SoCal, I responded to your PM, not sure if you got it. So here it is with my response:
Quote Originally Posted by SoCalMuley
Awesome Breakdown of the Zone. Chose this zone bcuz it's tough should weed most people out. What kind of access Is there. Any particular Highway to approach that's better than others. When the Migrations occurs do they Migrate East, west, South, or North? I figured with an Archery and a Rifle tag I should have good Idea once I get there. Where and When should I start my Scouting. Thx In Advance
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Okay, your looking at the late season, so I will keep what I have to say specific to that time of the year. The deer in the north half of the zone migrate from the west to the east. You normally get some movement during this season, as the temps drop, and their needs can no longer be met on summer range. However, unless you get a good storm, the movement is usually limited to does and immature bucks, with very few if any mature bucks. If you get small storms moving in and out, you will generally get some movement with each. But, the deer can be there one day, and gone the next.
In the north half of the zone, access is limited. I do not know the southern portion of the zone well. I would not approach and hunt from the eastern slope, unless the zone got a huge storm, or several good storms. Thus the main access from the east is 395 to 9 mile canyon, through Kennedy Meadows, to Monache Jeep Trail, or skip past the Jeep trail to the end of the road, toward Jordan Hot Springs. I suggest that you pack in, and the place you head depend on the predicted weather during your hunt. So, what I suggest is if the weather is going to be fair, and no real movement has taken place, I would drive to the north west end of Monache Mnt, and pack in toward the North west. If your going to get any good weather, I would hunt from about Bear Trap (Olancha Mnt) to Dutch John Flats. However, you will have company in that entire area. You can however find isolated places away from people, it's just very difficult to find water away from those people.
As far as starting your scouting, I would start ASAP, specifically to learn the area. The late season is weather dependent, so if your scouting to the east, don't expect much during your scouting, other than learning where they might be in the future. That doesn't mean you wont see any deer, or bucks. But odds are they will be few and far between. You mention archery, but you would need an archery specific tag for this zone. You can not hunt the archery season with the late season tag, and you did not specify if you have an archery tag for this zone.
If you do have an archery tag for this zone, the deer will be on summer mode, and mainly occupying the western end of the zone, in the northern half of it. So you will want to be hunting the plateau just above the river. But you will need to pack into this area.
The issue is that you have a huge area and relatively few deer. So finding them can be exceptionally difficult.
The southern end of the zone is very different, and the deer tend to migrate toward the south of the south east. The access is much better in the south half of the zone, but you can still find remote places. In the south a lot of the bucks utilize the Manzanita, which can be very difficult to hunt, unless you can get across canyon and peer into it.