Mule Deer Hunting

The Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus) inhabits the Western half of North America and gets its name from its large ears that much resemble those of a Mule. The Mule Deer is some what larger than its Whitetail counter parts, especially in the colder climates. Besides the much larger ears, the Mule Deer can also be easily distinguished from a Whitetail Deer by its bounding leap called "Stotting". All four feet of the Deer come down at the same time. The Mule Deer Buck sheds his antlers in the Winter and starts re-growing a new set in the Spring. The Mule Deer will move up and down in elevation to find food sources and avoid heavy snows. The Mule Deer has natural predators that include the Mountain Lion and Wolf. Bears and Coyotes have been known to prey on juvenile Mule Deer. Mule Deer Hunting is one of the favorite past times for North American Hunters today. The Mule Deer grows very impressive head gear and is a prized trophy, not only for the antlers but also for the meat which is very good. Mule Deer Hunting in Utah and Mule Deer Hunting in Kansas, as well as, Wyoming Mule Deer Hunting are just three of hunters favorite destinations for this magnificent animal. There is also Montana Mule Deer Hunting, Colorado Mule Deer Hunting and Texas Mule Deer Hunting. All of the Western States of the United States have huntable populations of Mule Deer. New Mexico Mule Deer Hunting and Idaho Mule Deer Hunting are also enjoyed by many Hunters. The Mule Deer is, and always will be, a symbol of the West. Though troubled by habitat infringement and harsh Winters, the Mule Deer is a survivor and is once again flourishing in the West with the help of the Mule Deer Foundation and, Hunters like you and me.

Tips for bow hunting the mule deer

Bow Hunting Mule Deer Drives Me Crazy!

A Love/Hate Relationship with Mule Deer

If there’s ever been a bow-hunting discipline that’s almost guaranteed to send you seeking a soft spot on a shrink’s couch, it is spot-and-stalk mule deer hunting. It’s enough to make you schizophrenic. (This is so much fun! . . . I hate this stupid game! . . . I love mule deer hunting! . . . I hope all mule deer get blue tongue and die! . . . Whatever.)

Most of the time, I dearly love bow hunting big muleys. The country in which they live is as grand as any on earth. Even after 30 years of playing the game, the sight of those big antlers still takes my breath away.

One of the fascinations about mule deer hunting is the fact that just finding a good buck to stalk these days can be problematic. In varying degrees, deer herds are declining across much of traditional mule deer range, making locating quality bucks a job that takes some doing, especially on public land. Then, once you locate a buck you like, stalking him can be tougher than a $2 steak. There are so many things that can go wrong, things you can never imagine until they actually happen to you.

Generally speaking, I’m a pretty decent buck stalker. I’ve had lots of experience, made lots of mistakes, learned from them and had a fair amount of success. Still, just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, you run into a week like I had in central Montana. To say that I was humbled would be a classic understatement.

To Stalk ‘Em, You Have to Find ‘Em

In today’s world of mule deer bow hunting, the key is to hunt an area with good deer numbers, a herd that contains a good percentage of mature bucks and finding them in a place conducive to a successful stalk. Finding such an area can be troublesome. So when my friend Chad Schearer of Central Montana Outfitters (PO Box 6655, Great Falls MT 59406; or visit online at: www.cmontanaoutfitters.com) invited me and Tim Hooey to film a segment of Tim’s cable television show “North American Fish & Game,” I couldn’t say yes fast enough. Chad is a local guy who has hunted all his life, been guiding for many years and is a former world elkcalling champion. He also has under lease some tremendous ranch properties that hold good numbers of quality mule deer bucks.

The ranch we hunted was a mix of rolling hills interspersed with some tall rock buttes, isolated stands of timber and lots of brushy draws and cuts. If you painted a picture of ideal mule deer bow hunting habitat, it would look a lot like this.

We stayed in comfortable floored wall tents, complete with a wood stove in case it got a bit chilly at night. Chad’s wife, Marsha, is an integral part of the team and did the cooking in another big wall tent. Once in camp, Tim and I checked our sights and shooting form on lifesized McKenzie 3-D targets. All the Schearer’s equipment is first-rate.

