big bucks

[JBONE777]

what is everyone's thoughts on manzanita and juniper thickets? you know the areas that are almost immposible to walk through, and near immposible to glass. do you guys think that there are alot of huge bucks in these areas? has anybody had any kind of success, or sightings of toads in these spots? how about any methods to hunting them? i have my thoughts and feelings about these areas, i was wondering what all you other coues adicts felt about it.

jbone

[CouesWhitetail]

Big bucks can certainly be found in thick stuff. It's just so darn tough to hunt though.

 

Here is a link to a hunt story on this site by a guy who dared to hunt in thick manzanita.

Eddie's hunt

 

Amanda

[Red Rabbit]

I like to consider the "hunt-ability" of the area/terrain.

Is it so thick that 75+% of the time a deer will be behind a tree or brush? Are the canyons so wide there is no way to shoot or hike across? Is it so thick that by the time you make your stalk, the chance of relocating the buck is near nill? Does the terrrain offer routes to make a stalk, or is there no contour to allow you to get close?

 

Wouldn't it be nice if the game, not the hunter, was required to wear blaze orange for easy location?

 

RR

[JACK]

WOULD YOU WANT TO LIVE IN THAT STUFF?

I THINK BIG BUCKS LIVE IN THOSE PLACES, BUT SO DO LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS. PERSONALLY I THINK BIG BUCKS WANT TO BE ABLE TO USE ALLTHEIR SENSES ALL THE TIME. I HAVE SEEN MORE BIG BUCKS IN PLACES WHERE I LEAST EXPECTED THEM TO BE, THAN WHERE, I THOUGH THEY SHOULD BE!!

[az4life]

I have hunted in and around those manzanita and juniper stands for a long time. Have always found the deer like to bed down in and under them. Great wind breaks too. After climbing in, under and around these thickets, you will often see "game trail highways" weaving under and through them. Lions, coatis, bears, and Lord knows what else uses them but the bucks and does do also.

 

Yes they are often near impossible to see into.

Tough hunting? Yes

Productive? sometimes

The key is to be there at the RIGHT time.

If you have help and they want a challenge, Find yourself a good position on a decent sized patch of thick stuff. Have them do a "Push" with a few people clawing through the middle of it can work.

[COUESAZ]

Most of the big bucks I find are up against the bluffs. They do not have to watch there backs that way all they have to do is see what is coming up at them. They will most likley have a couple get away spots. I find the thick stuff to be more of a funle for them. That is why lots of bucks are killed around thick stuff like that.

[bullwidgeon]

There ain't alot of HUGE bucks anywhere. That being said two of the biggest deer my family ever killed were whacked by pushing Manzanita thickets in the old days before binos or tripods. Who's to say if it was because there are more bucks in that stuff or because there were more deer overall back then (both were killed in the 2 tag days). I spent alot of time glassing incredibly thick junipers last year in December and came up with a few sub 80 inchers and not a whole lotta does either. It wasn't very cool as far as seeing deer and hindsight being 20/20 I should have been down in the cactus and mesquites where they stick out better....

 

Bret M.

[COOSEFAN]

what is everyone's thoughts on manzanita and juniper thickets? you know the areas that are almost immposible to walk through, and near immposible to glass. do you guys think that there are alot of huge bucks in these areas? has anybody had any kind of success, or sightings of toads in these spots? how about any methods to hunting them? i have my thoughts and feelings about these areas, i was wondering what all you other coues adicts felt about it.

jbone

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've always thought that the thick stuff is where the big stuff is. As well as the most remote/inaccessable places. I've thought this because during the rut, I seem to find bigger bucks near these places looking for does, like the rut is what brought them out of it. I have always used Red Rabbits' philosophy about "hunt-ability". This philosophy will help you be more successful for sure, because your not wasting time. If you just want to see deer, such as scouting, than don't worry about it,but if you only have a limited time and want to kill a deer, follow it. Just my thoughts JIM

[trophyhntr]

I was fortunate enough to get that buck in the story. I still remember submitting the story to Amanda when the site had just started. I think that hunting in the thick brush and remote canyons is a very productive way of hunting. Consider this:

 

1. Most hunters will drive the roads during the December hunts because it's too cold to get out and walk or glass. Or that their version of hunting (We all have seen them).

2. Most hunters won?t go further than a few hundred yards from the road to glass including glassing from the road (as many did in my hunt).

3.The easier the access to any area, the more hunters you will find around you.

 

That?s the average hunters. So lets talk about more experienced and serious hunter like people in this site.

 

1. "Deer are where you find them"...Nothing could be more true. Bucks are motavatied by food, water, shelter, and depending on the time of the year sex. (That sounds like my year-round motives ). If deer find a remote canyon with food, water, and dense shelter like manzanita then they won?t leave especially with hunting pressure. Right. The rut hunt is largely controlled by the location of the does. Find the does and eventually you will find the bucks. There were a lot of does in the manzanita thickets that I hunted. They were tough to find but with systematic glassing you can find them early and late when they are moving.

 

There are lots of places to look for deer, some easier, but if you can have a place all to your self with a very good possibility of getting a good buck, then the thick stuff is at least something you should consider.

 

 

Great question. There are a lot of options when it comes to hunting and this a great way to learn from one another.

 

Eddie