Jump to content

Umpqua

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    131

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Umpqua

  2. Posted · Report reply

    The worst hunting mistake I ever made was my decision to save a few bucks in my 20's and not buy a hunting license the very first year the bonus point system started.  Now, at the young age of 59, I've finally caught up and with 33 points, and last year was solidly in the bonus pass for sheep.  The premier desert sheep units are now on my radar.  

    Here's my question.  I'm interested in what is going on in 22S.  There were two hunters in 22S last year and one killed a 167 6/8 ram.  There is not a second ram listed in the harvest report, so it appears that hunter didn't kill.  I know a bit about the ram that was taken and they harvested on day 5 and had trouble finding the class rams that unit has been known for.  The other hunter must have hunted 10 days, since a total of 15 hunting days are shown on the harvest report.  Do any of you now the story of the hunt where a ram wasn't taken?  Did they have any good opportunities?

  4. Posted · Report reply

    2 hours ago, azbirdhunter88 said:

    Agree but I’ve seen some good bulls off the BO

    There are for sure some nice bulls off the BO. :)

    Here in western Oregon, Weyerhaeuser started charging access to hunt on certain properties.  Some guys don't like it because they always got on for free before.  I like it.  Before if fire season was at all a threat you were locked out.  Now with the fee, the gates are open unless fire season is truly a hazard.  Also the fee has limited the number of hunters.  Also since the land is actively managed with clearcuts and new feed that comes with those clearings and reforestation, the place supports a lot of elk.  Public lands around us are now rarely harvested with all the environmentalist hoops the Forest Service has to jump through.

  5. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, yotebuster said:

    Guided or DIY?  If DIY I’d stay away from the late hunts.  If guided I’d do 23 late and hire the ground pounders.  They shoot bulls on the late hunts that are bigger then a vast majority of the rut bulls killed in even the primo units.  I don’t think you’ll be able to draw that rotating 5bs early muzzy but if you think you can I would do that especially if DIY.  Just show up and start sorting through bulls.  Dates will be really good on that hunt.  

    P.S.  If I did a late hunt I would show up 10 days early so I could have some bulls located before the opener.

  7. Posted · Report reply

    27 minutes ago, yotebuster said:

    Guided or DIY?  If DIY I’d stay away from the late hunts.  If guided I’d do 23 late and hire the ground pounders.  They shoot bulls on the late hunts that are bigger then a vast majority of the rut bulls killed in even the primo units.  I don’t think you’ll be able to draw that rotating 5bs early muzzy but if you think you can I would do that especially if DIY.  Just show up and start sorting through bulls.  Dates will be really good on that hunt.  

    Definitely DIY but investing the time to do it well.  On our last AZ elk tag I arrived 9 days early to learn the area a bit.  I've been on some awesome guided hunts but I'm at the point in my life that I prefer the satisfaction of DIY and interacting with my wife on hunt decisions more than the opportunity at 20" or 30" more horn.  There is an exception, if I draw the AZ Strip (I'm in the max point pool), I would almost certainly have a guide involved. :)

  8. Posted · Report reply

    1 minute ago, Flatlander said:

    Depends on what you want. If you want to hunt rutting bulls either of the archery hunts will accomplish that. If you want the biggest possible bulls then 23 late might be the best option. I wouldn’t even entertain 22 South Muzzleloader or Unit 1 late.

    Hunting the rut is such a huge piece.  Though I think I could possibly kill a bigger bull on two of those late tags, but is 20" of horn worth missing out on a rut hunt! Not too sure about that! :)

    • Like 2

  9. Posted · Report reply

    I like to throw these scenarios out as often I get really helpful comments.  As a nonresident with 21 elk points what would you do?  Realize the following:

    * 23N or 23S early archery may never happen due to no nonresident bonus tag.

    * With the newer way nonresident bonus tags are allocated, a quality early rifle tag is still a long wait, probably 10+ years.

    * I am still a few years out for a 9 early archery tag.

     

    Here are my favorite options listed by preference (best to worst).

    * Unit 10 early archery (I will be in the bonus pass.  Perfect moon phase.)

    * Unit 3A/3C early archery (I would definitely draw.  Perfect moon phase.)

    * Unit 3B early muzzleloader (I would likely be in the bonus pass.  Full moon.)

    * Unit 10 muzzleloader, possibly with a friend riding my points (I spent 17 days on it in 2017.  Perfect moon phase.).

    * Unit 23 late rifle (Full moon or it would move up in my picks).

    * Unit 5B muzzleloader (Rut hunt.  Concerned with the very early dates.  Perfect moon phase.)

    * Unit 22S muzzleloader (possibility for a nice bull, mostly average bulls?  Full moon.)

    * Unit 1 late (points to draw both my wife and I.  Full moon.)

  13. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, bigorange said:

    This is a good point...I'd consider Kaibab for her too. Late coues is an awesome hunt, but not sure it's 14 points awesome. :D

    Unfortunately the point game is a much different world for nonresidents. :( It's always a balancing act of what we'd like to draw and what we can draw.  14 points puts her in line for some of the hardest to draw late Coues tags.  :)

    • Like 1

  15. Posted · Report reply

    23 hours ago, jbone said:

    I would suggest 13B first 13A second, both rifle. If you didn't have another hunt in August then I would say 13B archery second choice. 13A should be great this year, the feed is unreal on the strip right now, just got back yesterday.  The Kaibab is always good for feed just not normally as good as this year, the deer on the Kaibab don't get hit with the drought like they do on the strip. Also if the Game and Fish stays consistent with the changes made to the Kaibab it is only going to get better, almost 300 tags cut this year between junior hunts and general hunts. This will help with the age class increasing along with a population boom over the next several years, you will always have some 3 year old 200'"deer but there is a big difference in a 7-8 year old deer and a 3-4 year old. That's the difference on the strip is age class, most mature strip bucks break 40" on mass and it's rare to break 35 on the Kaibab.

