What would you do?

[RockAndSage]

That limits the total number of times we can move to a new spot.

Full stop on this point. Planning on moving camps multiple times is a good way to be exhausted before you really get to know an area. Better to find a camp location that gives you foot access to multiple promising basins/treelines, and stick to each area hard before moving to the next.

finding different types of terrain is something I need to add into my planning. If there are no deer in those high basins, I need to find some areas that have more thick timber that appear to have potential in case there are none in the basins.

There will be deer in those high basins - do not fool yourself into thinking a place with feed and cover is devoid of deer just because you don't see them. The hardest mule deer hunting you can do is in thick timber. Don't hunt the timber, hunt the treelines.

are you scouting for tracks and sign?

Tracks don't lie. So, yes. It's often the first thing I do when on the ground, after I've done a solid scan with chest binos during scounting, and after I've given it a solid examination from tripod optics during season.

What becomes the process if the high open basins seem to be void of bucks?

Get your boots down to the timberlines on your first day or two, and walk the timberline looking for entrance and exit pathways - think of this as the gateway to a muley's neighborhood, or possibly even their house. It's a choke point they pass through going to and from "work", heading out in the evening for food, coming back in the morning to sleep. So look for sign. Know a buck from a doe track, especially a big buck track. Find buck tracks, mark those entry/exit spots right at the timberline on your OnX. Find a glassing point that will cover as many of those pins as possible without skylining yourself. Be at that glassing point 1 hour before sunrise/30 mins before first light, and be there from sundown until it's too dark to see.

When you first get your feet into a spot to get eyes on new territory, glass broadly with chest binos for anything standing, moving, or obvious. 5-20 mins. You are not standing on a ridgeline, or doing any rapid movements - you are tucked into a spot with a good view where you can't be easily seen. During this time you're also looking with intent for places to study carefully in high-powered binos from a tripod or from spotter. For bigger bucks, be especially careful to study shade and rimrock above the basin - places they feel most secure, where they have the best visual access to what's below, the best scent coverage for anything coming up from morning thermals, and often with their backs tucked up against a cliff/rimrock/big boulder for physical security from cougars - especially if the prevailing winds also bring scent from behind them, from where they can't see. This gives them full 360 perception opportunity. After they go hard-horn, the bigger bucks also tend to want to get away from the dumb kids of the rest of the herd.

Probably the 2 biggest mistakes guys make in glassing is, first, not stealthing in. Do everything slow, as though your life depends on it, and never, ever skyline yourself. The same way your eyes spot movement? Mule deer eyes do that for speeds as slow as 1/4 of what ours lock onto. It's things like, don't be on top of a "glassing knob", be at the base of it, and get there by going in low around the side, not cresting over anything unless you're below the brush.

The second big mistake is too much reliance on glassing, especially while often also not realizing what "glassing" really entails. It's a process, from broad scanning down to carefully picking apart every single place a deer might like to be hiding from predators and the sun, as well as their travel choke-points. And it's a process tremendously enhanced by getting your boots on the ground before your season opener and finding buck tracks. On that point, don't worry about bumping or busting out a big buck while down in their bedrooms. Within 3-4 days they'll be back, so just come back then - especially now that you know exactly where he sleeps. They choose those spots as high-value real estate, and hate not being in them during the day.

 

[Brad1974]

Full stop on this point. Planning on moving camps multiple times is a good way to be exhausted before you really get to know an area. Better to find a camp location that gives you foot access to multiple promising basins/treelines, and stick to each area hard before moving to the next.



There will be deer in those high basins - do not fool yourself into thinking a place with feed and cover is devoid of deer just because you don't see them. The hardest mule deer hunting you can do is in thick timber. Don't hunt the timber, hunt the treelines.



Tracks don't lie. So, yes. It's often the first thing I do when on the ground, after I've done a solid scan with chest binos during scounting, and after I've given it a solid examination from tripod optics during season.



