# Vernon vs Book Cliffs



## inbowrange (Sep 11, 2007)

If you had a choice which one would you rather archery hunt and why?


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## stablebuck (Nov 22, 2007)

well it seems that you get leftover deer from poachers on the Vernon so I'd have to say Book Cliffs...


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## Birdbow (Sep 22, 2009)

I would go book cliffs. 100% chance at a decent buck. You can shoot a 18" 4x4 from the road and with a little work get a good buck.


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## duckhunter1096 (Sep 25, 2007)

Birdbow said:


> I would go book cliffs. 100% chance at a decent buck. You can shoot a 18" 4x4 from the road and with a little work get a good buck.


Would you rather get an 18" 4x4 from the road, or work a lil bit (Definition of the word "lil" may be open to interpretation here) and get a chance at a 26"+ 4x4, or bigger?

I've not ever hunted, or even been to the books... But I've spent many summers & falls out in the Vernon unit, just around the reservoir... Seen some pretty incredible bucks.


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## inbowrange (Sep 11, 2007)

I was leaning toward the Book Cliffs but my odds are better on the Vernon.


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## Broadside_Shot (Feb 22, 2010)

The Book Cliffs is a "Fun" hunt.

I think people need to realize that going into it. You see more bucks out there than anywhere else but the overwhelming majority of those buck are small 2x2, 2x3, 3x3, or crabby 4x3.

I tell people this and they seem to be just fine with it until after the hunt when they are frustrated that they did not see any good bucks and burned all their points.

There are a few out there but with the amount of people, they are scarce.

It sounds great leading up to the hunt but during the hunt the reality seems to get people down. Once you have seen 50 small buck in a day you naturally want to see a bigger one. When it doesn't show people get anxious. I think people really want a big buck on a limited entry hunt. I know I do.

That being said I put my Daughters in for the Rifle tag out there knowing that we are not "Trophy Hunting" neither of them have ever shot a buck.

I think if deep down the size really matters, which is totally Ok, I think the Vernon is the better choice.

JMO


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## highcountryfever (Aug 24, 2009)

Here is my opinion. Bare with me, I tend to ramble about these sort of things. In my opinion people don't understand the true nature of hunting the Books. If you are a trophy hunter and won't be happy with anything you won't see on a general unit, then the Books is not for you. Can you see monster deer? Sure. But they are the exception. The Books is an "opportunity" hunt. By that I mean that you will have the opportunity to see tons of deer, especially on the archery hunt. It really is like no other place I have ever seen. What you will find on the Books is that there are tons of bucks, but the trade off is that the majority are the "average" deer. Like what you would expect on a general unit. Besides the number of bucks, the one thing that sets this unit apart from a general unit would be the mass of the antlers. A lot of the bucks there carry a good amount of mass. I will stop my rambling with this, The Books is not the Henrys. You are going to see deer and have multiple opportunities to take a shot at a buck. But if you are going in with the mindset that you have to kill a 180+ buck then you will most likely be disappointed. It can be done but with the amount of effort to located a "giant" and the control required not to take an easy shot, you would be better served on a different unit.

Unfortunalty I can't speak too much about the Vernon unit. However if I were looking for a 180+ type buck I would be more inclined to go to the Vernon unit.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

+1 ^ you have a better chance of killing a bigger buck on the Wasatch Front then you do in the book cliffs


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## inbowrange (Sep 11, 2007)

I'm not a trophy hunter in any way. I would be tickled pink with a decent 3 or bigger.


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## highcountryfever (Aug 24, 2009)

inbowrange said:


> I'm not a trophy hunter in any way. I would be tickled pink with a decent 3 or bigger.


Then you would be happy in the books. But it is getting harder to draw. There are tons of "management" type bucks out there. The genetics turn out a lot of 3x4's. We also saw several really heavy 24-26" wide 2 points. My dad was trying to get me to go after one, but it was only maybe 24" wide. If it was a 30" wide 2 point I might have been tempted! As SWButtmaster kind of mentioned above there were 3 of us with tags on the archery hunt. The other guys both got small 3x4's I believe and I ended up with a narrow 4x5 that was really heavy. I am not a trophy hunter and it was my first kill ever with a bow. I could not be more happy with the results of my hunt.


