Eastern watershed muley

[bradslam]

The bucks up there don't come out. It's almost like they're a different type of mule deer as they act differently than mule deer do in almost all other areas.

I had heard that and it turned out to definitely be true.  I wasn't just sitting around glassing open areas all day.  Most of my time ended up being spent hunting the timber.  I even threw rocks into brushy draws to spook them out.  Just hardly any deer.  A lot of the tracks came out of the Wenaha during the night and back in before daylight.  The deer that stayed in the Watershed were like a needle in a haystack.  If the hunt had occurred later in the month it probably would have been better due to the bucks starting to move.

[wreckerman5357]

I was wondering why they even offered tags in the shed. It seemed odd to me.

All the new late mule deer permits in the Blues last year changed to mule deer or whitetail this year. Maybe not all of them but most of them. I can't remember for sure and don't have the reg's handy but  it won't surprise me at all if most of those tags are notched with whitetails this year. On my Tucannon muley hunt last year it was crawling with whitetails...and nice ones too, but very few mule deer bucks.

I would agree on the lack of muley bucks up Tucannon. Last year we saw three or four during our hunt up on Patit. This year during scouting we have seen three. One big fork horn at the top of Hartsock by the power station and two across the road from our hunting ground on Patit, we are right next to Kelly Allen, just down from where Patit meets Maloney. Lots of whitetails on the stuff we have permission for though.

[firecrotch]

I spent several days with one of the hunters which tagged out on the second to last day. It was a tough hunt for everyone with a tag. As many people know that have spent some time chasing mulies in the Blues, the deer don't show themselves much till they work their way into pre-rut. We were lucky enough to find a lot of deer the last couple of days of the hunt including a buck that was a true monster. He ended up with a buck on his birthday at last light. It was a nice 3x3 with eye guards. Anyone looking to apply for the tag should be prepared that its a tough hunt. It will all come down to the weather, and how much you did your homework before the hunt. It is NOT a hunt you can just drop in 2 days before the season and hope to locate deer. It is definitely a quality hunt permit but you have to consider it will be a major mentally and physically demanding hunt.

[bradslam]

"It is definitely a quality hunt permit but you have to consider it will be a major mentally and physically demanding hunt."

I'm going to have to disagree with you on that statement.  Yes, there was a chance to take a quality buck, but it was in no way, shape, or form a "quality hunt."  Even after Dan shot his three-point, he said the same thing.  I've had the Desert and late Pearrygin tags before, so I know what a real quality hunt is like.  I love a challenge and don't mind tough, rugged hunts; in fact, I hunt rougher country in Wyoming, but someone with a quality permit should be able to pass up multiple bucks.  I'm glad they gave the opportunity to hunt deer in the Watershed, but I think they should have made it a "Buck Deer Permit" initially to see how it goes.  They could probably do some other things like tweaking the season or making it longer to give the option of choosing when you want to hunt based on factors like weather or pre-rut.  With only five permits, what difference would it have made if the season ran for the entire month of October?

[CoryTDF]

I live here in Walla Walla and I know i would not put in for that tag. I never put in for the watershed elk because I archery hunt and I'm not going to go in there with the rifle guys and try to compete with that. I have seen some HUGE bucks near or glassed them inside the watershed but they are few and far between and honestly.... it's hard for me to motivate myself to go into that hell hole without the promise of at least seeing lots of deer. Not saying I will never put in for it but I think there are better tags to use my points on.