Get your boots down to the timberlines on your first day or two, and walk the timberline looking for entrance and exit pathways - think of this as the gateway to a muley's neighborhood, or possibly even their house. It's a choke point they pass through going to and from "work", heading out in the evening for food, coming back in the morning to sleep. So look for sign. Know a buck from a doe track, especially a big buck track. Find buck tracks, mark those entry/exit spots right at the timberline on your OnX. Find a glassing point that will cover as many of those pins as possible without skylining yourself. Be at that glassing point 1 hour before sunrise/30 mins before first light, and be there from sundown until it's too dark to see.

When you first get your feet into a spot to get eyes on new territory, glass broadly with chest binos for anything standing, moving, or obvious. 5-20 mins. You are not standing on a ridgeline, or doing any rapid movements - you are tucked into a spot with a good view where you can't be easily seen. During this time you're also looking with intent for places to study carefully in high-powered binos from a tripod or from spotter. For bigger bucks, be especially careful to study shade and rimrock above the basin - places they feel most secure, where they have the best visual access to what's below, the best scent coverage for anything coming up from morning thermals, and often with their backs tucked up against a cliff/rimrock/big boulder for physical security from cougars - especially if the prevailing winds also bring scent from behind them, from where they can't see. This gives them full 360 perception opportunity. After they go hard-horn, the bigger bucks also tend to want to get away from the dumb kids of the rest of the herd.

Probably the 2 biggest mistakes guys make in glassing is, first, not stealthing in. Do everything slow, as though your life depends on it, and never, ever skyline yourself. The same way your eyes spot movement? Mule deer eyes do that for speeds as slow as 1/4 of what ours lock onto. It's things like, don't be on top of a "glassing knob", be at the base of it, and get there by going in low around the side, not cresting over anything unless you're below the brush.

The second big mistake is too much reliance on glassing, especially while often also not realizing what "glassing" really entails. It's a process, from broad scanning down to carefully picking apart every single place a deer might like to be hiding from predators and the sun, as well as their travel choke-points. And it's a process tremendously enhanced by getting your boots on the ground before your season opener and finding buck tracks. On that point, don't worry about bumping or busting out a big buck while down in their bedrooms. Within 3-4 days they'll be back, so just come back then - especially now that you know exactly where he sleeps. They choose those spots as high-value real estate, and hate not being in them during the day.

This is awesome stuff. I really appreciate your response.

My original thought process is to prioritize my locations and get to those areas during the day, glass that evening, the next morning, all day, and into the night, then again the next morning. After that a decision would be made to stay or move. When looking at my "top 3" spots I have currently, There is easy access to other basins near by either with a fairly short hike or quick access back to the vehicle to drive to the next spot. So really I have a top 3 starting points, but at least a couple options from each starting point.

The basins are definitely my top focus, and really all I have been looking at up to this point. Do you believe that pressure could push the bucks into the thick timber or would still remain at treeline? When you say "don't hunt the tiimber, hunt the treelines", what exactly do you mean by that? what does that process look like for you?

Your glassing advise correlates very strongly to what I've read in both David Long books, and what I've tried to follow in the past. Last year I was able to spot several bucks I would have been happy to tag, but it was during my brothers muzzleloader season and I had no tag. I planned a stalk and advised my brother, but he went past the spot I told him to set up and walked right in front of the buck out in the open only 20 yards away when he blew the deer out. But hey, it was his tag, and that was a close encounter with a good buck. I on the other hand am determined to fill a tag, and will only be pleased if I either fill the tag, or at least giving it all I've got trying to.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Yea, specifically high country with alot of high basins. assuming I am drawn (it was 100% with one less point than I have last year), I will be getting to the unit around Sept 2nd or 3rd, and the hunt would start Sept 6th. There should be an abundance of water, so that's not a limiting factor. I wouldn't say I've had "alot of experience on similar hunts". I have been to CO only twice. My brother had mule deer tags both times, but this will be my first. We did spot a few the first year, but it was at the end of our hunt and we never saw them again. I was able to spot a few last year and planned a good stalk that led to my brother going beyond the spot I told him to set up and walking in the open to 20 yards from the bedded buck and blowing him out... So instead I am trying to create my own luck by picking the brains of you guys with more experience than I have.

