Mule deer 101?

[Ts3]

Hello all,
I am hoping to go for a mule deer hunt in the fall. The trouble is that I know basically nothing about mule deer. I'm a life-long whitetail hunter. The only big game hunt I have made out west was a self-guided antelope hunt in Wyoming two years ago. It was a blast but I am looking at a quality guided hunt for mulies this time. I called up a guide and realized while talking to him that I just don't know enough to make the decisions I need to. For example, his pricing is based on which ranch we will hunt. The price differences are based on the trophy potential of a given property. I don't have any idea what a good buck would score! Anyway, I was hoping someone could steer me to a few good articles on mule deer hunting to act as a primer so I could get an idea of what to expect with regard to the animal and the hunt. I'm not really sure what questions to ask the guide. Any guidance or general advice on the subject is welcome and appreciated.

 

[Canhunter35]

I don't know of any articles, but a 180 mule deer is good, and unless you've hunted a lot of mule deer shouldn't be passed up. A 200 is really nice, but are hard to find and can be tricky to get.

 

[wyowinchester]

Start looking at outfitter web pages.

but I am looking at a quality guided hunt for mulies this time.

Decide what kind of hunt you want to do, horse, foot, truck.... Look up references and see what they say. Narrow down the cost factor. And you better hurry. Non Res. apps need to be submitted soon.

 

[Ts3]

I appreciate the input. I really would like to pack in on horseback. I would be fine with backpacking too. The more I look, it seems those type of backcountry hunts require drawing a tag so I will need to build some points somewhere for a while. Otherwise, looks like pricier hunts are available on private ranches without having to draw a tag.

 

[jebel]

The book I most appreciate re. mule deer hunting is Hunting Big Mule Deer, How to Take the Best Buck of Your Life by Robby Denning. It's got good information on field judging, preparing for a hunt, deciding where to hunt, and tactics on the ground. He discusses use of horses, and not. Also gear. It's worth a look.

 

[jebel]

Here's a link to Hunting Big Mule Deer, How to Take the Best Buck of Your Life by Robby Denning.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014TCOX0C/?tag=lrhmag19-20

 

[Ts3]

Awesome. Just bought it. Thanks.

 

[Country Bumpkin]

Given that you are accustomed to whitetails, the first average size 4x4 mulie you see will look huge. I have only hunted public land, but from my experience, 8 mulies and a lot of whitetails, I have a smaller perspective on what size is reasonable.

What are you after with this hunt? Are you paying for a nice "representative specimen" (what I would say falls in the 140"-160")? Are you looking for a "decent trophy" (160"-170"). Are you after what most working-class/blue-collar/saved-for-years folks would call a true "trophy" (170"-190")? Or are you looking for something that's truly magnificent (190" +) and really reserved for either A) those that pay top-dollar, B) those that work their *** off with scouting and years of perseverance, or C) lucky-bastards?

Is size really that important to you? If yes, My suggestion would be to ask the guide to provide you with photos of bucks taken on each ranch in the last year. Tell him to label each photo with how many inches he says they score. Share them on here with a description of what size the guide says they are. Let some of the folks on this forum tell you if he's full of $h!t. A guide could easily tell an Easterner that they are looking at a 180" buck when really they are looking at a 150". Same for elk, if you don't know how to score elk, a 300" bull is pretty impressive and a guide could tell you that he's a 330 and might not even be "lying" to you (because they are really tough to judge). Nothing wrong with those size animals, they are darned impressive over the fireplace.

