Seems like it's on right now. Seen 2 great bucks on fb and others commenting on seeing deer and lots of scrapes. I cant wait for this weekend and the early gun hunt. Who else is going?

That place ought to have some good hunting this season with all the timber that was cut in spring.

It's VERY isolated and scattered right now. I too have seen the pics, heard the stories, but I live 10 mins from it and hunt it a lot (went this afternoon), and I talk to lots of folks who do the same, and the "rutting" activity is needle in a haystack quite honestly. Those folks have just got lucky and found the right spot (out of nearly 57,000 acres) where something was happening. And I think both of those good bucks (I know for 100% one of them was) were killed on the Bains Gap refuge mountain. I spent hours walking Friday afternoon and only found ONE little dim roadbed out the top of a ridge that had some scrapes. Biggest problem you're gonna have right now is the leaves are still on the trees and you can't see crap for distance.

You can try and keep it on the down low but I'm still going baby. Been the last 3 years and it's getting better every year. I'm gonna try and go again on another gun hunt. Several were killed last year on the early gun hunt and I lost/missed a stud. Still dont know what happened but that deer was hit, didnt bleed a drop that i could find but was a stud and his buddy wasnt bad either. If nothing else its gets folks in a tree with their rifle a little early and that's worth the drive to me. Good luck guys

Yea Jeff, keep it on the down low... your 10 minutes away, and have hunted it for 20+ years, he’s 2 hours away and on his 3rd season. WTH you know!!! 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️ 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Smh just smh......

I was out yesterday and what I seen matches what Ikillbux is saying. Seen one scrape, seen a couple does but it’s just starting. I’m trying my best to take off for the muzzloader week personally but so far it seems like the stars are trying to align against me on that. May just have to hurt some feelings.:)

I'll probably go Sunday. I have a lil spot on B I like.

243win, just because you had a chance at a stud last year, doesn't make this year a slam dunk. Slow your roll and listen to people who hunt it regular. BTW, if 2 studs were together, I doubt the rut was on when you shot him last year, unless they were both chasing a doe.

I can see Chocolocco from my front porch. I still have does coming to my feeder with their button bucks. There’s also a small 7 point still hanging with them. You’re still a few weeks away. Thanksgiving is usually when they get going.

I have hunted this place all my life and i can tell you that the rut is in full during Thanksgiving!!!!!!!

Wait a minute! There’s a rifle hunt this weekend! I’m bringing all my buddies and we’re gonna do man drives all day 😂

Dang guys sorry I get a little excited about deer hunting. I'll be there friday to scout a few spots and find out for myself. And btw I'm 2 hours and 8 minutes away lol

You better call a brutha!!!!! I'm in

It's all in fun! But I am being 101% serious, it wouldn't just floor me to see some "following", and the occasional scrape isn't unusual, but it's Thanksgiving to First couple of days of December really. Most of my places I like to gun hunt up there, I'm usually sitting on one ridge and looking at the sides of other ridges across from me, or maybe way out into a cutover, and right now you can't see NOTHING!!!!! I seriously couldn't hunt anything I normally like to, I''m having to scramble around and find some place I could actually see any distance with these leaves still on the trees. I hate gun hunting in a 50 yard circle

😎

When checking in / getting daily permit. Do you have to use a kiosk that is in the zone open that day? Or can you use any kiosk. Trying to figure a way not to drive all over hell checking in and getting to my spot.

Any kiosk

I went back up there around 1:00 today and scouted till dark, and I mean I almost covered every corner of zone A. There's a little more buck sign than I found last weekend, but I still didn't see anything that made me think I could kill a deer that Saturday. Just some scattered scrapes that looked a few days old, bunch of little rubs.

So you covered 25,000 acres in 4 hours? Man you need to be in the Olympics. Zone A is the steeper zone, you probably sore as hell this morning. LOL

Not exactly

I just made a couple of big loops in a couple of places about as far apart in zone A as you could. I wasted most of the time in that first place....second place had more/better sign, but it got dark and started raining pretty heavy before I could really see all I wanted to see.