Chasing Big Muleys and Mental Endurance

[TaperPin]

I’ll second the idea that the odds of shooting a big deer are very slim if a person isn’t putting the time and effort in. The notion that hunting a few days is all it takes is miles from reality.

Guys who love big deer and are lucky enough to live close by good areas often spend 20 days or more in the mountains prior to the season. Many friends take a month off work to scout for 4-5 days, a few days off, scout 4-5 days, a few days off, scout a few days right before the season opens, then hunt the entire season, and repeat for many years before connecting with a wall hanger.

You can read about big dear here and other places, but there are 100x as many little deer and unfilled tags that don’t make a worthwhile story.

 

[dan25]

I have hunted Colorado for mule deer for roughly 6 trips starting in 2010. My first year I went, I had no clue what I was doing or what to expect. Being a whitetail hunter from WI; I was going to shoot the first descent Mule deer I saw. The first day in 2010, I was lucky to shoot about a 165-170" buck. I jumped a group of them and decided to head them off on the other side of the mountain; the guy with me said you'll never beat them to the other side. I got there and 45 min later and shot him. I was hooked for life. I skipped several years and started going again in 2018 to a different area in CO. I hunted from 2018-2022 without pulling the trigger; passing on some descent bucks. Last year in 2023, I shot a really nice 4 pt. What I have learned is to do what fits your style of hunting and have fun along the way. To me; it's more about the physical and mental preparation that I enjoy. One important thing for me is to start training 3 months before I leave with weight on my back. You will never regret being in good shape when your in the mountains. It is true that trophy hunting can become grueling after years of eating a tag, but so rewarding when it comes together. It's all about your mindset and getting more out of the hunt, then just the kill. I would say if you complain about not shooting something every year when your trophy hunting, you are probably doing it for the wrong reasons. Shoot straight and thank God for every day!

 

[RockAndSage]

In my experience, there are two key things that cause people to feel failure, and to quit.

The first is identity - it's your story about yourself, and the standards you have for yourself. When someone's objective contact with reality diverges from their self-identity in a negative way, they often quit hard before there's too much undeniable proof that they're not as good as they thought they were. That's an extremely common point of personal failure. They don't get the result they want, and it screws with their sense of self in very bad ways.

And this is related to the second point of failure - whether they're process oriented, or outcome oriented. If they're outcome oriented, they typically quit when that undeniable contact with reality diverges from the outcome they expected - especially when it doesn't match with how they see themselves.

With outcome-oriented people, the source of satisfaction is external - and it is usually related to what other people will think of their outcome. The locus of satisfaction is the approval of others. It can be motivating for them, but powerfully demotivating too if there's too much risk of being seen as lesser if they don't get the outcome they want. Outcome-oriented people only really feel happiness while the shine of achievement is on them...but then it goes away after the accomplishment.

Being process-oriented is about focusing on the journey and dialing in on processes, values, and habits that enhance your capabilities over time, independent of the outcome of any one event. Finding the insights and lessons that move you forward, and quite often sharing it with others to help them move forward too. Experiencing the deep satisfaction of accomplishment with every step of the journey. Failures are expected and simply seen as part of the process, and can even be satisfying as long as there are productive lessons-learned from it. The source of the satisfaction is internal.

Outcome wants the big buck to post in instagram, process wants to eventually master the journey as a part the satisfaction of mastering themselves.

You can tell the process-oriented hunters in posts above, talking about the mindset shift of looking at every day with an unfilled tag from passed-up smaller bucks as learning opportunities, and experiencing each day on the mountain pursuing a big buck as part of feeling more alive.

 

[ianpadron]

In my experience, there are two key things that cause people to feel failure, and to quit.

The first is identity - it's your story about yourself, and the standards you have for yourself. When someone's objective contact with reality diverges from their self-identity in a negative way, they often quit hard before there's too much undeniable proof that they're not as good as they thought they were. That's an extremely common point of personal failure. They don't get the result they want, and it screws with their sense of self in very bad ways.

And this is related to the second point of failure - whether they're process oriented, or outcome oriented. If they're outcome oriented, they typically quit when that undeniable contact with reality diverges from the outcome they expected - especially when it doesn't match with how they see themselves.

With outcome-oriented people, the source of satisfaction is external - and it is usually related to what other people will think of their outcome. The locus of satisfaction is the approval of others. It can be motivating for them, but powerfully demotivating too if there's too much risk of being seen as lesser if they don't get the outcome they want. Outcome-oriented people only really feel happiness while the shine of achievement is on them...but then it goes away after the accomplishment.

