Ruby Mountain Late Season Archery Mule Deer. Worth the Points?

[msw08d]

I have 8 bonus points for Nevada mule deer. Was considering using them in 101-109 specifically unit 102. Draw odds are around 40 percent with this many points. I heard quality has dropped in recent years but it appears they have cut back on tags issued. If you were in my shoes would you go for it?

This will be an unguided backpack hunt if I end up drawing the tag. Thanks!

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

I am looking into the late season archery tags also, but probably not area 10. I figure that the elevation is high enough for better summer hunting. With the snow line bringing down the game, you will likely have trouble getting enough habitat to hunt within since places like the Ruby Mountains are beset with private land all around. A friend of mine hunted that area with a Cow Elk tag and he had a frustrating experience camping for 1 week in the cold and never seeing any game at all. Based on this, I would not pick that area.

 

[msw08d]

That's what I was wondering as well. Does anyone here know if any deer will remain in the higher alpine areas or will most have migrated down?

My dad hunted this unit 10 years ago for late rifle and remembers seeing tons of deer but that's about all the info he has. I would love to hunt up in the alpine areas but i don't want to be wasting my time up there if the deer have already moved to lower areas.

 

[RosinBag]

I have had two buddies hunt that tag a few years ago, at that time of year most of the deer are down lower. They truck camped and filled their tags, both on really good archery bucks for that unit. I can’t see back packing the Ruby’s with that tag, deer will have moved out of there.

 

[RosinBag]

If you want to back pack the Ruby’s, you should hunt the early season. Only 280 tags these last couple years, so the hunting should be getting better. With that said though, I would never burn 8 points on the Early season tag.

 

[msw08d]

Thanks for the info Doug sounds like a good hunt. I think I will go ahead and put in for the late season hunt now and maybe down the road I will go back for the early season with less points. My dad will appreciate not having to do any major backpacking.

 

[sneaky]

Thanks for the info Doug sounds like a good hunt. I think I will go ahead and put in for the late season hunt now and maybe down the road I will go back for the early season with less points. My dad will appreciate not having to do any major backpacking.

With the reduction in tag numbers, going to the early season isn't necessarily going to be a less points option. Point creep is going to be a bigger issue moving forward.

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[David Gough]

http://www.ndow.org/uploadedFiles/ndoworg/Content/Public_Meetings/Notice of Hearing CR 18-11.pdf

NDOW is proposing an increase in mule deer tag quotas this year. FYI.

 

[sneaky]

For the early season, but not for the late hunt which was the original question. I haven't looked at resident numbers for the early hunt, did they go up as well? If so, they'll be right back where they were a couple of years ago in the Ruby range.

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[RosinBag]

I hadn’t seen any increase in tag numbers. It looked like just under 300 total for early season Rubies. The link didn’t work, so what is the proposed number?

 

[David Gough]

For the early season, but not for the late hunt which was the original question. I haven't looked at resident numbers for the early hunt, did they go up as well? If so, they'll be right back where they were a couple of years ago in the Ruby range.

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Yes, early season tag quotas were doubled....again, this is proposed so the commission could take action if they determine it needed.

 

[RosinBag]

Well that is that exciting.

 

[JWP58]

Anyone run into snowcocks while muley hunting? Or are they way higher?

 

[David Gough]

I hadn’t seen any increase in tag numbers. It looked like just under 300 total for early season Rubies. The link didn’t work, so what is the proposed number?

I just used the link, it works. Area 10 early archery is proposed at 500 tags.

 

[sneaky]

Well, I guess they figured that two years of reduced tags was all they could stand before they needed more revenue. The circus is back in the Rubys. I can't see the herd rebounding that quickly in just two years. I know these tag numbers are still lower than prior years, but it doesn't make much sense other than from a revenue standpoint.

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[RosinBag]

Well I don’t like it, but it is better than the 880 they were dishing out three years ago. And for a long time it was 400/40, but I think it could have used about five plus years of the 250/29 tag allocation.

 

[David Gough]

Anyone run into snowcocks while muley hunting? Or are they way higher?

I have, yes.

 

[bowuntr]

It needs to go back and stay at 250. 500 is way too many IMO. Every remote drainage has hunters. Ed F

 

[RosinBag]

It needs to go back and stay at 250. 500 is way too many IMO. Every remote drainage has hunters. Ed F

Indeed, just about every drainage we have ever looked in we saw hunters.