X9C

[Capt. Nixon]

Anyone here ever hunted x9c? I just got back from scouting and now i'm starting to worry. I went into the White Mountains n/e of Bishop (silver something rd.) and found nothing. Terrain was less than friendly, although, there was quite a bit of water. I didn't go as far north as Benton, but now i'm wishing I had. Today I drove from Bishop to Big Pine and went up into the Bristlecone Pine area....at about 10,000 feet the terrain started looking like Mule Deer country....however...i couldn't find any water (or deer).

I'm starting to think I might have to just be satisfied with my X9A "photography only" tag.

 

[easymoney]

Just keep looking...
Yes, it is tough, lonely country and not for the timid. But, there are deer out there [/I]IF you know where to look and it's all "Mule Deer Country". You need to get out of the vehicle and burn some boot leather.
Also good luck to ya...

 

[Capt. Nixon]

wow, thanks

 

[WAY]

Capt. Nixon,


I have never hunted there, but the few poeple I have talked to that have scored in this unit have told me the following things. Very few deer in the unit and they are tough to find. If you do see a buck, it likely may be an old buck. There are monster bucks out there. Don't worry about water, big bucks can water at night and then walk two miles up a mountain before it gets light or even farther.

None of those guys really talked about areas to hunt or how they hunted it. I would sit and glass until you spot one. Maybe there are a few honeyholes in the Whites, but no one will ever tell you where. All the locals say " they're out there!" so hunt hard. One hint, I have seen a picture of a nice x9c buck and it was killed in some unbelievably open and steep terrain, so whatever that's worth. It will be tough, but maybe you will be rewarded for hunting a tough unit for the first time. This info is just from what I have heard or would do myself. Remember no x9c experience here. Get a big one!


Good luck,
Way


Also bring a shotgun for chukar, if they're in season?

 

[brubo]

Mr. nixon try mazourka cyn. rd. It starts on south end of indpendence across street from Mt. williamson motel. have not hunted x9c but know a local who has. maybe also try the new york peak area also, this area not for the faint hearted. also try to hunt as late in the season as possible. good luck. B.A.C.

 

[VHRAM]

capt. nixon , give me a email I live in simi also Ill come by and show you some spots on your maps, weve hunted it for many years, there are some very nice deer in x9c also alot of chukar.

 

[Capt. Nixon]

Thanks for the info guys...I admit I was sort of stressing about it when i got home today...but after a nice long nap...i had a different perspective! funny how sleep does that to ya. And your comments helped as well.

Way--In regards to the picture of the "open and unbelievably steep" terrain...the are that I found at about 10,000 feet in the Bristlecone Pine area seemed to fit the bill....it was actually quite amazing...huge, open rolling hills of sage with VERY steep drop-offs...perfect place to get up high before light and glass until my head hurts. Maybe that's where i'll start. And after checking my topo map today...it seems there are some springs a little further down the road from where i decided to stop and turn around.

ALSO...anyone have any idea where i can find out when they close those gates and campgrounds up there? is it when the snow starts or is there a set date...i know a lot of them up there close on october 31st...considering that closing weekend is Nov 6th...that may be a problem.

thanks again

 

[VHRAM]

Just remember to bring your warm clothes Ive been up there and some years its t shirt weather some has been extremely cold . make sure when your in the bristlecone area not to park off the road cause they get serious about even having 1 tire off the road.like I said on other post email me and ill tell you about some of the spots weve used Ill pull my maps out this weekend we used to pull x9c as our 2nd draw before they went to points and I believe it fills out now on first draw.were in d8 this year again.goodluck

 

[Backcountry]

Originally posted by Capt. Nixon@Sep 14 2005, 01:46 AM
ALSO...anyone have any idea where i can find out when they close those gates and campgrounds up there?  is it when the snow starts or is there a set date...i know a lot of them up there close on october 31st...considering that closing weekend is Nov 6th...that may be a problem.

Campground? Those "campgrounds" in the Whites don't even have running water... nope, no well or spigot, just a fire ring (bring your own wood) and a picnic table, so who cares if they are closed since all they provide is a place for city slickers to congregate.

I'll tell ya something else about how gnarly that terrain is... in those "campgrounds" at 10-11K feet, because there is virtually no water available, and because water is THE limited resource up there for all life, watch out for those little chipmonks. Turn your back and they will have eaten a hole into even the thickest plastic water jug in seconds flat... happened to me once, and then when I walked through the camp, every other camper had a similar experience. keep your water jugs out of site and in the back of your truck.