Being process-oriented is about focusing on the journey and dialing in on processes, values, and habits that enhance your capabilities over time, independent of the outcome of any one event. Finding the insights and lessons that move you forward, and quite often sharing it with others to help them move forward too. Experiencing the deep satisfaction of accomplishment with every step of the journey. The source of the satisfaction is internal.

Outcome wants the big buck to post in instagram, process wants to eventually master the journey as a part the satisfaction of mastering themselves.

You can tell the process-oriented hunters in posts above, talking about the mindset shift of looking at every day with an unfilled tag from passed-up smaller bucks as learning opportunities, and experiencing each day on the mountain pursuing a big buck as part of feeling more alive.

Incredibly well said.

As an anecdote of support for "embracing the process" I'll share a tidbit from one of the close mentors I had early on, back when the thought of killing A mountain buck, let alone THE mountain buck seemed like landing on the moon:

I first saw him round a ridge hauling in his camp from about a quarter mile away. Observing through my binos, he seemed almost robotic. He picked his way off trail into a small thicket of trees high on a bench and disappeared for a few minutes. When he popped out he made his way over to fill his water stores for the week, took inventory of his food stashes, set out his gear to dry in the sun, and went back into the thicket to set his camp. Not his first rodeo, obvious even from a distance.

Seeing another dude this far in, that had obviously been there before, made me pick my way over to say hello and make sure we wouldn't be stepping on each other's toes.

After a little chit chat and both of us feeling out how much info the stranger in the basin was worthy of divulging, I learned he was up there to punch his 10th tag in as many years on a WA high buck muley. For those of you who know anything about the high hunt, you realize that's a really big accomplishment.

I think he likely saw a bit of his young self in me at 22, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and was also a little sympathetic to my bare bones gear load out, so he invited me to glass with him that evening and show me some good spots I should hunt in the future.

We laugh about it now because apparently I had 1 million questions for him about hunting tips for big bucks, his rifle setup, binos, tent, etc. but he patiently advised me on all fronts while looking over a bowl full of does.

The BEST piece of advice he gave, and one that has been reiterated by all the big buck hunters I've met since was, "embrace the process". Make a routine....fetch water, stack wood, cook food, fortify your camp/shelter, choose the basins you are glassing at first/last light, plan your routes to those spots etc...enjoy every second of it, AND do it all with intent and mindfulness. If you pour your effort into the little things, because you see them as crucial parts of achieving success, rather than simply a means to an end, you can really accomplish a lot...and do a great job keeping those longing-for-home/wife/shower/food thoughts at bay.

Guys sleep in, snooze their alarms, skip meals, skimp on water, tell themselves they'll just cut wood when they need it, head back to camp before dark etc....but every single one of those actions cheats the process, and justifies you to wing it even more.

Discipline on the mountain to stick to my game plan put me on the fast track to killing mature bucks regularly, and basically eradicated the early endings barring some sort of catastrophic weather situation.

The day you find as much satisfaction in humping a weeks worth of water up a cliff to start a hunt as you do from dumping a big buck is when the big bucks are in serious trouble.

 

[Huntnnw]

If you have the ability to scout your areas and turn up what you would like to shoot it makes it easier to keep grinding away day after day knowing that country will hold the caliber of buck you are after. You cant kill a 180 buck if it simply doesnt exist in the area you are hunting. Its why I try and scout and run cams as much as I can to see what the areas hold then I have a better understanding of what I am holding out for. I have no shame if I dont turn up a giant, but there is a 6-9 yr old 3x4 or 2x3 mature buck I'll gladly take them over some 150" 4 yr old

 

[Rich M]

Everybody talks about 7-10+ day hunts but 90+% of folks are ready to call it after day 3-4. It's gotten way worse in the last 7ish years as well with guys calling it early and heading home (I blame social media and cell phones mainly).

You planned this hunt at least 6 months or more in advance and took the time off, etc. The only real excuse is YOU in almost all instances despite them blaming going home early on something else.

I can't imagine calling a western hunt short after all the energy, time, money invested in it. Never mind the mental gymnastics you been doing in your head for the last year or two over this hunt.

