I had a great mule deer hunt this year, thanks to a good buddy. He showed me some of his favorite spots, and I learned a LOT.
Opening morning he put me on a ridge while he and his kids were spotting from the flats. I had a herd of does pass within a hundred yards an hour after first light. The plan was for me to hunt the finger ridges and for him to stay low. But after a few hours it was clear there were too many hunters down low and he pulled out. I stayed high until after noon, but couldn’t locate any bucks. Saw two herds of bighorn sheep and a fox. That afternoon we went to a different t spot and the kids saw a nice buck but couldn’t get a shot.
Day two I hunted a different spot nearby. Again, I saw a group of does just after sunrise. I was going to follow them up a draw, and I saw another doe heading in the same direction. But the wind was wrong, so I thought I’d try circling around, climb up a different draw, then hunt it with the wind in my direction. I climbed high, moving slow and glassing all day. I found two more does way high on a rock slide, but no bucks. The top of the draw turned out to be all cliffs, so instead of hunting down I went back the way I came and sat at the mouth of the draw until full dark.
Third day, we went back to our first area. Buddy said he had seen way more sign there than the deer we had seen, and most of the other hunters had gone home. This time we stayed together and glassed from a low hill. As the sun came up we started seeing deer, and they all gathered up into a herd. Buddy wanted to get his daughter a shot on the small buck that was with the seven does, so they made a stalk, but the buck dropped into a wash and disappeared. They guessed which direction the buck went and tried to follow. I was watching the does go the other way, but there was no sign of the buck. The does slipped into a draw about a mile from where we were sitting. My buddy’s son suggested slipping around to get eyes on the doe herd again; maybe there were more deer there, or maybe the buck rejoined them some how. We were on a deadline to head out, but decided to try. We booked it to close the distance and got within about 5-600 yards. Sure enough, a big herd of deer had converged on the draw; at least 14 animals, and two of them were small bucks. I decided to go for it, dropped my pack, and crawled from bush to bush to get closer. The deer had heard us and were on high alert, so the stalk was slow as I waited for them to calm down before proceeding. I checked and re-checked their location every time I moved to make sure I didn’t lose them. I finally got to where I could use the hill for cover and could move a bit faster. I followed a wash around the hill, and at the end of it I looked up and saw a small buck staring at me. I dropped to my belly and tried to calm down to make a shot. I had to make sure he had a fork for him to be legal. Eventually he turned his head enough for me to see a fork. I swear it seemed like hours. At that point my heart started pounding again. I somehow got myself under control and squeezed off a shot. The buck went tail over tea kettle, and I ran up the hill to find him. I hate to admit it, but even though I had hit him right behind the shoulder, the angle meant I had missed his lungs, so I had to shoot him again. We quartered him out and packed him to the truck, and I went home very happy.
The good: I bought a tripod and upgraded optics this year, and that was key to seeing deer on the wide-open flats.
It took me two days to start seeing deer at any kind of distance on my own. There’s a big difference between thinking you can spot them and actually having your brain in tune to see them.
Physical condition let me climb some of the toughest terrain I’ve ever seen, as well as make a 1-mile sprint (not actually a sprint) without any trouble at all.
I had done more shooting (not a lot of shooting, but more than previous years) to be confident in my rifle and scope, as well as my ammo.
It was nice to be on a hunt where I was seeing animals. My elk hunt this year was a bust, so this was refreshing. It was really amazing to be in a seemingly barren desert that held so many animals. Besides the deer, sheep, and fox, we also saw javelina and coyotes. Being out at the right time of day with the sun at our backs let us see the deer, when I would have sworn nothing could live out there.
Room for improvement: my knife was one I got as a teenager, and the steel was low quality and it dulled quickly. It was a gift from after I killed my first deer, so it never got used. It sharpened fine, but I want to replace it.
Boots: they got pretty torn up on the sharp rocks, and need to be replaced.
Patience: I have trouble sitting long enough to really make sure there aren’t deer in an area. I’ve got to get better at glassing. It’s just so much more effective than hiking around, hoping to bump something or see them first.
Truck: I did not have adequate recovery gear in my truck, and that prevented me from going where I wanted on the day I was hunting solo. I don’t have a a 4x4, but I should get a basic kit for getting unstuck as cheap insurance.
Climbing harness: this area is dotted with old water towers. Wondering if it would be worth climbing them to use as spotting locations. I would want a safety harness though.
Overall, it was a blast to be out chasing deer. Probably the funnest moment was watching my young friend set up on her buck. It’s too bad he disappeared. I am pretty sure the one I killed was a different buck. I gifted one of the backstraps, some ground venison, and some venison sausage to my buddy as thanks. I would have given him more, but he’s the kind where if I gave him too much he wouldn’t have accepted any. He and his kids were a blast to hang out with; they were great kids. His youngest had a tag and her big brothers came along to help, and watching them work together was awesome.
My kids loved the backstrap I fed them. I heard through the grapevine that even my wife liked it (but she didn’t want to admit it to me). So if the kids are eating it I can go again next year.
I’d love to hear any feedback or suggestions. This coming year I want to improve my shooting skills so I can be more confident between 2-300 yards. Also, the more scouting I can do, the better I can be at spotting deer.
