Haven't drawn any tags this year and kind of just forgot about Nevada...then I get the email saying I can hunt the Ruby Mt. Wilderness for big muleys with a longbow! Didn't see that coming! Kind of changes my plans...but I will be glad to adapt! Anyone do this hunt before?
David
Sweet
thats awesome!
Nevada has some monsters-big as elk I hear! We want pics David.
I think I'll have to bring my camera for this one!
Good idea on the camera, I'd like to see the arrows you make up for this trip! Good luck! :archer2:
I am in the process of planning my Unit 65 Nevada Mule Deer Hunt. First Mule Deer Hunt and doing it with my Recurve.
Good Luck, Randy
Congrats and good luck.
Congrats! Good hunting.
WAY TO GO Snag!
:jumper: :jumper: :jumper:
It will be a most-excellent hunt!
Keep the wind in your face!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
Congrats David!! I've heard it's a fun hunt.
Congrats David!
And good luck too!
Bisch
Congrats and good luck!
I hunted it last year and saw alot and got close to a few, but could never make it happen.
Let me know if I can help you. I have maps, and know of at least one spot you may want to consider. It's beautiful country!
Oh, and don't forget to pack an ultralight rod. I packed in a little 3wt fly rod and caught more brook trout than one could shake a stick(bow) at! ;)
Good info on the flyrod Bill. Sounds like a must. I am open to any info that you are willing to share. I have talked with a friend and have some to start with.
I never hunted the Ruby's, been around them is all, I rifle hunted the area South I believe of Austin NV, it was very much a "king of the hill" situation, get high and look down. It's very rugged country if you haven't been there. Good boots, good optics and a lot of gumption are in order for a good trip. It's very ruggedly beautiful country, I really liked it a lot. I was stationed there in the Navy, and took a guy from Oklahoma hunting, he got a nice buck and was complaining about how hard it was to get his deer out, heck a guy seen us from the road and made his way over to us on an old two track and hauled us out, but not untill we had drug the deer a good ways, wasn't that hard really, anyways, he was saying, man, in Oklahoma, i'd just drive the truck up to the deer and haul it out, and I told him, someday, you will be telling your grandkids about this hunt and it will seem pretty neat, the next day, he looked at me as we were sitting at the campfire eating a chicken fried Sage Grouse and said, you know man, your right, this is the stuff stories are made of and his attitude had changed tremendously. I absolutely love Northern NV and am very envious of you!
Dave,.
Congratulations on the tag! You gonna use a glass or wood bow. you might want to read Dewight Schuh's book Hunting Open Country Mule Deer, there is as lot of good information in it. What are the dates of the hunt?
The dates are 8/10-9/9. Don't know yet when I'll head down. I will be here when you come through Walt. If I can get confident with a selfbow I'd like to hunt with it. If not, I'll be hunting with a glass longbow that a friend made me. Wood arrows of course!
Sounds like great country David. I like that description.."ruggedly beautiful".
PM sent Snag!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
Back at you David. Thanks, David
David,
What unit(s) did you draw?
Bob
Rifle hunted the Rubies many times, drew tags again this year. Secret pass area is very good. I have a good spot up in Joe Billy Basin. If you go all the way to the top there are some monsters. Getting close is another story. Good Luck!
Great to hear you drew an unexpected tag. Keep us posted with progress. Thanks for sharing so far!
Leonard, we are thinking alike.
Congratulations! I got my email from Nevada too - only mine said "UNSUCCESSFUL DRAW". Oh well, there's always next year. Good luck.
All right Snag! Congrats! Now you just gotta find somebody to make some arrows for ya! HA! Can't wait to read about the hunt here.
Never hunted there bit congrats on the tag!
Awesome Snag that a great tag to have in the pocket
Snag, I've hunted the Rubies almost every year since the late 90's. The good news is it is a target rich environment. Lots of forks-mediocre sized 4 points. When I first started hunting up there, I called it the 140" factory. There were bucks right at and just below the P&Y minimum all over. Now, that is a different story. Too many years of too many tags. Still a healthy deer population, just smaller bucks and more lopsided ones (4X3, 2X3 etc). Despite the reduction in trophy quality, I can't stop going. I switched from wheels to a stick a handful of years ago and that has made the hunt really fun again. I was having a hard time finding deer I'd want to punch my tag on, with my stick, virtually every buck is in danger of being stalked. You'll want to prepare to backpack in to get away from the road hunters. I'd suggest avoiding camping at a lake, you'll probably have company. The Fish & Wildlife doubled the number of deer tags for that unit a couple of years ago, so working a little extra to put yourself away from the trailheads is effort well spent. The Rubies are suffering from the lowest winter snow accumulation they've experienced in 30+ years. Keep an eye out for water sources when you are planning for your hunt location. There are creeks in the bottom of most canyons, but you don't want to have to drop 1,000+ feet in elevation to get water. Look for springs on the map that are higher up. There are a few commercial packers that work the Rubies, you might want to consider getting dropped off and picked up later. It is about 4,000 vertical feet on average from the valley floor to the top of the mountain and it is a HOT hike up from the bottom. I've had great success glassing from a vantage point, watching them bed up and then slowly stalking from above. Drop your boots and put on 2-3 pairs of cheap, thick socks for closing the gap. The terrain can be favorable for stalking if you find areas that have some broken topography to work with. Prepare for shots in the 20-30+ yard distances. The bucks will be in bachelor groups, so there are a lot of eyeballs to contend with. If you want to PM me to bounce locations off of me, I'll give you whatever feedback I can. I've hunted out of the same trailhead the whole time I've hunted the Rubies, so my knowledge is somewhat geographically limited, but I'm happy to help out however I can. Watch the video on my site to see some of the country that you'll be hunting. The buck I missed is exceptional for this area now, in my recent experience. I've seen a couple of good bucks in the last 2 years, so they are out there. Good optics are a MUST!!!!!! I think 10X is minimum. If you mount them on top of a tripod, you'll be amazed at how many more deer you'll find. Good luck, I'm up there opening week. Can't wait!!
Man that sounds fun. I've always been intriuged by mule deer. It would be a welcomed change of pace from the long hours sitting motionless in a treestand.
Congrats on the tag! Take lots of pics.
hey snag.. Ive got the same tag as you. I have lived in the elko and spring creek area my whole life, alas I have only taken a few deer from area 10 my usual haunt is area 7. I have been hunting area 7 since I was a kid with rifle. but since getting into archery I finally feel ready to try hunting with a bow and I decided that I needed to make a grand backcountry wilderness hunt so I put in for the rubys. like I said Im no expert on hunting the rubies but I am very familiar with the area and I will be doing lots of scouting. if you have any questions just send me a pm
Thanks guys. South pm sent. Matthew I'll send you my number and maybe we can talk a bit.