Hunting was done from Chad’s Suburban, as we cruised ranch roads to places where we could glass for bucks. In this the hunting was different from much of what I was used to. That makes it possible for those who can’t physically do the “backpack thing” to access top-quality muley country.

“We generally don’t leave camp until well after dawn,” Schearer said. “That’s because we want to let the bucks bed down and get comfortable before we go after them. I know the places on this ranch where they are most likely to bed, so we just putt around and check out these places until we find a buck we like. Then it’s time to get out on foot and go get him. To just walk around would be counterproductive, as we need to cover lots of ground. Plus, the deer are sort of used to ranch trucks driving the roads and aren’t really terrified of them. If they see you walking around, though, they are out of here.”

I’ve done lots of this kind of hunting and love it. One of the twists to this particular ranch is that it is covered with small rock walls, ranging in height from just a few feet to 30 feet or more. During the hot weather of the early season, the bucks will bed up against these walls in the shade, letting the breezes keep them cool and bug-free. It also provides bow hunters with a ton of good places to stalk bedded bucks.

Tim’s First Muley Buck

Hooey is an experienced bow hunter, but the Michigan resident had yet to take his first mule deer. We all told him how tough this could be, but after his first stalk he must have thought we were pulling his leg.

Chad spotted the buck bedded up against a short, isolated rock wall. The wind was good, so Tim and his cameraman, Rocky, made their move while we sat back about 1,000 yards off, watching the show through our spotting scopes – just like TV! We had told the two that the worst thing they could do was to move too quickly, and they took our advice. It took them nearly an hour to negotiate the short stretch of ground between the buck and the road.

The bad news for the pair was that during their stalk the buck had swapped ends and had its head pointing in their general direction. Tim saw antler tips first, backed off a bit, came to full draw and snuck in. The deer spotted him and jumped up, but he was not fast enough. The reflexes of the former navy fighter pilot are still quick, and his arrow found the mark. (Heck, it was only a 15-foot shot.) Soon we were admiring Hooey’s Pope & Young buck, taken on his first morning ever of bow hunting mule deer.

I should have known that we had used up all our luck on that deer. To paraphrase Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “How can I blow this stalk? Let me count the ways. . . .”

For the next four days we hunted hard. I can truly say that in nearly 30 years of bow hunting mule deer, I have yet to see so many quality bucks in one place, in areas that were conducive to successfully stalking them with bow and arrow. Most of the time, if you can find one quality buck to stalk on a week’s bow hunt, it’s been a good hunt. On this ranch, during this week, finding good bucks wasn’t the problem. Watching me bungle it was.

The first buck I tried to stalk was a bruiser, big and tall and heavy, and in a fairly bad spot thanks to a shifty wind and the presence of several does nearby. I worked it right, though, coming in at an angle that pushed the does away from the buck and leaving me an open stalking lane down into the coulee where he lay. Everything was going as planned until I was 20 yards from the edge of the ledge, and the wind swapped ends. Adios.

No problem. Chad will tell you that the average number of stalks it takes his clients to get a shot is four. After years of getting busted, I can believe it. “Let’s go find another one,” we all said, which on a normal place might be tough. Not here. I was in business again before I could finish my Diet Coke.

This buck was bedded against a rock wall perhaps 50 feet tall but with a notch cut conveniently right above him. No sweat. I scampered up there, Spiderman-ed up through the crevice and came out on a small ledge. I could see antler tops only 30 yards off, but the deer was protected by a big boulder. I tried to slide out along the edge of the wall to clear a lane but just couldn’t. If you are looking to hunt elk, see our Wyoming Elk Hunting page to find out more. So after pacing on my little perch like a cat and trying to figure out what to do, I checked the wind and decided to back off and come around the side of the ledge, sneaking over the rounded curve of the hill for my shot. But when I slipped around into position, I dropped a small Windfloater on the prevailing breeze. I watched that little feather float off in the right direction, then suddenly, as if guided by the hand of God, it made a big vertical loop and ended up right on top of that buck’s bed. Who’d have thunk it? See you later.

