Desert Unit GMU 290 special permit hunt

[Goex2Fwithroundball]

Well I just finished 3 days of hunting in the famed Desert Unit GMU 290. I waited several years to draw this special permit quality buck muzzleloader tag. Only 2 tags for muzzy given each year.
I will be very honest. Hunting this Unit is not what I was expecting. I do not believe this quality buck tag is worthy of the hype. I have seen plenty of sign and heard from many locals to believe there are some very big bucks in there but getting within range with a muzzy this time of year is very difficult. After talking to a few of the archery hunters that just finished their special permit hunts I do not believe any of the 15 tags were filled.
The deer do not leave their beds prior to full dark each evening and they return to their beds prior to daylight. 100% nocturnal. The only way to hunt is to hike through the sage and kick them out of bed. The problem is they do not jump up and bolt until you darn near step on them. They bolt and are instantly out of range of a muzzleloader.
Over the three days I saw around 30 does, 2 small bucks and one 3X3.
I will hunt again next weekend for 3 days then the permit expires.
I believe this Unit would be best hunted during the modern rifle special permit season that happens during the rut. The archery and muzzy hunters have a very difficult task trying to locate and get in range of a quality buck.
I want to give a shout out to a few members who shared a lot of information about hunting this Unit. I am now very familiar with the area.

bear hunter
niceshot
snowshark

Thank you guys very much!

[Timberstalker]

I wish I would've drawn your tag. Sorry it left a bad taste in your mouth.

[outdooraddict]

Exact same story my friend said last year when he hunted with muzzeloader with a incentive tag, and then went with a rifle and said it is a totally different unit with a rifle. The deer arent as nocturnal, but when he was in there with a muzzle loader he had the same opinion.  He actually told me a quality muzzy or archery tag in there is a waste of points, in his opinion. Im sure others might disagree

[splitshot]

  I totally agree.  why cant they have the muzzy hunt the same time as the late rifle tag.  the bucks are rutting and there are too many bucks.  mike w

[sled]

Sounds like a scouting issue?  I bet they bed in the same places.  Maybe some scouting and you could find the bedding spots?

[mfswallace]

Not bashing but If your not using every hour of everyday of this tag you got nothing to complain about

That includes the last month or so for scouting, I have seen plenty in first few hours or last hour of light...

GL and get out there!! U will connect if u keep at it!!

[bear hunter]

It is a hard hunt. Long shots but yes you must walk alot. I have found the rabbit destress call gets the deer to stand up in the sage or come out of the brush some times. Man I wish I could help more. 
If I had more time I would draw you a map of trails. I have seen bucks use daily. It is to hard to explain over the phone the unit is big. Hope you fill your tag next weekend.

[Mfowl]

I quit applying for this hunt in ML since they added the early archery season. It was hard enough odds to draw, now throw 15 tags and 5 weeks of hunting right before the ML season starts, no thanks. With only 2 ML tags atleast there used to be first crack. Good luck, hope you score!

[257 Wby Mag]

I know 2 of the archery tags were filled, 1 was a dandy. Keep at it.

[predatorpro]

Horrible tag to get drawn for! I would reccomend that no one ever puts in for that unit ever again...

[MerriamMagician]

I'm pretty familiar with the desert unit. I live 30 minutes away and drew a rifle tag in 2006. Shot a 140-160 class or so buck. I should have held out longer, but I was still a teen at the time and had run out of patience after hunting 9 straight days. Every year since then I go out with my camera in November to take pictures of the bucks. I typically see 30-50 bucks a day when I do this and usually see several dandies. Any other time of year is extremely tough to find big bucks out there. Here's why: As mentioned by others, the deer are extremely nocturnal until the rut kicks in. The bigger problem however, is that because this unit is basically flat and very hot in the summer the majority of the deer hole up in the thick, nasty cover near the water sources. Russian olive, cattails, and willows are the main types of thick cover and they are all about impossible to glass into or hunt efficiently. The deer hang in this stuff most of the year. The combination of colder weather, the rut, and all the duck hunting activity is what pushes the deer out and into the more open areas of sage, shrub, and griesewood. From what I know and have seen of this unit, the only tags that are actually of any real quality are the modern tags in November. Even the late archery tags arnt all that great as it seems that the rut drastically slows down in this particular unit about the time the late archery season opens.
Everything I have said here is from my own personal experience out there, some may agree or disagree. The only tag I would ever consider as a quality tag for this unit is the modern tags in early and mid November. 

[Badhabit]

Off topic, did you see any feral pigs while you were out? Take a boat ride up the Lind Coulee from M Rd. right at daylight. I've seen some dandy's along the steep banks and they don't run to far to the thick stuff and hole up. That's if Lind Coulee is in you unit.

[bear hunter]

 

Horrible tag to get drawn for! I would reccomend that no one ever puts in for that unit ever again...

[eastsidemallard74]

I hunt the lake for duck and always see a ton of big S.O.B.'S I always say I'm going to put in for it,but miss it.