Gotcha, that's earlier than I was thinking. They’ll be above and at the treeline, get up there and dig them out. Spotting them should be the easy part. Lots of good advice so far, good luck.

 

[UTJL]

This is encouraging, because this is similar to what I've been trying to figure out with my planning. I've been marking off spots, and my map is full of high basins marked off as potential areas. I do keep noticing a "top 3" that stand out to me. One is a long drive on a rough 4x4 only road, where I should be able to glass and potentially camp without much of a hike. One has a mosaic of private that may deter some other hunters, and I have a buddy that knows of a good buck being killed there 5 or 6 years ago. The other is about an 8+ mile hike with a couple thousand feet elevation gain just to a camp spot back to a basin that looks like it has potential, with another basin just across a saddle from my planned glassing spot that could serve as a really nice 4th basin to glass. We plan to be there 2 or 3 days prior to the tag & 7 days of legal hunting, so up to 10 days of time in the mountain. That limits the total number of times we can move to a new spot. I think your point of finding different types of terrain is something I need to add into my planning. If there are no deer in those high basins, I need to find some areas that have more thick timber that appear to have potential in case there are none in the basins. That one tip feels like it could be a game changer, so I'm really glad you mentioned it. In the basins I get how to set up and glass to find bucks, but what would you look for in finding timbered areas? Are you still trying to glass into small openings from a vantage point? are you scouting for tracks and sign? What becomes the process if the high open basins seem to be void of bucks?

If you have 10 days and no prior knowledge I’d skip the rough 4x4 road and 8 mile hike in. Those will take a large amount of time to get in and out of and the condition of the 4x4 road could be worse then you expect.

How are you planning to camp? Camper, big wall tent, in the back of your truck? When I bounce from spot to spot I sleep in the back of my truck, eat fast easy meals and do other small things to save time.

But if you want a fun hunt I agree on finding a spot that has several basins within reasonable hiking distance. Either way let your glass doing the walking for you.

 

[Brad1974]

If you have 10 days and no prior knowledge I’d skip the rough 4x4 road and 8 mile hike in. Those will take a large amount of time to get in and out of and the condition of the 4x4 road could be worse then you expect.

How are you planning to camp? Camper, big wall tent, in the back of your truck? When I bounce from spot to spot I sleep in the back of my truck, eat fast easy meals and do other small things to save time.

But if you want a fun hunt I agree on finding a spot that has several basins within reasonable hiking distance. Either way let your glass doing the walking for you.

We will be hiking our camp in with us so we can stay wherever we need to. This trip will be a little different than the past few years, because there are some spots that we may go that are not too far away from the jeep, so that could make things a little easier.... although I'm not sure if we really want it to be easier. Part of what makes these trips so amazing to me is being out on the mountain with only what we have on us.

I've been thinking about hitting that 8 mile hike spot first as well, but there are a few reasons I think we'd probably try the 4x4 road first. First of all, if that spot is accessible, it would give us another day or two to get acclimated to the elevation without requiring a strenuous hike. We're coming from around 700 ft elevation, and going to 12,000 ft. If we find what we're looking for there, that's a bonus. Then if we get there and find out the road isn't going to work we could head to the other trailhead that same afternoon and likely still get to camp that night. I have seen some comments from guys who hunted that unit previously that "most" of the hunters seemed to be along that area around the 4x4 road. If we get there and see too many other hunters, we could leave. If we go to the 8 mile back spot first, and it doesn't work out, our plan B would be going to an easire access spot where I feel like there will more likely be more pressure... It appears that I really need to find a few more spots that have potential and are more likely to be overlooked.

 

[Scoot]

I am a firm believer that "luck" is simply where preparation meets opportunity.

... and your plan for preparation is to ask questions online? As was said before, it seems you are trying to cut corners. You will need luck, as defined by a horseshoe up your butt and no real preparation.

I hope you go, have fun, and get a chance. Good luck.

 

[Indian Summer]

We will be hiking our camp in with us so we can stay wherever we need to. This trip will be a little different than the past few years, because there are some spots that we may go that are not too far away from the jeep, so that could make things a little easier.... although I'm not sure if we really want it to be easier. Part of what makes these trips so amazing to me is being out on the mountain with only what we have on us.

