First Time Mule Hunt....Tips Needed Please

[HunterDave]

On Wednesday I'm headed to wmu 501 on my first ever Mule Deer Hunt. My hunting partner has a doe tag and I have a buck tag. I've been hunting whitetail and moose for +30 years but this is my first time hunting mulies and I'm looking for some tips.

Fresh snow is forecasted for Wednesday so the tracks will be fresh on Thursday. The area that we are hunting is in a river valley that is hilly with bush and open areas throughout. There are a few areas with meadow/pasture type areas. A friend spotted 4 mule does at last light tonight so there are mule deer there.

I normally find what I feel is a good location and sit at first and last light. During the day I will still hunt for deer and, for moose, follow fresh tracks on foot or quad seismic lines.

What would be a good strategy? Lot's of humping and glassing or sticking to an area with lots of sign? I know that there's a lot of experience on this forum so any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[HunterDave]

Are all the mule deer hunters out hunting?

No tips or do I just hunt them like I would anything else?

[duncan4]

glass glass glass they can be up high in the mountains or laying in brush on the side of coulee's. find where the does are feeding and the bucks will not be far behind,. they are well into the rut by now. best of luck.

[cory3006]

My wife and I also have antlerless MD tags in 501, there are very few places that actually have Mule deer bucks or does, and all on private land, without telling you exactly where they are, try along the Beaver River in the farm fields but the mulies we have seen since Nov 1 have all been in fields where they landowners won't give access because they don't support hunting, the deer aren't stupid. Add to that the fact that everyone drives everywhere whether they have permission or not or whether your vehicle is parked on the side of a dead end road. Good luck, hope you get your buck, the biggest I've seen this year was a 130" 3x3 but they say there are some big ones out there.

[pottymouth]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

Are all the mule deer hunters out hunting?

No tips or do I just hunt them like I would anything else?

Are you using your xbow?










I'd glass the first part of the morning, maybe until 10 ish. Then I'd crawl it and pick some spots to push a little. The big bucks will still be tucked far enough away to be safe, and close enough to keep an eye on the girls.... The smaller bucks, shouldn't be to far behind the ladies. I'd look for the big boys, and watch where they go for there mid day nap. Sneak in and shoot him in his bed.

Good luck,

[IR_mike]

Originally Posted by cory3006

My wife and I also have antlerless MD tags in 501, there are very few places that actually have Mule deer bucks or does, and all on private land, without telling you exactly where they are, try along the Beaver River in the farm fields but the mulies we have seen since Nov 1 have all been in fields where they landowners won't give access because they don't support hunting, the deer aren't stupid. Add to that the fact that everyone drives everywhere whether they have permission or not or whether your vehicle is parked on the side of a dead end road. Good luck, hope you get your buck, the biggest I've seen this year was a 130" 3x3 but they say there are some big ones out there.

Im pretty sure I know the area your talking about corey and you are right. South of hi way 55 there are 4 landowners that will give permission but the one with the best property is a snowbird and probably not around.

However if the deer are on the north side of 55, the landowners are good.

The one landowner to the extreme south of where you speak of is a real knob....watch out for him, as he patrols everyones land and has tried booting me off land I had permission on.

[bessiedog]

I could really help you out.

For what it's worth, here's what I've been seeing.

Glass glass glass. Down here in the mornings , the herds are out feeding actively and the bucks ate heads down, lips curled , pestering the ladies.

The big guys are starting to get possessive, keeping the little guys wary, until they bed. Then they are in cover, but not far from the ladies.

We've also seen single bucks covering lots of ground actively searching.
I'm not sure the real big boys are ready to play yet, so they may be holed up still.

Most like to bed on high hills, they are big time watchers.I like to sight and stalk.

If you cross track, I've found it's no problem to close on a buck right now. Mulie bucks are big stupid in the rut..... Cept the big boys.

From 10 an to 3, they bed mostly, but they pester the ladies from time to time.

Find the ladies.... A fellah will be close buy. Guaranteed .

Don't know if that helps

[HunterDave]

Thanks all.

I'm not overly concerned about the size of the buck's rack. Big is nice but I would just like to enjoy a different type of hunt.

We have eyes in the bush that have seen does last night along the north side of the Beaver River on land that we can hunt on. I'm pretty sure that it's not a secret spot to the locals. We also have permission on land south of the river which, from what we've been told, would probably be better hunting. On Wednesday afternoon I'll scout/hunt the north side and we will probably hunt there at first light on Thursday. Depending on how it goes we might scout/hunt the south side in the evening.

I suppose that I could stumble around out there not knowing what I'm doing but I figure that I'd be foolish to not try to tap into all of the knowledge and experience on this forum.

Deer or no deer I know that we'll enjoy our time out there!

No crossbow Pottymouth. I'm going to try an easier rifle hunt for the first time.

[huntin]

If you can find them even if you can't get permission on the land they are on. Get permission close grab a fawn in destress call and blow away soon the deer will be on your lap. The bucks will follow the does this time of the year.

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by huntin

If you can find them even if you can't get permission on the land they are on. Get permission close grab a fawn in destress call and blow away soon the deer will be on your lap. The bucks will follow the does this time of the year.

Huntin, would this be a good strategy during the quiet time at mid-day?

[pikergolf]

Was out for pheasant Sun. the bucks are running themselves ragged over does. Midday didn't matter, I would get to an area where you know there are does and spend your time there. Sooner or latter some idjit buck will pass by with his tongue hanging out like he'd run a Marathon, not sure how good he'll be to eat. lol

[huntin]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

Huntin, would this be a good strategy during the quiet time at mid-day?

All day any day mule does cant get there fast enough. You may get some coyotes come in too.