In my case it is about 30+ hrs of driving 1 way to get there. The worst part is the drive home. The hunt, the time there is my vacation. It provides rest, energy, clarity of thought, a chance to just "be". Yeah, I call lil wife and my dear old dad, to keep em up on progress and let em know am still alive. But I won't be home early unless a monster pops up early on, and even then I'm gonna do some sight seeing on the way home. This is my vacation.

 

[IdahoElk]

Been doing cold showers every morning for awhile now. Unreal benefits. I actually stopped for a month trying to convince myself it was all in my head, but it wasn't. Started back up beginning of this year and dont plan on stopping.

Please elaborate on the benefits.

 

[TaperPin]

Come to think of it, for a few years I dated a real beotch - it made working 70 hours a week enjoyable, and I could have stayed in the mountains for a few months to avoid arguing with her! When we broke up she took my sleeping bags, thermarests, and tent. Who does that? Lol

Having fun options other than hunting can take away motivation - for a number of years I became a fly rod fish hunter. The day I literally caught so many fish my arm gave out is one of the highlights of adulthood.

 

[westonhoma]

Please elaborate on the benefits.

Yeah so for the longest time I thought this cold water therapy crap was just bs. Then I tried it. So the biggest thing I found for me was sticking with it for about 2 weeks. You can read up on the dopamine that is produced and I think it is real stuff. I can honestly say it does help with mood. Then there's also something in just taking pride in doing something extremely hard first thing in the morning and letting that momentum carry you into your day.

I try not to buy into the social media influencer info out there. But I will listen to someone like Andrew Huberman. He has put out a ton of info on this if you want to check out his podcast. Another benefit that helps me too is with my caffeine. They say to help avoid the afternoon crash, try and give yourself a good 90 min or so in the morning before grabbing the coffee. The cold shower helps with that as it really wakes me up in the morning then I can delay that cup of coffee until later.

Lastly, u may see some people claim "cold showers or plunges leads to fat loss" that is complete BS. I took one every single day and throughout the winter I put on 12 pounds as I know I was eating more calories than I burn as I track my food (trying to bulk up). I still take the cold showers as now I am in a caloric deficit trying to cut and yes i have been losing weight now but that is the only reason why (not cuz of the showers). Cold water has nothing to do with weight gain/loss but the phycological benefits I find to be real.

 

[Backcountry_Preacher]

1-3 days is the hump to get over physically/mentally imo...First day guys are always full of piss and vinegar...2nd day they are into it and burning leather...if they haven't seen anything of interest the 3rd day they feel day 1 and 2. If you can get to day 4 and 5 its all the same and usually I cruise after that. I'll admit that day 3 into 4 are my worst days mentally as your brain goes "I prepared, scouted, trained...where is my reward?" Just face that fact and be ok not shooting a deer. My brain does that and its just like I'm not saying it anymore...thought comes and thought goes.

Face the fact that there maybe 1-2 deer in the area(s) you are hunting that are "big" or "older age class". No different seeing 50 young deer or no deer. Doesn't matter you aren't going to shoot them anyways. My dad and I just had this discussion yesterday. How a guy goes from shoot the first thing, to first thing with horns, to passing a couple bucks, to passing nice young bucks, then eventually wanting to shoot something but literally not being able to even talk yourself into it last day last hour. We came to the conclusion that we are more dissatisfied shooting a buck below the line we set than we are not shooting a buck at all.

No shame in admitting you "want" to shoot every buck that walks out...where it settles is not having to. I go into almost every hunt now with the expectation of walking away without killing anything unless something makes me shoot it. Big enough old enough whatever.

Sound Wisdom

 

[RockAndSage]

Incredibly well said.

As an anecdote of support for "embracing the process" I'll share a tidbit from one of the close mentors I had early on, back when the thought of killing A mountain buck, let alone THE mountain buck seemed like landing on the moon:

I first saw him round a ridge hauling in his camp from about a quarter mile away. Observing through my binos, he seemed almost robotic. He picked his way off trail into a small thicket of trees high on a bench and disappeared for a few minutes. When he popped out he made his way over to fill his water stores for the week, took inventory of his food stashes, set out his gear to dry in the sun, and went back into the thicket to set his camp. Not his first rodeo, obvious even from a distance.

Seeing another dude this far in, that had obviously been there before, made me pick my way over to say hello and make sure we wouldn't be stepping on each other's toes.