I've been thinking about hitting that 8 mile hike spot first as well, but there are a few reasons I think we'd probably try the 4x4 road first. First of all, if that spot is accessible, it would give us another day or two to get acclimated to the elevation without requiring a strenuous hike. We're coming from around 700 ft elevation, and going to 12,000 ft. If we find what we're looking for there, that's a bonus. Then if we get there and find out the road isn't going to work we could head to the other trailhead that same afternoon and likely still get to camp that night. I have seen some comments from guys who hunted that unit previously that "most" of the hunters seemed to be along that area around the 4x4 road. If we get there and see too many other hunters, we could leave. If we go to the 8 mile back spot first, and it doesn't work out, our plan B would be going to an easire access spot where I feel like there will more likely be more pressure... It appears that I really need to find a few more spots that have potential and are more likely to be overlooked.

Your original post says you only have one week to hunt. That sounds like a lot of maybes and ifs to fit into one week. During that time of year mule deer are scattered across the landscape. You would have to hunt a spot for a couple days to even find out if there were deer worth hunting.

I just think the whole idea of no preseason scouting at all doesn’t leave you many options. Throw a dart at the map and go hunt.

 

[Marble]

hypothetically... high country basins above tree line. Where would you expect to find them bedding? would you focus more on the north facing side vs south facing side? what about east vs west facing? would you expect bedding to be in clumps of trees, rocky shaded spots, bushy areas, etc? are there certain features within high basins that are worthy of extra focus?

Early morning until the sun is up, I'll be looking at the south facing slopes primarily. I've seen them bed on those slopes depending on cover, and I've seen them go over the ridge to the north side. They often bed in beds they are used to using. So I look for those.

And they can bed from the fairly open, to the super thick stuff. Generally, it's with a good visual vantage point, multiple escaped routes and a predictable wind. Usually not far from food.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Marble]

I mean... yea... but, what would your thought process be in a situation like that? would it be alot of e-scouting first? & if so, what would you look for on the maps? How would you choose where you would glass? Once glassing, what specifically would you look for and/or focus on?

Even adding a day or 2 to the front end of your trip can yield tremendous results. I always find a way to scout an area in not familiar with. Besides fisning animals, there are other things like food, gas, hotel, water, good or bad roads, locating trailhead etc.

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[Brad1974]

Even adding a day or 2 to the front end of your trip can yield tremendous results. I always find a way to scout an area in not familiar with. Besides fisning animals, there are other things like food, gas, hotel, water, good or bad roads, locating trailhead etc.

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That's exactly what we're doing. We will hit the trail 3 days before my tag will be valid, then we will have 7 days once the season officially begins. We already know the hotel we plan to stay in the night before we drive to the trailhead, and last year we did drive the main road that takes us there and one of the roads that take us to one of our potential spots. Unfortunately we don't know much about the unit other than that road because we have hunted the unit next door for the past 2 seasons, but we are somewhat familiar with the area around the unit.

 

[Brad1974]

... and your plan for preparation is to ask questions online? As was said before, it seems you are trying to cut corners. You will need luck, as defined by a horseshoe up your butt and no real preparation.

I hope you go, have fun, and get a chance. Good luck.

well... I have already been doing my physical preparation, and getting my rifle dialed in to practice at distance, and obsessively studying maps. I don't have first hand experience in this particular unit other than driving through one area last year while my brother had a muzzleloader tag that included the unit, however it wasn't the unit we spent any time in other than on the 4x4 road. I'm not sure what more I could be doing to prepare, considering I do not have the means to take extra trips across the country to scout. I only have 2 previous seasons of experience going to CO to hunt mule deer. I don't pretend to know everything, but I have tried to learn alot through reading books, listening to podcasts, finding every bit of information I can, and speaking to people who have more experience than I do. That is why I am on this forum asking questions, and no, it's not the extent of my preparations... but thanks for all of the valuable insight.

 

[HighCountryDreamin]

This is a question for those with experience tagging bucks in early september... If you were forced to hunt only the second week in september (for only one week) in a unit that you have never been in before and can't pre-season scout, what would you do? how would you go about giving yourself the best chance of filling your tag with a decent buck?

