Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
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Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
Looking for tips /advice on equipment setups for your bow, Optics, clothing anything you can help with to be better prepared would be appreciated thank you. Mike
Hoyt RX7 bow, and exodus broadheads
Beast stand and beast sticks.
Beast stand and beast sticks.
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
Too broad of a question man. Biggest thing is whatever is comfortable, the best optics you can afford, and Mule deer use their eyes like whiteys use their eyes. Never skyline yourself. Period.
- Mountain Man
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
Read Dwight Schuh's book Hunting Open-Country Mule Deer.
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
a handheld GPS unit. Don't rely on a smartphone.
- AfootTrack56
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
Where are you gonna be chasing mule deer and what time of year? Typically they are in more open areas, sometimes requiring a longer shot. If your bow setup is good for whitetail it’ll be fine for mule deer. No need to overthink it. As long as you can get the arrow where it’s gotta go, that’s all that matters. I chase desert mule deer around southern Arizona. It’s a blast. I shoot a 65 pound bow, 5 pin sight, QAD drop away rest, and I have a 5 arrow quiver. A little heavy but it’s nice to have an extra arrow or two. I spot and stalk em. So my bow is covered with stick on felt anywhere it’s gonna contact the ground during a stalk. I’m shooting carbon express maxima 450 arrows with 100 grain brass inserts and 125 gr Strickland Helix Broadhead. They fly awesome out to 80 yards. 50 yards is my max hunting range. I like to get em 30 yards or less. But even at my max range, my arrow setup blows through em like paper. I lost two big bucks using rage broadheads. Both were hit square on the humerus bone. The wide blades stopped the arrow from going in. My current setup crushes right through. I don’t worry about bone hits anymore. Mule deer very seldom jump string when you shoot at em. So that’s always a plus.
- Dewey
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
Mountain Man wrote:Read Dwight Schuh's book Hunting Open-Country Mule Deer.
Great book. It helped me a ton when hunting mule deer in open terrain.
- AfootTrack56
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
There is a video on YouTube that talks about mule deer behavior, and has some really good tips. Just search “hunting mule deer- secrets and strategies” it’s about 30 minutes or so. No need to watch it it, it’s just a slide show for the most part. But it’s a good listen on the drive to work.
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
^^^ thanks for all the help and advice. It's greatly appreciated.
Hoyt RX7 bow, and exodus broadheads
Beast stand and beast sticks.
Beast stand and beast sticks.
- 365buckin
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
Mountain Man wrote:Read Dwight Schuh's book Hunting Open-Country Mule Deer.
Anyone have any really good informational dvd's on Muley hunting? Something that's somewhat similar to Dan's. Or something that's not just a bunch of kill shots?
Be in the woods as often as you can....and as long as you can!
- AfootTrack56
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
I haven’t found any dvds that give much info on hunting mule deer. You’ll pick one or two pieces from a dvd. But the ones I’ve watched were more focused on the kill and size of the bucks. I can say, I have been applying beast tactics along with glassing/spot and stalk tactics, and it’s been proving to be a deadly combo on mule deer. I hunt desert mule deer in the flats and rolling hills in Arizona and these critters use the wind like you wouldn’t believe. Nobody down here hunts with any kind of wind based tactics. The few guys I told about it thought I was nuts.
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
I’ve been keeping tabs on a few bucks in one particular area. The general area is fairly flat. I find bucks using micro terrain features that cause wind disruptions of some sort. None of these places show up on topo maps. For instance, this buck beds along this dirt bank that pops up out of nowhere. He favors this spot on a West or northwest wind. First pic is the bed he dug out. He’s not right tight to the brush here. He chose a ever so slight depression that holds moisture longer than the surrounding dirt. Might as well lay in the coolest spot. Second pic is the four foot high dirt bank covered in thick nasty brush. The bank is about 50 yards long. The wind comes over that and over the buck. Open area in front where he can see danger coming. Last pic is the trail he’s using. This goes down a 30 yard wide ditch that forces the wind to the buck from his side. He has almost 360 coverage here. He’s laying where the ditch wind and the main wind meet and swirl like crazy. It’s a good setup. I can kill him 60 yards down the exit trail with an off wind and a 35-40 yard shot. If I get closer my wind gets pulled into the ditch and down to him. That’s my plan for this guy anyway.
- Brandonkinchen
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
Mountain Man wrote:Read Dwight Schuh's book Hunting Open-Country Mule Deer.
