D12 scouting advice needed

xjon

xjon

Active Member
Jul 26, 2014
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I know late in the season but never knew I would get drawn for this area and peoples advice of wait until cooler kept me away.
I plan on driving around tomorrow, don't know where I will end up but I will start at the 29 palms area and head south on the 95 to the 78. I've got the whole day and will not rush things. I figure I will leave at 4 am and just drive around and look at the hills and find trail heads to mark.
Anyone with suggestions and tips I'll gladly take. Places to see or waste of time, please let me know.
If you see someone out there looking lost, that would be me, give me a holler.
My goal is to narrow down 2 areas that I can explore deeper on my next outing.
 
walking around- 2hrs
Driving around- 14hrs
Miles driven- 600
Fuel gallons- 33
Brought hundreds of dollars of optics equipment-nothing seen
Glassed high and low-nothing seen
Got on road after last scouting area and 2 does on the road...
...and this buck (20 feet from where I stopped the truck)

DSC06717_zpsdhd0xddl.jpg


Border Patrol tried to tag me for evading check point, he let me go cause I was legal.
 
Regarding the border patrol agent, he mentioned that it is against regulation to hunt alone after asking where my hunting partner is? I offered to pull up the regs on my phone but he declined that. Is there any county law/regulation about that? This was north of Niland.
 
xjon said:
Regarding the border patrol agent, he mentioned that it is against regulation to hunt alone after asking where my hunting partner is? I offered to pull up the regs on my phone but he declined that. Is there any county law/regulation about that? This was north of Niland.
Click to expand...

If there is.....I'm pretty guilty too......:rolleyes:

Right place, right time is always important in deer hunting........;)
 
My recommendation is to find springs. Get a spotting scope, binos, and glass the mountains and washes all day. I have had some success doing this in new areas. Keep in mind regs on watering areas and legal hunting distances etc etc..


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All that glassing and the buck was by the road. Gotta love muleys. Just remember, just because you don't see them while glassing doesn't mean they're not there. Mule deer tend to magically disappear when they bed in that kind of country.
 
Mule deer pop up in the most random places. Crazy huge empty desert and then a buck will just stand up out seemingly no where.
 
xjon said:
Regarding the border patrol agent, he mentioned that it is against regulation to hunt alone after asking where my hunting partner is? I offered to pull up the regs on my phone but he declined that. Is there any county law/regulation about that? This was north of Niland.
Click to expand...
That is hillarious. There isn't any regulation. Never listen to a BP agent about hunting regs. Ask him to call the warden.

We here funny things from the state troopers out here too.

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Thanks for replies and encouragement. Goal today is to find one bedded in the brush, glassing.
Im pretty confident about my knowledge of the regs. I wasn't going to let him bully me into his BS which I think is the reason why he backed off. I would do the same with the same with Sheriffs also, advise them to get a game warden on the scene with any questioning.
 
Ok my goal of seeing a deer bedded in brush has been met.
A friend suggested to look up high in the boulders for the bucks. I can see some game trails heading up but all the glassing has come up empty. So far Ive seen 3 bucks (spike, 1x2, and i believe a good one but i was still in the truck) and all were in the wash. Should I stick with glassing up high?

Ive also read that the does will bed down low and the bucks up high. Getting frustrated since im striking out with the boulders.
 
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I'd stay where the deer are......The rut is late out there, but I like hunting around does.....2 cents
 
Thanks for the advice(s). Dusk was a bust. No bucks, only 2 does and 2 fawns. Had my self situated where I could see them coming from 2-400 yards. I was busy glassing up above that I noticed them passing my shoulder already at about 100 yards away. Although the strong wind was in my favor they busted me because they were scurrying. I blew that ambush. I was probably moving too much glassing. It was right at 630pm.
D12 is fun. The drive is killing me though.
 
Very cool thread, looks like your doing good!!
I'll be hunting D12 this year also, going out for the weekend during archery 10-21 to 23, then 11-10 to 13.

Good luck
 
For sure Nov those dates Ill be there. Maybe those Oct dates too. Very promising area.
Even if I don't see deer, I still have interesting things to look forward to:
Astronomy...first time ever seeing rings of Saturn (no pic)
IMG_6165_zpszzycpkfo.jpg

Military firework show
IMG_6135_zpsgwzloun5.jpg

I love the area!
Oh yeah I had an off roader heading my direction in middle of the night and came within 100 yards of me. Glad I pitched my tent next to truck.
 
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