Mule Deer-Want to learn what folks look for?

[Seth5005]

I am fairly new to getting serious into backcountry mule deer hunting here in Idaho and want to know what people look for e-scouting and just out and about. I spent a lot of my younger years archery hunting and am really getting into general rifle hunting. I’m willing to hike or go in as far as needed. Any tips or info to help take my adventures to another level would be appreciated. (No not looking for anyone’s spots here in Idaho)

 

[littlebigtine]

Start picking spots on the computer and go check them out. You don’t know until you go. Using a biologist is also very helpful to figure out migration corridors or where populations typically set up for summer or winter in a given unit. It took me years to find bucks consistently but after putting in the time on the mountain, it seems that almost every spot I pick e-scouting in the last couple years will have at least deer sign if not a buck or 2. That real world experience is honestly invaluable and not easy to decode. Pretty intuitive stuff

 

[HighDesertHunter]

What time of year are you looking to hunt?

 

[Jimmy]

Water and feed isnt a terrible place to start

 

[huntnful]

Pick a ridge system with varying terrain that runs 6 miles long or so. Find a few key vantages that look into the different vegetation types. Go up and scout that ridge system in late July/early August. One evening/morning at each vantage. Learn what the deer are in, and what it looks like on the map. Then replicate it elsewhere.

If you don't see any good bucks, just repeat that same scouting technique somewhere else until you do see the type of buck you're after.

You will learn more real scouting, than you will ever learn e-scouting. So now's the perfect time to get up there and start looking for bucks

 

[Seth5005]

What time of year are you looking to hunt?

October.

 

[PackHeavy]

I am sure a lot of other people will say this. But the best thing to do is get boots on the ground. Other than that, for me personally I love glassing. I usually will turn the topo on and try to find places that have a good vantage point where I can see almost 360. That way I cover as much country as possible without having to hike so much.

 

[Matt5266]

In the last few years here in Idaho EVERYONE has decided their a backpack hunter and I've seen some disaster stories.

First be prepared with good reliable gear, buy used if you must. But cotton clothing and cheap boots will kill you. A cheap non framed - backpack isnt going to do you any favors trying to haul game out, again look for used if you must. Also grab some trekking poles. I've used some cheap cascade mountain tech ones for years and they work fine. It will absolutely help you out and can also act as a quick bipod if needed.

Second know your limitations. I dont know if you hunt alone or not but you owe it to that animal to get every bit of meat out. Sometimes that means 2 trips depending on the size of deer, items you took in and size of pack your using. So be realistic in how far you go in. It's one thing to hike in 6 miles with a 40lb pack but now after 2 days of hard hunting and countless miles you've killed a deer. Now you strap 100lb pack on and you have to get back out.

Third biggest mistake I've seen people make and took me forever to figure out (because I've always been a aggressive hunter who hates sitting) get a tripod and some good glass and spend alot of time behind it. I promise you will start seeing alot more deer. I've found so many deer I've watched hunters walk right by it's not even funny.

 

[HighDesertHunter]

I second the glassing recommendations, October is the time of year they are in deep hiding until the last week of the month or later. Security is their priority. As said above, look for places away from stressors where there is food, water, cover. Early in the month look high, depending on weather that could change.

 

[farmermail]

It sounds like your goal is to hunt high mountain, backcountry areas. Find areas that meet that goal of course as many have said. If your goal is to "kill a nice buck", there are a lot of ways to do that which do not involve back country, especially in October in Idaho.

 

[Seth5005]

All very good info so far! I appreciate all of the replies! Wanting to let small bucks grow as I want to get a mature buck. In much better shape than I have been. Biggest thing is wanting to find a spot way back in that will be a workout to get into and even more to get out with an animal. Sounds like I’m needing to just mark spots and go put the miles on!

 

[wyodog]

Ill be honest with you, what I look for e-scouting, is areas typical to what I know as good deer terrain in an areas I want to hunt. Then I grab my gear and go look at the country I e-scouted. Then I go home and look at that same ground again and look for things I missed. Learning what to to look for comes from time in the field. Probably not what you are looking for but i believe it is the best advice I can give.

 

[TaperPin]

Learning to get good at glassing is important, but it can get boring if you’re not good at knowing where and how. I think a great addition to glassing when learning about mulies is getting up and slowly walking some big long ridges - when you jump a deer look closely at where it was bedded down. These beds often have been used for hundreds of years and are well worn into the dirt. Look around and you’ll start seeing more beds that didn’t have deer in them today, but have and will in the future. Rinse and repeat and you’ll start to get a feel for what you should be looking for in the binoculars.

See those small scraggly patches of small trees/brush up towards the top 1/4 of the ridges - those are prime spots - there are probably a couple hundred deer beds in this photo - it’s big country. Old deer love being up high, and the wind blown Krumholtz trees are big enough for deer to lie behind and still look out. A spot like this would give you a master class in deer behavior - just glassing and walking a different part of this every day for a week. I’d love to just glass it for a week.

