I want to keep this pretty vague so there's no location identifiers, and mostly just looking for tips or tricks that will apply across the board that maybe someone can apply in their own process.
A couple years ago I started hunting mountain mule deer at higher elevations, mostly to get away from people. Something finally clicked, and I found a general area that I've been lucky enough to find bucks in every time I've gone. WA isn't known for producing a lot of big mature bucks during general seasons, so they've all been average sized bucks we were happy to punch a tag on. This year I drew a cow tag, so I want to put a little more effort into setting a standard and scouting for a bigger buck. I've identified a specific type of terrain that I think they like, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of pronounced game trails or choke points, it's just vast wilderness and I cut lots of random tracks. I'm planning to hike in and do some glassing while I set a couple trail cameras on salt, and let them soak til early September just before the hunt.
So let's say for elevations 6,000'+, what tips or tricks have yielded the best results for getting mule deer on camera? Regular salt, or selenium? Any attractants, like black magic or deer cain? N,S,E,W facing hillsides? Underneath, or above cliffs or bluffs? 3/4 up the ridge?
I'll take whatever ya got!
A couple years ago I started hunting mountain mule deer at higher elevations, mostly to get away from people. Something finally clicked, and I found a general area that I've been lucky enough to find bucks in every time I've gone. WA isn't known for producing a lot of big mature bucks during general seasons, so they've all been average sized bucks we were happy to punch a tag on. This year I drew a cow tag, so I want to put a little more effort into setting a standard and scouting for a bigger buck. I've identified a specific type of terrain that I think they like, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of pronounced game trails or choke points, it's just vast wilderness and I cut lots of random tracks. I'm planning to hike in and do some glassing while I set a couple trail cameras on salt, and let them soak til early September just before the hunt.
So let's say for elevations 6,000'+, what tips or tricks have yielded the best results for getting mule deer on camera? Regular salt, or selenium? Any attractants, like black magic or deer cain? N,S,E,W facing hillsides? Underneath, or above cliffs or bluffs? 3/4 up the ridge?
I'll take whatever ya got!
