. I have hunted that area for many years for deer and moose and have enjoyed great success on both animals ,however in the last 5 years the mule deer hunting has been very poor, I believe that the amount of wolves is the biggest reason for poor deer numbers as well as heavy logging in the efforts to salvage as much beetle kill wood as possible has forced them (the ones that are left after the wolves have finished with them) to change there location and habits
The whitetail have been increasing but I would not say they are plentifull, bears are pretty common as well as some grizz.
As far as other hunters are concerned, I dont think you will be bothered by too many. of course there is always some, but not like I experienced near Tunkwa Lake, where we decided to try last year, There was lots of people there but we still had a good time and if you get off the roads into the bush it is all good.