Any D3-5 hunters out there.

[Quacker Wacker]

Well we hunted up Hwy 88 near Bear River Res. I saw 16 deer. I would say all does/fawns except about 5 of them I only saw parts. We got hit with a hail storm that lasted about 45 minutes, leaving about 1 inch of pea sized hail on the ground. Even though I saw no horns we had alot of fun. This was my first trip bringing my oldest(11) son with me. He helped me, along with 3 others, drive a ridge to two of our friends. In the middle of the drive along a steep north hillside, the top driver got too far out front and pushed a big blue colored doe out of her bed in a small sapling thicket and it ran straight at my son. She didn&#39;t even swerve, missing him by about 10 feet. The cover was not thick and he saw her coming a good 30 yard away, man did his eyes bug out. Good thing it wasn&#39;t a buck, would have been hard getting the other guys not to shoot until she passed through us. Well it was fun, maybe we&#39;ll have better luck in 2 weeks. http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-wavin-yel.gif

[wildlifedesigner]

Hunted the opener in the Icehouse area one guy in camp got a nice 3x3. There was alot of pressure so I did not hunt that hard. At the DFG check station they had checked out 16 deer at 10:00 am, one of which was a real nice thick 4x4 the biologist said it dressed at 160 +- a few. Best: Bryan

[traxman]

Did a lot of walking in D3 this last weekend. It was my first time hunting this part of the state, and the first time I&#39;ve hunted deer with my father in 10+ years.

We didn&#39;t see deer, but saw a TON of fresh sign. It sure was noisy up there, some yahoos were shooting back at their camp from noon until dusk. http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-mad-fume-red.gif It pretty much ruined our Saturday evening hunt. The only deer we saw was a 3 X 3 in the back of a red pickup coming down 80. http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-biggrin-aqua.gif

Overall, we hiked up and down ridges and valleys, and we had an incredible time. A deer would have been the icing on the cake.

I can&#39;t wait to go back up this next weekend. Hopefully there will be a few less people, and a few less target shooters.

Anyone else out there score in D3-5? Just curious.

Nate

[Hawk 1]

I was up in D4 around the Granite Chief wilderness area and unfortunately we didn&#39;t get into the deer. I was surprised to find the trails that I was going to use not being there. The topo maps show the trails and some of the tree&#39;s still had blaze marks but for the most part we were just walking through the middle of the forest. These trails haven&#39;t been maintained for many years and as a result they were virtually gone. Our GPS&#39;s allowed us to find our destination but we ended up coming out and found ourselves very close to many hunters with a large number blazing away Saturday afternoon for target practice. There were so many shots going off that the deer had to be going for thick cover. This was my first hunt in D4 so I have plenty to learn but it was encouraging to hear that some of you saw and got deer.

Thanks,

[shaginator]

My first deer hunt in over a decade.

I was out in the southeastern corner of D5 this past weekend (9/28-29). Heckuva lot of hunters out there. Not a whole lotta deer spotted, according to several nice folks I spoke with, including the game warden.

Saturday, I snuck through the cover and the woods. Found a high-traffic area, and hid there hoping the crowds would drive a nice buck through. Nope.

Sunday morning I climbed above timberline and found some bedding and fresh droppings in and aroud sagebrush and lone junipers. As the sun rose, I began to count the orange dots on the ridges and down the valley... 1, 2, 3... up to a half-dozen. There were even a few somewhere in the woods below, and from the sounds of the conversation they were having, it sounded as though they were raised to believe that deer are born deaf.

By mid-morning, a group decided to do some target shooting, and from the sounds of the gunfire I&#39;d surmised that they were taking their frustrations out on beer cans. Then, there were the ATV guys, and a few rode through the wilderness area but didn&#39;t get caught.

I did some offroad exploring on my way back home and saw some awesome scenery (the valleys full of aspen turning colors in the late afternoon is always a sight). Exploring one canyon, I found a pair of does and fawns scurrying about. I asked one of the does where there might be some good lookin&#39; bucks, and as I expected, didn&#39;t get an answer.

I have to say it was, overall, one heck of a nice weekend. I learned a lot, saw a lot, and met some really nice people along the way. I&#39;m looking forward to being out there at least a few more times for the season.

[Dano]

Went up to Bowman d3 for the first time, dry, crunchy and dusty. Found a good spot hunkered down and waited for sunrise. Too bad I wasn&#39;t hunting hunters had one walk by without seeing me at about 20yds. thought real hard about saying hi ang scaring the bajesus out of him but it is public. 10 minutes later here comes someone else right behind the first guy, whatever! Did lots of scouting along the logging roads with the ATV and found some good places to go a couple of weeks from now when things cool down and hopefully not so many hunters, Did get a report of a guy getting a shot at a 3x4 but that was the only report of bone all weekend, lots of baldy&#39;s seen though.

[Megadeth]

Hunted private property in Colfax and saw 5 does in 2 hours. Havent been back since, but will go back later in the season. The potential is there, so its just a waiting game until i can get some time off. Good luck to all.

[sparky (akaT2)]

Hunted Sat. in the sly park area. Saw 1 doe ,1 buck, and alot of sign. It was very dry and tough to walk without scaring every deer in the woods. Talked to the warden around 10:00 and nobody else he had talked to had even seen deer. Going back this weekend to give it another shot. http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-faces-toast-beers.gif

[Horniac]

Our party of 5 hunters hunted north of Highway 4 up towards Ebbets Pass in D5. Four of us hiked in two hours to get away from the crowds. The opening weather was awesome - cold, blustery, and overcast most of the day and we even got hit with the same hail storm that Quacker Wacker mentioned. We saw a few deer and a couple of bucks but couldn&#39;t connect. The one guy in our group who was nursing a pulled calf hunted a short distance from Highway 4 with the other army of hunters. He ended up killing a nice 2x2 and missed a big 3x3 standing broadside at 75 yards. Seems like all the pressure near the highway had the bucks moving and worked in the hunters favor.

Went out Sunday morning, saw 4 does and 3 other hunters. Might try D3 with a buddy of mine this Sunday.

[Quacker Wacker]

Horniac, my good friend did a hike in just like you but in D3 and saw no deer. This is a guy who routinely kills nice Mule Deer with a recurve in Utah so he know how to hunt. I think D3 is hurting in the high elevation because they all live year round down low near town. Just curious, where do you reside.

[Horniac]

Quacker Wacker, I live in Sac.

Yeah, I tend to agree with you. Lots of deer down in the lower foothills in and around the small towns, though I am sure there are still plenty of bucks up high as well - just not quite as many nor are they as easy to find.................