X2 General 2019

[Azone]

After accumulating way too many preference points in California some family, friends and I are planning on cashing out next year for X2. I have talked to a few people who have been lately and it seems to be mixed reviews but my research so far leads me to believe it should be pretty good up there. Will be heading up in the spring to get familiar with the lay of the land and the roads and then hopefully two or three times for some weekends in August and September depending on my work schedule and load. It would be greatly appreciated to get some 4th and 5th opionons or have someone share a experience. Couple of questions. How dependent on weather is it or are there a bunch of resident deer? My other question would be are there any areas that get all the granola munchers and day hikers that one should avoid? Still debating if I should hunt the first half or the second half season and I will probably have 6 to 8 days to hunt.

 

[Calbuck]

I live in the area and yes, there are some resident deer. Would be awesome if you could make a trip there right now while the rut is going on..you’d be able to see first hand some of the bucks that are there. That said, seems like weather does indeed move more deer in there.
My opinion, hunt the last part of the season and hope for a storm or two to help you out. Don’t know how many tags you’re going to be trying to fill, just remember there is not a huge buck behind every tree. I’d take a decent buck if I saw it and you never know, you might stumble on a monster. Sounds like an epic trip if you get the tags!

 

[Azone]

They last part of the season is what I'm leaning towards. I may try to swing a opening weekend trip and see what's out and about before the bullets start flying. There will be anywhere from three to five of us going, waiting on 100 percent confirmation from the last two guys. We will be leaving points on the table so getting the tags is damn near a guarantee, unless all the max points guys get sick of waiting for X5B or G3 and apply. My first and foremost goal is to get my wife on a decent buck and try to get that on the ground then worry about myself. If my father in law goes I will definitely try and help his stubborn ass out, (major heart attack two years ago) he hates asking for help, proud man but a hell of a good time to have in camp though. I may try and be a trophy hunter but I'm sure the first nice buck I see will be getting shot at, just depends on how much the deer are moving. Thank you for your response Calbuck.

 

[Calbuck]

You’re welcome. Any of the X zones up here have the potential for a BIG buck..I’ve never hunted X2 in particular but I know they are there. I’ve heard from buddies that have hunted it that there is just so much country to cover, it’s kind of like finding the needle in the haystack. I’d think if you can find a few groups of deer before season, they’ll prob be in the general area when season opens..something to pay attention to is the moon cycle. If there’s a big moon, I’d try to hunt opposite it.

 

[ryno_19]

Hey A zone. I lived in Modoc for awhile now live in the neighbor Lassen County. Spent a lot of time in x2, hunting it as well as helping folks. It is a great zone however it is not a great zone to guys that don't have a week or two to spend in it whether it be hunting or scouting. If you can go up in September for scouting trip to learn the area and find deer, set trail cams, etc,it can help. The if you can, hunt the entire season or at a minimum of the last 5 days of the season. X2 is not a zone where you are going to see multiple buck and numerous deer per day like x5b or X3a. Its very flat and thinker than most so glassing is not ideal. Its a zone that many get discouraged after a few days of not seeing many deer and many resort to just driving around. The guys had a tough time this year but some nice bucks were taken.

Reality, if you put in a week and hunt hard you can fill your tag on a mature buck with potential for a big boy. Average bucks I saw in camps this year ranged from 18-22 inch 3 and 4 points. Many hunters weren't seeing many deer per day. I no longer put in for it since I like to glass open terrain so I have chose another zone. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

[Azone]

I've always kinda been on the fence about trail cameras but given that I'm 8 hrs away that may help sway me into using some in this instance. I'm just afraid of leaving hundreds of dollars of cameras out on public ground if I purchase some and then hope some tweaker or A-hole does not steal them. I'm definitely not gonna be afraid to get into that thicker stuff and see what wants to run out. Seems half the deer we shoot down here are jumped outta a nasty brush patch anymore and the other half are running for it.

How rough are the roads? Ok to get a truck down or is it quad country? Thanks for the info!

 

[ryno_19]

The roads are rough but you would be fine with a truck. ATVs help tho.

 

[DWarcher]

I would definitely go take a look at that country before you apply.

 

[Bubblehide]

I'm wondering how the horse removal will effect the deer hunting; if they even managed to remove enough of them, which I doubt.

