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Mule deer hunt recommendations

Will12785

Will12785

Red Skull Member
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
174
Messages
817
Loc
Syracuse, NY
I think I would like to try my hand a at a mule deer hunt. I have no clue where to start.

I don't think I need a guide and I'm a fairly proficient backpacker, so I can probably tent camp it to keep cost down.

I have hiked New Mexico before, so I'm thinking NM or Colorado, but I'm just guessing here.

Drive or fly, probably positive and negative to both?

Anybody with experience, I would appreciate some input.
 
Missouri Breaks - Eastern MT is my sorta go to. Lots of walking and glassing. Guess don't know on the guide part. Always found my own but sorta live in the area. Not a pro or anything. I like to drive, Detest planes anymore.
 
I hunt around pagosa springs colorado. Buck tags take roughly 3 years to draw but its a good hunt. Alot depends on weather as the deer are migratory. Colorado moved there season dates back a week wich pute the 3rd season more in the rut so chances of a bigger buck are better. Look where no one else is looking ive never needed any fancy gear just some orange and a gun and alot of walking. Coming from a different state i dont have the time to do alot of scouting. We just figure out if the deer have migrated or not on the first evening and go from there.

We primarily focus on elk but there both hunted the same way so they go hand in hand. Ive never eaten a buck tag there and usaully kill a nice 4x4 by the end of the week All on public land. You will see alot of people but dont let it discourage you, most drive the road or just sit on a field. Though im sure some of those guys get a shot your chances are better if you keep moving. We get most of our animals up high in heavy timber within a 100yds. Spending your first season just learning the area will pay off in the long run. The area we hunt , my familys been hunting it since the 70s so we know it better than most and can pull bucks and bulls from the most unexpected places.

We always drive so we can pack everything we need and bring home all the animals. We've had guys fly in to meet us but we ended up packing all there stuff to and from in the trucks. One thing ive noticed in recent years is guys camping exactly where they expect to see Deer or elk and wondering why they see nothing. Set up camp aways from where you plan to hunt.

We see alot of different hunters and techniques being used back there every year. It just seems the western hunters that are always on the move have a better success rate. We mainly still hunt and do controlled drives. Wind makes or breaks the hunt. Water tends to be everywhere so thats kind of a crapshoot and theres usaully plenty of feed so its just finding a area that holds animals and sticking it out.
 
It’s not too late to put in for the TX mule deer draw hunts. There is a low chance of drawing, but nice mule deer are killed each year. I’ve been putting in for several years, and haven’t drawn yet.
 
Bumping this thread to give a little update. I bought preference points in MT and CO. I a planning to hunt archery in Nebraska but now it looks like all the units with mule deer are draw for non residents. I may put in for it and see or just buy a point.
 
Sounds like even trying to hunt out in bfe is crowded. There is a line for everything
 
Seems winter was also pretty hard on critters this year. Wouldnt surprise me at all if they cut back on the tags a bit
 
Aggie06 said:
I got a email yesterday that Colorado cut a bunch of tags in certain units due to the hard winter.
Click to expand...
That or... governor Jarred Polis' "life partner" Lester, an animal rights extremist, influenced the DOW. Honestly, I'm surprised that all hunting hasn't been banned in CO. They're working on the guns right now...
 
FrankenToy said:
That or... governor Jarred Polis' "life partner" Lester, an animal rights extremist, influenced the DOW. Honestly, I'm surprised that all hunting hasn't been banned in CO. They're working on the guns right now...
Click to expand...
Don’t need guns for mule deer. I’ve killed more with an F350 front bumper than with a rifle.
 
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