    Don't get me wrong the both 12A west and 12B are awesome but unless you are done with the system stick with 13B and 13A, when you are done draw the Kaibab, its only going to get better over the next few years and this moisture will carry over to next year. If we just finish this year in the normal range for moisture next year will be off the charts for the health of these animals. That being said there are some unreal bucks in 12A west right now and some will end up in 12B west and some will be in 12A west. I think 12A west gives you a bit more ground and a little bit less of a rat race than 12B west. 

    Good Luck, 

    Your advice looks very solid compared to what my research is digging up, especially the part about age means mass and the potential improvement to Kaibab age class with the tag cuts.  Time helps that situation.

    Another piece is two days ago we found that my oldest son (29 years old) has a draw number in the top 0.09% for California Bighorn sheep here in Oregon.  Since the odds to draw are about 0.8% for the area he applied, he's in a pretty good spot,  We won't know for sure until after the AZ application window has closed.  That's a big chunk of September and October devoted to that if he were to draw.

    I am leaning slightly to burning my wife's AZ points for a late Coues tag for her.  A few days to make up my mind.

  16. Posted · Report reply

    15 hours ago, yotebuster said:

    I drew that one in Montana last year!  Not complaining!  Draws have been very very good to me over the years, I am just impressed with your point portfolio!!  I got into the game a little late to ever force draw on top tier tags anywhere so I’ve focused on 4th-5th tier type hunts across the west and have gotten pretty lucky along the way!  Good luck with the deer draw.  I think you’ll have a lot of fun either way!

    That is awesome you drew in Montana!

    I started in the early 80s chasing sheep tags and it overflowed into other species.  When preference systems went into effect, I was an early adopter.  My biggest regret hunting was not buying my Arizona hunting license the very first year bonus points went into effect.  I still can't believe that move I made.  Live and learn.

  19. Posted · Report reply

    33 minutes ago, yotebuster said:

    Some people look up to sports stars or political figures.  With those bonus point numbers, you are officially my new hero!!!   I think you’re on to something.  I’ve spent a little time on the kaibab but never on the strip.  I think you can kill every bit as good of a buck on the late kaibab and have a lot more fun doing it.  I think the biggest reason most people kill on average smaller deer in there then the strip is because more people put mega time into a strip hunt because they know they need to.  A second thing is I think most people don’t know the difference/ can’t pass up a high 170’s buck so they run across one a lot quicker on the kaibab then on the strip.  That’s just my uneducated 2 cents

    Ha ha...maybe I'll give you my autograph. ;)

    Is your goat in your profile pic from a draw tag?  Those sure aren't easy to come by.

    I think sifting through a pile of Kaibab bucks would be a very fulfilling hunt.

  20. Posted · Report reply

    Just now, Flatlander said:

    Jim - Good pts and I agree with you. Better to Hunt now than wait for some fairytale that can be undone with any number of factors out of your control.

    As a point of clarification the super point was not proposed by AZGFD, it was simply something they asked for feedback on. I believe the proposal was taken to the Dept by sportsmen groups.

    Good clarification Flatlander!  Thank you.

  21. Posted · Report reply

    Yep, I'm from Oregon.  Just some thoughts.

    Today, I spent a couple hours drafting a letter to my home state of Oregon about a proposed change, that went up on their website yesterday.  They are making a proposal that will basically nullify 22 points that I've built for a top 3 mule deer tag that I should draw in the next few years.  The proposal came out two weeks after the application deadline and indicates it may go into effect next year.  Moves like these that make me super leery on tags where I can draw a great tag now, but may still have a 15 year wait for the best tag.  The 13B rifle tag is in that category.  There is a large backlog of max point applicants and quite a few with one less than max that just need to travel out to Arizona to get their hunter's safety point. 

    Earlier this year AZGFD was proposing a Super Point idea where one point could be bought for one specie.  I have 30 for antelope, 30 for sheep (after this year's draw), max for deer, and 21 for elk.  Which tag would I buy the Super Point for if that happened?  Probably sheep.  I would start falling behind on the other species as other applicants bought Super points for those species.  Proposals like that are devastating when you have nearly 2 to 3 decades and license fees invested in a tag. 

    It was just a few years ago the AZ nonresident tag allocation changed where only 1/2 of the tags could go in the Bonus Pass.  That moved a 13B tag from something in the foreseeable future to double that time.   That's why I'm seriously thinking a Kaibab rut deer hunt (12A or 12B) this year could be a pile of fun! :)

    • Like 1

  23. Posted · Report reply

    10 hours ago, maximus said:

    why don't you call duwane adams i'm sure he will give the right advise.

    I've talked to several outfitters including Duwane.  Some strongly recommend 12A West, some strongly recommend 12B West, and one says it is a toss-up.  Some say nearly all of the bucks that are hunted in 12B West migrate in off the Kaibab, others say nearly all the bucks come off the Paunsagunt if it snows. 

    • Like 1

  24. Posted · Report reply

    14 minutes ago, yotebuster said:

    Do you have one less then max?  I would expect a LOT of guys to have the same idea as you.  I’m assuming you’ll put a strip hunt first choice so I would put whichever is easier as you second.  If you’re two less then max or more I’m thinkin you’ll prob need to draw in the random.  

    I have max.  Even with max, draw odds for 13B should be something like 25 to 1 or 4%.  I should pretty much have my choice of tags on my second choice.

    • Like 1
×