Alaskan transplant to Reno, first time mulie hunt

Owenst7

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Jun 19, 2017
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513
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Reno
I moved to Reno around '06 and pulled my first big game tag from the States this year. I've spent a lot of time in the Sierras with rock crawlers since I moved here, but this will be a huge learning experience for me. I figured this was a good of a place as any to start researching.

Tag is for 071-079, 091 Oct 5-20. Also bought a lion tag to go with it, per recommendations from local friends.

I am considering documenting some of the process, sans detailed locations, for my friends/family to see. I will probably parallel that with another thread here and/or on other forums for future reference to people in my shoes.

A brief rundown of where I'm at so far:

-Little to no familiarity with that area of NV.
-Never hunted deer. Seen plenty out fourwheeling, so at least I know what they look like. :)
-I'm in decent shape and backpack semi-regularly; active in 4x4 camping such as the Rubicon, Fordyce, King of the Hammers, etc.
-Have a 4x4 truck and utility ATV. Leaning towards a backpack in preference simply due to the thought of getting away from people easier and I'm young. Also, my 4x4s are old and I'll be alone, so this may simplify things for me if I don't have to worry about tools and spare parts. I'm very proficient at fixing broken things in remote areas (build custom desert race trucks for fun), but I'd rather spend my time hunting than driving or fixing.
-Have a general class radio license and 2m/70cm radio (not sure what cell coverage is out there but it'd be nice to keep someone updated on my whereabouts and living status. Not sure if there are any repeaters out there though).
-Just getting in to fly fishing. Would probably have just as good of a time getting skunked on the hunt if I had a good fishing trip. haha
-Should have plenty of gear for whatever conditions I encounter out there (spent a lot of time outdoors in AK and brought most of my stuff down), but really don't know what to plan for other than looking at weather averages online.
-I once suffered heat stroke at 67* F, so hopefully it won't be too hot for me haha. I am a bit concerned about meat spoilage due to my inexperience hunting in a hot climate if I end up going the backpack route. If working off my truck, I'll obviously have access to coolers.
-Not really sure how much cooler volume I'm going to need.
 
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wildcat33

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Feb 17, 2015
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CO
Welcome. Can't help you with your unit but Reno is a great place to call home. I spent a summer camping out around Bridgeport and fishing the east walker and I loved every minute of it. Also, if you are not aware of it already, you can trap some monster crayfish in the lakes and rivers around there.
 
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Owenst7

WKR
Joined
Jun 19, 2017
Messages
513
Location
Reno
Welcome. Can't help you with your unit but Reno is a great place to call home. I spent a summer camping out around Bridgeport and fishing the east walker and I loved every minute of it. Also, if you are not aware of it already, you can trap some monster crayfish in the lakes and rivers around there.

Yup, I bring my canoe and crawfish traps on just about every 4x4 trip we do :). Still haven't figured out an efficient way to cook/eat crawfish, but they are a lot of fun.

I've been talking with some friends about trying to do some trips down to Walker/Buckeye/Hot Creek area this summer to do some fishing. I actually never got in to it in my ~25ish years in Alaska, so I'm still learning the whole fishing thing. Trout are a ton of fun though, and the simplicity and light weight of the gear has interested me a lot more than the gear my friends used for salmon in AK.
 
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Also a 49th state transplant to the Rockies here, so a few bits of answers (generalities) for you.

1, you will find it is a lot easier to find dry wood and start/keep a fire going down here!

2, Find out about repeaters here: RepeaterBook.com: Quick Search don't forget you need someone on the other end to listen as well. It would obviously help if they are licensed as well.

3, A good mule deer buck is about the size of a young caribou bull, so you can plan for cooler space.

4, If it is hot during the day, glass in the shade under trees. It seems like a no-brainer, but I always find myself surprised when I look under a tree in the heat of the day and see a deer there getting out of the sun.

5, Drink water before you are thirsty. Sun, Elevation, and Exertion will put a hurtin' on you quickly!

6, If you are still hunting, move slowly. Again, duh, right? Seriously though, move slow enough that you hear every squirrel fart.

7, If a buck takes off, don't shoot him up the pooper. Usually you don't need a Texas Heart Shot on a running mulie. They will often stop and look over their shoulder at you as they approach cover or the crest of a ridge. A grunt or whistle can also stop them most times.

8, Get them out of the sun, gutted, skinned, and de-boned as quickly as you can. If it is going to be hot and sunny, consider bringing a tarp to make your own shade.

