FAMED unit 45 Idaho muzzy hunt...

Juan_ID

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Well I meant to post this Thursday morning before we left but forgot and am just now getting a second to post something up... I have been up here helping my buddy on his hunt. It is our last day to hunt until next weekend as I got to get back to work tomorrow... But thus far it has been a great trip! However no buck down as of yet! As I txt this we are sitting up high on a perch overlooking where we found a real nice 4x4 we nicknamed "tangs" that we found Friday morning.Will update more once I get home with pics and such. Good Luck everyone!
 
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Juan_ID

Juan_ID

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Well I'm back, but tired as hell! Will post pics and such tomorrow after work!
 

robby denning

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JuanID
thanks for starting this thread. This will be a good hunt to follow, and a rare chance for everyone to see what it is like out there. Keep us posted. In between weekends when you're not out there, if you have info/tips/whatever to share, keep the thread moving- I'm excited for this one.
 
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Nice Juan!! I am VERY familiar with this unit, I think I have shed hunted every inch of it :) Or I'd like to think I have :) There are some awesome bucks in there man, I wish that one day I could draw this tag... Not to be too specific but which side of Hill City Rd are you guys hunting? I can't wait to get out there this spring and scoop some more sheds!

You guys seeing anything real big??

Best of luck on your hunt!
 
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david long

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Good luck guys! Can't wait to see what you turn up in that unit.
 
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Juan_ID

Juan_ID

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robby I will be sure and keep it rolling. Just a lot to type on a phone while at work, all the info will come a little later this afternoon! :)

Nick we are hunting the East side. And he drew it with 30% draw odds, wishing I had put in for it with him! And we seen probably 12-15 4 points, all of which were 160"+ with the 2 biggest being in the 180-190" range I'm guessing. So I guess depends on what you'd consider "real big" ;)

I can't wait to post some of the pics I was able to get of some of the bucks as they turned out great IMO!

Thanks to everyone for posting as well! I didn't know if it would be of interest to anyone on here...
 

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Always interested in big mule deer and famed hunting areas! Let's get going!!!
 
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Juan_ID

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I just had to try and post a couple crapy teaser pics!

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Juan_ID

Juan_ID

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Well, here goes!

We met in Buhl to grab a cup of coffee and discuss the plans for the morning's hunt and then we were off. Due to only making it out for 1 pre-season trip we had planned to drive a road to try and locate where we wanted to hike the following morning. So we pull in to a camping spot and dropped off my rig and a bunch of stuff off his truck so it wouldn't be banging around in the back of his rig on the rough roads.
We pull up to the top of a canyon and wait for daylight to drive down as we didn't want to possibly blow anything out in the dark. As daylight came we started down the road and came across a good looking valley we thought we'd give a quick look. We glassed for an hour or so and decided to press on down the road as we didn't think we'd want to hike or hunt that area. As we were driving down the road he had stopped so I could glass where we had seen a couple does when his wife called him. So I'm glassing out the truck when I hear him say "BUCK right there, I gotta go!" So I look ahead about 300 yards to see 2 bucks standing there looking at us! Both of which were fairly nice deer, one being a 2x4 with good mass and height, the other being a good looking 4x4 we figured to be 27" wide and about 165-170."
2012season005_zps895313dd.jpg

2012season007_zpscbb0597b.jpg

2012season029_zpsc173ee1c.jpg
 
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Juan_ID

Juan_ID

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OK, well how I originally planned to do this would take FOREVER so I'm going to shorten it up quite a bit and just do major points for of the days that we hunted. Hope you guys don't mind... Sorry, I just don't got all the time to write up the whole trip day by day as I planned!
 
