Help me learn! Need resources

[Pdotson]

I drew my first mule deer tag and I am looking for resources to learn. Books, pods, etc. I have Valerius Geists mule deer country I’m going to start reading next, and I know Robby Denning wrote a mule deer hunting book. Anything you would recommend for me to learn more about them? Unfortunately I’m an easy 8 hours from mule deer country and can’t easily put boots on the ground watching them. Nothing replaces that but anything helps.
Thanks!

 

[Joe2Kool]

I do not consider myself an expert on MD, and definitely haven't hunted MD as much as many on here, but a few things:

1) Decent pair of binocs, say 10X42. I wouldn't go smaller on power or objective. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars. A decent pair (Vortex, Nikon) can be found online at Cabelas, Midway, etc. for $200 ish. Some may disagree with those being "decent," but just starting out, they're fine

2) Decent rangefinder. Again, you don't have to go overboard. Same comments as above. Often you can find a package deal at the online places.

3) Get comfortable shooting 3-400 yards. Not sure of your hunting or shooting background, but I've killed a lot of whitetails in eastern woods, mostly 50-75 yards. Hunting MD in open terrain results in much longer shots. 2-300 is typical. I limit myself to 400 yards. Why? Beyond that, actually beyond about 350, bullet drop increases rapidly, and I don't practice or shoot at those ranges. Now if you get to practice at 1000 yards regularly, then that's different. Set your range limit before you get out of the truck, and don't exceed it!

4) If you're considering laser rangefinding binocs, seriously consider the ability to drop a distant pin/waypoint with the RF and then navigate to it. Comes in handy after you spot a bedded deer, or one is down and you have to cross a canyon to get to him, or just for figuring out on Onx who owns that property 1000 yards away.

5) Actual hunting? Get high and glass. Oh, not smoking pot high, but on top of a peak or rock! Then glass some more.

BTW, did you read the fine print when you created your Monster Muley account? It said all new members must post pics and GPS coordinates of their kills!

Good luck!

 

[Pdotson]

I do not consider myself an expert on MD, and definitely haven't hunted MD as much as many on here, but a few things:

1) Decent pair of binocs, say 10X42. I wouldn't go smaller on power or objective. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars. A decent pair (Vortex, Nikon) can be found online at Cabelas, Midway, etc. for $200 ish. Some may disagree with those being "decent," but just starting out, they're fine

2) Decent rangefinder. Again, you don't have to go overboard. Same comments as above. Often you can find a package deal at the online places.

3) Get comfortable shooting 3-400 yards. Not sure of your hunting or shooting background, but I've killed a lot of whitetails in eastern woods, mostly 50-75 yards. Hunting MD in open terrain results in much longer shots. 2-300 is typical. I limit myself to 400 yards. Why? Beyond that, actually beyond about 350, bullet drop increases rapidly, and I don't practice or shoot at those ranges. Now if you get to practice at 1000 yards regularly, then that's different. Set your range limit before you get out of the truck, and don't exceed it!

4) If you're considering laser rangefinding binocs, seriously consider the ability to drop a distant pin/waypoint with the RF and then navigate to it. Comes in handy after you spot a bedded deer, or one is down and you have to cross a canyon to get to him, or just for figuring out on Onx who owns that property 1000 yards away.

5) Actual hunting? Get high and glass. Oh, not smoking pot high, but on top of a peak or rock! Then glass some more.

BTW, did you read the fine print when you created your Monster Muley account? It said all new members must post pics and GPS coordinates of their kills!

Good luck!

I think I am set gear wise. Binos, rangefinder, and spotter w/tripod. HOWEVER 3-400 yards isn't possible....Because it's an archery hunt, why not make it as hard as possible.

 

[Katoom]

I would kill to be only 8 hours from mule deer country and would not consider that a serious
impediment at all. You should plan an intense scouting weekend.

 

[TKMulePacker]

Throw the books in the garbage, get in the truck, go there. Its an archery hunt you say? Even better, you actually CAN scout for an archery hunt because they should be on summer pattern still unlike a migration rifle hunt. Stop reading what Im saying, go.

