Free: Contests & Raffles.
Pray for snow, get chains front and back, cover some territory, and shoot the first 170+ buck you see.
Scout on the 9th and 10th, take vacation and hunt hard the 15th-20th, shoot the first deer that has the "WOW" factor for youI would disagree on "Scouting" the 10th of November. The rut is in full tilt and breeding is happening by this date so needless to say the "Big Boys" will be on same hillsides as the does and very visible.
Quote from: Rainier10 on October 17, 2013, 01:17:21 PMScout on the 9th and 10th, take vacation and hunt hard the 15th-20th, shoot the first deer that has the "WOW" factor for youI would disagree on "Scouting" the 10th of November. The rut is in full tilt and breeding is happening by this date so needless to say the "Big Boys" will be on same hillsides as the does and very visible.So what week would you hunt? I was thinking most people only have a week to take off so get the feel for what is out there on the 9th and 10th and hunt it hard later in the season. We have always seen more and bigger deer towards the end of the season as the weather pushes them down. And if he sees one with the "wow" during that first weekend of scouting go ahead and shoot it.
Quote from: HighCountry10 on October 17, 2013, 02:00:31 PMQuote from: Rainier10 on October 17, 2013, 01:17:21 PMScout on the 9th and 10th, take vacation and hunt hard the 15th-20th, shoot the first deer that has the "WOW" factor for youI would disagree on "Scouting" the 10th of November. The rut is in full tilt and breeding is happening by this date so needless to say the "Big Boys" will be on same hillsides as the does and very visible.So what week would you hunt? I was thinking most people only have a week to take off so get the feel for what is out there on the 9th and 10th and hunt it hard later in the season. We have always seen more and bigger deer towards the end of the season as the weather pushes them down. And if he sees one with the "wow" during that first weekend of scouting go ahead and shoot it.I see what you mean. I have only had the late permit once and all the research I did asking past hunters and phone conversations with Beau Patterson (biologist) pointed toward the 10th-17th being the hottest part of the rut. I personally had success scouting from the 1st-9th locating groups of does and young bucks knowing the mature bucks were waiting in the wings for the actual breeding to start. Patterson talked about personally seeing does standing for bucks on the 10th consistently year to year. This plan worked well for me as I was able to take a 187" buck on the 11th. Either way, this hunt is full of potential if the hunter has the ability to pass on younger bucks with good genetics.
I'd hunt the 1st to the 20th with that tag !