Finding Bucks In The Desert

[jst.pursuit]

Hey All! I hunted a unit last year and we found a TON of deer in the desert portion of the unit. The one morning we seen 160 does and 1 spike. We ended up happening into a buck eventually for my dad to fill his tag. Im hoping to get the tag again and trying to figure out how to hunt these deer. We were there October 1 and have a tough time beliveing that the ratio is that far out of whack. Any thoughts or insights would be appreciated!

 

[kboatman107]

If it’s anything like the desert units I’ve hunted the bucks are in the same area but in the deeper rougher terrain. I’d look at a map where you found all the doe and see if there’s any deep canyons or washes nearby and check those out.

 

[wytx]

Oct 1 bucks are in bachelor groups or the big ones are by themselves. The yearlings will be with doe groups in early Oct.
Look for lone bedded bucks for more mature ones. Could be along a rock face or below a tree, look for a shady spot for bedded bucks, they like to see what is approaching so a good bedding spot has a great vantage point for watching their back trail and utilizing the winds.

 

[WCB]

I agree with above...If there are that many deer in the area it has the right habitat/needs the older bucks may just use it a bit different. Rough more out of the way spots even a mile or slightly more away from that main concentration of deer may be holding the bucks.

In my experience the bucks aren't usually just under a rock right in the same area as the younger deer/does. They however seem to be within easy traveling distance or more so on the fringes (not that they couldn't be holed up somewhere).