It’s Not the Weapon…

When I decided to start hunting trophy mule deer 25 years ago, I used a rifle and always hunted seasons that ran into November.  I grew up hunting in Southeast Idaho in the 70’s and 80’s when general deer seasons ran as late as November 15th.  In our deer hunting culture, we learned that later is better.  If you chose to hunt earlier or with a primitive weapon, it was only for the challenge.  To me, big buck hunting was already tough enough so I ignored the early seasons. 

However as I scouted more, I noticed that the bucks I’d found in the summer were hard to find again once the later rifle seasons opened. Wyoming had some September high-country rifle seasons so I gave them a shot.  I found that I could relocate bucks I’d scouted if the crowds weren’t bad. Around that time, Utah changed her muzzleloader season dates from early November to late September in an effort to reduce harvest.  I remember talking to a Southern Utah biologist a few years after that change was made.  He admitted that the date swap had not worked in reducing harvest.  As I studied the different states, I found that New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, and even states like Kansas all offered early archery and muzzleloader hunts.  I also noticed that a few hunters were taking some really big deer on these early seasons.  It was slowly dawning on me that hunting late with a rifle was not the only game in town.  

In the early 90’s, I started archery hunting for big mule deer.  It took a few years, but soon I was trading rifle-hunting days for the chance to hunt in August and September. Looking back, some of the best bucks I’ve seen and taken have been early.  There are a few reasons for this:

• In the early pre-rut of late summer, bucks are in bachelor herds and easier to spot 
• They are in velvet and spend less time in the cover
• Unless there is human activity, they seem to stick to a more predictable pattern of bedding and feeding.

Now I plan my fall to include both early and late hunts.   By learning archery and muzzleloader systems proficiently, I can hunt when I have a good chance at big deer that might disappear come October.  I also have access to seasons with better draw odds than all of the good late rifle hunts. Simply put, I’ve learned that it’s not the weapon, but the opportunity that it creates. 

Follow the Rok Blog these next few months and you’ll see how I choose and set up my archery and muzzleloading equipment to pursue big mule deer. I’ll be taking this same equipment on some Live Hunts you can watch once the seasons open.  

I’ll be setting up an Athen’s Bow,

 ( Click on any picture to visit their websites.)

a Black Gold Ascent sight,

a Ripcord Code Red Rest,

a quiver by Tight Spot

Solid Broadheads by S&S Archery,

and, if I draw a muzzleloader tag, a complete muzzleloader system (if you’re just tuning in, I took my best buck in 2013 with a muzzleloader, see Live Colorado Muzzleloader Hunt.)

The BIG NEWS on this whole project is that you will be eligible to win some of this equipment by simply following the project and Live Hunts.  Our sponsors have generously donated some high-end gear that will make this project more than worth following.  Details of the giveaway will follow in upcoming posts.

You can subscribe to the Rok Blog by clicking “Subscribe to blog,” upper right under Fitness/Other links so you won’t miss these posts and the chance to win. This is going to be a blast and you might learn something that will help you take your best buck ever.