Gonna pick this up
"The archer is the true weapon; the bow is just a long piece of wood." -Sebastien de Castell
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
Just to parrot what has been said above, do not skyline yourself. Muleys, in my experience, rely heavily on their sight and in many cases bed accordingly. I found that they mostly bed with the wind at their back but not always. I've also noticed that muleys do not seem to care about ground scent much at all like whitetails do. They obviously rely heavily on their nose but for some reason where we hunted (South Dakota) ground scent didn't matter. I also found that as long as they don't wind you, there is a better possibility of them returning to a particular drainage / cut even after you have bumped them. Whitetails on the other hand just run and ask questions later.
Tactically what we found worked best in the AM hunts was to get to a high vantage point and glassed until about 9-930am in an attempt to locate and bed a buck. If that didn't work we would go sneaking and cover ground. For PM hunts, we would pretty much went right to sneaking in the hills. When spot/stalk hunting, there's no rush so take your time and utilize your binos (unless you're trying to cut an animal off).
Gear-wise, I use a Spot Hogg Tommy Hog 3-pin slider sight. Because 90% of the hunting I do is from a stand here in MI, I wanted something that was malleable for both types of hunting. I also use an FHF bino harness with a rangefinder pouch as well. Where we were hunting in the grasslands, there are no trees for points of reference for distance. For that reason, a rangefinder is a big help (I suck at gauging distance). One small piece of gear that I used that is borderline an MVP item for me was the Third Hand Archery hip clip. I put in on the straps of my bino harness and it gave me the ability to hang my bow from the hip clip while glassing cuts / drainages on the move rather than having to set down my bow every time. Lastly, two things you probably do not want to skimp on are your boots and pack. We put on 70-80 miles in 9 days so having a good pair of boots is key. I personally use a Kifaru frame and pack but I understand it is expensive. There are definitely good, cheaper options for sure but having a good pack frame is definitely a benefit as you will more than likely not want to be dragging your animal out. We punched 3 out of 4 of our tags this year and the heaviest loads were always in my Kifaru due to it's amazing suspension system.
At the end of the day, it's all trial and error. Just like any other type of hunt, you have to make mistakes and learn from them. It took me 3 years of blowing stalks to make it happen on my first muley buck last week. It is a mental and physical roller coaster so it is important to always stay positive. It is safe to say I am addicted to mule deer and will be seeking experiences in chasing these incredible animals. Good luck and have fun!
Tactically what we found worked best in the AM hunts was to get to a high vantage point and glassed until about 9-930am in an attempt to locate and bed a buck. If that didn't work we would go sneaking and cover ground. For PM hunts, we would pretty much went right to sneaking in the hills. When spot/stalk hunting, there's no rush so take your time and utilize your binos (unless you're trying to cut an animal off).
Gear-wise, I use a Spot Hogg Tommy Hog 3-pin slider sight. Because 90% of the hunting I do is from a stand here in MI, I wanted something that was malleable for both types of hunting. I also use an FHF bino harness with a rangefinder pouch as well. Where we were hunting in the grasslands, there are no trees for points of reference for distance. For that reason, a rangefinder is a big help (I suck at gauging distance). One small piece of gear that I used that is borderline an MVP item for me was the Third Hand Archery hip clip. I put in on the straps of my bino harness and it gave me the ability to hang my bow from the hip clip while glassing cuts / drainages on the move rather than having to set down my bow every time. Lastly, two things you probably do not want to skimp on are your boots and pack. We put on 70-80 miles in 9 days so having a good pair of boots is key. I personally use a Kifaru frame and pack but I understand it is expensive. There are definitely good, cheaper options for sure but having a good pack frame is definitely a benefit as you will more than likely not want to be dragging your animal out. We punched 3 out of 4 of our tags this year and the heaviest loads were always in my Kifaru due to it's amazing suspension system.
At the end of the day, it's all trial and error. Just like any other type of hunt, you have to make mistakes and learn from them. It took me 3 years of blowing stalks to make it happen on my first muley buck last week. It is a mental and physical roller coaster so it is important to always stay positive. It is safe to say I am addicted to mule deer and will be seeking experiences in chasing these incredible animals. Good luck and have fun!
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Re: Spot and stalk mule deer hunting
Everyone above has given great advice. I just want to recommend one more book to you Hunting Big Bucks by Robby Denning. I have read this book a few times and it is really good. I would be willing to loan it to you if you want to PM me your address. Just read it and send it back when you are done.
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