After a little chit chat and both of us feeling out how much info the stranger in the basin was worthy of divulging, I learned he was up there to punch his 10th tag in as many years on a WA high buck muley. For those of you who know anything about the high hunt, you realize that's a really big accomplishment.

I think he likely saw a bit of his young self in me at 22, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and was also a little sympathetic to my bare bones gear load out, so he invited me to glass with him that evening and show me some good spots I should hunt in the future.

We laugh about it now because apparently I had 1 million questions for him about hunting tips for big bucks, his rifle setup, binos, tent, etc. but he patiently advised me on all fronts while looking over a bowl full of does.

The BEST piece of advice he gave, and one that has been reiterated by all the big buck hunters I've met since was, "embrace the process". Make a routine....fetch water, stack wood, cook food, fortify your camp/shelter, choose the basins you are glassing at first/last light, plan your routes to those spots etc...enjoy every second of it, AND do it all with intent and mindfulness. If you pour your effort into the little things, because you see them as crucial parts of achieving success, rather than simply a means to an end, you can really accomplish a lot...and do a great job keeping those longing-for-home/wife/shower/food thoughts at bay.

Guys sleep in, snooze their alarms, skip meals, skimp on water, tell themselves they'll just cut wood when they need it, head back to camp before dark etc....but every single one of those actions cheats the process, and justifies you to wing it even more.

Discipline on the mountain to stick to my game plan put me on the fast track to killing mature bucks regularly, and basically eradicated the early endings barring some sort of catastrophic weather situation.

The day you find as much satisfaction in humping a weeks worth of water up a cliff to start a hunt as you do from dumping a big buck is when the big bucks are in serious trouble.

Great stuff, enjoyed the mentoring story you shared. There's an old saying that goes, "When the teacher is ready, the student will appear", and it sure sounds like that's what happened there. Especially with you asking all sorts of process-insight questions.

This bit of yours, in particular, I think is pretty quotable: "The day you find as much satisfaction in humping a weeks worth of water up a cliff to start a hunt as you do from dumping a big buck is when the big bucks are in serious trouble."

 

[Rich M]

There is a lot of wisdom floating around in here. Not so sure about the cold showers tho'

I think a lot of it comes down to expectations.

I think our very own @robby denning once said his avg is about every 3 years for a trophy buck. That's a long time.

 

[Tmac]

Couple thoughts OP. I started out a meat hunter, then chased big MD for years, and now have sort of come back to the middle. So with that in mind.

I see steep and mountains mentioned by you. Maybe try some high desert hunts, not necessarily easier hunts, but often easier terrain. Some remote pockets at moderate elevation can hold very nice bucks. You still need to get away from disturbances, but the elevation gain is often more palatable, especially as I get older. My widest bucks have come from that country, my best scoring ones from up on the mountain. So who knows… Find a high desert area away from the mountains and you have a start for that strategy.

If you can, hunt multiple states each year. Seems easier to eat tag soup holding out for a mature buck if you know you have a high percentage hunt where you can scratch that 2 - 3 yo buck itch. I like to fill my freezer early with a cow elk, then horn hunt. I’m about a 50/50 meat vs trophy hunter. Getting that cow down early makes me smile.

Lastly, and really the key, is it’s not over until it’s over. If you want a bigger buck, you simply just can’t settle. I’ll hold out to the very end to the very last second of the last day if I have decided to hunt for a certain class of buck. Helps to have that cow in the freezer. If you are regularly in 2-3 yo bucks, you are doing something right. Change a few tactics, odds are there are some better bucks in those same units. Likely where no one else goes.

There is nothing wrong with taking a break, head to town, grab a hot meal and shower. Recharge if you will. Good luck and make sure to have fun.

 

[Mcribs]

As a newer mule deer hunter I’m finding that:
1. Honestly I’m a meat hunter. I need meat in the fridge which means decent elk tag later in season. That’s my goal this year.
2. I can’t imagine going blind to hunt and kill big deer. I love to scout and if I know they are there I’ll be willing to grind. I think Denning said something to that effect in reference to still hunting. Seeing some big ones kept me motivated last year.
3. Cold plunges…
4. I mean some guys can do 3 weeks or whatever solo, I can’t and I don’t enjoy that. But 3/4 days plus a rest day or 2 and I’m golden and recharged. Got to enjoy it. Granted I live in mountains so can hit it hard then pause, etc.

 

[Rich M]

Granted I live in mountains so can hit it hard then pause, etc.

Makes a big difference.