 

[TaperPin]

All very good info so far! I appreciate all of the replies! Wanting to let small bucks grow as I want to get a mature buck. In much better shape than I have been. Biggest thing is wanting to find a spot way back in that will be a workout to get into and even more to get out with an animal. Sounds like I’m needing to just mark spots and go put the miles on!

Also think about how others will be hunting your spot - that photo shows great deer country, but it’s also fairly easy for the competition to putter around on horseback. If you try to compete head to head with guys on horseback, odds won’t be in your favor. You need to get in positions to see deer others can’t easily see, be close enough that a stalk is doable, and not so disruptive that you drive any deer in the area to the next ridge over. If you’re spotting deer on the next ridge over, they have to be huntable - distance will wear you out chasing low percentage opportunities way out there.

Don’t be surprised if the ideal spot to be at opening morning on the ideal ridge has a small tent directly where you wanted to glass from, or the bowl where a giant buck was seen two days ago now has some dill-weed camped exactly in the middle of it. I’ve also busted ass to get to a deer, only to have other hunters coming at it from another direction ten miles into a wilderness area - sometimes they drive the deer to you and sometimes your BOAL runs over the ridge an gets hammered by someone else. Over the years I’ve seen the most idiotic things, so you always need a back up plan.

 

[huntnful]

Also think about how others will be hunting your spot - that photo shows great deer country, but it’s also fairly easy for the competition to putter around on horseback. If you try to compete head to head with guys on horseback, odds won’t be in your favor. You need to get in positions to see deer others can’t easily see, be close enough that a stalk is doable, and not so disruptive that you drive any deer in the area to the next ridge over. If you’re spotting deer on the next ridge over, they have to be huntable - distance will wear you out chasing low percentage opportunities way out there.

Don’t be surprised if the ideal spot to be at opening morning on the ideal ridge has a small tent directly where you wanted to glass from, or the bowl where a giant buck was seen two days ago now has some dill-weed camped exactly in the middle of it. I’ve also busted ass to get to a deer, only to have other hunters coming at it from another direction ten miles into a wilderness area - sometimes they drive the deer to you and sometimes your BOAL runs over the ridge an gets hammered by someone else. Over the years I’ve seen the most idiotic things, so you always need a back up plan.

A hunt I was on last year, there was a nice 176" buck that was living up in some sparse timber. Saw him two days before opener, and the day before opener. Two other dudes were watching him from way in the bottom also. I knew if we wanted to kill him, I needed to actually hike up there and find a shooting vantage before opener. So I made the climb and figured out where to kill him from.

Then I thought "well I'm already up here, and I'm not going to find a bigger deer if I just sit on this buck all day". And he was bedded near the ridgeline with 4 other smaller bucks. So I just said screw it, I'll have to bump him. So that's what I did. Bumped him with some movement from a good distance away. Nothing drastic. But they all got up and strolled down into the valley. I then made my way along the ridge to look for more bucks. And did find a hammer of a buck. But he was only a 3x4. Had he had a matching 4X side he would have went over 180" for sure.

By that evening, the 176" buck was back up top with his buddies. And early in the morning in the dark, my buddy and I made our way to that shooting vantage that I found the previous day. We were there at dark, buck was out feeding when it was light enough to see, and my buddy killed him.

The two dudes that were in the bottom were up there about 20 minutes later and we had the buck dead. They ended up being great dudes. But thought I was a total jackass the day before and thought that I didn't see the buck or know that I'd bumped him and was just running ridgelines spooking deer lol. Which technically I was haha. But for a purpose.

Moral of the story. Figure out how to kill a buck, before someone else does, and be there early.

 

[silversmith]

Also think about how others will be hunting your spot - that photo shows great deer country, but it’s also fairly easy for the competition to putter around on horseback. If you try to compete head to head with guys on horseback, odds won’t be in your favor. You need to get in positions to see deer others can’t easily see, be close enough that a stalk is doable, and not so disruptive that you drive any deer in the area to the next ridge over. If you’re spotting deer on the next ridge over, they have to be huntable - distance will wear you out chasing low percentage opportunities way out there.

Don’t be surprised if the ideal spot to be at opening morning on the ideal ridge has a small tent directly where you wanted to glass from, or the bowl where a giant buck was seen two days ago now has some dill-weed camped exactly in the middle of it. I’ve also busted ass to get to a deer, only to have other hunters coming at it from another direction ten miles into a wilderness area - sometimes they drive the deer to you and sometimes your BOAL runs over the ridge an gets hammered by someone else. Over the years I’ve seen the most idiotic things, so you always need a back up plan.

Great nuggets here!