I would love to hunt the Whites. I've spent a lot of time up there (recreating, not hunting) and I've seen very few deer, but the deer I've seen were Eastman's quality.

If I were hunting up there this year, in addition to asking folks "in the know" about the area, I would go down to the USGS and sift through a ton of airphotos for the region. What's labeled as a spring on a map might be just an alkali dust bowl, and what may be a bitching sweetwater spring might not even be on the maps. Springs will jump off those air photos and might give you a starting place to make some plans.

Good luck!

Backcountry

 

[easymoney]

Captnixon,
I did not mean to sound condesending, but the fact of the matter is the deer are where you find them. And almost no one who has located any bucks in their hidey hole is going to disclose "the exact location"...
But, if you read "between the lines" and do the suggested foot work you will find plenty of information. There are not big numbers of deer in this area or any hi desert country, but they are there and as stated they are <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

the deer I've seen were Eastman's quality.[/b]

The majority of bucks I've seen have been out in the big wide open and as mentioned they can and will travel far to get what little water they need, so I would not sit at any water source for very long. You need to get out and wander around glassing.
Any of the drainages can hold bucks and it doesn't take much to hide one...
This area can be brutal when it comes to weather and it's best to be prepared for anything. The roads are not good and can turn nasty with very little help from mother nature. When I hunt here or anywhere similar, I take a plug kit and compressor/battery jumper, hilift jack and a shovel, as well as chains.
Everyone posting has given you loads of clues and tips,
Good luck...

 

[Orygun]

capt,

Tale all the info you have been offered an run with it. Also, you should have been scouting since the first weekend after you got your tag. I knew of an accomplished bow hunter who got that tag and went up every weekend and scouted for 2 months straight and gave up.

I had a college prof that has hunted that unit for decades and has some truly awesome racks. As big as anything you'll see from the Sierras. The biggest was almost technically in Nevada (the east side of the hills).

You can hunt from sunup to sundown every day indifferent places and never see so much as a dried up deer turd. Or you can slam your truck door and have a dozen get up and bolt mere yards from where you parked.

My prof always brought his shotgun. He would hunt and few days, find concentrations of quail and chukar, then come back and blast limits of them. In some regards your almost better off taking a few slugs with you and just chase birds.

Here's my suggestion (find an area along the Owens with lots of sign) then find a tree and pout a stand in it. A DFG biologist told me 2/3 or more of the deer in that unit are in the valley. Way back when an AO tag was ok for X zones, I missed a nice 3 pt the last weekend of the X9C season while looking for my tule cow. We saw several bucks on that trip, including a nice 3 pt crudely displayed out the back of a Jeep.

 

[tmoniz]

I scouted the Inyo's a couple years ago. Know the road out of Independence.
I can't recall a meaner hike. Saw some sign here and there.

As I recall a guy up at the Hot Creek Hatchery pulled a real big one out of that area a couple years ago.

Good luck. Break in those boots real good.

 

[hntnnut]

Try the area behind Fort Independence west of the aquaduct. I took a nice little forkey that dressed at about 180 acouple years ago. As orygun stated before you couldnt do worse than to set up a tree stand in the rite place. Also if you get a chance on your way though Lone Pine stop into Lone Pine sporting goods, theres a bruser of a buck that was taken in the river bottem between Lone Pine and Independence.


Richard

 

[jvle95]

Check out this month's edition of California Game & Fish. There is an article dedicated to X9C and another article on the various X zones. It may be a little helpful or not helpful at all. Good luck to ya.

 

[buckkillerdeluxe]

tmoniz-

you are correct, there was a monster taken from there about 6 years ago by a man who worked at hot Creek Hatchery...he was my boss and the deer was absolutely massive 31" wid, 20" high and lots of trash.

There are very few bucks there but they are some of the biggest in CA. Mostl of the deer taken are usually taken above 10,000 feet and very close to what limited water there is available. Look for springs, salt deposits and stands of bitterbrush. X9c is tough hunting and requires tons of leg work, glass work and gasoline.

If I knew where the bucks have been taken, I would tell but these spots are secret and will remain a secret to those who know.

 

[SierraFool]

I know the "Secret Spots"

 

[Orygun]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

stands of bitterbrush[/b]

That's THE key to any mule deer herd if bitterbrush is a habitat component. Even in many of Oregon's muley units, all you find is thick tmber with bitterbrush, and deer.