Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Canada Mule Deer

The east Kootenay has been a 4 point buck only for about 10 years, it has taken a beating like the rest of BC with poor game management, that and the EK has very little to offer in the form of wildfires. Mule deer thrive and depend on fire to create the browse required for sustained populations. Other area's of the interior of BC have fared better with massive fires which grow big antlers and big bodied bucks.

I suspect in the EK a Mule deer hunt would be an alpine type hunt with terrain similar to the pic posted above by Rickshaw (nice buck) which looks like a 10 year old burn. It looks typical of the terrain leading up to the alpine type area's that are often hunted early season, pre-rut, perhaps one of the most exciting type of hunt imo.

Often (pre-rut) Mule deer don't leave the thick bush during daylight hours, I have shot several bucks from 20-50ft and can be hunted similar to Whitetails if you pattern them, but are usually shot at longer ranges, a spot and stalk.

As mentioned, logging blocks are exellent area's to hunt for Mule deer as well, but I suspect a guided hunt to be in an area that was in a less traveled area like higher alpine.

Beautiful heavy racks. Takes me back 50 some years to my youth. Didn’t know how good we had it.

Osky

I wouldn’t pass anything there up for sure. Thanks for sharing

The BC hunt appears to be higher Alpine and the Alberta hunt is gonna be lower elevation concentrating on the cleared areas

I hunted the East Kootenays in October, and that was my outfitter’s assessment, as well. I had 4 days left after taking a bighorn, and they said that unless some snow moved in, the mulies would be at least at the same elevation as the sheep had been, and likely higher. My legs said I’d be Ok without a mule deer for that trip.

FC

Folically Challenged;
Good morning to you from the snow south Okanagan - and by the way another very much folically challenged individual.

Funny a young fellow asked me the other day how long it'd taken me to grow my big old cowboy mustache and I said it sorta showed up when the hair on the top began to leave - a migration so to speak...

Anyways, it's been nearly 40 years since we've hunted the East Kootenays but we've driven and camped there a few times since. We really like the Canal Flats area for the camping and hot springs, but yes indeed it's "bigger" country than ours is as far as the time it takes to go from the bottom to the top of most drainages.

It's interesting to me how different mule deer herds handle the arrival of snow.

For example I chatted with Fred Harper, a long retired biologist who did his thesis on the Coquihalla Summit herd, which would pull out of their alpine home in early October - he said between the 7th and 12th at the latest - but like clockwork every fall.

They'd all head down to the wintering grounds which was just west of the town of Peachland and would stay there regardless of whether it snowed up in the high country that winter.

There was what he called the "Middle Ground" herd that would only move down if it snowed however, so the alpine herd would move through their area every fall and keep going.

Then there were the "Locals" or "Wintering Ground" herd that'd stay down low year round.

In our lifetime here in the south Okanagan, we've seen that last group balloon to where they're a problem living in the different towns and cities which are valley bottom.

It's primarily the middle ground and alpine herds that have had the greatest population decrease, I'd say at least 75% or more compared to what we used to see.

For example it used to be no big deal to get in the car and drive around this time of year and count over 100 mule deer on the hillsides, but we've not seen that since the big die off in the winter of 1996/1997.

Talking to the local biologists, the pickle is that we really don't know if the numbers of deer people were seeing then or during the late '60's and early '70's was normal or a totally abnormal upward spike.

Finally sir, I do remember your photos and hunt story that you shared of the sheep hunt and enjoyed it very much.

All the best.

Dwayne

My forays have only been over in the, “toe” of your province, mostly in the lower Flathead. I’ve seen pics of excellent mulies taken there, but haven’t encountered ‘em, personally.


Thank you. It was a life changing adventure. I had imagined it as a once-in-a-lifetime event, but the bug bit me, hard. I’ll be pursuing a stone sheep at the other end of your province this fall.

FC

Folically Challenged;
Thanks for the reply, sorry to read about the bug hitting you - glad to read you're coming back to spend some much needed dollars up north however.

Might I ask more or less where you're going in for Stones?

Honestly anywhere you're going for them will be jaw dropping pretty too, but interestingly it's quite different from the Kootenays.

Are you driving or flying up?

Again only if you care to share, just curious.

If you're heading up the 97, drop me a line and the coffee will be on for you here. We're about 40 minutes into BC and 5 minutes off the highway more or less.

All the best.

Dwayne

Thank you for sharing that picture! Got mulies on the brain and that is inspiring!!! Nice work!