I would scour maps (online and paper) and try to find places that offer high elevation and as far from 4 wheel drive roads as possible. Then look for breaks in dark timber that offer feeding areas that you can glass into that are accessible (especially from a higher vantage point). Good luck!

 

[link]

If you're coming in from out of state, only have a week to hunt, I'd start by driving into the unit and looking at trailheads and parking spots. You simply do not have time to learn the area. It may sound odd, but you might want to hunt where other people are. If there are other people there, there are likely deer there. Going in cold with a week to hunt, I would not blindly strike out up a ridge where no one was. You could be wasting two or three days to find out there aren't any deer there. Again, you do not have the time. I hate crowded hunting, but crowded trailheads don't lie. Your situation isn't ideal, so your answer isn't going to be ideal. Good luck!

 

[Scoot]

...but thanks for all of the valuable insight.

Your welcome- anytime.

Look, you might be doing what you can do given your situation, and that's all you can do, but what you are describing is not going to be a scenario where you are set up for a very high likelihood of success. I genuinely meant what I said at the end of my reply- I wish you luck and hope you have fun.

 

[Brad1974]

Your welcome- anytime.

Look, you might be doing what you can do given your situation, and that's all you can do, but what you are describing is not going to be a scenario where you are set up for a very high likelihood of success. I genuinely meant what I said at the end of my reply- I wish you luck and hope you have fun.

I do appreciate your input, and I've got a feeling I could learn something from your experience. To me cutting corners is what I see on social media, where everybody is asking for scouting info on particular areas. I don't call what I'm doing "cutting corners", I consider it trying to learn from others more experienced than I. On this forum and others I have gotten some very interesting answers from several hunters of various levels of experience, and it's intriguing to me how different guys think.

So, if you're willing to play the game, I've got a hypothetical situation for you... Lets say, you put in your application, waited patiently, and when the results came out, you discovered that somehow you accidentally put in one wrong number that entered you into the draw for the unit next to the one you have hunted. You have driven roads that border the unit, and even taken one trip down a road to a basin within the unit, but otherwise haven't spent any time in that unit that you now have a tag. AND... you can't step foot into the unit until 3 days before the hunt begins. If it were you, what would you do? I assume you'd at least look at the maps, but if so, what specifically would you look for? Then once you get there, what would you do? boots on the ground looking for sign? if so, what sign & where would you look? get to a high glassing point and try to spot & stalk? but what areas would YOU focus on & why?

 

[Indian Summer]

I do appreciate your input, and I've got a feeling I could learn something from your experience. To me cutting corners is what I see on social media, where everybody is asking for scouting info on particular areas. I don't call what I'm doing "cutting corners", I consider it trying to learn from others more experienced than I. On this forum and others I have gotten some very interesting answers from several hunters of various levels of experience, and it's intriguing to me how different guys think.

So, if you're willing to play the game, I've got a hypothetical situation for you... Lets say, you put in your application, waited patiently, and when the results came out, you discovered that somehow you accidentally put in one wrong number that entered you into the draw for the unit next to the one you have hunted. You have driven roads that border the unit, and even taken one trip down a road to a basin within the unit, but otherwise haven't spent any time in that unit that you now have a tag. AND... you can't step foot into the unit until 3 days before the hunt begins. If it were you, what would you do? I assume you'd at least look at the maps, but if so, what specifically would you look for? Then once you get there, what would you do? boots on the ground looking for sign? if so, what sign & where would you look? get to a high glassing point and try to spot & stalk? but what areas would YOU focus on & why?

You asked so.. I can’t remember how many points it’s taking you to draw this tag. But my honest answer is I would push the hunt back one year. I would go there this year just as planned only with no license and come back next year and do it right.

If you hunted in the adjacent unit, you should know a little bit about the habits of the deer in elk there I would think. Were you seeing deer over there? If so, when where? I’m going to agree with scoot. You can ask all the questions you want here, but you’re setting yourself up for low odds of success. Mule deer are way tougher than elk. Shooter bucks anyway.

