E-Scouting for Mule Deer

[Muley_Addict 317]

I'm a new mule deer hunter (only one buck under my belt). I've been staring at OnX and trying to find areas that "look good" in the unit I'm putting in for this year in CO. Problem is... there is no system or logic to how I was determining that an area looked good.

Do you have a system when it comes to e-scouting for mule deer? For example, where do you start? Do you decide to look at elevation bands first and break it down from there?

I want to give myself a head start this year and have a good plan going so my boots-on-the-ground scouting is as productive as it could be.

Let me know what your system is, or point me to a good video or thread!

Best,
GC

 

[graniteghost]

Elevation bands that deer travel will vary so greatly be region, range, and time of year. They are useful if you know the area well and hunt it year after year to determine where else you might look to find bucks. All things considered, I’d start high for early season bucks, and then work lower down the mountain for later hunts.

As far as terrain to look for, I’d suggest a look at the thread about plants species every mule deer hunter should know, and then focus on areas where those species of plants should grow. You won’t be able to see the plants by air most of the time. But you can observe where the vegetation looks different. I focus on those areas the most.

In terms of actually scouting and finding bucks, boots on the ground will forever be better than e-scouting. Online you can find the terrain that may attract bucks, but in person you can look and see what bucks are actually using the area. E-scouting is great to kill a buck, boots on ground is the way to kill a big buck consistently.

Boiled down, e-scout multiple areas where the terrain looks like it should have good vegetation, and then get in the field and have a look.

 

[Muley_Addict 317]

I'm a new mule deer hunter (only one buck under my belt). I've been staring at OnX and trying to find areas that "look good" in the unit I'm putting in for this year in CO. Problem is... there is no system or logic to how I was determining that an area looked good.

Do you have a system when it comes to e-scouting for mule deer? For example, where do you start? Do you decide to look at elevation bands first and break it down from there?

I want to give myself a head start this year and have a good plan going so my boots-on-the-ground scouting is as productive as it could be.

Let me know what your system is, or point me to a good video or thread!

Best,
GC

Also, I'll be hunting the CO 3rd season. Probably good information to share here.