Mule Deer vs Elk

Aron Snyder

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Who else has an issue with forgetting about what a mule deer is when the first elk bugle rings through the air?

I suffer from this, but David is assuring me that he will cure this disease in 2012!
 

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I'm with you Aron. Once I hear that first bugle I have a one track mind. Unless a big ole 30 inch timber buck walks by and tries to committ suicide, it's elk all the way. LOL! Actually, I don't even buy a deer tag anymore unless I have one spotted from the previous fall that escaped the hunting season.
 
Yea elk hunting sure is fun. Big mule deer are amazing creatures. But a big ole bull screaming in your face and pissing all over the place sure gets your heart thumping. I like to hunt elk during the archery season and then hunt deer during the late plains season later on in Novmeber. So I don't have to decide between the two. best of both world. Rutting mule deer is some fun hunting!
 
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C'mon guys! You have it all wrong! Elk are big, dumb and you can call them in! Mulies on the other hand, actually require you to outsmart them! hehe
 
C'mon guys! You have it all wrong! Elk are big, dumb and you can call them in! Mulies on the other hand, actually require you to outsmart them! hehe

Haha, yeah but your biased in your decision :). Nothing like some ruttin elk stink to wake ya up in the morning :)
 
David I am in your corner!!! There is just something about a big mulie that gets my blood pumping!!! Aron can tell you based on our conversations...I passed on a bull this year. Easy shot for me I believe at 40 yards. Give me the Prairie GHOSTS of Kansas and the High Alpine velvet infested basins!!! I'd rather out smart an old mature mule deer any day!!
 
had to make a choice

That is why I pretty much gave up elk hunting. I was too distracted. About the time I'd start glassing for bucks, a bull would bugle and I'd be off chasing him for 2 hours. I miss elk hunting sometimes, but everytime I find a good buck, I forget all about it.
 
Two totally different creatures requiring totally different approaches if you want to be successful. I hope your dad gets many more hunts with you.
 
Forget about Mule Deer? Not a chance for me! I purchase an elk tag (donation to Fish and Wildlife) every year but spend all my time scouting and scheming to find a big velvet muley! Even after I'm tagged out, I find myself glassing for bucks with my partners with that elk tag securely tucked away in my pack. ha ha
 
That's why I won't hunt both at the same time. I hunt the Colorado archery elk season every year in September, then the plains archery for deer October, November and December. Max hunting days and get to hunt both during the rut!
 
Any animal that gets pushed around by its little brother(whitetail), doesn't deserve the same respect as an elk:)

Ryan
 
I build elk points every year while I chase big muleys. I keep telling myself one year I will skip archery or muzzleloader deer and focus on hunting elk, but I never seem to do it.
 
I always have an elk tag in my pocket as well............but I have yet to find an elk that could lure me away from the task at hand - killing a TOAD muley!
 
David,

Don't worry you're not alone in being overcome with a urge to go chase elk when they start rutting.

Granted I'm not chasing mule deer either, in fact never seen either in real life, I got plenty of other things to chase during that timeframe. Just figured you needed another guy in your camp about not being a total elk nut. :D
 
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Thanks Luke! Sounds like we need to get you out of Alaska and onto a big muley!
 
I'm always game to chase something new. Like I told Aron though, you'll have to wait up for the low lander as anything above 7000' up here is coated in ice year round. So I'd be the guy sucking wind before we even leave the trailhead. :D
 
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what's an elk? come deer season there is no such thing as elk, that is until the deer tag has been filled! elk get my heart beating but a big mulie gets the body shaking
 
I use to ONLY care about and dream about elk. I killed a few good bulls with my bow. One was a 335" bull with my recurve. But one year I decided to give high country muleys a try and killed a nice 170 buck that year. Since then I think about big velvet bucks 365 days year.
 
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