Just how much land is involved? Stuver says they currently have 18 ranches under lease covering 250,000 to 300,000 acres, and estimates the controlled area stretches 100 miles east to west and 50 miles north to south. With only 10 hunters taken at a time, that means each person potentially has some 25,000 to 30,000 acres to hunt. With that amount of territory, finding a quality animal - be it an antelope, mule deer or whitetail - is seldom a problem. In fact, Stuver says the typical mule deer hunter sees 20 to 30 bucks a day and the typical whitetail hunter up to 15 a day.
Vehicles are used some because of the vastness of the territory, but Cedar Breaks guides also like to hunt on foot as much as a client's ability will allow him to. Of 10 deer that Stuver personally guided clients to last year, eight of them required that he backpack them out. The bottom line is, this is not a drive-around-and-shoot-'em hunt, unless your physical condition requires it. Last year, 53 deer hunters killed 53 trophy bucks. Terrain ranges from rolling hills and sagebrush draws to badlands and high rough hills (Cedar Breaks), with juniper and pine on the breaks of the Powder. Mule deer are found throughout the territory, while whitetails mostly stay down on the Powder River in deciduous timber, with some........(continued)
