Best Utah Limited Entry unit for archery?

Henry Mtns. #1 right now hands down IMO.

"MuleyMadness" wrote:Henry Mtns. #1 right now hands down IMO.

I realize that. I should have excluded the Henry Mts. based on the fact that I don’t want to wait any longer to draw. I'm 35 now and if I ever drew that tag I would either be extremely lucky(highly unlikely) Or an old man. Considering point creep I would probably never draw the Henrys tag. I appreciate the input though.

So to re-phrase the question. What do you think the best unit excluding the Henry Mts. would be for a guy looking to kill a great buck with a bow? I know I could draw the Vernon or Book Cliffs now and probably the San Juan or Pauns. I don’t want to burn my points on the Vernon though. Any suggestions?

You could draw the Henries with 12 or 13 points, but your right on the point creep.

I'm no help on Book Cliffs or San Juan, LOTS of deer on Books - not really lots of big deer but certainly some. San Juan lower numbers, still some big deer there to.

Pauns. is not what it use to be, not sure it will ever be but it's still a good hunt. I believe you can get a crack at a 170+ buck with your bow. It's no easy task anywhere IMO but doable with lots of scouting/hard work/effort/patience and a little skill mustard with luck. :)

Here is 3 good Pauns bucks from last year, not sure if they all made it? Public Land

(click to enlarge a bit)

By going from last years draw odds it would take at the most seven years to be promised a tag for the archery season down there. Now if they keep this Antelope Island hunt it will pull even more hunters out of the Henries pool which should make it even easier to draw a tag.

I got lucky last year and pulled a tag down there and I will say this not matter what size of an animal you get it will be the hunt of a lifetime just to be hunting there. The number and the size of the deer there are unreal.

I still had a hard time on my hunt looking at a 160 class buck and saying "Nah it's just another average four point. There isn't anything special about him." It still bothers me to type it now, but that is what you will have to suffer through if you get a tag.

Here is a link to me and my friends hunt from down there last year.

http://www.muleymadness.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11418


The above statement is 100% my biased opinion.

I think you could do well on the Vernon if you live close by but I've heard good things about the book cliffs if you get away from the roads.

The answer to that question depends on the type of hunt you are looking for. Obviously your best shot a big buck is the Henries but as you pointed out short of a lot of luck or long life that's not much of a reality.

I have been on the Books and the Paunsagaunt during the rifle season. The Books is a great place to go and see a lot of deer, but if you are looking for a monster they are few and far between. You will also see lots of people hunting, scouting, camping etc. It is just a fun area to be.

I am not an expert on the Paunsagant. My experience there was low numbers of deer with a few 170+ bucks. This was during the rifle season and the migration was in process. That would definately impact your hunt. For archery your scouting would become very valuable and you could potentially run into a real pig.

Now something to consider. I don't do archery, so use that as context. I believe that being able to regularly hunt an area will generally pay off in the amount of time that is required to draw one of these tags. Spending your time on the Wasatch Front which has some great bucks may be a great option if you are not already there. I would look pretty seriously at some out of state hunts as well, as an archer there are some great places to go and hunt every year to every other year.

I think with only a few more years of waiting, and 10 points already in my pocket… I’d stick with the Henry’s. Any hunt in the state other than Henry Mountains & San Juan and you’d be “burning points.” Here’s why:

At least one hunter in the 5 point group was drawn a tag from the “guaranteed” tags for Diamond Mountain, La Sal, and Plateau.
6 points… Book Cliffs, Fillmore, and Vernon.
8 points… Paunsaugunt
9 points… San Juan
12 points… Henry Mountains

I would rather wait for two or three more years and go for the Henry’s than burn two or three (or more) year’s worth of points I’ve already accrued on a “lesser” unit.

That being said…
Paunsaugunt would be my #2 - even though it’s on a decline… it’s the next best place to find a big deer in the State.
San Juan #3 - another healthy reputation, but I don’t know a lot about the unit… never been there but would love to have the tag.
Book Cliffs #4 - fun hunt with all the bucks concentrated up high, good access, and the highest average success rate over the last five years of the “lesser” units. I wouldn’t expect to see anything that makes you say “Wow” (lots of 140 & 150 class bucks, maybe pushing 160 but few and far between are the 170s you want). I’d be hitting the roadless area just to do a “backcountry” hunt + I hear of a lot of good bucks coming out of that part of the unit.

If the Henry’s is off the table completely… I think I’d roll the dice on a Paunsaugunt tag as the next best option.

