Second deer permit in the desert advice

[trophyhunt]

My dad also drew a second deer doe permit for the desert unit this dec 12-27th, he will be using a rifle.  He can't hike much or up hills, I'm worried about his ability to hike in the sand.  Anyone willing to give a good access point for a disabled hunter or possibly a name and number for private land that would welcome him?  Appreciate any help. 

[OltHunter]

Had that one a few years back.  PM'd my top spot that is not very hilly and seems to hold deer consistently.

[trophyhunt]

Got it, thank you!!

[Pegasus]

My dad also drew a second deer doe permit for the desert unit this dec 12-27th, he will be using a rifle.  He can't hike much or up hills, I'm worried about his ability to hike in the sand.  Anyone willing to give a good access point for a disabled hunter or possibly a name and number for private land that would welcome him?  Appreciate any help.

If he is just shooting a doe I would just go into the Pothole area on Road "C" SE. Just driving in you will probably spot deer. It is sandy for most of it but pretty flat. Sometimes a deer trail makes it easier to traverse. Anywhere you go in there you will probably see deer. He will have some company with the duck and goose hunters that will also be in there.

[Todd6117]

South from I-90 on Dodson road to Road 4 SW.  Then head east.  There is public land on the north side that has roads that you can get to high points on and look around. Not as sandy and I have always seen does in there.

[trophyhunt]

Thanks to all you guys, and the PM’s, appreciate all the info!

[trophyhunt]

Thanks again for the advice, heading out Saturday.  One last question, I don’t buy discover passes, just believe it’s BS.  So, should I expect a ticket or do you not need one??

[Ridgeratt]

Roll the dice 🎲
You are the one responsible for your choice.

[bobcat]

You don't need a Discover pass on a WDFW wildlife area. That's what your WDFW pass is for, the one you got for free with your hunting license.

[trophyhunt]

Thanks bobcat, wasn’t sure which public land we would be hunting on. 

[jstone]

I have never bought one. I am year’s ahead of I ever get a ticket

[Sandberm]

I'm curious what you see out in the Desert as far as deer numbers. I just spent parts of 12 days in a neighboring unit trying to arrow a deer only to see ONE buck, a 2x2. I averaged seeing maybe 6-7 does/day with a high of 13 one day. That's abysmal numbers and I am curious what the deer population throughout the basin looks like.

Saw, but did not talk to the game warden 3 times.

[Onewhohikes]

You might try a public records request of the helicopter survey results that WDFW does in the area after the seasons are over.

[vandeman17]

I duck hunt around the unit and though I don't physically see a lot of deer, I have been seeing way more tracks than years past. Hiking in the dark, then coming out late morning with my head down just trucking along doesn't help me spot many deer. 

[trophyhunt]

I'll let you know what we see after we are done. 

[bigdub257]

In my experience, those deer are super spooky.  If they see you physically skylined or walking they will run a long ways!

[trophyhunt]

Yup, pretty spooky!  We saw about 5 small bucks today and a herd of about 17 does.  My dad has hunted archery for about the past 40 years, not much shooting a rifle.  Soooo, he did miss a doe today but it was at 425 yards and all he could see was the head and neck.  We figured what the heck, a clean miss or dead as heck. Cool ground, pretty easy hiking. The desert is a strange unit w pockets of public, checker boarded with private, doesn’t seem that big of a unit.  Came home tonight, I have Friday off so we will go back then.  Thanks again for the tips and PM’s

[ThurstonCokid]

Yup, pretty spooky!  We saw about 5 small bucks today and a herd of about 17 does.  My dad has hunted archery for about the past 40 years, not much shooting a rifle.  Soooo, he did miss a doe today but it was at 425 yards and all he could see was the head and neck.  We figured what the heck, a clean miss or dead as heck. Cool ground, pretty easy hiking. The desert is a strange unit w pockets of public, checker boarded with private, doesn’t seem that big of a unit.  Came home tonight, I have Friday off so we will go back then.  Thanks again for the tips and PM’s

Sounds like you guys have it figured out! I sent you a PM. Hope all goes well


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[trophyhunt]

Thanks kid, appreciate it!

[trophyhunt]

Wrap up, spooky deer, checkerboard unit, very easy hiking, deer can hide just about anywhere!  We hunted two full days, first day saw about 21 deer, 5 of which were small bucks. Today we saw 7 does with 2 small bucks in the AM, just couldn’t get close enough without being spotted. Drove to some new ground for the afternoon hunt and saw 2 does, wasn’t sure if we were on public land so didn’t shoot, ends up we were on public. Oh well.  So we ended up going back to the place that was recommended by two different people, the place where we kept seeing deer for the evening hunt. Well, going down the road heading to our last spot for the last 45 min of light, I see about 7-8 deer out in the sage.  My dad just wanted to be done hunting, been a long, successful season and he was tired, he told me to shoot. So he didn’t get to shoot his deer but he was all smiles!  Hugs and high 5’s! Thanks to all the PM’s and advice, you guys are great!  Not sure if all the big bucks get shot but didn’t see a single 3 point or better, but, lots of places to hide!  Tired, thanks again for the help.

[deerlick]

Congratulations

[Twispriver]

You spent time together, explored new ground, found game and got meat - sounds like a good hunt to me    Congratulations

[bigdub257]

Great job!  That hunt can be a little trickier than one might expect. 

[ThurstonCokid]

Sounds like you guys had fun regardless. And seeing animals is a plus! Memories with dad that’ll last forever. Thanks for sharing!


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[Sandberm]

Thanks for the report and your not seeing any 3 point bucks goes with what I saw in the neighboring unit.

Poaching? Two hard winters since 2015?

[trophyhunt]

Great job!  That hunt can be a little trickier than one might expect.

you are not kidding!  I seriously thought we would be done 10 minutes into opening morning! I should know better than that by now at my age, lol.  Those deer are on high alert! The season goes till the 27th, I wonder if any bucks are shot because they dropped their antlers??  I’ve taken a buck before w my bow thinking it was a doe, it had dropped already and it was dec 30th.  Seems the deadline is getting pretty close to drop season.  You guys that know those deer in that area, do they drop later? I know each deer is different, just curious

[trophyhunt]

My pops and me

[trophyhunt]

.

[blindluck]

Great job!  That hunt can be a little trickier than one might expect.

you are not kidding!  I seriously thought we would be done 10 minutes into opening morning! I should know better than that by now at my age, lol.  Those deer are on high alert! The season goes till the 27th, I wonder if any bucks are shot because they dropped their antlers??  I’ve taken a buck before w my bow thinking it was a doe, it had dropped already and it was dec 30th.  Seems the deadline is getting pretty close to drop season.  You guys that know those deer in that area, do they drop later? I know each deer is different, just curious

I’ve seen them still packing in mid April out there

[Fletch]

  if not later

[highbuckklr]

Good Year for you and your dad - Congrats Buddy.

[trophyhunt]

Good Year for you and your dad - Congrats Buddy.

thank you!  Yeah, 2020 has been a great year for sure.