# Junction Valley CWMU Hunt



## BigT (Mar 11, 2011)

Returned last Saturday from my CWMU hunt in Box Elder County Utah on the Juction Valley CWMU.

I'll try and be nice as I did have a good time with my dad and son, but feel like overall it was a major waste of time and I pitty anyone who actually pays $1750 for a trespass permit, or the $4000 for a guided hunt.

I know the weather played a major role in this as well, but my overall estimatation of this hunt is that this private unit is way over hunted. I used the points I had on this hunt to get my 8-year old son off on the right foot in deer hunting. Wasn't necessarily looking for a trophy, but would soon find I'd really just be looking for anything with horns.

Night before the opener in driving the public roads on and off the unit, saw a lot of deer off the JV unit. It had actually appeared as though the deer had started an early rut as each herd of about 10 does had a decent buck with them. This got us pretty excited as to what our possibilities could be considering the weather couldn't have been better for the worse! The only scouting we were able to do in the summer was with the operator who gave us a quick tour of the property. This was helpful but in no means gave us the inside scoop to the property.

During the hunt, we got out and hiked into a lot of areas away from the roads. We did see plenty of does. The does were moving well. In the morning I saw one 1X2 with a large herd of doe. During the evening hunt, I saw fewer deer, but one 18" 3 point. Figuring I would see a dozen deer like this during the hunt, I passed. Next day, I saw one buck out of about 50 deer. It was a 1 1/2 year old 4 point. He was really small and I couldn't bring myself to killing it. I had to take my dad back home Saturday so we really dug into an area we'd seen a lot of deer in the morning. On Saturday, I saw over a hundred deer. I only saw 3 bucks that day all of which were on either public land or another unit. 

It was nice having so much space with so few hunters. But unfortunately as when I had left Saturday, none of the CWMU hunters had harvested a deer. To me this is pathetic and while I know the weather made it tough, the unit could be managed better. I think this unit is given 60 permits total that I know of. 6 to public draw, and 54 to be sold or given out. Its a decent enough size unit at 23000 acres, but after 2 striaght months of pressure the deer were very spooked, and very few bucks were seen. 

Not trying to complain. Maybe this is just how these CWMUs work. I've never done one before. 

I did think the operator was a decent enough guy. The unit just needs to be cut back on permits in my opinion.

When it was all said and done, I could have harvested 3 different deer. Just wasn't willing to kill such a young buck and make things any worse on the unit. BTW, the City of Rocks, which is just on the other side of the Idaho border is a pretty neat place and worth the drive to explore. My 8-year old just loved it there.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

Sounds like a CWMU hunt. Most are good for a first time hunter or older senior who can't get around as nimbly as they did in their younger years. I hope people do not put in for a CWMU expecting a trophy buck.


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## COOPERD (Sep 16, 2007)

What type of deer did the operator tell you to expect when you called him before you put in for the unit?


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## BigT (Mar 11, 2011)

To be honest, I wasn't really even looking for a trophy. I was looking more to show my 8 year old son a lot of deer and a lot of bucks. We did see a lot of deer. But from the 200 deer I saw in three days of hunting, and only 4 bucks I could legally shoot, those numbers to me are unacceptable no matter where you hunt. I was looking more or less to pass a lot of 16-18" 3 points, taking a 18-20" 3-4 point Friday night or Saturday. My son didn't care, I just can't bring myself to shooting a deer thats maybe 1 1/2 years old. We eat the meat, just didn't really need it this year.

On the flip side, I did see two very nice bucks on the unit just across from JV, and another close by that was very unique. 

At the end of the day, I could have harvested a deer. I wanted to more than anything for my son on his first hunt. But when I went looking for the little 4-point we'd already passed in the same area twice, he was gone. All this though, my son did have a blast. Got to do some serious rabbit hunting and target shooting with the .22s. Still had fun, just was disappointed with the overall buck numbers on a private unit. At least considering the total number of deer we saw.


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## Fishracer (Mar 2, 2009)

I guess i dont undertatnd how a cwmu unit works. I am not seeing the problem.


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## bloodtrail (Sep 20, 2007)

My son drew a two doe tag last year. He was only allowed to hunt one Saturday evening and one Sunday evening. We drove all the way out there for the Saturday night hunt and the guide was friendly. He showed us the boundaries and let go with approx 1.5 hours to hunt.

The does did start to come in, but every doe my son could have taken a shot at had a fawn with it. I don't shoot moms with fawns! It appears that some of the other hunters didn't have a problem with this as they tagged out on several moms leaving fawns to fend for themselves.

We ended up leaving that night since we don't hunt Sundays. We were very dissapointed to only have 1 1/2 hours to hunt a two doe permit that took almost five hours to drive to! I asked the managers if there was any way he could return for another evening because of the fawns and he would never respond to my questions.

I would not return and do not recommend this unit. It could have been a great experience for my son. One doe would have been plenty. I just won't shoot moms while they are nursing their fawns! I guess this is what we were expected to do?


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## Bo0YaA (Sep 29, 2008)

See this kind of info is great to know. I really wish we had a section where people could leave reviews of CWMU hunts. It would sure be helpful for those of us interested in putting in for the tags.