Opening morning he put me on a ridge while he and his kids were spotting from the flats. I had a herd of does pass within a hundred yards an hour after first light. The plan was for me to hunt the finger ridges and for him to stay low. But after a few hours it was clear there were too many hunters down low and he pulled out. I stayed high until after noon, but couldn’t locate any bucks. Saw two herds of bighorn sheep and a fox. That afternoon we went to a different t spot and the kids saw a nice buck but couldn’t get a shot.
Day two I hunted a different spot nearby. Again, I saw a group of does just after sunrise. I was going to follow them up a draw, and I saw another doe heading in the same direction. But the wind was wrong, so I thought I’d try circling around, climb up a different draw, then hunt it with the wind in my direction. I climbed high, moving slow and glassing all day. I found two more does way high on a rock slide, but no bucks. The top of the draw turned out to be all cliffs, so instead of hunting down I went back the way I came and sat at the mouth of the draw until full dark.
Third day, we went back to our first area. Buddy said he had seen way more sign there than the deer we had seen, and most of the other hunters had gone home. This time we stayed together and glassed from a low hill. As the sun came up we started seeing deer, and they all gathered up into a herd. Buddy wanted to get his daughter a shot on the small buck that was with the seven does, so they made a stalk, but the buck dropped into a wash and disappeared. They guessed which direction the buck went and tried to follow. I was watching the does go the other way, but there was no sign of the buck. The does slipped into a draw about a mile from where we were sitting. My buddy’s son suggested slipping around to get eyes on the doe herd again; maybe there were more deer there, or maybe the buck rejoined them some how. We were on a deadline to head out, but decided to try. We booked it to close the distance and got within about 5-600 yards. Sure enough, a big herd of deer had converged on the draw; at least 14 animals, and two of them were small bucks. I decided to go for it, dropped my pack, and crawled from bush to bush to get closer. The deer had heard us and were on high alert, so the stalk was slow as I waited for them to calm down before proceeding. I checked and re-checked their location every time I moved to make sure I didn’t lose them. I finally got to where I could use the hill for cover and could move a bit faster. I followed a wash around the hill, and at the end of it I looked up and saw a small buck staring at me. I dropped to my belly and tried to calm down to make a shot. I had to make sure he had a fork for him to be legal. Eventually he turned his head enough for me to see a fork. I swear it seemed like hours. At that point my heart started pounding again. I somehow got myself under control and squeezed off a shot. The buck went tail over tea kettle, and I ran up the hill to find him. I hate to admit it, but even though I had hit him right behind the shoulder, the angle meant I had missed his lungs, so I had to shoot him again. We quartered him out and packed him to the truck, and I went home very happy.
The good: I bought a tripod and upgraded optics this year, and that was key to seeing deer on the wide-open flats.
It took me two days to start seeing deer at any kind of distance on my own. There’s a big difference between thinking you can spot them and actually having your brain in tune to see them.
Physical condition let me climb some of the toughest terrain I’ve ever seen, as well as make a 1-mile sprint (not actually a sprint) without any trouble at all.
I had done more shooting (not a lot of shooting, but more than previous years) to be confident in my rifle and scope, as well as my ammo.
It was nice to be on a hunt where I was seeing animals. My elk hunt this year was a bust, so this was refreshing. It was really amazing to be in a seemingly barren desert that held so many animals. Besides the deer, sheep, and fox, we also saw javelina and coyotes. Being out at the right time of day with the sun at our backs let us see the deer, when I would have sworn nothing could live out there.
Room for improvement: my knife was one I got as a teenager, and the steel was low quality and it dulled quickly. It was a gift from after I killed my first deer, so it never got used. It sharpened fine, but I want to replace it.
Boots: they got pretty torn up on the sharp rocks, and need to be replaced.
Patience: I have trouble sitting long enough to really make sure there aren’t deer in an area. I’ve got to get better at glassing. It’s just so much more effective than hiking around, hoping to bump something or see them first.
Truck: I did not have adequate recovery gear in my truck, and that prevented me from going where I wanted on the day I was hunting solo. I don’t have a a 4x4, but I should get a basic kit for getting unstuck as cheap insurance.
Climbing harness: this area is dotted with old water towers. Wondering if it would be worth climbing them to use as spotting locations. I would want a safety harness though.
Overall, it was a blast to be out chasing deer. Probably the funnest moment was watching my young friend set up on her buck. It’s too bad he disappeared. I am pretty sure the one I killed was a different buck. I gifted one of the backstraps, some ground venison, and some venison sausage to my buddy as thanks. I would have given him more, but he’s the kind where if I gave him too much he wouldn’t have accepted any. He and his kids were a blast to hang out with; they were great kids. His youngest had a tag and her big brothers came along to help, and watching them work together was awesome.
My kids loved the backstrap I fed them. I heard through the grapevine that even my wife liked it (but she didn’t want to admit it to me). So if the kids are eating it I can go again next year.
I’d love to hear any feedback or suggestions. This coming year I want to improve my shooting skills so I can be more confident between 2-300 yards. Also, the more scouting I can do, the better I can be at spotting deer.