 

[Azone]

Im gonna try to get up there as soon as possible to get some eyes on the country and see what were in for. Work schedule will be a big variable for that but I'm thinking I can get away in March or April for the maiden voyage. What I can tell is, its flat to rolling with plenty of pockets of thicker timber and brush. But the sat images have been wrong before! After saving points for 10 years I'm definitely not going into this blind. So I will be trying to get up there as much as possible

As far as the horses go I would assume getting a bunch out of the area would only benefit the deer. But I have zero experience and knowledge on how wild horses affect deer behavior so that will obviously be a steep learning curve. Hopefully the the horse activists dont screw up too many things up there in the next 10 months, but this being the land of fruits and nuts I would expect nothing but the weirdest and the craziest of the eco terriost to show up and try to save the world, but only time will tell. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Calbuck]

Just curious, have you considered splitting your family’s points with friends and hunting maybe X3A or B or a different x zone? The more people you have the greater your chances of busting deer out and getting a shot as far as making drives goes..just another way of looking at it

 

[Azone]

We've kicked around a few ideas, and a high success rate and a lower amount of tags given out is what led me to X2. After spending the last 10 years hunting at Ft. Hunter Liggett crowds dont really bother me much, that place can be a nightmare at times with people and pressure. While the pressure can be used to advantage a lot of times it would also be nice to not have to deal with a guy on every ridge or flat. I'm also hoping I can get four or five people up there just in case we have to go do some walks and get some bucks moving. I know some people frown upon it but its proven producer for us when the bucks go nocturnal down here.
In your opinion what would be the advantages of 3A or 3B? You can PM if you dont want it out publicly. Again thanks for responses.

 

[Calbuck]

Honestly I don’t have an opinion up or down, just curious how you settled on X2 versus some of the others..my opinion on people “helping” is that if they are hunting and have a tag, that’s cool. If they are just friends who go walking through the brush trying to jump up deer, I don’t really think that’s very ethical..just my two cents..otherwise you’ll prob have as good a hunt in X2 as any other zone..

 

[Bubblehide]

...

As far as the horses go I would assume getting a bunch out of the area would only benefit the deer. But I have zero experience and knowledge on how wild horses affect deer behavior so that will obviously be a steep learning curve. ...

Those bucks tend to use the horses as an early warning system.

 

[Azone]

So the horses are just as annoying as cattle. I was guessing something along those lines would be the case. Hopefully the round up goes well up there and they can get some out of the area. I've had hunts screwed up before by the suprise psycho cow that runs outta the trees directly at a buck or herd of hogs.....makes you want beef for dinner real quick.

 

[Bubblehide]

So the horses are just as annoying as cattle. I was guessing something along those lines would be the case. Hopefully the round up goes well up there and they can get some out of the area. I've had hunts screwed up before by the suprise psycho cow that runs outta the trees directly at a buck or herd of hogs.....makes you want beef for dinner real quick.

Ohhhhh Nooooo, the horses are nothing like cattle. The horses are truly wild, and as such, are seriously on alert. To put it simply, view the horses as deer, but with bigger ears and a bit taller. Years back, while trying to work into a shooting position on a buck, a small herd of bedded horses must have caught a piece of my super slow motion approach. I was sitting still for about 10 minutes, when the horses got up. The stud came looking, and I just froze. It was quite the experience, and that stud got close enough that I came close to lifting my rifle to shoot him (I was not about to get trampled). I had a good wind in my favor, so he wasn't able to wind me. Eventually he gave up on trying to figure out what I was, and just moved his herd along, easy like. That was enough to blow a really nice buck outa there.

What I described above is a rarity. Usually the horses simply spook off, all noisy like, and they take everything else with them, or puts everything else on Defcon 1. Cattle on the other hand, I can usually move around and past, as long as I don't try to get to close to them. As long as nothing has changed since I was up there, I would expect the same. But with all these, save the wild horse groups, some of them could be habituated if they are feeding them.