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## silentstalker (Feb 19, 2008)

You guys need to Contact the CWMU board and express your feelings to them. These type of units can be incredible and on the flip side the worst hunt possible. Change does not happen here on the forums. I do feel like talking about it here is very beneficial to those of us who may consider a CWMU hunt. I just recommend you also contact the board and let them know of your negative or positive experiences.

Also, What did the operator tell you to expect as far as buck numbers and size when you called him prior to applying?


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

silentstalker said:


> Also, What did the operator tell you to expect as far as buck numbers and size when you called him prior to applying?


+1.

If you were told the experience would be something drastically different then you have an argument. If people didnt even contact them prior to applying for the hunt... well I dont see the problem. Everyone who hunted there that posted did have a chance to fill their tag.

-DallanC


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## MWScott72 (May 23, 2011)

bloodtrail said:


> The does did start to come in, but every doe my son could have taken a shot at had a fawn with it. I don't shoot moms with fawns! It appears that some of the other hunters didn't have a problem with this as they tagged out on several moms leaving fawns to fend for themselves.


Everything that I've heard is that the vast majority of fawns are able to survive on their own come October. The only exceptions to this would be a late-dropped spotted fawn. I've never had a problem shooting does with big, healthy fawns...but then I come from OK where it's whitetails galore.


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## legacy (Sep 30, 2007)

I paid the $1,750 trespass fee to hunt this unit this year. My main objective was to hunt an area with my 70 year old dad where we didn't have 500,000 other hunters on the same ridge. The operator was a great guy and had no issues with him at all. 

I was a bit skeptical about how the hunt would actually go, but talking with the operator, I was anticipating seeing some decent 4X4 bucks. Their website had quite a few pictures of some decent bucks, so I figured if I hunted hard enough I could find something better than average for the unit. The unit is closer to 35,000 acres and there was 3 other guys hunting at the same time I was, so obviously there was plenty of elbow room which was great! 

It's a neat area and I had a great time with my dad. We decided not to hunt the fields because I felt I wouldn't find the caliber of buck I was after there. One of the guys that was hunting hunted the fields mostly and passed on a few small 4x4's. One guy ended up killing one out of the field on the second to last day. That buck was a very small willlow horned buck. Of the 4 guys hunting, only the one buck was killed.

While I hunted, we seen A LOT of deer and plenty of bucks. We were told that we could only shoot a 4 point deer (on one side). The four days we hunted, and the hundreds of deer we looked at, I saw 1 "legal" buck. That was the morning of the second day. He was with 8 other small bucks and I had him at 99 yards broadside. I put him in my crosshairs and even took my safety off before I decided not to shoot. I decided he was just not what I was looking for. He was a decent buck, but his G4's were only about 1 inch long, so I passed. I didn't see anything bigger the rest of the hunt.

I also believe the unit is over hunted. I thought it was a fun hunt, but I was pretty disappointed when it was all said and done. From the information gathered, I honestly thought I'd be able to find a buck that I would be happy taking. To be honest, I'm glad I wasted $1,750 and NOT my bonus points. I know of several other guys who hunted this unit this year and all the stories are about the same.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

This is the first time I've ever heard a CWMU enforcing any kind of an antler restriction... I didnt even know that was legal. Can anyone familar with the cwmu program clarify that?


-DallanC


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## jpolson (Jun 12, 2011)

DallanC said:


> This is the first time I've ever heard a CWMU enforcing any kind of an antler restriction... I didnt even know that was legal. Can anyone familar with the cwmu program clarify that?


He bought the tag, he didn't draw it. It's "ok".


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

jpolson said:


> He bought the tag, he didn't draw it. It's "ok".


Ah... ok that makes more sence, a condition of sale. Got it, carry on 

-DallanC


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## BigT (Mar 11, 2011)

This really was a beautiful area to hunt. Just not enough bucks to sustain the amount of hunters that hunt it. Legacy, that is interesting because I don't think any of the CWMU hunters harvested a buck. At least not the ones I hunted with. As far as the 4-point or better, not quite sure why the operator told us public guys that, but it was definately said. 

Before I put in for some of the units, I called several operators. This operator seemed to shoot it straight to me which I respected. He told me there were plenty of bucks and I shouldn't have a problem harvesting a 18-24" buck. I saw the one 18" 3-point on my opener that I passed on because I assumed I'd see a dozen more of the same.

Again, it was more important this year to get my 8-year old out on a great experience. Which he did, but he really wanted to get a deer. 

I have sent an email to the CWMU, and am planning on putting in some information on my survey I am required to so through the state. As it turns out, one of my neighbors works for the CWMU so I should be able to get his ear at the very least. 

Overall, we had fun. I saw more deer than I would have on a public unit, but saw fewer bucks by far.

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I do hope those looking to put in for a CWMU tag do research before applying for permits. I thought I had done well enough, and it cost me several years of valueable bonus points.


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## COOPERD (Sep 16, 2007)

were these the tags that were for sale on ksl?


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## legacy (Sep 30, 2007)

Yes, they were eventually on KSL.


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