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Juan_ID

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Well after watching that buck for some time and trying to decide how far he was from what he wanted we pressed on. As we drove down the road we decided we'd go back and setup camp and do the same thing that evening, just drive a different road to see if we could find anywhere we'd like to look in the morning. After driving around a bit we found a real nice canyon we decided to look over in the morning.
FRIDAY:
So we get up early in the morning to have ourselves a cup of coffee in an attempt to wake ourselves up! We head up the road about 6:30 to get to the canyon we want to hike before daylight. As we get to the canyon, we pack up our daypacks and start the hike along the ridgetops. First off we spot a little group of about 10 does and a little fork horn. We look around a bit to make sure there wasn't a larger buck with them before deciding to press on. About a mile down the canyon we found what we thought looked like a good glassing point. So we plant ourselves and start overlooking the canyon. First thing I spot was 5 does down in the bottom working their way up the other side. After looking for a little longer I spotted a lone bedded 4x4 that was about 26" wide and 160." No pics... 8(
After spotting him my buddy tells me he found another buck bedded down. As I find him in the scope I see the deer he's referring to and he's got a buddy with him. He's a 4x4 that's about 26-27" wide and 170" with his buddy being a smaller 4x4 that was a little crabby but still about 160" and 24-25" wide. Here's the best pic I was able to get of the bigger of the 2 4x4's.
2012season032_zps4bde1753.jpg

After watching them for a little while they worked their way up and over the rim of the canyon out of sight. After looking for a little while longer I happen to look about 2 miles away and seen 4 does working their way up the hill with a big buck in tow. The moment I seen him I knew he was a good buck and out came the words "look at his back "tangs!"" Hence the name "tangs" after seeing where they were we watched them for a bit til they worked their way out of sight. Again no pics that time! 8( After looking over the hill they were on I realized they were about a mile and a half behind our camp!
We decided to work our way down the canyon a little further to keep looking. All we were able to turn up was a couple 160ish 4x4's and a few more does. After a few hours of looking the canyon over we decided to head back to camp and have some lunch...
 
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Great stuff Juan! You are getting me excited to get back to the states so I can spend some time in 45 this winter!

I wish I could see the pictures! For some reason they won't show up.

Enjoying the story regardless, I hope you guys got a smoker buck!
 
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Juan_ID

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Thanks Nick! I haven't spent any time out there in the winter months before but would like to sometime and probably will this winter! And dono what would make the pics not show up... And not yet, but we are hoping to change that this weekend! More to come after work again...
 
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No worries, the Army unit I am stationed with over here decided that photobucket is a Morale Booster, so naturally they blocked it :)

The winter months are amazing down in 45, the deer you often times see are remarkable and the sheds they leave behind are a joy to pick up. Maybe we could meet up for a day and do some shed hunting. I find that most of the deer in 45 shed a bit later than units further east. I am no expert, but in the past two years those are my observations.

Keep after it, best of luck this weekend!
 
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Juan_ID

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I could only imagine the deer in there wintering. I have heard many stories from friends about how cool it is. I'd like to get in there in November just to look and take pics of some of the deer in there... I've never really gotten into shed hunting but I'm game for getting in there and lookin around with ya! And thanks! After the miss on Sunday we are hopin to find the buck I dubbed Abbott again! (Hopefully I make it that far in the story today...) I just hope I can get Sunday off to help a much as I can...
 

robby denning

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luvin' this thread. Keep it coming. Probably the only chance I'll ever get to "hunt" the unit.
 
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Juan_ID

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Did y'all attempt "rack bracketing" on this deer? :D

Just kidding! Kill a smoker!
HAHA, I didn't know if anyone would know where that term came from! But no, no rack bracketing on that buck. ;) And thanks for the kind words!
luvin' this thread. Keep it coming. Probably the only chance I'll ever get to "hunt" the unit.
Thanks robby, and me too! I'm just lucky enough to physically tag along! Can't wait til this weekend!

And sorry for not updating yesterday everyone. I went out tryin to find a deer for myself and didn't get around to it. On a positive note, I seen what I believe to be my very first ever "stag" mule deer buck! :) And I will update this thread tonight!
 
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