 

[kota]

Throw the books in the garbage, get in the truck, go there. Its an archery hunt you say? Even better, you actually CAN scout for an archery hunt because they should be on summer pattern still unlike a migration rifle hunt. Stop reading what Im saying, go.

This ^^

Use the time you aren’t reading to scout, shoot and get/keep in shape.

While you are driving to and from scouting you can list to the Rokslide podcast. Robby Denning does read some sections from his book on some episodes. They have HBMD in the title I think (hunting big mule deer).

My 2 cents…I have read them all (Geist, David Long, Dwight Schuh are the best), and think the primary value of them is to increase your confidence to go do it. I learn way more each day in the field than I do on a page.

 

[CS88]

my favorite thing to do for a new area is find the area that I want to hunt. Then with my binos on my tripod I sit there for an entire day just observing. Get there before light and try to sit there until dark just observing everything.

 

[Pdotson]

I’m right at 1100 miles away from the unit I’m in with a 7 month old kiddo and the wife works retail. Boots on the ground is unfortunately out as much as I would love to go. I’m just e scouting and training until the week I’m off to go in Sept.

 

[BrowningRage]

If you can, shoot your bow on some mountainsides and in hunting terrain. Shooting a bow in a backyard on level ground is one thing, but shooting at a buck that is above or below you on a mountainside is completely different. I know there are rangefinders that can tell you the distance to shoot for depending on the angle, and that may be worth it to you.

I used to take my deer target camping and set it up in different places to take shots at it. I was amazed how many first shots I would miss until I really started getting good with my bow.

Good luck!!

 

[Wiszard]

I’m right at 1100 miles away from the unit I’m in with a 7 month old kiddo and the wife works retail. Boots on the ground is unfortunately out as much as I would love to go. I’m just e scouting and training until the week I’m off to go in Sept.

What unit in what state? Maybe thee is a guy or two on here that will send you a pm (private message) and give you some helpful places to start.

 

[Pdotson]

In Colorado unit 444. Any advice would be welcome but totally understand not wanting to blow something up

 

[BroadHead]

Lots of great advice here. The summer time is a great time to hunt and scout. With their red coats, the deer will stick out against their environment. Be at your glassing spot before first light. They hate the sun and will bed quickly. Keep glassing, however as they tend to move to a second bedding area where they will usually remain until the end of the day.

Every now and then you may see one mid-day out eating, but they tend to stay in the shade once the sun is out. Still, it's good practice to continue glassing as you may spot one under a tree, next to a rock, etc. Learn their patterns (and then be frustrated as they break all the rules on in a while lol). Also, for the most part, you will find them high up in elevation during the summer months. Not necessarily at the peak of every mountain, but you might as well start getting used to that altitude for summer archery hunts.

Definitely heed the advice about shooting from extreme angles. It will expose misconfigurations in your setup. The 3rd axis adjustment on your sight (most have this) mean nothing on flat ground, however if it's not level or adjusted properly, you will know immediately when you take an extreme uphill or downhill shot at 20+ yards.

Also, YouTube is a great place to start for tips and tricks. My advice is to stick to channels with smaller viewership. They almost exclusively focus on the spirit of the hunt with no pressure from sponsorship or money so you feel like you are with them on their stalk or scouting trips.

No hate against the bigger channels, it's just that you may need to skip around a lot to find valuable content. Most of their videos seemingly turn into long vlogs and discussions about other topics (what their dog ate that day, why their girlfriends hate hunting, why you should buy the "bro" energy drinks, etc)

 

[Wiszard]

In Colorado unit 444. Any advice would be welcome but totally understand not wanting to blow something up

You should go directly to the Colorado page and post this....you may get better results. I haven't hunted the unit so I can't help....good luck though!

 

[JPickett]

I’m right at 1100 miles away from the unit I’m in with a 7 month old kiddo and the wife works retail. Boots on the ground is unfortunately out as much as I would love to go. I’m just e scouting and training until the week I’m off to go in Sept.

