Mid-day mule deer strategy?

[Newtosavage]

My mid-day strategy for Muleys has always been to find a great vantage point that doubles as a great napping spot. Not sure which of those things has served me better over the years, but it's probably the latter and not the former. Getting up 2 hrs before sunrise and hiking uphill for miles leaves me pretty gassed around noon or so. If I don't get in a solid nap, I'm dragging by prime time in the evening. But if I do, I am usually ready for round two and can cover ground when I finally do spot something.

 

[kota]

My hunting partner has killed a 165 and 170, both between 11 a noon, and both while he stopped to dig something out of his pack. 1 was a granola bar and one was a drink of water. Biggest thing is to stay out all day and keep your head in the game.

I have glassed up a lot of bucks during the middle of the day. After being bedded for a few hours and as the shade moves, they will often get up to feed for a few minutes and then bed again to follow the shade. The window is really short, but every once in a while you can catch one on their feet, and a feeding deer is a heck of a lot easier to find than a bedded one.

Long story short, if it’s:
Open-glass
Thick-still hunt
Snow-cover ground to find tracks
New/dead country-cover ground to move
When in doubt-take a nap!

 

[Scorpion]

Depends on the weather and the terrain but I’m either glassing bedding areas or still hunting in the timber or cover. I have had the most luck with still hunting. If you’re hunting with others a little push/nudge through bedding areas can also be productive.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

If you’re hunting with others a little push/nudge through bedding areas can also be productive.

Two hunters that know how to employ the "fish hook technique" in dense juniper and can move at the same snail's pace, unseen by one another, are a deadly duo.