I drew the late muzzleloader general season tag Nov. 3-11 for the Oquirrh-Stansbury unit. My dad and I rifle-hunted this unit on horseback when I was a kid. This was about 20 years ago and much has changed as far as mule deer and fire activity goes. The biggest buck I have still ever seen to this day was in this unit. A clean miss at 250 yards. Well before laser rangefinders were common. Held too high. Still haunts me.
Anyway, this hunt has only 10 people hunting deer on it. In areas where there are elk I fully expect an army of muzzleloader elk hunters. The general season rifle runs to the 31 this year so those guys should have some good success. I have hunted both sides Pole Canyon area on the Oquirrh's and the wilderness on the Stansbury range. We have also spent some time in the Ophir area during September for when my dad drew that elk tag before it went to shit. If anyone has experience with where the deer like to head once the rut starts or even just general information on how the unit is going these days feel free to message me. I will not have horses this time around as ours were killed in an accident in August. I do however have access to a side by side and regularly hunt wilderness areas by backpack 10-15 miles from the truck. I am in decent shape. My plans right now are to start by scoping out areas where the does were 20 years ago and go from there. I have a bull elk and a half a bison in the freezer so I can be fairly picky and if I don't see what I want I will be fine with tag soup. Unless someone in the area knows a family in need of meat. Feel free to message me about that as well.
Anyway, this hunt has only 10 people hunting deer on it. In areas where there are elk I fully expect an army of muzzleloader elk hunters. The general season rifle runs to the 31 this year so those guys should have some good success. I have hunted both sides Pole Canyon area on the Oquirrh's and the wilderness on the Stansbury range. We have also spent some time in the Ophir area during September for when my dad drew that elk tag before it went to shit. If anyone has experience with where the deer like to head once the rut starts or even just general information on how the unit is going these days feel free to message me. I will not have horses this time around as ours were killed in an accident in August. I do however have access to a side by side and regularly hunt wilderness areas by backpack 10-15 miles from the truck. I am in decent shape. My plans right now are to start by scoping out areas where the does were 20 years ago and go from there. I have a bull elk and a half a bison in the freezer so I can be fairly picky and if I don't see what I want I will be fine with tag soup. Unless someone in the area knows a family in need of meat. Feel free to message me about that as well.
