# Book Cliffs advice please!!!



## jess (Sep 5, 2014)

I drew a Book Cliffs tag this year for the rifle deer hunt... but I have never been there! I don't want to hire a guide so I would really like any advice at all from anyone who knows the area. We are planning on taking horses and my tag is for the north and the south side. Not sure what side is better to pack into.... Please help! :-(


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## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

Pack gas cans and 2 spare tires. Since the road has been paved I have not heard 2 spare tires is still a necessity, but I would er on the side of caution because several people that I have spoken to have ended up hitch hiking out of there with 2 flat tires to the tire shop. From what I hear about the Books seeing deer will not be the problem. 

I would hunt for 3 days to set your standards and decide what is worth harvesting and then use another 3 days to make your standards a reality. 

I have poured over documents about the area and I have talked to friends both before and after their hunts and there are plenty of deer down there.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

First off, Unless your are hunting the roadlees part,
Horses really are NOT needed .......


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

How did you get a rifle tag for both the north and south sides? 10A and 10C are the north unit and 10B is the south unit and unless you have a archery tag or muzzle loader tag you can only hunt the north or the south not both. You better check your tag and make sure what it is for. As Goofy Elk stated unless you have a tag for the south unit 10B horses are not needed.


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## jess (Sep 5, 2014)

Thanks! I'm not sure, but my tag says Book Cliffs (North and South) Hunt number 1911. I put in at the Hunting Expo for the $5 tags and drew it. Good to know horses aren't needed. Are there any four wheeler trails or just roads?


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

^^^^^^^ ATV FREAK'in Heaven !!!!!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

Only advice would be to watch out for bears, been 4 encounters in that area recently.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

OK, that isn't a draw tag then. So if you haven't been down there to do any scouting then good luck.

A cold rain or wet snow storm anytime between now and the hunt will get them migrating into the winter areas down low. 
On the north stay down low in the cedars and pinion, and if you decide to head for the south end then check out the canyons that go up onto the divide off of the flats north of I-70. ATV can be ridden all over the place due to the number of roads and if you decide to take horses in then I would suggest the Little Creek roadless area. Horses or foot traffic only.


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

A friend had the rifle tag in 2010. Pay attention to elevation, we rode around for 2 days looking up high closer to the divide but ended up finding more deer at lower elevations on the north end in the cedars & juniper like Critter mentioned. It was quite literally like somebody flipped a switch and we went from seeing an occasional deer here or there to seeing big groups of deer every couple hundred yards as soon as we hit a certain elevation.
ATV trails are everywhere, we put 120 miles on our ATVs the Friday before opening day. Everyone says the roads are terrible... we didn't think they were too bad & our rental RV had no trouble getting to the Indian Springs area. A lot of guys get into trouble because they drive like a bat out of hell on those roads... it's a dirt road not the Autobahn!


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## SLCHunter (Dec 19, 2013)

30-06-hunter said:


> Only advice would be to watch out for bears, been 4 encounters in that area recently.


Did you encounter the bear four times, or did you hear about it?

I'm asking because we've met (very likely the same) bear twice now, once in camp (along a dirt road), once on a trail (200 yards from that dirt road/camp site).

We left a sign "bear in camp" with a date when we left; we know how to be safe, but do you call a ranger? I was a bit concerned whether this particular bear might be getting used to that campsite.

(sorry don't want to hijack the thread)


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## Charina (Aug 16, 2011)

Last year I was still seeing deer within a couple miles of the divide during mid October (tail end of elk hunt). And that after a couple pretty good snow storms - one just before the opening weekend for general elk that dumped about 10 inches on my camp. Perhaps most of the good bucks had moved to lower elevations, but I question that with as many does as I was seeing every day. **** things were so common they botched a couple stalks and almost botched others!

That being said though, only one buck that I saw was a "quality" animal. And he was very skittish. He got one glimpse of me watching him through the binos from about 250 yards, and he instantly took off. So it wouldn't surprise me that the experienced bucks move to lower elevations the moment the rifle elk hunters arrive.


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## Dahlmer (Sep 12, 2007)

Regardless of weather, some deer will be migrating to lower elevations by the opening weekend of the deer hunt. If good weather holds some will stay back and you will be able to hunt higher elevations. However, if it snows, the deer will move almost over night. I've been in the roadless area under both senarios and when it snows the trails look like highways headed off of the top.


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