First Mule Deer Hunt

iHunt · Mar 13, 2017

Hello All,

Looking for any wisdom available for planning a first mule deer hunt! Expecting this to be a self guided rifle hunt. I am not afraid of putting in a ton of work hunting, I did archery elk in MT last year and will be going again this year. What I am hoping for is a good chance at filling a tag and I don't care about size for my first hunt. Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado are the most realistic options it seems right now to get a 4 or 5 day hunt in with driving from ND. Any advice going forward from here? I realize I will be subject to tag availability since I don't have any points in MT or CO and I would prefer to buy OTC in WY to preserve my 2 points in that state for a future hunt once I have more experience.

I appreciate any help in advance!!

JohnCushman · Mar 13, 2017

All Colorado deer tags are through the draw. Pick a unit West of I-25 and start looking through draw odds in the statistics. There are some units you can draw with 0 points, or as a second choice, but expect lots of hunters and low deer numbers.

mr_steve · Mar 13, 2017

What part of ND? I'm from Devils Lake originally. I'd suggest building points in CO and WY and buy a MT muley tag. One of the most fun hunts I've been on and closest to you.

Mthuntinfool · Mar 13, 2017

If you are bowhunting in Mt for elk, I would add a deer tag as well.

iHunt · Mar 13, 2017

I am just in the process of upgrading my general elk tag for a general big game combo. I realized you can't beat the additional cost to go for the Muley tag!

If I am planning on rifle hunting mule deer in MT, which zone would be a good fit for a first time hunter? I am not afraid of the public private checkerboard game if it comes to that since I have onxmaps.

Mthuntinfool · Mar 13, 2017

anywhere in eastern Mt you will find some deer, how big depends on how far from the road you are willing to go.

8andcounting · Mar 13, 2017

iHunt said:
I am just in the process of upgrading my general elk tag for a general big game combo. I realized you can't beat the additional cost to go for the Muley tag!

If I am planning on rifle hunting mule deer in MT, which zone would be a good fit for a first time hunter? I am not afraid of the public private checkerboard game if it comes to that since I have onxmaps.

I would highly suggest region 7 . 705, 704 703 are all great deer zones with plenty of public and block management.

iHunt · Mar 13, 2017

So when you look at Onx, there are real roads in thick red lines, and then there are like atv roads that are thin red dotted lines. When people say get at least a mile off the road, are they talking about the atv roads as well? Doesn't bother me if they are It just seems like it is a lot harder to find places that are a mile away from any ATV roads especially in SE MT

Heroinmyownstory · Mar 13, 2017

I would venture to say that they mean any road, trail ect...
That is my rule of thumb. Use trails to get into a general location and then work your way in to areas away from it all.
You will leave a lot of people behind when you get away from roads, you will leave a lot more people behind when you leave the trails.

iHunt · Mar 14, 2017

OK, I am not worried about leaving the trail, but in the SE part of the state I am a little worried about finding places that you can leave the trail! There are roads, two tracks, and trails all over it seems!

iHunt · Mar 14, 2017

OK so something else that I thought of, what am I looking for when I am scouting on google earth and onx? Can I look for the same things as we do for elk hunting? Any tips for rifle mule deer that I can work on before I get out there?

8andcounting · Mar 14, 2017

iHunt said:
OK so something else that I thought of, what am I looking for when I am scouting on google earth and onx? Can I look for the same things as we do for elk hunting? Any tips for rifle mule deer that I can work on before I get out there?

Shoot . Make sure you can take a mule deer at 250-300yds comfortably . Also I'm sure you thought of this but try the be in decent shape

iHunt · Mar 14, 2017

Yeah, I will be shooting as long of ranges as I can find, preferably out to 500 yds in practice to make that 300 yd shot easy. We are doing an archery elk hunt so I am not afraid of the shape I will be in for this hunt. The thing I am most worried about is that I know nothing about mule deer, so far my game plan right now is to walk ridges and glass alot until I find one with antlers then go shoot it!

Heroinmyownstory · Mar 14, 2017

I would recommend ordering Mike Eastmans book of Mule Deer hunting the west. It's good for both experienced and beginners. It has some great info on where to glass and different styles of hunting. It pretty well covers about everything.

JohnCushman · Mar 14, 2017

iHunt said:
Yeah, I will be shooting as long of ranges as I can find, preferably out to 500 yds in practice to make that 300 yd shot easy. We are doing an archery elk hunt so I am not afraid of the shape I will be in for this hunt. The thing I am most worried about is that I know nothing about mule deer, so far my game plan right now is to walk ridges and glass alot until I find one with antlers then go shoot it!

I zero my rifles 3 inches high at 100 yards. That gives me about a 250 yard zero. My .300 win mag only has like 4 inches of drop from there at 325. So, pretty much anything out to 375ish you can shoot in the shoulder and get it done.

FlintHillBilly · Mar 14, 2017

Mr. Cushman, would you say snowpack has been bad for muleys in CO this winter. Went skiing in Feb and everybody was saying snow started late this year, but looking at snowpack numbers it's been an above average year. I'll be a noob hunting southern CO this year, and wondering if I should even care about CO winters. Venture to guess they're always bad...?

antlerradar · Mar 14, 2017

If you are not worried about size there is no reason to hunt far from the roads. Instead look for large concentrations of does if you are hunting any time after the first part of November. Look for some public land close to some hay fields, preferably irrigated alfalfa. There will be plenty of does and small bucks close to the fields all fall. You might even get lucky find a big deer that comes out of the back county to rut.

JohnCushman · Mar 14, 2017

FlintHillBilly said:
Mr. Cushman, would you say snowpack has been bad for muleys in CO this winter. Went skiing in Feb and everybody was saying snow started late this year, but looking at snowpack numbers it's been an above average year. I'll be a noob hunting southern CO this year, and wondering if I should even care about CO winters. Venture to guess they're always bad...?

A lot of Colorado got hammered this winter. Even southern Colorado around Trinidad and Walsenburg got it pretty bad. I have a buddy that lives out in unit 70 and he got hit on and off through the winter. I can't speak for the whole state, but I know some areas got it pretty bad, while I was at 77 degrees today

iHunt · Mar 15, 2017

antlerradar said:
If you are not worried about size there is no reason to hunt far from the roads. Instead look for large concentrations of does if you are hunting any time after the first part of November. Look for some public land close to some hay fields, preferably irrigated alfalfa. There will be plenty of does and small bucks close to the fields all fall. You might even get lucky find a big deer that comes out of the back county to rut.

Thank you for the information!

JohnCushman · Mar 15, 2017

Find their food sources, water sources, bedding cover, and the does...you'll find the bucks

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