"derekp1999" wrote:I think with only a few more years of waiting, and 10 points already in my pocket… I’d stick with the Henry’s. Any hunt in the state other than Henry Mountains & San Juan and you’d be “burning points.” Here’s why:

At least one hunter in the 5 point group was drawn a tag from the “guaranteed” tags for Diamond Mountain, La Sal, and Plateau.
6 points… Book Cliffs, Fillmore, and Vernon.
8 points… Paunsaugunt
9 points… San Juan
12 points… Henry Mountains

I would rather wait for two or three more years and go for the Henry’s than burn two or three (or more) year’s worth of points I’ve already accrued on a “lesser” unit.

If he could reasonably expect to draw the Henries within the next 2 or 3 years then it would make absolute sense for him to do that. The reality is that while he may draw the tag sooner it could take as many as 14 years to guarantee the tag. His odds wouldn't improve significantly until he is in the bonus pool which won't be for another 8 years. This all assumes of course the applications and tags stay somewhat constant.

"dahlmer" wrote:If he could reasonably expect to draw

Ha, in the Utah big game draw reason has nothing to do with it. lol

Point creep on for the Henry's averages 0.5 points/year since 2006, but it looks like it's quite a bit steeper since 2009 (there was an aberration in 2008 when the guaranteed bonus points dropped from 11 in "07 to 9). As much as I'd love to get into an analysis of what it would take to draw the Henry's (besides a deal with the devil, my firstborn, and my left...), I doubt that was the purpose for Beastwood (great name BTW) to ask his question.
One other factor to consider if you're like me (thirties, young family, mortgage, and just had to break down and buy a freaking mini van, etc.) the Pausaugunt tag is 54% more $$$ than the San Juan tag ($163 compared to $75). I know money shouldn't matter & 10 points means you've already sunk ~$100 into it anyway. However, the way things are going, at least for me, financially speaking I could swallow the San Juan tag much easier & still have a shot at a great buck.

I've been out of town doing some training for work and haven’t had a chance to check in. Thanks for all of the input. I would love to have a Henrys tag but I'm being realistic. I don’t think I would draw it any time soon if at all and I want to hunt one of Utah’s draw areas sooner than later. Like I said before I've spent a fair amount of time on the Vernon and know that there are the caliber of bucks I’m looking for out there. I think that killing one would be easier on the San Juan or the Pauns. well not easier per say, killing a 170" buck with stick and string is no easy task anywhere. I think one would have a better chance on those other units than the Vernon. Like I said before I really appreciate ever ones thoughts and suggestions. I guess the only reasonable thing to do would be to spend time on all of them and see for myself. The only problem with that is that I don’t have the time. You know the thirties,family,mortage, type stuff
I think I could probably thourally scout maybe 2 units besides the Vernon and my general tag.
Who knows, maybe I'll find one out there that will totally blow my BS theory out of the water.

With 10 points, I would hold out for the Henry tag. I drew the Henry archery tag this year with 13 points. I could have drew it last year with 12, but I decide to put in one more year for the any weapon and hone my skills with a bow for another 12 months. After doing some scouting on the mountain, I can say there is no other place like it in the world for mule deer. You can reasonable draw an archery tag in another 3-5 years, maybe sooner.

I'd say San Juan 1st and books second. been on both hunts and both are awesome hunts lots of bucks, San Juan has bigger bucks then the books. Ill be more then happy to give you some tips on where to go on either unit. we killed a 180 buck on the books and 205 on san juan

When someone tells you you will draw a Henry tag in two years because you have 10 points and that is how many points it took to draw this year it only shows me they don't have a sniff how bad point creep is.

There are about 100 guys ahead of you with as many points or more points then you. Only 4 tags are issued to the top point holders. This leaves 4 tags going to high point pool 4/100=25 years if you are the last one in your point pool to draw the tag. Now this doesn't take into account that there are hundredssss of more guys in the rifle and muzzy pool that have equal or more points then you and these guys are now wanting to hunt and have been bailing to the archery pool for the last 3 or so years. This means that for the last 3 or so years the true blue archery hunters have not been drawing the tags. So you could be more then 25 years if you are the last one in your point pool. But hey you could be one of those guys that says I have 10 points and it took 12 points to draw and im going to draw in two years or less. lol

If you would have been in the 11 point pool your chances at drawing would have been way better. Maybe 6-8 years or less. What a difference a year makes!

this is the order of le units id pick for archery. It would different order if I were choosing a rifle.
The San Juan has been putting out some great bucks and is a great archery hunt. I know some guys that will tell you it is the best hunt out right now because it doesn't have the Henry hype and poor draw odds but has Henry quality and reasonable draw odds. Then the pauns and then the books, then the vernon, then the oakcreak unit.