Those who travel a long ways either take a day off midstream or just hunt as long as they'll be there.

 

[CMF]

If you can, hunt multiple states each year. Seems easier to eat tag soup holding out for a mature buck if you know you have a high percentage hunt where you can scratch that 2 - 3 yo buck itch.

I second that, having another md tag or elk or something.

Book recommendations, I really like "Can't Hurt Me" by David Goggins...

I like the audible version. guys may say a book can't help, but there's no way you listen to his book and not push a little bit harder the next time you train.

I don't think just getting gym stronger is going to help you stay out there. I think the cold shower/plunge is probably a better exercise in mental endurance. I've only done it for a few weeks as part of a challenge.

I feel like finding a way to move the mental endurance baseline is key. It's tough to do when time is limited. Maybe do some other hunt with really low success. Me and my daughter spent 13 days hunting her off-range oryx. It wasn't so much physically demanding, but it was mentally, and I feel like it helped me on hunts after that.

 

[Scoot]

It's interesting, and everyone is different, but regarding those who need to hunt for handful of days or less, then need to go home and "recharge"... Time on the mountain IS my recharge. Beating myself into oblivion, the burn in my quads and lungs, the mental struggle of "do I really want to go all the way over there just to see if there's one over that ridge? Yes, yes I do..."-- it's all a recharge for me. I know I'm not alone in this, and maybe some of us are weird, but the depletion of energy/juice/resources is what builds me up and restores me!

 

[bigmoose]

Having your camp in order at the start of the hunt is a big thing. You need to get your firewood cut and your groceries stocked up. You want to be comfortable when you get back from a tough day on the mountain not just trying to survive if the weather is cold and wet. Nothing like a hot meal and a warm fire when you get back from a real kick ass day. Tomorrow is a new day and you need to recharge.

Mentally, I never think about things back home or at work. All I'm thinking about is that big buck. I just love to be out there among them. I don't need to fill my tag and I have no pressure to take something I don't want. I'm here for the hunt.

The only scouting I do is during the 4 or 5 days I'm there before the season. Hunting out of state is just too far to scout a head of time and I never had the extra time off to do it. I do my scouting at home during the 11 months before my hunt.

I've never killed a buck that I've seen before. I tend to hunt areas that are tough to glass until you're right there and I don't hike into these places while scouting. I'm more concerned with checking out the roads and making sure I can get where I want to be during the hunt.

So far as endurance, I don't work out but I do stay active during the off season. I'm not saying this is how to do it. This is just the way it's worked out for my lifestyle. I've been a truck driver for over 40 years and a deer hunter for 60.

I never feel it is a grind to hunt every day of the season. I just love being there hunting for a buck that I dream about. I'm up every morning at 4 or 5 am heading off in search of big buck. When I leave camp I have to chuckle at the guys in other camps after a few days of hunting. The further into the hunt, the less lights are on at the other camps I drive by.

I think a lot can be said about having a good attitude. It's not a competition. There should be no pressure to fill your tag if you're after a big buck. This is my thing.

I guess I should add that I've been some what successful. I have 8 bucks that I had mounted ,a ram, and an antelope. I've passed up a bunch of bucks and should have a couple more baring my own mistakes.

 

[Dead eye BT]

The OP didn’t mention it, but I wonder how much he misses his wife… One of my hunting buddies has a really hard time with this. If we haven’t at least found the kind of critters we’re after by the end of day 3, he gets all squirrelly. I can see he starts losing optimism and starts peppering our conversations with “we should consider cutting the trip short” type of comments. I know it has a lot to do with how much he wants to get back home to his Mrs.

He’s had plenty of good luck with big mule bucks and big bull elk over the years, but his internal battle is how much he misses his wife.

 

[ianpadron]

The OP didn’t mention it, but I wonder how much he misses his wife… One of my hunting buddies has a really hard time with this. If we haven’t at least found the kind of critters we’re after by the end of day 3, he gets all squirrelly. I can see he starts losing optimism and starts peppering our conversations with “we should consider cutting the trip short” type of comments. I know it has a lot to do with how much he wants to get back home to his Mrs.

He’s had plenty of good luck with big mule bucks and big bull elk over the years, but his internal battle is how much he misses his wife.

Gotta have huntin' buddies that a) enjoy time away from their wives or b) get chastised by their wives if they don't shoot big bucks haha

I've got buddies in both camps, equally as effective motivation to hunt hard