Bowls and basins

[El Coyote]

New to western hunting and in addition to lots of scouting, I've been doing a lot of reading and listening to hunting podcast. One thing that constantly comes up is looking for "bowls and basins" in the backcountry. Sorry for the ignorant question, but what is so appealing about bowls and basins? What makes them better for finding deer than other features such as fingers and canyons.

 

[Marble]

Bowls and basins are at the head of canyons or valleys. Deer like it for food, water and shelter, along with having other adjacent escape routes and good views.

 

[El Coyote]

Bowls and basins are at the head of canyons or valleys. Deer like it for food, water and shelter, along with having other adjacent escape routes and good views.

That makes perfect sense and I'm sure I look like a total rookie asking such basic questions. But I'm already starting to like mulies over whitetail and I haven't even taken a mule deer yet. So much to learn!

 

[ArcherAdam]

That makes perfect sense and I'm sure I look like a total rookie asking such basic questions. But I'm already starting to like mulies over whitetail and I haven't even taken a mule deer yet. So much to learn!

Nice. Me too! You will have a blast.

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[idahohikker]

Guys who hunt Alpine and plug Mtn Ops are obsessed with talking about bowls. There are good deer that aren’t in the high basins as well. Look high and low.

 

[bluetick78]

Guys who hunt Alpine and plug Mtn Ops are obsessed with talking about bowls. There are good deer that aren’t in the high basins as well. Look high and low.

I thought you had to guzzle Mtn Ops if you were going to hunt bowls, basins, backcountry, wilderness, and burns.....am I wrong? Asking for a friend.

 

[idahohikker]

I thought you had to guzzle Mtn Ops if you were going to hunt bowls, basins, backcountry, wilderness, and burns.....am I wrong? Asking for a friend.

Do you even hunt high country bro? #mtnops #sickforit

 

[HighUintas]

Don't confine yourself to deep backcountry or high basins. Deer are a little more likely to be in the "odd" spots close to human traffic that elk won't go. If you live in certain urban or suburban areas, you may see pretty darn nice bucks right in peoples' back yards.

My brother lives in Colorado Springs on the edge of town and he just sent me a video of what will be a very nice buck (at least 5x5) near some hiking trails.... he was about 10 feet from the buck while it was just staring at him. No doubt, that buck will likely be elsewhere during hunting season and far more human-shy, but it may be hiding in some nasty thick scrub oak down low on the mountain front range.

 

[bluetick78]

Do you even hunt high country bro? #mtnops #sickforit

I dont yet, but when my Kuiu kit and my 4lb 1/4 moa rifle get here I'll be ready for it....as long as shipping times on my Mtn Ops supps isn't too long. Right now I'm feverishly preparing by having a Hush and Gritty YouTube marathon.
#flatbillcommando

 

[blackshuk]

Damn El Coyote... looks like you got all the road hunters and AC ground blind hunters in one place. Impressive.

 

[Poser]

What’s the correct pronunciation of the word “basin”:

“Base-in” or “bazzen” ?

 

[street]

I dont yet, but when my Kuiu kit and my 4lb 1/4 moa rifle get here I'll be ready for it....as long as shipping times on my Mtn Ops supps isn't too long. Right now I'm feverishly preparing by having a Hush and Gritty YouTube marathon.
#flatbillcommando

After your youtube marathon you'll definitely be ready to #keephammering

 

[bluetick78]

To the OP, sorry I helped derail your thread, but it's all in good fun. Bowls, basins, back of a canyon, etc, are great places to find bucks. Usually people hunt them because they are somewhat remote and have good visibility for glassing. But as idahohiker stated, good bucks are where you find them. I personally know a guy that killed 3 200" bucks in 2 seasons hunting down low. Smart old bucks that'd hit a hayfield at 2am and then lay up in some ribbon cliffs or a little patch of mahogany for the daylight hours. So....while every Mtn Ops guzzling, flatbill wearing 'Tuber is bragging about high country, dont be afraid to poke around some dusty, ugly BLM land. You might like what you find.

 

[Marble]

Just be patient. It is an entirely different type of hunting compared to hunting whitetail. From what I've been told...my whitetail expereince is limited.

Dont pass a year of hunting to build a point.

Knowledge of the area you hunt is more valuable than what the book says hunter success and trophy odds are.

Be patient. Hunt the season and be done with it. Do not have regrets for not going to place that looks like it will suck. It will haunt you.

Take little bites...do not go too big too early in your first few years.

That makes perfect sense and I'm sure I look like a total rookie asking such basic questions. But I'm already starting to like mulies over whitetail and I haven't even taken a mule deer yet. So much to learn!

 

[Marble]

After your youtube marathon you'll definitely be ready to #keephammering

#crushingit

 

[Texowa]

I dont yet, but when my Kuiu kit and my 4lb 1/4 moa rifle get here I'll be ready for it....as long as shipping times on my Mtn Ops supps isn't too long. Right now I'm feverishly preparing by having a Hush and Gritty YouTube marathon.
#flatbillcommando

Hilarious! I though I was the only one annoyed with dudes that tuck their ears into their hat

 

[Salmon River Solutions]

Hilarious! I though I was the only one annoyed with dudes that tuck their ears into their hat

Hey I do that! But I'm honestly convinced that my ears are higher on my head than normal. Also do it because if I don't, my safety glasses at work dig into the tops of my ears something fierce.

Seriously though, bowls and basins sound cool, but they hold deer because they have food and shelter. There are plenty of areas that hold deer and have those things that are not bowls and basins.

 

[lif]

Hey I do that! But I'm honestly convinced that my ears are higher on my head than normal. Also do it because if I don't, my safety glasses at work dig into the tops of my ears something fierce.

Seriously though, bowls and basins sound cool, but they hold deer because they have food and shelter. There are plenty of areas that hold deer and have those things that are not bowls and basins.

Step 1 in recovery: be honest with yourself about your hat.

 

[El Coyote]

Thanks everyone for the information. Even learned a lot from the comments that have nothing to do with the original question. Am I right in assuming that there are "hunting bro's" out there? That's what I've gathered from this thread at least, lol.

Going on leave for a week so I'll be doing some scouting during that time. Hoping to see something good for archery season

 

[mtjimbo]

I thought you had to guzzle Mtn Ops if you were going to hunt bowls, basins, backcountry, wilderness, and burns.....am I wrong? Asking for a friend.

Last time I tried it without MTN ops I couldn't even get myself out of the truck

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