 

[UTJL]

I do appreciate your input, and I've got a feeling I could learn something from your experience. To me cutting corners is what I see on social media, where everybody is asking for scouting info on particular areas. I don't call what I'm doing "cutting corners", I consider it trying to learn from others more experienced than I. On this forum and others I have gotten some very interesting answers from several hunters of various levels of experience, and it's intriguing to me how different guys think.

So, if you're willing to play the game, I've got a hypothetical situation for you... Lets say, you put in your application, waited patiently, and when the results came out, you discovered that somehow you accidentally put in one wrong number that entered you into the draw for the unit next to the one you have hunted. You have driven roads that border the unit, and even taken one trip down a road to a basin within the unit, but otherwise haven't spent any time in that unit that you now have a tag. AND... you can't step foot into the unit until 3 days before the hunt begins. If it were you, what would you do? I assume you'd at least look at the maps, but if so, what specifically would you look for? Then once you get there, what would you do? boots on the ground looking for sign? if so, what sign & where would you look? get to a high glassing point and try to spot & stalk? but what areas would YOU focus on & why?

many Rokslide users are obsessive western big game hunters. They are thinking about hunting 365 days a year and actively working on their craft more than 200 days a year. These are people who have moved across the country, changed careers, given up other hobbies and opportunities and made significant sacrifices to hunt more and be more successful. They scout probably twice as many days as they hunt. They know what tags they are putting in for in 2028 and they are already hiking those units.

So for these guys hunting a tag in a unit they’ve never scouted is cutting corners. They’d find a way to scout the unit at least once, even if it meant skipping a vacation, driving 20 hours in a 3 day weekend, agreeing to go in that cruise with their wife’s family, etc.

But their goal isn’t to kill a buck this year or even kill a buck every year it’s to kill the biggest buck they can find every year.

These obsessive hunter are saying that given your situation you can’t do everything necessary to guarantee you’ll get a buck. But you still might get one, and you should still go. But if you can cheat, beg, borrow or steal your way into a scouting trip it’d get you a lot closer to your goal.

 

[RockAndSage]

So, if you're willing to play the game, I've got a hypothetical situation for you... Lets say, you put in your application, waited patiently, and when the results came out, you discovered that somehow you accidentally put in one wrong number that entered you into the draw for the unit next to the one you have hunted. You have driven roads that border the unit, and even taken one trip down a road to a basin within the unit, but otherwise haven't spent any time in that unit that you now have a tag. AND... you can't step foot into the unit until 3 days before the hunt begins. If it were you, what would you do? I assume you'd at least look at the maps, but if so, what specifically would you look for? Then once you get there, what would you do? boots on the ground looking for sign? if so, what sign & where would you look? get to a high glassing point and try to spot & stalk? but what areas would YOU focus on & why?

Have a game plan before you arrive, based on a ton of e-scouting, and re-build that game plan over the course of those 3 days before the opener. You don't want to waste any time once it's opening morning.

So, for your opening-morning glassing spot, know exactly where you're going to park your truck, how long it takes to get there from camp, how long it takes to hike into your first-choice glassing spot before shooting light, and exactly how to get into that glassing spot without skylining yourself, sounding like a bull busting through brush, or having your scent carried into what you're trying to glass. The only way to do all this is to find that spot, and get into that spot before light on one of your scouting days.

You do all of this by spending the first day on the ground before the opener just driving around for access points related to your e-scouting game plan, while also hunting up potential good spots you couldn't see from OnX. You'll be modifying your game plan from this point forward. Get to those potential feed plots and glassing spots, glass things up, and if you aren't seeing anything in the glass, then get your boots down into those areas to find sign to either turn up a sneaky or sleeping buck's tracks, or to cross that spot off your list and move on. You really can't rule out a spot - especially if it has food and cover - without getting your boots down there. Pay especially close attention to walking the treelines around your glassing spot, looking for those entry/exit paths into that cover, and examining them for sign. It's more work than just driving and glassing, but it makes the overall hunt more efficient in actually pinning down the best spot to be on opening morning, and having a couple of well-examined backups that are higher likelihood to show a buck at first light.