In that case the best advice is don’t get your hopes up and be ok with eating the tag

Someone had to say it

 

[Pdotson]

In that case the best advice is don’t get your hopes up and be ok with eating the tag

Someone had to say it

Oh I think my expectations are pretty realistic in that regard. Archery mule deer is hard period. If I kill one it will be blind luck likely…thankfully it’s an either sex tag too

 

[JPickett]

Don’t shoot a doe

 

[coloradoman]

Don’t shoot a doe

Exactly!!!!

 

[Pdotson]

not really interested in a doe. Looking at the estimated harvest from last year and I feel encouraged but I know I’m going to have to bust my butt

 

[Joe2Kool]

I think I am set gear wise. Binos, rangefinder, and spotter w/tripod. HOWEVER 3-400 yards isn't possible....Because it's an archery hunt, why not make it as hard as possible.

Thinking back to my first western mule deer hunt, giant pair of 7X50 binocs that weighed about 10 pounds, no RF, and I had shot my gun a few times at 200 yards. Saw some deer in the distance, maybe 600+ yards away. I wasn't smart enough to get up and get closer. I figured they would eventually come my way!

Good luck!

 

[Sherlock]

not really interested in a doe. Looking at the estimated harvest from last year and I feel encouraged but I know I’m going to have to bust my butt

Great enthusiasm. In your situation, given your circumstances I’m gonna disagree with others and say you are on the right track with learning what you can from good books, etc. Work smarter, not harder. The things you read will really stick when you see it in real life (especially mistakes) and recall what you read about it. Definitely don’t want to go busting deer all day cuz trying to work hard.

 

[twopointdn]

David Long has a good book and Mike Eastman Hunting High Country Muleys. I’m sure there are plenty of other books out there but these are the only two that I have read. Good luck and bow hunting mule deer is not impossible.

 

[Wiszard]

Brownlee and Hatch have put together a collaborative Youtube video out that explains tips and tricks to killing big mulies in areas your tag won't be good in.

 

[devobrodie]

You may already know this stuff, but in case you are going on your first archery mule deer hunt, If you find some bucks in the morning and watch them until they are bedded, they will move beds several times on occasion, wait until things warm up, say 9 or so, and the thermals will start to rise, landmark the heck of it before you go on a stalk, you will be surprised at how different things look from where you spotted them to when you are coming in from behind and above, I have spent a couple of hrs stalking the wrong cedar more than once! As others mentioned spotting them will be fairly easy if you are in the right spot, red coats, buck groups etc. as compared to later in other seasons. When I started bowhunting many years ago I had a blast, and scared many bucks! Lots to learn, but every stalk will teach you something.

 

[ICMDEER]

Good advice has been given. Please understand that when you look on Google Earth (or whatever) it will be about 10 times harder than you think when you actually arrive. So - get as prepared as you can physically. Train with a pack on and work out to get in really good shape. Many to most folks quit after 2-3 days due to the difficulty of hiking in the high country, which is where you'll probably be. Steel yourself for the long run and pace yourself for the entire hunt. You get better mentally as time passes, so save some stamina and strength for the end.

I'm not real familiar with tat area, but there's some private ground interspersed if I recall correctly. I'd look close to that private land, but be sure to have the discipline to stay on the public unless you get permission to hunt the private. Public/private interfaces are often good spots to look.

The most important thing is to have fun. Enjoy the experience and the scenery. Have a fun adventure. Take in the small stuff like other critters and the trees, meadows, mountain smells,etc.

I think it has been said here, but watch the wind very closely. And make sure you are as quiet as is humanly possible. That usually means taking off your boots for the final approach in archery. Get some big socks to wear over your socks for that final approach.

DON'T do the "throw a rock" or "whistle" to get a buck to stand up. WAIT. It might be hours, but you'll get a better shot if you wait.

The key for your success is likely going to mean sneaking in on a bedded or feeding buck. Practice the stalk and sneak on any deer. It'll help you get more experience for when you are actually going in for a buck. That includes trying to draw without being seen.

Mule deer archery hunting is tough. Realize success rates are low and have a mindset of learning and having fun.

Best of luck and post pics even if you are not successful.

 

[Tmac]

Robby Denning also has some pod casts on Rokslide that you may find of interest.