Christian Valley

[jjensen20]

headin' out to christian valley this weekend, just wandering if anyone has had any luck out there i've hunted there for years and always done well, just wandering if anyone has seen any decent bucks, and has there been a ton of hunters in there? last year wasnt to bad as far as other hunters go.

[slyfox]

I was up there last week for whitetail doe there were some hunters around but it was not crazy did see a nice 3 point but man are thay fast!

[calvin L]

With the rut around the bend the #'s of hunters are going up . :(

[Robert_G]

With the rut around the bend the #'s of hunters are going up . :(

Actually, there are more hunters just after Thanksgiving when the doe tags come into effect. I always go up in Nov, and its still busy, but nothing like mid OCT.

[WoodOx]

Yeah, might have changed as I havent hunted it heavily in the past year or two, but in Nov. I tended to see MUCh less traffic than in Oct. I mean the difference of like 4 cars per road lmao

[GoatGuy]

Haven't hunted there in quite a few years but there's always some good bucks that get pulled out. Usually count on running into a 125-135 if you hit the bush.

[dana]

I know guys that steadily pull out 150-160 class whiteys out of there every year just by avoiding the gong show on the roads and hunting the timber. But GG is right a 125-135 class buck is pretty damn easy to find.

[WoodOx]

I agree, the entire trick is to STAY away from roads/cuts easily accessible lmao.

160 class whitetails outta christian valley every year? Now thats a bit of a feat imho

[dana]

Actually not that big of a deal if you do the research and put a lot of time in. The guys I know are not weekend warriors.

[WoodOx]

My point exactly ;D Not weekend warriors.

A 160 whitetail is a great buck - if you dont mind me asking how do they typically hunt them? Whitetails prowess and intelligence are two reasons I hunt mules more lmao.

Like still hunt/tree stand/spot and stalk (possible with whites??) etc.

thanks!

[dana]

too many guys give big whiteys this air of being smarter than a big muley. Couldn't be furthur from the truth. You want to kill a big whitey, you just need to do some homework and pattern him. A big muley doesn't normally have any patterns.

[WoodOx]

How do you hunt em Dana?

Treestand?

And yeah you are right, mature mule deer are ALL over the place - imho the best way to find em is when he has his nose up the a$$ of a deer of the opposite sex! =D

[dana]

The best way to kill a monster whitey is when he has his nose up the ass of a doe too. Your point is? You want to compare the smarts of a really big whitey to a real big muley, the fact is they both don't get old by being stupid. You want to compare the huntabilty of a real big whitey versus a real big muley, whiteys are easier to hunt. I'm talking Big deer, not dinks. fact is dinks from both species are pretty damn easy to kill.

[NEEHAMA]

big mulie's run 100 yards then stop and look back to give you a shot. large white tails run zig zag 200 yards then jump into a swamp and breath through a straw untill hunting season closes. that's the truth!

[Fisher-Dude]

I have shot about five times as many mulies as whitetails, however I have a book whitey. I don't have a book muley. I'm with dana on this one.

[BIGHUNTERFISH]

If Dana says a big whitetail is easier to shoot than a big muledeer it must be true why because Dana said so,he has hunted both species all over North America just read one of his books or articles in the popular hunting mags .If Dana says so, it must be true,I just cant find his name in any of the record books.Can you ? :lol:

[dana]

The message boards are about sharing opinions. You disagree with me, that is totally fine. But if you look hard enough you will see my name in the BC Book. ;)

[GoatGuy]

The guys I know are not weekend warriors.

Uh oh, now you've said it! Be prepared to get slammed!:) :) :)

[NEEHAMA]

i once seen a big white tail buck out in a slash. wearing a president Richard Nixon mask just like in the movie point break. don't tell me their not the more cunning animal! ok i'm not sure it was a mask. but the damn things just don't seem to co-operate! they jump up, snort and you never see the damn things again. mulies, and i mean big mulies try to have stare downs with ya. look at my gallery! big mulies baby! no problem.

[BIGHUNTERFISH]

My opinion is you can't compare the two deer species It depends on the time of year the terrain ,hunting pressure etc.I have on many occassions walked within 30 yards of an exhausted rutted out mulie buck,the deer just stood and looked at me.Big mulies as well as big whities are taken in hay fields every year ,nothing complicated about that.A muledeer will show himself in more vulnerable places than a whitetail and for the most part whitetails do not give you a 2nd shot,mulies often will.Just my 2 cents.8-)

[Ubertuber]

We used to hunt the CV, but haven't for a few years. There is loads of places to go that are not crowded, you just have to find them (and it's not hard to do either).

[mark]

big mulie's run 100 yards then stop and look back to give you a shot. large white tails run zig zag 200 yards then jump into a swamp and breath through a straw untill hunting season closes. that's the truth!

I second this! In my experience whities are way harder to hunt than mulies, big or small doesnt matter. Ive seen lots of huge mulies in my life, ive never even seen a big whity that wasnt in the middle of a farmers feild!

