Bowhunting Mule Deer is something many hunters dream of, but rarely turn out to be. Mule deer live in a vast area of the western half of North America that is characterized by arid deserts, rugged mountains, forests, and prairies. Harvesting mature mule deer with a bow is one of the most difficult things a hunter can do.
What is Bowhunting Mule Deer?
Bowhunting mule deer can mean different things to different people. Anyone who has spent a lot of time in mule deer country can tell you what a young mule deer can be. It wouldn’t be much of a challenge to wander down the road until you see a herd of immature mule deer, skidding out of the car and out of the way, and a one- or two-year-old deer tucking in. These deer don’t know any better and for someone who is truly passionate about bow hunting deer, this wouldn’t be considered an achievement.
For the serious mule deer bow hunter, a mature mule deer is what dreams are made of. Mature mule deer are on a different playing field than young mule deer. Although mule deer can successfully breed at 3 years of age, serious mule hunters usually refer to mature mule deer as 4 years of age or older. This is the age when you start to see the potential of antler growth and their ability to evade hunters. While antler size will continue to increase through at least their sixth year depending on feeding, most hunters (regardless of weapon) would agree that a four-year-old buck is a sharp shooter and has developed the skills to keep himself alive even with Gun hunters all over the place.
Unfortunately, many mule deer don’t live longer than three years due to the fact that they are shot when they are young and stupid. In general hunting grounds where there is no limit to the number of hunters, especially rifle hunters, for mule deer to reach maturity is to overcome unrealistic odds. If one is able to get through a few years of hunting seasons, having a sixth sense to outsmart hunters and taking one with a bow is one of the toughest challenges a hunter can face. In the rest of this article, we will discuss the tactics that can make a hunter steady in mule deer hunting.
Mule deer hunting methods
There are several methods that can be used to harvest mature mule deer. The most common are Spot, Stalk, Tree Stand or Ground Curtains.
Tree stand and floor curtains
One of the easiest (dare I say) ways to take on big deer with archery gear is to use a tree stand or ground blind. While sitting there waiting for money may not take a lot of energy, it does take a lot of patience. Patience is the easy part. The real work is to find a good spot for mature mule deer to pass in the daylight hours. This takes a lot of work with pre-season scouting, tracking cameras, and patterning so you’ll have a pretty good idea of where they’ll be when the season arrives. It is much more difficult than it looks and takes a lot of time to be consistent year after year.
Of course, you could just place your tree stand or ground blind in any watering hole, food source, or other high deer traffic area and be successful with mature mule deer, but this will require a lot of luck and possibly patience. Once you find a good area that produces big bucks, it is reasonable to assume that there will be more in the years to come, so this type of fishing becomes easier once you establish a good area.
spot and leg:
Although it requires a little more energy than hunting from a tree stand or blind, spot and leg bow hunting is usually a faster method of hunting mule deer. The goal is to spot the back of a large, mature mule deer and then stalk within range of the arc without being detected.
The number one thing to remember when hunting slick and leg deer is to be patient. If conditions are not right, wait for them to improve. This may mean waiting for the dog to sleep in a better place where you will be able to approach him, or waiting for the wind to pick up or change direction to not only carry your scent away from the pack, but also to cover up your noise once you get close.
Advance preparation:
Most mule deer bow hunters who consistently harvest large mule deer begin their season long before they finish planting their antlers. It is important to have a good idea of what the area carries for the big bucks so that you can develop a minimum volume and order of dollars that you will focus on first.
Of course size is not the only factor in determining whether or not a buck is a shooter. An experienced hunter can often judge a deer’s age by body markings and antler composition. In my view, a 6-year-old buck with low-pitched horns is more of a trophy than a 4-year-old buck with great future potential.
to Spot and leg huntingIt is important to have several shooter dollars in known public places before the season begins. This is because it usually takes several stems before one is successful. After several years of researching spots and stems, I’ve found that the average success rate for stems is 1/6 or so. Of course, it may happen on the first try, or it may take 15 times. An inexperienced hunter may go several seasons without having a successful stock of mature mule deer.
to fishing stand (Tree or Blind) It’s not that important to be spotted for several bucks, it only takes one mature deer in the area and you can hunt all season long. Of course your odds will increase greatly if you can spot multiple shooters in an area. The one thing you don’t want to do before the season is disturb the area too much. You will risk spoiling the bucks before you have a chance to start catching them.
