Very excited about this hunt. Got drawn 3 years ago for archery and this time i get to rifle hunt it. We had last pick of compartments last time but looking for any info and recommendations on what to do and where to hunt. Thanks in advance. Ive looked online and surprisingly there is very little on what compartments are best and type of bucks killed on the rifle hunts. Oh and if there is a better compartment for possibly seeing warthogs id be interested.

The last time I remember a warthog being shot was in the "Long Pasture." Also, the "Baldy" had a few warthogs. Last year, the biologists said that the deer population was down on the "west" side and about "average" on the east. A big buck can show up anywhere on the Chap. Just scout it good on the first day then hunt "smart" and stay as quietly as you can going to and from your stand. Those deer know when season starts.

Personal opinion for rifle hunts, I like 8. Are you any good at long range and quick decisions? Very long and narrow, running basically east and west. Has a pond, two or three crossroads down the length thick brush at the bottom and two hills. The deer run across it from all compartments. Two of the youth elevated boxes.

Don’t go by what we say tho, best we’ve killed was 172”

The Chaparral Facebook page is good for pics and maps.

Pasture selection is based on the order your permits were drawn and the size of your group. If you are a solo hunter, you could also be added to a larger group. If solo, I would ask for Baldy. It is a standalone high fenced pasture a bit more than a section in size. A popup on the highest portion of the escarpment, Baldy, has delivered some very impressive bucks. It is a bit of a drive but no one drives through your unit. Stay out all day.

My goal was to kill the oldest deer I could find, simply because the manager was almost down on his knees begging us to not shoot the bucks under five. I don't think many listened and permits beyond that year have been reduced as promised.

Mine was 7½. I saw better antlers but they were not on a deer that I was sure was older than five years. I enticed this buck up to 50 yards with doe in heat scent. When he saw the popup, he turned around and I couldn't get him stopped until he was 125 yards out. I was confident he met my age requirement and laid him out with the 35 Rem. It was pretty cool as I killed a 7½-year-old mule deer at Elephant Mountain a month earlier. Two "once in a lifetime hunts" drawn in the same year.



Best of luck to you, enjoy the experience!

We hunted 8 last year on a youth hunt and saw 18 bucks and no does, and it was a doe hunt. If you feel comfortable shooting at 200+ yards, this is a great spot.

do you have pics of the mule deer?

With the north slope of Elephant Mountain in the background.



The biologist told me that he had spent the youth hunt trying to find him as he thought that he probably would not go another year. I saw him the first day of my hunt in some very thick brush, about 30 yards away. It was so thick that I could not tell if he was a whitetail or mule deer. I killed him late in the morning of my third day. I saw him briefly upslope heading down and could tell he was the best deer I'd seen yet. He cleared the brush along the two-track ahead of me, and I shot him, offhand, and 197 yards. It happened in seconds.

nice mulie!!

Thank you all for your info. There is 2 of us and we are olenty comfortable at 200. My problem is judging deer. Im not a novice but inwould be lying if i said i could tell a 5 yo from a 6 or 7.