I took a buddy under my wing a while back, turned into a very good friend (currently in med school, and I miss hunting with him). He was am upland bird hunter, and he viewed mule deer hunting as if he were upland bird hunting; walking until you find them. The guy is not a dumb hunter, just simply inexperienced in hunting mule deer, so he used his experience to mold his view. On our first hunt, my concentration was getting him a buck, not me getting one. He was smart, and just wanted any legal buck. So we got at odark 30, fixed breakfast and headed out at least 2 hours before first shooting light. we got to a productive spot, and I told him to keep looking over the slope in front of us and across from us, as I laid back and told him to wake me if he spont anything. I napped on and off, waking about every 15-20 minutes (typical of the way I hunt at times). Afet about an hour, we moved upslope, and went on repeat, and did it again. He later confessed that he thought we were wasting out=r time based on his experience upland bird hunting. At the 3rd stop, we spot a legal forkey, and he get set up. The buck is about 300 yards away.
My buddy misses the first shot, and after providing some corrective info, he misses the second a couple minutes later. There was simply no 3 shot opportunity, as even young immature bucks are normally not that stupid. A couple days later, the cold winds coming from the north picked up and we got up extra early to head to a productive spot during such conditions. We settle in to a self made blind well before first shooting light. About an hour after legal shooting time, we spot a couple does in different places but both about 100 yards away from us, making it impossible for us to move. He was ready to move. I told him we need to give it at least another couple hours. about hour 2, we start spotting a large group of does across canyon, 300 + yards away. Hour 3 I spot 2 bucks, a 4x4 and a forky about 100 yards from the does. 15 minutes later I knew there were at least 4 legal bucks. My buddy was smart, and decide he was more than willing to take the first legal buck to present a good shot opportunity, as they were up and down, and back and forth for bedding to feeding. A while later we were looking for his large mature fork by fork, despite the 4x4 being a dandy. Again, he made the smart choice for his first mule deer in a zone with a horrific hunter success rate.
A couple years later, we found the same conditions, went to the same spot, and managed to harvest a 4x4 and a 3x4. My point here is that the vast majority of new hunters, simply try walking until they spot deer; unknowingly passing a plethora of deer. My suggestion is to scout an area and find high use areas, and concentrate your time in those areas, spending 2 or more hours at one spot at a time. Keep your movements to a bare minimum and thet the area settle, and the animals forget that you, an intruder, are there. Give them time to feel comfortable to move about a little bit, so you have the possibility of an opportunity.
Best of luck!