The next morning we spotted a pair of dandy bucks bedded against a short wall, again with a perfect notch for stalking. I circled around, climbed through the notch and waited. Two smaller bucks fed right up under me, not 20 feet away, but no big boys. The ground was curved and brushy, blocking my view of part of the wall face, so after a bit I backed off, circled the wall and tried sneaking in from the side. When I got there the deer were simply gone. Who knows why?

Now I was starting to wonder. Was I snake bit or what? By and by we found another good buck, again bedded against an isolated wall. So this time I made a big circle, dog-trotting the mile needed to get around the deer and come in from both above and upwind. Could it be any better? I slowly climbed the back of the wall and peeked through the brush. There! Antler tips, not 15 yards away. The footing was iffy, crumbling rock and noisy brush, so I was careful to move my feet into a good position before standing to shoot. What I forgot about was the arrows in my quiver protruding below the lower bow limb. They clanked against the rocks like a foghorn. I’ll never forget the sight of that tall, heavy 4x4 with a spread of perhaps 27 inches bounding across the open flat.

The next afternoon we found a slam dunk. This big 4x4 was bedded at the base of a rock wall probably 60 feet tall. “All right!” I remember thinking. “No more of this short wall, in-your-face stuff where just thinking about sneezing will ruin you!” I had to make a big loop to stay out of sight and get the wind right, crossing a deep, brushy ravine in such a manner that any deer bedded in there – and there were several – would hopefully spook in the right direction. They did.

Finally, I thought, something is going right. I made it to the base of the hill without being spotted, climbed to the top and began a sneak-and-peek session as I edged along, looking for bedded deer. When I got to the end, he was right where we’d left him an hour before, contently chewing his cud and enjoying the breeze about 20 yards directly below me. I knocked an arrow, eased out onto the ledge and came to full draw. The shot was one I’ve made many times before. Settling my top pin right at the junction of his shoulders and neck, I calmly released – and missed.

The buck jumped up and crossed the small ravine, not sure what had happened. “Fall over dead!” I begged. But, of course, he didn’t, instead slowly walking off, not sure what the heck had disturbed his siesta. I scampered down and found my arrow, which was as clean as when it came out of the box. Have mercy!

No problem, we all said. There was still time to find another deer before the hunt was over. And we did. This buck was bedded against a very short wall not far from where I’d stalked the 4x4 the previous evening. Again I made the big loop, coming in above him. But this ledge was very, very short, and I needed all the hand signals Tim and Chad were giving me to find him. When I first saw his antler tips, he was close. Real close. I crept in, and got so close I could have reached out with an arrow and rattled it between his beams. But the angle of the ledge was such that I could not see his body. What to do?

I’ll pull a “Tim,” I thought. I’ll back off, draw the bow, then ease up, and when he stands up, I’ll release before he can bound off. So I drew and eased up. But just as I was ready to make the final move, a gust of wind – it was blowing a steady 15 mph, and this gust was probably twice that – blew the arrow off the rest, and when I reflexively tried to catch it my feet scooted along the gravel. I might as well have set off a firecracker. He was gone like he was shot out of a cannon.

That was the appropriate way to end this hunt. Was I sad? Some. After all, I had wanted one of these bucks badly and just couldn’t quit tripping over my two left feet. At the same time, though, I was still really excited. For great hunting, guides, and outfitters on a Colorado hunt, check out our Colorado GMU 2 Mule Deer Hunting page for all this and more. Where else, I thought, can you come and have so many chances at this caliber of bucks bedded in places where actually getting a controlled bow shot at them is so good? I’d seen my friend Tim take his first muley ever with a bow and got to spend time with Chad and Marsha, two quality people who run a superb hunting camp. As the sun set on this adventure, there was only one thing to do – make plans to come back. In 2004, I do plan on getting revenge.

By Bob Robb

This article and many more like it can be found by Successful Hunter Magazine. Visit them at www.successfulhunter.com