 

[Mass-n-trash]

Have roots that go waaaaay back up there. Have hunted X2 for many many many years, and I can tell you, it's got it's issues. They rounded up a bunch of horses this year...but it's really only a drop in the bucket. I think they took 700ish but the population was over 4000. That number is mind blowing when you take into account that the carrying capacity is supposed to be around 400ish! To say the least...the overpopulation of horses in that area has had a HUGE negative impact on the deer and antelope populations.
As far as the reported harvest stats. Theses are quite skewed because the largest population of deer in the zone live in the Barry Point fire burn scar. A few years ago, you could easily see 10-15 bucks a day in the 24-27" range. Problem is..I would guess that 80% to 90% of all the bucks taken in the zone have been coming from that area. Instead of 24-27" bucks, you are now seeing 18"-20" bucks. The genetics are still good and a large portion of the bucks will be 4 points...but the sats don't show how the overall age class has gone down. Don't get me wrong...there is and always will be huge bucks there. But you have to fight the crowds in the burn (and I mean CROWDS!) and then the horses in the sage flat juniper areas. Traditionally, the larges bucks have come from those sage/juniper areas...did I mention HORSES!! I can't emphasize enough just how overpopulated those danged horses are! So much so, that you will find yourself putting much effort into trying to avoid them. You get them moving and they will clear the whole area out! I'm not kidding...you can easily see 50+ horses every day.
The buck of your dreams does live in that zone....but don't put a bunch of value in the stats. Success rate is high, but the age class has gone waaaay down. You gotta put some time in and be ver picky! As far as weather goes...yep it always helps, but the days of the true migrations are long gone. The big buck you might find during the late muzzy hunt was more than likely living in the zone during the summer as well.

Good luck!

 

[Azone]

Wow, sounds like the horses are a real pain in the ass up there. I feel without scouting it would just be a waste of points, or one hell of a gamble. Getting up there will be a priority starting in the spring. From what I have gathered from talking to a few people is the majority of the deer herd is resident and spread out in pockets, but the potential is still there for a giant if the time and effort is put in. Only time will tell, with as crappy as the hunting has been down my way the last couple years this hunt will be priority number one for anything I do in 2019. Odds are it will be once in a lifetime because I doubt I will ever sit on points for a decade again, unless I draw a tag out of the random pool.
One of my bosses is extremely understanding when asking for time off for hunting (he is a die hard himself) so I'm hoping to get up there as much as time and diesel money allow. If the scouting is promising in the beginning I will definitely sacrifice some of my A zone season in September to try and pin one down up there for October.
On another note, I wonder how bad shit would hit the fan if wolves came in and chewed up a couple thousand horses? Activists against activists, damn that would be highly entertaining. Thank you all for information so far!

 

[DWarcher]

Have roots that go waaaaay back up there. Have hunted X2 for many many many years, and I can tell you, it's got it's issues. They rounded up a bunch of horses this year...but it's really only a drop in the bucket. I think they took 700ish but the population was over 4000. That number is mind blowing when you take into account that the carrying capacity is supposed to be around 400ish! To say the least...the overpopulation of horses in that area has had a HUGE negative impact on the deer and antelope populations.
As far as the reported harvest stats. Theses are quite skewed because the largest population of deer in the zone live in the Barry Point fire burn scar. A few years ago, you could easily see 10-15 bucks a day in the 24-27" range. Problem is..I would guess that 80% to 90% of all the bucks taken in the zone have been coming from that area. Instead of 24-27" bucks, you are now seeing 18"-20" bucks. The genetics are still good and a large portion of the bucks will be 4 points...but the sats don't show how the overall age class has gone down. Don't get me wrong...there is and always will be huge bucks there. But you have to fight the crowds in the burn (and I mean CROWDS!) and then the horses in the sage flat juniper areas. Traditionally, the larges bucks have come from those sage/juniper areas...did I mention HORSES!! I can't emphasize enough just how overpopulated those danged horses are! So much so, that you will find yourself putting much effort into trying to avoid them. You get them moving and they will clear the whole area out! I'm not kidding...you can easily see 50+ horses every day.
The buck of your dreams does live in that zone....but don't put a bunch of value in the stats. Success rate is high, but the age class has gone waaaay down. You gotta put some time in and be ver picky! As far as weather goes...yep it always helps, but the days of the true migrations are long gone. The big buck you might find during the late muzzy hunt was more than likely living in the zone during the summer as well.

Good luck!

Spot on assessment.

 

[Jayhood]

How did the hunt go?