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Joined: Jun 2001
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Campfire Outfitter
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OP
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My second year hunting mule deer in the mountains. What do they like for cover/food ect. Best time to hunt them? Ive seen does and fawns but never bucks with them. Do they have a home range like whitetails? Ive seen them mostly in sage or pine trees on edges. Any good books for mountain hunting them? Thanks
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 35,293
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2004
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Something clever here.
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Joined: Apr 2010
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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I don’t know where you’re hunting them, but where I do in the mountains of CO, they migrate. Depending on the weather and your elevation, you may have a handful of resident deer or you may have hundreds or thousands moving through the area on the way to their winter range. The area I hunt is scattered sage, pinion pines, oak brush, and big bull pines.
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Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,490
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,490 |
Often the bucks won't live with the does until the rut approaches. You may see a few young bucks still hanging around "mom and the girls" before then, but the mature bucks tend to live away from the gals until the rut approaches. That often happens late October - mid November. Glass, glass, glass.... If there's a typical routine I've seen with mule deer bucks it's something like this: Travel back up into the hills in the morning, after feeding much of the night. Lay up all day, occasionally moving around a little. Travel back down to feed in late afternoon. So... I usually try to set up some sort of ambush for the early morning or late afternoon hours. Often they feed on bitterbrush, though if there's an alfalfa field anywhere nearby, they usually gravitate towards that. Best of luck, Guy
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Joined: Nov 2018
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,490 |
David Long has written good articles and books about mule deer hunting. I think he's also made a few videos. Glass, Glass, Glass - then set up to get a shot. Last year's buck: Sometimes I hunt them in the mountains too. Either way works. Regards, Guy
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 28,172
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 28,172 |
The bigger bucks hang higher and sometimes get caught up high when big snows trap them up there. I've found most of the bigger bucks like to be on a high steep ridge, just below the lip at the bottom edge of good cover, like mahogany or spruce. Mahogany provides them good browse, and they can stay put for quite a while if water's nearby.
Get on a center ridge where you can glass several other nearby ridges, preferably within range of them. Glass, glass, glass...
Hunt with Class and Classics
Religion: A founder of The Church of Spray and Pray
Acquit v. t. To render a judgment in a murder case in San Francisco... EQUAL, adj. As bad as something else. Ambrose Bierce “The Devil's Dictionary”
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Joined: Dec 2018
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Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
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Practice your shots, get good gear (ggg), try to have fun.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 30,933 Likes: 21
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 30,933 Likes: 21 |
forkies can get purty big
T R U M P W O N !
U L T R A M A G A !
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 30,933 Likes: 21
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 30,933 Likes: 21 |
where I live......... they all live in town.........born/raised & die...... sumbitchin bucks
T R U M P W O N !
U L T R A M A G A !
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 20,281 Likes: 22
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 20,281 Likes: 22 |
I believe that mule deer are much more adaptable than a lot of folks give them credit for. They'll often be everywhere in a block of suitable habitat, unlike elk.
They're individuals, like people and have individual preferences, but they'll also be patternable and somewhat predictable. If they've been hunted hard, don't bother looking for them in easy areas, even if food, water and cover are there.
The most predictable places I have found public land mule deer bucks to be is in 1-8 year old burns. Find secluded spots in burns and you'll find bucks. They're not quite as predictable as elk are though, as far as bedding and coming out to feed in the first and last hour or so of light. They seem to be more reliably out feeding in the middle of the day, IME. As far as a home range, I am sure some do and others will be found in the same drainage all summer and even subsequent years, if that area was what they need. Not sure if that is a "home range" or not.
If the rut is on, then just like whitetails, find the does.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,967 Likes: 10
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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No where near the restrictive home range of white tails. If in big sky country then glass and glass some more. I do best in terrain that others don't tend to frequent. Places like Hells Canyon. Then again, out by Cookie's bird feeder in the back yard is not a bad spot either.
Last edited by 1minute; 10/15/19.
1Minute
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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They tend to be where you find them. Sometimes in town. Have a friend who lives in Bend,OR who has them in his backyard. They tear up his sprinklers. Here they cruise through our yard regularly. There was a forky in our driveway this morning. This is from my buddy's backyard in Bend. This deer was killed a year or so after this pic was taken by a truck on the highway.
I am continually astounded at how quickly people make up their minds on little evidence or none at all. Jack O'Connor
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Campfire Outfitter
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No where near the restrictive home range of white tails. If in big sky country then glass and glass some more. I do best in terrain that others don't tend to frequent. Places like Hells Canyon. Then again, out by Cookie's bird feeder in the back yard is not a bad spot either. Yep. Put in a bird feeder. Wanted to feed the quail but instead got 300 dove and 7 bucks. Last years pic but these two azzholes visit daily. [/URL][/img]
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Joined: Apr 2011
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Apr 2011
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They tend to be where you find them. Sometimes in town. Have a friend who lives in Bend,OR who has them in his backyard. They tear up his sprinklers. Here they cruise through our yard regularly. There was a forky in our driveway this morning. This is from my buddy's backyard in Bend. This deer was killed a year or so after this pic was taken by a truck on the highway. Wow!!!
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Apr 2010
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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forkies can get purty big This looks like my first Muley I killed when I was 15. 27” 3x2 old old buck with a huge body
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