Deer Hunting the Henry Mountains – Utah

Deer Hunting the Henry Mountains – Utah

I have been meaning to come back here and share as much info as I can about deer hunting the Henry Mountains. MuleyMadness was the best online source of information for me before my hunt and I would like to give back to the forum if I can. This is the buck produced from my 2009 Henry Mountain Deer Hunt: http://www.muleymadness.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9992

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Some of this info will be standard hunting practice, but I hope some of it is a big help to those that draw out and don’t want to hunt with a guide, or can’t afford it. It was really difficult to get information from anyone. The peeps that know the most are guides, or working for guides and they understandably don’t want to share their info. What I can’t figure out is why regular folks that have drawn out and hunted down there won’t share info. Like they are going to hit the lottery again (draw out) this year and they don’t want to share info. Or they took some sort of blood oath with a group of insider guides in order to draw a tag. Maybe someone can explain the secrecy to me.

My hunting was focused around Mt. Ellen but most of the hunters and guides were camping down on the coyote benches and hunting Mount Pennell. I believe the biggest deer were pulled from Mt Pennell. From what I hear there are more deer on Ellen, but bigger deer on Pennell. Take that one with a grain of salt. During the hunt a ranger from Lake Powell (just came up to pass out tickets during the hunt) told me that it was pretty crowded on Pennell. From what I hear, guides and scouts that live near by, spend a lot of weekends camping out on different canyons photographing and taking video of bucks. If I had it all to do over again I would scout first for the deer and second for scouts that are there often. You could probably get a good idea where the big bucks are by keeping an eye on scouts real close to the hunt. I have also heard that Mossback flies heli trips over the Mt pinpointing big bucks, but I didn’t witness this myself.

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Scout, scout, scout, it’s THE most important part of hunting the Henries (and most other places of course). If you find a nice buck in the early part of the year (August) he will likely be in the same area on the hunt. I heard this from multiple sources and experienced it myself. It’s hard to get all the way down there sometimes, but I guarantee it will be worth it.

If you are planning to hike in and get to an undisturbed area, you will likely be disappointed. Anywhere that’s more than a 60 minute hike from the road may be too rough to hunt or hold many deer (but I’m sure they do exist). The other problem is that there are typically people where you wouldn’t expect them to be. Each hunter seems to have 10 to 20 friends down there and just about every face is being watched by someone. Every saddle you watch pre-season will have someone sitting on it opening morning. I’m not down on that, I just don’t want you to think that just because there are only 26(ish) tags that it won’t look like the most crowded public land you have ever been on. This brings me to what is likely the most important point.

There are so many bucks in the Henry Mt’s. You will probably see 60+ bucks a day and a good bunch over 175in. What you don’t see much of are the 200+ bucks. They are as sly as bucks on any public land you have ever been on, and you will have to hunt hard to find them and get a shot. I also personally believe that 85% of bucks over 200+ have a paid guide and a hunter sitting on them. If you see a guide in the same canyon several times just before the hunt, it might be wise to check that canyon out EARLY in the morning.

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Hunt all day. If you are looking at a Mt face with more than 40% vegetation, there is a buck bedded down in there and you will find at least one if not more bucks. Get to bed early and don’t nap during the day. If you’re not already camping on a buck then move from face to face and glass hard. This brings me to another point. If I drew out again my first priority would be to get the best spotting scope/binoculars I could afford. I would rather have a killer spotting scope, than a 4 wheeler down there (but both are really nice). For one, you can see many mt faces from one area. Secondly and more importantly, you need to be able to size up a buck in a short amount of time. You don’t want to have to take the time to get closer to every big buck you see. It will likely have a crab claw in the front or back. You need to figure this out fairly quickly and move on to the other 25+ bucks in plain view (dusk and dawn).

Another no-brainer, but an important one is how far you can shoot. If you can shoot over 400 yards your chance of getting a trophy in the Henries are MUCH higher in my opinion. The 160 to 180 class bucks feeding into mid day 200 yard away from you, will lull you into thinking your hunting tame livestock, but the true trophy deer are slipping away before you can get within 300 yards while you check out their less experienced buddy.

Most of the deer I saw where above 9K feet, but I have heard of monsters lower in the desert for sure. The weather was mild when I was down there and they were concentrated up high.

I have heard the coyote benches can be a great place to glass, but I never made it down there.

You will be visited by fish cops. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing; I’m just reminding you to make sure all your OHV’s are licensed and everyone under 16 has a helmet on. They don’t like a messy camp either. My point of view is that they call in extra cops during this hunt and I’m sure they make a pretty penny by the time everyone leaves.

Be patient. Most hunters will be gone by Sunday and some of the bigger bucks may relax a bit by the end of the week. Try to plan to be there for a whole week and don’t be afraid to pass on a buck if you’re not “sure” about it. You will get another shot in the Henries, provided it’s not the last day of the hunt. If your patient you will bring home a buck you will be proud of, whatever that means to you.

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Lastly, don’t let the pressure of such a rare hunt ruin the hunt for you. Drawing for the Henry Mt’s may be a once in a lifetime hunt, but it’s not really worth it if you don’t enjoy it. When people heard I drew out for the Henries they expected me to bring back a record book buck. I do hunt for trophies, but if the hunt itself is full of stress because of it, then you lose before you start. Shrug off the pressure to get the biggest buck on the mountain and just enjoy the time out there. The best thing about drawing for the Henries is the amount of bucks you see, it’s exciting and should be a big part of the reward. I say this partly in jest, but if people ask you what you’re shooting for, tell them you’re looking for a descent buck with an easy drag. This will lower expectations and make the hunt a lot more fun for you. Once you’re on site, make sure you tell your scouts exactly what you’re looking for. ;)

I hope this helps a little!

Good luck and happy hunting,
Sid E