Archery practice: The only thing that can’t be overlooked is shooting your bow. No matter how good your rack position is or if you’re the sneakiest person on the planet, if you can’t close the deal when it matters, you can stay home too. Of course, everyone who has fished enough has missed or shot poorly, but shooting year-round can increase your odds of being able to perform when you have to. A good thing to do is to enter 3D competitions where you will have the chance to shoot life-sized deer targets at different locations, angles, and ranges.
During the season:
Once the season begins, you will obviously target the mule deer you like best. One thing you have to keep in mind is that with deer hunting, you won’t always be able to get the first number on your list. Sometimes all you get is one shot, and if it doesn’t happen in the first round, you may never see that amount the rest of the season. This is why it is important that you need to know where other shooter’s money is hanging around.
Standing Bow Mule Deer Hunting:
If you are sitting on an easel, you will have to be patient. Just because opening day didn’t produce much doesn’t mean the big money won’t show up the next day where you want it. I have an impatient friend who moved his tree stand after opening day because Juabiya took a different route. Then, he obtained photos of the back the next day from the tree he had been standing in just 12 hours earlier while he was sitting in a tree a few hundred yards away. You must hold on to it!
Spot and bow leg mule deer hunting
You should have a pretty good idea of where there will be a good profit on opening morning if you have scouted a lot before the season. It is best to be in a position to spot it from afar when the first ray of light begins to appear. Once you’ve found your intended target, you’ll need to assess the situation and decide whether conditions are right to put a leg up on immediately or watch and wait for conditions to improve. This is where only experience and common sense can help you, because every situation and situation is different. Knowing when to go about it and when not to, as well as how to go about it, will vary a lot depending on how things fall into place.
The same factors that are responsible for most mule deer’s inability to achieve maturity are the same factors that make it so difficult to get them through a bow. Many of the areas they inhabit lack cover to allow them to escape volleys of muskets that can fire over 500 yards away. This same fact is why it is so difficult to come into bow range for mature mule deer that have managed to sneak up on rifle hunters in the past. There simply isn’t a lot of cover for a crossbow hunter to hide behind in order to get a good shot. In this case, you must use the ground floor in order to get close enough for the bow shot.
Mule Deer Bowhunting Equipment:
Bow hunting deer can be made easier with the right equipment. In fact, some equipment is necessary to give bow hunters the upper hand. Below is a list of shooting equipment that you may want to consider purchasing before you start deer hunting. Just remember that you get what you pay for, so choose the best you can afford, and upgrade as often as you can.
- rangefinderKnowing the exact distance to your target is a huge benefit, especially when shooting long distances or hunting a bow. There are a few specifications you’ll need on your rangefinder, so be sure to check the link below to make sure you’re getting the right type.
- binocularsSpot and stalk deer hunting requires you to find deer. It’s amazing how many deer you can find with binoculars that you wouldn’t see otherwise. They’re also essential on the trail where you need to find deer before they find you, which means using your binoculars to pick out the tip of a horn or flick of a tail.
- spotting scope: Both are used to spot deer and then be able to judge them to make sure they deserve a stalk. Spotting scopes are also important for finding other deer and anything else that could endanger your leg on your intended trail. It’s very easy to get caught by an animal you didn’t even know existed. The spotting scope is a must for spot and stem hunting.
- shoesWhen hunting deer, it is important to be as calm as possible. I have taken off my boots and hunted with sock successfully before, but with cacti and thistles spreading where I hunt, this is unachievable. So I wear lightweight boots designed for stalking to close the final distance within arc range. They saved my feet and helped me be more stealthy.
- camouflage: With deer sighting, it is not so important to be the same color as the background ground, but more to break up your silhouette. Additionally, in a typical spot and stem habitat, foliage can be dry and yellow in grasses, or green in trees and shrubs. So it is important to have a very versatile camouflage pattern.
- There is other equipment This will give you an advantage that you may want to take advantage of which we will talk about later.
Experience: Now go and learn for yourself
