Hey mdfanatic1980, let's see what I can do. Forgive me on the CAPS. I typed them to insert in your text but realized it might be clearer this way
1. IN DECIDING WHICH COVER TO FOCUS ON, CONSIDER BUCK SIGHTINGS, TRACKS, GAME TRAILS, RUBS, WIND DIRECTION AND CONDITIONS (QUIET OR NOISY). COVERING GROUND (AT LEAST VERY MUCH) ISN'T REALLY THE GOAL- AS YOU JUST MAKE NOISE. AND YOU'RE NOT ALWAYS WAITING FOR THEM TO FEED OUT AS THEY OFTEN DON'T UNTIL AFTER DARK. THAT IS WHY SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA GO IN AFTER THEM STILL-HUNTING, TRACKING, OR AMBUSH.
GETTING FAR AWAY FROM ROADS IS GOOD BUT DON'T OVERLOOK COUNTRY CLOSE TO ROADS. NOT CONTRADICTORY, AS THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF PLACES HUNTERS JUST DRIVE RIGHT BY AS THEY TRY TO GET AS FAR FROM THE ROAD AS POSSIBLE, BUT IN THIS DAY THERE CAN BE MORE PEOPLE IN THE BACKCOUNTRY THAN IN SOME ROADED AREAS. SAW A 175" PUBLIC LAND BUCK IN COLORADO TWO YEARS AGO LIVING 500 YARDS BELOW A HEAVILY TRAVELED ATV TRAIL. HE WAS THERE ALMOST EVERY DAY I CHECKED. NO ONE STOPPED TO HUNT THERE, THEY WERE HEADED FOR THE 10,000 FT PEAK ABOVE, WHICH IS WHERE EVERYONE ELSE WAS HUNTING TOO. I KILLED A BUCK PUSHING 180 ON THAT SAME HUNT LESS THAN A MILE FROM A POPULAR ROAD HUNTERS USE BUT NO ONE WAS HUNTING WHERE THIS BUCK LIVED. ROADLESS AREAS ARE BEST, BUT POINT IS DON'T THINK ONLY BUCKS LIVE THERE
2. TIME AND EXPERIENCE IN THE UNIT IS THE GREAT EQUALIZER. YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU'RE STILL TRYING TO FIND A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK, BUT WITH WHAT I SAID IN #1, YOU CAN NARROW DOWN WHICH HAYSTACK. YOU MENTIONED SEVERAL ZONES IN THAT QUESTION AND I'D WAGER THAT UNLESS THE UNIT IS OVER HUNTED, THERE ARE SOME BIG MULE DEER IN EACH ZONE WITH THE BIGGEST USUALLY IN THE ASPEN/CONIFER ZONE. PROBLEM IS WE DON'T SEE THEM FIRST TIME OUT AND CONCLUDE THEY'RE NOT THERE AND TRY ANOTHER UNIT. NOT WISE
3. THIS ONE IS RELATED CLOSELY TO THE TWO ABOVE. I WROTE A WHOLE CHAPTER ON "MOVING IN DEER COUNTRY" WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN STILL HUNTING. YOU HAVE TO KNOW YOUR AREA WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW WHEN TO MOVE AND WHEN TO STILL HUNT. I CAN'T JUST WALK INTO A UNIT AND KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO STILL HUNT OR JUST HUNT SLOWLY, BUT GIVE ME A YEAR OR SNOW OR A FEW BUCK SIGHTINGS OR SOME LOCAL INTEL ON WHERE BUCKS HAVE BEEN KILLED, AND I CAN FIGURE OUT PRETTY QUICKLY WHERE/HOW TO MOVE. STILL HARD TO KILL BIG BUCKS THIS WAY BUT IT IS POSSIBLE AND REWARDING. READ THE TWO CHAPTERS ON "MOVING" AND "STILL HUNTING" ESPECIALLY THE BOTTOM OF PAGE 189/190.
4. I LET THE WIND DECIDE HOW I'M GOING TO HUNT AN AREA OR AT LEAST CONSIDER IT FIRST. SOMETIMES I BREAK THE RULE BUT I ALWAYS THINK IT THROUGH FIRST AND WEIGHT OUT MY OPTIONS. YOU CAN'T ALWAYS KEEP THE WIND IN YOUR FAVOR, I'M NOT SAYING THAT BUT YOU HAVE TO BE THINKING ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME. I CAN'T REMEMBER ONE BIG BUCK THAT STUCK AROUND AFTER HE WINDED ME, NOT ONE.. AND THEN DEFINITELY OBEY IT IF I'VE SPOTTED A BUCK. CAN'T IGNORE THE WIND THEN AND THAT IS THE ADVANTAGE TO MOVING/GLASSING CAREFULLY AS IF YOU SEE THE BUCKS BEFORE THEY SEE YOU, YOU CAN PUT THREE VARIABLES IN YOUR FAVOR AS YOU NOW KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE BUCKS ARE AND WHERE NOT TO LET YOUR SCENT GO AND HOW FAST YOU CAN MOVE.
5. FIRST YEAR IN A UNIT IS TOUGH AND WHY I DON'T LIKE DRAW HUNTS AS YOU CAN'T GO BACK AND APPLY WHAT YOU LEARNED ON A REGULAR BASIS. BUT FIRST YEAR I TRY TO TALK TO LOCALS AND AS MANY HUNTERS AS POSSIBLE TO FIND OUT WHERE EXACTLY BUCKS HAVE BEEN HARVESTED, EVEN IF WAS YEARS AGO. THAT'S WHY YOU CAN'T RULE OUT COUNTRY WITH ROADS NEARBY AS IF YOU DO, SOON YOU'RE IN THE SAME ROADLESS PLACE ON THE MAP THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS LOOKING AT.
YOU HAVE TO HUNT AND NOT GET DISCOURAGED UNTIL YOU HUNTED ENOUGH DAYS IN THE UNIT TO RULE IT OUT OR LOCATE A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN FIND HUNTABLE BUCKS. ITS ABOUT 50/50 FOR ME, I’VE ABANDONED AS MANY UNITS AS I’VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN. THE ONES I KILL BUCKS IN ARE USUALLY AREAS WITH HEAVY COVER UNLESS IT’S A DRAW TAG WITH VERY FEW HUNTERS IN THE FIELD
The main takeaway is don't think in formulas - A+B=C, meaning if I do A and B, then I can expect C. It doesn't really work that way. Even with all I wrote above, hunting big mule deer is an art, not a science and is why I think some guys struggle with it. It's not exact enough, not predictable enough. They want to hunt hard and think that's what will make it happen, but that's not a guarantee or lots of hunter would kill big deer. Hunting smart is more important. You have to hunt hard usually because there just aren't a lot of big bucks in most units, so you can be doing everything right, and still not kill one every time you try. But as it is in art, the more you apply yourself the more you develop your talent, your knack, your patience, your endurance (mental not physical) the more times you're going to be successful and the more times you're successful, the more natural your decision making process becomes because you have a wealth of personal experience to draw from. I make dozens of decisions a day in the field and they are based on experience and what is happening at that moment. That isn't predictable or even teachable, but it can be learned. Also, consider that hunting big mule deer is really an amateur sport meaning that even a guy with no to little experience can kill the biggest buck in the unit. That doesn't mean he did anything right and I can wager that he will most likely never ever do it again. Not much to learn from that experience. Better to build on what you know and what you learn from other successful hunters.
Hope that helps. thanks for buying the book.
