Just Getting Started

[2rocky]

+ 1000 on the liking Backpacking and camping part.

Start local during Turkey season.

http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/facts_maps/wma_interactive.htm

Go backpack your way in and spend the night for a weekend this spring.

Then head to the Santa Fe National Forest For a Summer trip. • 1.6 million acres • Elevations from 5,300 to 13,103 feet • 4 wilderness areas

http://www.fs.usda.gov//santafe

If you are not wanting to sell all your backpacking stuff after that then you can apply in NM, and CO the next spring.

 

[bigeasygator]

I'd suggest starting where I did -- buy some of the books on hunting mule deer out west. I'd recommend these three:

- Public Land Mulies by David Long
- Hunting High Country Mule Deer by Mike Eastman
- Hunting Open-Country Mule Deer by Dwight Schuh

There is a wealth of information in those books. It covers the gamut from what states to hunt, the nuances between hunting the different seasons, tactics for spotting deer, tactics for stalking deer, equipment, etc. Some of the equipment information may be out of date (I'd come to websites like Rokslide to get you caught up on the latest and greates), but everything else in those books pretty much holds true.

After you've digested the information in those books, it really boils down to picking a place to hunt. Decide on a state, then a unit, then a particular part of the unit, then use tools like topo maps and google earth to hone in on specific trailheads and basins (depending on where you go, sometimes hiking guides can help you navigate specific National Forests and Wilderness areas). People have touched on the getting in shape thing -- I won't belabor it but will say that it's probably the single most important factor in determining how successful your hunt will be IMO.

I went on my first DIY mule deer hunt last year and had an incredible experience. I plan on making it a yearly ritual.