[WoodOx]

Dana the only reason I piped up is b/c Ive taken large mule deer (160 class etc) and seen/passed a number of them around that bracket. I DO admit I have put no where near the energy in whitetails, but the whitetail deer hunting I have done has illustrated a smart animal. I was once told ( I know, only hearsay) that whitetails are the 6th smartest animals in the world. No idea where mulies stand, but I wouldnt say top 10.

Who knows though, maybe spend more time, and theyll be easy too!

[dana]

See that is where our thoughts really differ. It is a matter of perspective. You call a 160 class buck big, I say he's a nice young buck with a lot of potential. I would not classify him as a giant. I would equate a 160 inch 3 year old buck the same as I would a 130 inch whitetail. Not that difficult to kill. Again this is a matter of perspective. Now you start talking about 180 class muleys, I would equate them to 150 class whiteys. They have a few more years under their belts, have survived more than a few close encounters with predators of both the human and wild kind. They start to wise up and are pretty damn tough to hunt. But again, with some serious research, both caliber bucks aren't that difficult to find. Now, jump it up a notch, a 170+ whitey and a 200+ muley, now you are talking BIG. Finding them takes a whole lot of homework. You put the same amount of energy into both and chaces are, that big whitey is going to get killed because you'll ambush him becaue you have him patterned. Now that muley is a different story. ;)

[sidney-hunter]

anyways.... back to the christian valley.... just got back, lots and lots of does. saw one bruiser mulie taken up high, and a few dink spikes and forks in 3 days of hunting.

[WoodOx]

did you take the bruiser mulie or someone else?

[sidney-hunter]

we were walking in a big cut, saw nothing so we moved along. drove onto the next road... got out and started walking, i heard voices so i looked across to a little bluff about 30-40 yds away. two lucky guys and a kid on quads had gotten there before us and had actually spooked the big guy up and shot him from where we were when we saw them. daamn:?

[eastkoot]

Quads ????

[Fisher-Dude]

Quads ????

*****!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[WoodOx]

Just got back from CV.
Tried to mix it up, as I said im less experienced with mule deer. A fair bit of hunters, but we got off the beaten track and started through some bush. Pushed 3 bucks out, no shots though.

A question to Dana - do whitetails typically return to their daily pattern once disturbed?

Also, do you typically take 170+ mules, 150+ whites all the time?
Just curious, cause you must know your $hit if so!

[NightOwl74]

I find whitetails harder to hunt. I've learned a few things over the years about whitails. One thing I learned is that in a mixed group of bucks and does, a doe will be on "lookout" near the edges of timber. So it is important to glass the edges of the treeline, just inside the trees, before aproaching an area on foot. They also try to situate themselves above oncoming danger, giving them a better viewpoint. How many times have you been walking down a trail or overgrown road only to hear clomp clomp wheez wheez from a very strategic position? Chances are it was a whitetail imho.

[4pointer91]

Used to hunt the CV area but too much logging & too many hunters now. If you want to hike you can still find the deer or elk of your choice.

[mtnmax]

Heading out to CV this weekend. Haven't been there for a couple years. Plan on going to a couple spots and walking in far off the raods. Hopefully dad and I can find something to make peperoni with.

[WoodOx]

Good luck - walk slow, sholdbe quiet as its been wet. Keep the wind n your face, walk mornings and evenings. Post your succes here!

[blaker_99]

Been over in the CV a bit lately, haven't seen much for good sign or animals. Of course there are several does and fawn combos and the odd little spike or 2pt. but nothing worth taking down if you're looking to fill some space on the wall. To me it seams there is an over population of hunters both road hunters and bush hunters for my likings. Was out on Sunday and counted over 30 vehicles as they passed near by my tree stand. With this amount of pressure in the valley I wouldn't be surprised if the big bucks are reading the regs and waiting for the end of the season in an illusive dark timber patch. Just my two bits on the subject, I love the CV but too many people is an unfortunate battle. Cheers.:-(

[sparkymacker]

I have not hunted over there since the 80's, I thought there was too many hunters then!

[WoodOx]

I agree, there are a ton of people.
Was too there last weekend - had about 3 other groups of hunters hunting the area I was sitting in, but none of them left the road.

I know a couple guys who have gotten 160 class whitetails outta there, but they are few and far between. I suppose any deer - whitetail 160 or mulies 180 - are few and far between though.

Push areas where you would never think of walking, because chances are most ppl never htink of walking there, and thus the deer will. I did last weekend and jumped 3 bucks outta bed. I know jumping whitetail doesnt do much good, but what can I say, Im a mulie hunter lol!

[mtnmax]

Went back to my little spot in the CV and it didn't let me down. You got it, I finnally got my first Whitetail buck. Nothing big but it is meat in the freezer and that what I wanted. Oh ya, it all happened 15 minutes into the first hunt on Saturday morning. Lots of sign in the bush and little to no people were I go. Sunday was not so good for dad but all in all it was great to spend time with dad and bag my first whity buck. Will post up a picture in my gallery tomorrow after work.
mtnmax

[Radar]

Good for you MTN, I'm heading out this weekend with my daughter, hoping to get her, her first deer. We'll see how it goes.....