Looking to do first archery Mule deer hunt, could use some advice.

[jmize]

And for those that have offered, thank you. I am trying to figure out and pinpoint which state to do my first Mule deer archery hunt. Some of the research I've done shows drought have caused the herds to be suffering, so I wonder if the journey should be focused on other game such as elk?
Also weighing options on outfitted/guided, private land, applications etc etc.

This is my first post here and any help or advice I can put together will be much appreciated.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Jmize,
Where do you call home and what states are you willing to travel to? Are you wanting a backcountry alpine hunt or are you wanting to camp from the truck? What has your hunting experience been like? Need a bit more information in order to help ya out and give appropriate advice that actually applies!

Oh yeah welcome to Rokslide!

Mike

 

[jmize]

Thanks for the welcome Mike. I call NH home and am willing to travel within lower 48 for the first go around. Have hunted white tails here at home with reasonable success and hunted hogs in TX last year. Ideally would like to a wilderness backcountry hunt, with someone who has more experience/knowledge than myself. Have looked at some outfitters, which I will not rule out.

 

[HellsCanyon]

I'm most familiar with Idaho and have done a lot of research on Colorado archery units...

Idaho can get you into some great areas but typically they take a lot of scouting and time to find. Good thing about Idaho is it is OTC and you can hunt it every year. As you're located a very long ways away, I would focus on Colorado personally. If you're willing to consider outfitters, you're likely to be able to buy a Land Owner tag for some of the high country units. There are a ton of units in Colorado with backcountry archery hunts. Go to the CDOW website and explore their hunting statistics. This should help you out a bit... I haven't looked into the archery season land owner tags but I imagine they will be cheaper than going with a guide and if you're capable you should still be able to get into some good animals.

Mike

 

[Foldem]

If you're archery hunting CO I wouldn't bother with a landowner tag. There are several good high country units that can be drawn with zero points, or even second choice. CO has the genetics and the country to do that kind of hunt. What kind of shape are you in? The SW wilderness areas have some great bucks, but the terrain is extreme.

Kevin

 

[robby denning]

I'd agree with BOTH Hells Canyon and Foldem.

Landowner tags for archery usually are well under $1,000 and allow you to build points and hunt. Points are worth about $1,000 each, so if you get a a Landowner tag say for $500 bucks and that is fine on your budget, you're making money and can plan on hunting a higher-point hunt someday.

You probably don't need Landowner tags if you don't care about building points as many units with quality are 0 points.

 

[Evan Williams]

CO is for sure a great choice! And in the right unit you'll be in 2 out of 3 years which is going to help you learn the area...pattern those bucks and figure out the most about their habits and patterns.

If you are looking for an outfitter DO A LOT OF RESEARCH!!

If you do decide to build points and search for a landowner voucher...know that you will pay 2-3X going through a tag broker ($750-$1500+) depending on the area and broker.

 

[jmize]

Thanks for all the input and advice guys. Hope to nail something down soon.

 

[rpm4463]

We hunt in the SE corner of AZ for coues deer and mule deer. You can purchase an otc archery tag in January and it is still good through the calendar year. The coues deer rut in january and the mule deer usually have a "2nd" rut during the same time. It may sound crazy, but my buddies and I have used treestands for the past several years and been successful every year. Water sources are a obvious location, but we concentrate on travel corridors or locations we find fresh sign. The coues deer are located at higher elevation in more forested areas, but mule deer are also in the trees at the lower elevations. They are both from Wisconsin and hunt them just like whitetails. We usually use the hang on stands because there aren't enough strait trees for the climbers. Again, it sounds nuts for mule deer, but it works! Just takes alot of scouting and find a specific location.

My buddies just returned from thier trip, one got a 5x5 170" and the other got a 3x4 140".

 

[robby denning]

rpm,
them's some good archery bucks by any method. Tell them great job

 

[rpm4463]

Robby-
I'm trying to find a lightwieght, compact tripod for hunting in these areas. I used them growing up in TX, but that is a totally different story. It would only need to be about 8'-10' tall. Do you know of any options? I'll try looking on a TX archery forum for more information.

If I can get some pics of those mule deer, I'll post them.