muley question

[fillthefreezer]

so after hunting this weekend i found lots of deer, 43 to be exact in about 10 hours total hunting, but i only saw 1 small 2 point, no shooter bucks. i put in a bout 10.5 miles on the boots and was inside 100 yds on does on many occasions, where can i find the bucks!?

[fillthefreezer]

i realize that, still too early in the year, mostly wondering where they would be, im obviously in an area that has a healthy deer population...

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

I can help find the bucks if you let me know where the does are located.

[fillthefreezer]

lincoln county, wa

[fillthefreezer]

no sagely advice?

[TopOfTheFoodChain]

Full moon, clear nights, they're bedded down before sunup most likely. They are in the thickest brush holes you can find and won't come out unless you almost step on them. Many times I've been close enough to spit on a buck but didn't see it until it tried to run me over making it's escape!    Some of the smaller legal bucks might be dumb enough to be bedded in holes under brush more in the open.

Go get down in those steep nasty holes, I'll be on the ridge above you waiting..... 

[fillthefreezer]

its flat country for the most part with the highest points only like 20-30ft above the rest. lots of pine and sage, not alot of the areas everyone talks about big bucks hiding. lots of rock and sage and pine, thats what the area consists of...

[TopOfTheFoodChain]

I said brush- I meant sage. I hunt mostly the same type of areas, except no pine trees, only sage. I'm guessing they're bedded on small hills/draws that face west in the morning, bedded under sage brush in their hidey-holes in the shade that they like so much.

If you're still not seeing them, maybe wolves chased them away, or too much pressure moved them out, or poachers shot them. 

Good luck.

[CAMPMEAT]

its flat country for the most part with the highest points only like 20-30ft above the rest. lots of pine and sage, not alot of the areas everyone talks about big bucks hiding. lots of rock and sage and pine, thats what the area consists of...

Those sage brush deer are masters of hiding. Sage brush hunting does produce some nice bucks. Just be patient, sit and watch.

[swanny]

I'm pretty sure everyone on here is right, they bed down during the day, whether it's hot out or not and only move when it's dark out., especially when they have the light of the moon to guide them at night. Sit and wait for others to push them towards you, they will run for ever too!

From my experience last weekend, the only bucks out during the day were 2 points, saw 2 in range opening morning one who was barely a buck, took almost 10 minutes to finally see any antlers on him (3pt minimum area).  Then we saw a dandy shooter buck at about 6:35pm run across the road in front of us. Glassed him to see if he was legal, grabbed my rifle, ran up the hill he was going up, saw him 150yds away but couldn't be 100% sure it was actually him so we let him run free. It was really sad but the right choice.

The only other way we found a buck, was on Sunday when a guy on a 4 wheeler chased him and 4 does out of one wheat field and towards the ridge we were sitting on. He was a shooter, but it was a 250+ yd shot and we had to run 1/4 mile to get to where he popped out, unfortunately I missed the shot 

We never saw this buck or the does he was with, and we had watched nearly 75 does in the general area of where he got chased from. Others had even ran previously from where he was, but he held as long as he possibly could.

[CAMPMEAT]

I'm pretty sure everyone on here is right, they bed down during the day, whether it's hot out or not and only move when it's dark out., especially when they have the light of the moon to guide them at night. Sit and wait for others to push them towards you, they will run for ever too!

From my experience last weekend, the only bucks out during the day were 2 points, saw 2 in range opening morning one who was barely a buck, took almost 10 minutes to finally see any antlers on him (3pt minimum area).  Then we saw a dandy shooter buck at about 6:35pm run across the road in front of us. Glassed him to see if he was legal, grabbed my rifle, ran up the hill he was going up, saw him 150yds away but couldn't be 100% sure it was actually him so we let him run free. It was really sad but the right choice.

The only other way we found a buck, was on Sunday when a guy on a 4 wheeler chased him and 4 does out of one wheat field and towards the ridge we were sitting on. He was a shooter, but it was a 250+ yd shot and we had to run 1/4 mile to get to where he popped out, unfortunately I missed the shot 

We never saw this buck or the does he was with, and we had watched nearly 75 does in the general area of where he got chased from. Others had even ran previously from where he was, but he held as long as he possibly could.

See, ATVs are a hunters tool......

[predatorpro]

its flat country for the most part with the highest points only like 20-30ft above the rest. lots of pine and sage, not alot of the areas everyone talks about big bucks hiding. lots of rock and sage and pine, thats what the area consists of...

Those sage brush deer are masters of hiding. Sage brush hunting does produce some nice bucks. Just be patient, sit and watch.

[fillthefreezer]

the area i hunt is about 5000 acres with little to no hunting pressure. we didnt see any other hunters or even rigs parked at the other access spots.
west facing slopes? what is the significance of this? all day or only certain times?
how long before daybreak do they find their place to bed?


thanks guys