9, watch the gutpile for your lion after your deer meat is back in the coolers.
 
Joined
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Messages
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Campfire Crawfish: Drink half of a beer, rip the top off of the can, fill with crawfish, place in coals. Let it boil for a while, until you get bored, or hungry, or whatever, I'm a hunter, not Gordan Ramsey. Then eat the crawfish. Drink, boil, repeat, until you pass out or run out of beer or crawfish
 
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Owenst7

WKR
Joined
Jun 19, 2017
Messages
513
Location
Reno
Also a 49th state transplant to the Rockies here, so a few bits of answers (generalities) for you.

1, you will find it is a lot easier to find dry wood and start/keep a fire going down here!
No kidding. I get super paranoid down here about the wildfire risk. I thought it was bad in Alaska before I moved down here lol.
2, Find out about repeaters here: RepeaterBook.com: Quick Search don't forget you need someone on the other end to listen as well. It would obviously help if they are licensed as well.
Yup. I got in to ham radio via the 4x4 clubs and races down here so I'm fairly savvy. Have quite a few friends in Reno/surrounding areas that are licensed and proficient. I'm just starting to compile maps of where my tags are for so I'll be programming some more freq's in to my radio...hopefully before I need to leave for my hunt lol. It's down on my priority list to have a radio but if I tell people about it, I'll probably hold myself accountable to it a little better haha.
3, A good mule deer buck is about the size of a young caribou bull, so you can plan for cooler space.
The last caribou I harvested was about 20 years ago, but it was in February in interior Alaska...so all I remember was it was manageable on a single utility ATV. Don't remember how it would have fit in a cooler haha.

I have a 70 qt Coleman Xtreme that I use for ~4 day 4x4 trips down to Johnson Valley and such. With bag ice and frequent opening, it's fine for that duration in Mojave heat. I figure I can extend that a lot if I use frozen jugs and/or dry ice, leaving lid shut, duct tape around lid opening, leaving under blankets in camper, etc. Not sure if I need to pick up/borrow another cooler though. I'll need to figure out where/if I can get ice near the area I'll be in though, as soon as I figure that out (that's a lot of country out there). Also need to figure out if I want to spend the whole duration of the hunt out there, come back to Reno, etc. I'm currently transitioning jobs too so that's another factor.

4, If it is hot during the day, glass in the shade under trees. It seems like a no-brainer, but I always find myself surprised when I look under a tree in the heat of the day and see a deer there getting out of the sun.

5, Drink water before you are thirsty. Sun, Elevation, and Exertion will put a hurtin' on you quickly!
Yeah, I'm learning to be a lot more efficient with managing this lately as I've been getting more in to backpacking. Driving 4x4s through the Rubicon with all the cargo capacity and lakes has made me pretty lazy. That, and I never bothered to carry more than a quart of water with me in AK because you were usually spending more time figuring out how not to drown than being thirsty.
6, If you are still hunting, move slowly. Again, duh, right? Seriously though, move slow enough that you hear every squirrel fart.

7, If a buck takes off, don't shoot him up the pooper. Usually you don't need a Texas Heart Shot on a running mulie. They will often stop and look over their shoulder at you as they approach cover or the crest of a ridge. A grunt or whistle can also stop them most times.

8, Get them out of the sun, gutted, skinned, and de-boned as quickly as you can. If it is going to be hot and sunny, consider bringing a tarp to make your own shade.
I've started experimenting with tarps instead of a tent as of this spring, so I very likely may do this,
if for no other reason than to survive the heat myself haha.

9, watch the gutpile for your lion after your deer meat is back in the coolers.
Good idea. I need to look in to the regulations regarding hunting over a gutpile. I know there were laws in AK pertaining to this, but I don't recall what they were.



Campfire Crawfish: Drink half of a beer, rip the top off of the can, fill with crawfish, place in coals. Let it boil for a while, until you get bored, or hungry, or whatever, I'm a hunter, not Gordan Ramsey. Then eat the crawfish. Drink, boil, repeat, until you pass out or run out of beer or crawfish


Haha, guess I've been doing it right all this time then. Figured there was any easier way than all the time spent peeling them.

I have peeled them after a partial boil and then fried them in bacon grease with a liberal application of a dry rib rub that I use for everything. Tasty, but it took forever for not a lot of food. Might be worth throwing in with some canned soup or something now that I think about it.
 
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