Most people grossly overestimate mulies. A friend taught me this year that when he's sizing up a buck, he uses the 190" scale. If a buck has 12" front forks and 12" rear forks, and given that he's got decent mass and is not overly wide or really narrow, then he should score 190" (that's a truly huge buck IMO). Any fork that doesn't meet these minimums needs to be deducted and multiplied by 4 (one fork x both sides). This is obviously a rough-guide, to really be accurate you need to take all factors into consideration and really try to put measurements to them. We did this to a buck my buddy shot this fall, after looking at him through the spotter for 10 minutes. We judged him at 174" and he taped 172"

Best of luck. Curious to see where this goes

 

[Country Bumpkin]

Given that you are accustomed to whitetails, the first average size 4x4 mulie you see will look huge. I have only hunted public land, but from my experience, 8 mulies and a lot of whitetails, I have a smaller perspective on what size is reasonable.

What are you after with this hunt? Are you paying for a nice "representative specimen" (what I would say falls in the 140"-160")? Are you looking for a "decent trophy" (160"-170"). Are you after what most working-class/blue-collar/saved-for-years folks would call a true "trophy" (170"-190")? Or are you looking for something that's truly magnificent (190" +) and really reserved for either A) those that pay top-dollar, B) those that work their *** off with scouting and years of perseverance, or C) lucky-bastards?

Is size really that important to you? If yes, My suggestion would be to ask the guide to provide you with photos of bucks taken on each ranch in the last year. Tell him to label each photo with how many inches he says they score. Share them on here with a description of what size the guide says they are. Let some of the folks on this forum tell you if he's full of $h!t. A guide could easily tell an Easterner that they are looking at a 180" buck when really they are looking at a 150". Same for elk, if you don't know how to score elk, a 300" bull is pretty impressive and a guide could tell you that he's a 330 and might not even be "lying" to you (because they are really tough to judge). Nothing wrong with those size animals, they are darned impressive over the fireplace.

Most people grossly overestimate mulies. A friend taught me this year that when he's sizing up a buck, he uses the 190" scale. If a buck has 12" front forks and 12" rear forks, and given that he's got decent mass and is not overly wide or really narrow, then he should score 190" (that's a truly huge buck IMO). Any fork that doesn't meet these minimums needs to be deducted and multiplied by 4 (one fork x both sides). This is obviously a rough-guide, to really be accurate you need to take all factors into consideration and really try to put measurements to them. We did this to a buck my buddy shot this fall, after looking at him through the spotter for 10 minutes. We judged him at 174" and he taped 172"

Best of luck. Curious to see where this goes

This is my biggest buck to date and he's only 142". I scouted most of these one half of summer and only turned up two bucks bigger than him. Ask yourself if you think he's big or small, now you know what you are after. Maybe others can post photos of their bucks with actual scores.

 

[wyowinchester]

If you check with the outfitter, you might find that they have an avenue to get you a license this year. I know out of stater's that come here every year. Secluded area's get little pressure.

 

[tmmcampbell]

He is at the taxidermy. Haven't put a tape on it but I'm guessing he is around 170ish.

 

[dfanonymous]

Look for water sources. Look for food sources in the area of a water source within a 2 mile area. Burn areas are great. Get use to walking. Get use to walking up hills or into mountains. Get up high glass low. Morning and evenings are the best time usually, BUT...anytime is possible depending how hard you hunt. Get quality glass. it helps a lot looking into the shadows in cover. Get ready to hike out with a lot of weight if you make a kill. It doesn't hurt to try calls and rattles...but they've never worked for me. My archery season is in the summer and the rifle before November so...no rut.
Scents wont work. To hot, and sweat to much. A good set of hiking foot wear, a good bag and quality optics are pretty much where money should be dumped. In the fall mule deer buck kind of split away from there bachelor groups and become hard to find. A lot of the big dudes are almost strictly nocturnal if you are on public land, also depending on region. E-scouting helps, and on foot scouting really, really help.

 

[Deleted member 107796]

Mountain mulies in CO are nice and can be found from N to S, but the plain areas in the east have monsters that are overweight on grains and corn. The only issue here is mostly all private land and you need access for the prime areas. good luck

 

[okie man]

Kansas is a sleeper mule deer state! Tags aren't easy too get and outfitters with private ground don't come cheap!