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JakeL

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Posts posted by JakeL

  3. Posted · Report reply

    I'll be in a situation very similar to yours this winter. I'll be doing my first solo hunt, and it will be my first time actually holding the tag. I've found a few online resources for showing how to take care of game after the kill. I'll post them up here. But since I want to keep things simple, and its my first time without somebody helping, I have come up with the following game plan.

     

    First I'll kill an enormous Muley about .5-2 miles from my car (not truck...). I'll take a couple photos, and then get to work field dressing him. I'm planning on trying the gutless method, since I'll have to quarter him anyways to get him back to my car (no buddy to drag with, so 2 miles of dragging ain't happening). I'll get him all dressed out and the meat I can't carry hung in bags on a nearby tree, marked in my GPS, mind, and with Toilet Paper flags. Then I'll take him in 2-3 loads back to the cooler and ice packs waiting in my trunk.

     

    After that I'll be processing him myself. I've assisted others in this, and figure I've got to learn sometime, why not on my 1st? Between my prior experiences tagging along on hunts when I was younger, and google, I should be able to do at least a passable job on my own. I may learn a few things the hard way, but I'm planning as much as possible to minimize any stupid mistakes. Worst case scenario, I call one of my more knowledgable buddys to come bail be out of any tough spots I work myself into. But it can't be that hard right? (famous last words... :rolleyes: )

     

    Here's some of the resources I've found.

     

    http://rule-303.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-to-process-your-own-deer.html

     

    http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2067691/How_to_Process_Your_Own_Veniso

     

    Hope those links work. I'm no expert, but hopefully I'm smart enough to get the job done. Just have a can-do attitude.

  4. Posted · Report reply

    I'm busy scouting out area for my first real desert muley hunt this december. I'll be hunting one of the OTC desert units and I am trying to get a good lay of the land, as well as try to find where the deer hang out.

     

    My question is what time of year do the does begin to herd up? And when do the bachelor herds generally break up? I am correct to assume that these desert bucks wont be in with the does until the rut kicks in right? Will they remain in the bachelor herds up till then?

     

    I guess another related question I could ask that may be even more helpful would be if you guys know of any good literature on the subject of desert mule deer, hunting them and their biology/behavior. Most of the stuff I've found deals mostly with deer at higher latitudes, and simply makes mention of some desert muleys existing.

     

    Thanks for all the info guys.

  8. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks for those excellent pics BOHUNTR. That macro of the buckbrush is especially good. Have you guys noticed any pattern to finding areas these plants tend to grow thicker? As in, partially shaded north slopes, or more open clearings, steep canyon bottoms, etc. Or is it more just random?

     

    I'm learning more in this one thread than in years of hunting and reading hunting material. Keep it coming.

  12. Posted · Report reply

    I have (very) little experience hunting the Kaibab plateau during August. I have had less success... I am wondering how most of you hunt the plateau during the archery hunt. I've found that spot and stalk is somewhat difficult with most of the areas being wooded. Still hunting slowly is also quite hard, because its hard to cover reasonable amounts of ground while being quiet in the peak of the dry august heat. Heck, still hunting is hard anywhere, its just a challenging way to hunt, period. I don't hunt from treestands. And blinds near water often result in more hunter confrontation than hunting, so its not dependable. Its a challenging but rewarding area to hunt. I'm just curious what strategies you guys use to maximize your effectiveness in the kaibab archery hunts.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    Well its public land, just inside the border of a national forest. So I know it could technically be considered littering and removed. But I wouldn't want to do that if the person really does use the blind. I'll keep an eye on it, and perhaps leave a note if its still there this fall. Its on a travel corridor, which I hope to spot and stalk hunt. So it may not be much of an issue.

  14. Posted · Report reply

    I've been scouting a desert area for hunting this coming fall. Its public land, with no roads nearby. Today I found a great little (very little) canyon, and smack dab in the middle of it was a pop-up blind. It has been sitting there for at least a month by the look of it (could have been much more for all I know), with no signs of people coming or going. I sort of doubt it gets used much, if at all.

     

    Heres my problem. I don't want to just assume its empty all the time, because one of these days there may be somebody in there and I don't want to find that out once I've hiked through the area they're hunting. But I can't just make the area off limits because somebody left their blind in the middle of it and might use it 5 days in a year.

     

    What practical ways do you guys all deal with this? This is the first time I've encountered this sort of thing in this neck of the woods. Usually, forest service removes these. But I am pretty confident it will be a long time before anyone with authority (govt or owner) removes the blind.

  15. Posted · Report reply

    Hey Everyone,

     

    I have been lingering around the forum pages for a while, and figured I better finally jump into the waters.

     

    A bit about me, I'm a college student, and getting married in June. So life's busy, and wonderful. I mostly hunt quail and dove in the desert around the Valley. With occasion stalking of muleys down in the cactus. My real experience in muleys is in central Utah. I've been running around those mountains with a bow since before I can remember. Seriously. I had a fiberglass bow with what must have been a <10 lb pull, and my Grampa's old Easton aluminums. I'd chase squirrels and chipmunks, or when we were recovering deer I'd take the lead point with my trusty weapon ready, in case the deer wasn't quite dead. (I never had to finish one off with my toy bow...).

     

    As life would have it, I haven't ever been able to connect drawing a tag, school scheduling, and successful stalks together into my own bow killed deer. (A few lost bets have had me gutting my smug buddy's deer though...)

     

    So this year I have some pretty serious goals for my archery season. I am planning and preparing to take a high country buck from central Utah in August-September. Then I hope to stalk rutting desert bucks in december somewhere a little closer to my home in the Valley. My fingers are crossed, and my back is already getting sweaty making these goals happen. I'm glad to be part of this sweet forum.

     

    Jake

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