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## stuckduck (Jan 31, 2008)

Broadside_Shot said:


> I think people need to realize that going into it. You see more bucks out there than anywhere else but the overwhelming majority of those buck are small 2x2, 2x3, 3x3, or crabby 4x3.
> 
> I tell people this and they seem to be just fine with it until after the hunt when they are frustrated that they did not see any good bucks and burned all their points.
> 
> ...


I agree.... having hunted last year with my brother who had a tag... We were very disapointed.. I think there are some shooters out there for sure, but not nearly as common or as many as there were 3 or so years ago.. it takes about 8 points to draw it now and I wouldnt waist the points for what we saw..


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

Never hunted vernon archery but have had great success with a rifle. It's closer to home for me and.I'm putting my daughters in for it this year. I always see big bucks out there.


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## Birdbow (Sep 22, 2009)

I really think you have a good chance on the books of getting a solid 22-24" 4x4 with some work. I hunted there 2 years ago on the muzzy hunt. I used a traditional muzzleloader and planned on keeping my shots inside 100 yards. I saw at least 10 bucks the first night 1/2 mile from the road. I had a shot at a good 165 class buck that night but blew it. The next morning which was a Saturday we spotted a 25" 4x3 with good mass from the road. I stalked in on him and shot him from 50ft. It would have been an easy bow shot. I was very happy with the amount of bucks we saw and the bulk of them were 18-20 4x4 type bucks. We hunted around the trail into the roadless along with everyone else.


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## duckhunter1096 (Sep 25, 2007)

This thread has been awesome to read. But sad at the same time. The Books are one of the more coveted tags in the state, but for seemingly no reason. Where I hunt (public land... not the wasatch) there are plenty of bucks in the 16-22" range, and we draw tags almost every year. Sounds to me as though the DWR needs to re-evaluate some stuff. I realize you can't exactly manage antler size, like you can herd numbers... But as stated above, most people aren't going to put in for an LE tag for years on end, for a chance at an "average, at best" buck.


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## sliverflick (Sep 18, 2007)

I fully agree, this has been an enlightening thread to read. I've got 7 points now and have been planning on putting in for the Book Cliffs...but I need to re-think my plan now based on this information. Like everyone, I'd ultimately want to hunt the Henry's unit but not sure I can wait another 10+ years to accumulate enough points.... Maybe the Vernon hunt is a good alternative....


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## travis madden (Sep 29, 2007)

I hunted the Vernon archery this last year. I had a great time. It was a tough hunt but worth every second. The country is awesome! I stalked bucks every day. I ended up shooting what I wanted going into the hunt. I would hunt it again if the opportunity came up. If you draw the Vernon I would be more then happy to share info.


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## ARCHER11 (May 26, 2011)

How many points did it take to draw the archery tag travis?


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## travis madden (Sep 29, 2007)

I drew it with 8 points


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## inbowrange (Sep 11, 2007)

Travis Madden how did your deer taste?? My brother and his buddy had muzzleloader tags either 08 or 09 both shot okay bucks but they tasted NASTY!! Tried a few different things but still no good.


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

inbowrange said:


> Travis Madden how did your deer taste?? My brother and his buddy had muzzleloader tags either 08 or 09 both shot okay bucks but they tasted NASTY!! Tried a few different things but still no good.


I shot a deer out there in 08 and it was horrible. You could smell it in the freezer. It was an older buck and tasted like sagebrush.


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## utaharcheryhunter (Jul 13, 2009)

I have to reevaluate as well.. I have been putting in for the book cliffs for six years, and have eight points as well.. dang I don't like this news.. funny thing is i was debating this exact same thing back last month.. now I have to decide and most likely make changes because I have already submitted my draw.. dang almighty..


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## El Casador (Aug 27, 2009)

If your not a trophy hunter then bookcliffs would be your spot. fun hunt! lots of 22" to 24 " 4x4 for the taking! I drew with 8 pts I shot a decent 24" 4x4 good mass and deep wide forks with 2" eye guards. if you look at the odds most people draw with 8 pts.  however every now and then you hear of hunters shooting some nice 30" bucks. like they say right place at the right time! or just plain lucky! we kept hiking 2 to 4 miles behind are camp and we where seeing bigger bucks. most of the people we talked to where road hunting they saw more bucks in the 20" to 22" range.they seen my buck and asked where I shot him I told them 4 miles of the main road and not from my 4wheeler :roll: but if your looking for just a decent buck that is the place.fun hunt if you have kids with you


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## travis madden (Sep 29, 2007)

My deer tastes fine not any different then any others I have shot.


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