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Mule Deer Bow Hunting: Tactics to Overcome One of Hunting’s Greatest Challenges

Mule deer bow hunting is something many hunters dream of, but it rarely becomes a reality. Mule deer inhabit a vast area of ​​the western half of North America that is characterized by arid deserts, rugged mountains, forests, and grasslands. Hunting a mature mule deer with a bow is one of the hardest things a hunter can do.

What is Mule Deer Bowhunting?

Mule deer bow hunting can mean different things to different people. Anyone who has spent a lot of time in mule deer country can tell you how dumb a young mule deer can be. It wouldn’t be much of a challenge to drive down the road until you see a herd of immature mule deer, get out of the vehicle and drive off the road, and an arrow to a 1 or 2 year old mule deer. These deer don’t know any better and for someone who is truly passionate about mule deer bow hunting this would not be considered an achievement.

For the serious bow hunter of mule deer, a mature mule deer is what dreams are made of. A mature mule deer is in a different playing field than a young mule deer. Although a mule deer can breed successfully at 3 years of age, serious mule deer hunters often refer to a mature mule deer as being 4 years or older. This is the age when you start to see their antler growth potential and their ability to evade hunters. While antler size will continue to increase for at least its sixth year depending on nutrition, most hunters (regardless of weapon) will agree that a four-year-old male is a marksman and has developed the skills to stay alive even with rifle hunters everywhere. the place.

Unfortunately, not many mule deer live longer than three years due to the fact that they are shot when they are young and dumb. In general hunting areas where there is no limit to the number of hunters, especially rifle hunters, for a mule deer to reach maturity is to overcome unrealistic odds. If one is able to get through a few years of hunting seasons then he has a sixth sense to beat hunters and catching one with a bow is one of the most difficult challenges a hunter can experience. In the remainder of this article, we will discuss the tactics that can make a hunter consistent in bow hunting mule deer.

Bow hunting methods for mule deer

There are several methods that can be used to catch a mature mule deer. The most common are Spot and Stalk and floor or tree support blinds.

Tree stand and floor blinds

One of the easiest (dare I say) methods of capturing a large mule deer with archery equipment is to use a tree stand or ground blind. As you sit there waiting for a dollar it may not take a lot of energy, it does take a lot of patience. Patience is the easy part. The real work is finding a good place for a mature mule deer to pass through during daylight hours. This takes a lot of work with preseason scouting, tracking cameras, and money patterns so you have a good idea of ​​where they’ll be when the season rolls around. It is much more difficult than it sounds and it takes a long time to be consistent year after year.

Of course, you can place your tree stand or blind soil in any waterhole, food source, or other high-deer traffic area and have success with a mature mule deer, but this will take a lot of luck and possibly patience. Once you find a good area that produces a lot of money, it is reasonable to assume that there will be more in the next few years, so this type of hunting becomes easier once you have established a good area.

Detect and stalk:

Although it requires a bit more stamina than hunting from a tree or blind, point and stem bow hunting is usually a faster way to hunt mule deer with a bow. The goal is to spot a large, mature mule deer buck and then stalk within range of the bow undetected.

The first thing to remember when hunting and stalking mule deer with a bow is to be patient. If conditions are not right, wait for them to improve. This could mean waiting for the dollar to lie down in a better spot where it can come closer, or waiting for the wind to pick up or change direction to not only drive its scent away from the dollar, but to cover it as well. your noise once you get close.

Preseason:

Most mule deer bow hunters who consistently catch large deer begin their season long before the males have finished cultivating their antlers. It is important to have a good idea of ​​what the big money area offers so that you can develop a minimum size and an order that you will focus on first.

Of course, size is not the only factor in determining whether a dollar is a shooter or not. An experienced hunter can often judge a deer age by body markings and antler configuration. In my opinion, a 6 year old male with low scoring horns is more of a trophy than a 4 year old male with great future potential.

In order to point and stem huntingIt is important to have multiple shooters selected and in known general locations before the season begins. This is because it usually takes several stems before one is successful. After several years of archery hunting, I have found that the average success rate of the stems is 1/6 or so. Of course, it can happen on the first try or it can take 15 times. An inexperienced hunter can go several seasons without a successful population of a mature mule deer.

In order to Hunting stand (tree or blind) it is not so important to have several male shooters sighted, as only one mature mule deer is needed in the area and you can hunt it all season. Of course, your odds are greatly increased if you can identify multiple shooters in one area. One thing you don’t want to do in preseason is disturb an area too much. You will run the risk of scaring away the dollars before you have a chance to start hunting them with a bow.

Archery practice: One thing that cannot be overlooked is shooting your bow. No matter how great the booth location is or if you are the stealthiest person on the planet, if you can’t seal the deal when necessary, then you better stay home. Of course, everyone who has hunted long enough has missed or made a bad shot, but shooting year-round can increase your chances of taking action when necessary. A good thing is to participate in 3D competitions where you will have the opportunity to shoot life-size deer targets at different positions, angles and ranges.

During the season:

Once the season has started, you will obviously target the mule deer that you like best. One thing to keep in mind is that with mule deer bow hunting you won’t always be able to get the number one dollar on your list. Sometimes all you get is a shot, and if it doesn’t happen the first time, you may never see that money the rest of the season. That is why it is important that you know where the other shooters are.

BowHunting Mule Deer Bracket:

If you are sitting on a stand, you need to be patient. Just because it didn’t produce much on opening day doesn’t mean that the big buck won’t show up the next day just where you want it to be. I have an impatient friend who moved his tree stand after opening day because the male took a different route. He then obtained tracking camera footage of the dollar the next day from the tree where he was stationed the previous 12 hours while sitting in a tree a few hundred meters away. I should have put up with it!

Mule deer hunting

You should have a good idea of ​​where the good money is going to be on opening morning if you did a lot of preseason scouts. Better to be in a position to see it from afar when that first ray of light begins to appear. Once you’ve found your intended goal, you’ll want to assess the situation and determine if conditions are right to put a stem in right away or to watch and wait until conditions have improved. This is where only experience and common sense can help you, as every stalking location and situation is different. Knowing when to do it and when not to, as well as how to do it will vary greatly depending on how things fit together.

The same factors that are responsible for most deer failing to reach maturity are the same factors that make them so difficult to get with a bow. Many of the areas they inhabit lack cover to escape from rifle bullets that can fire over 500 yards. This very fact is the reason why it is difficult to be within range of a mature mule deer that has managed to sneak past rifle hunters. There just isn’t much cover for a bow hunter to hide behind to make a good shot. In this case, you should use the layout of the terrain to get close enough for an archery.

Mule Deer Bow Hunting Equipment

Bow mule deer hunting can be made easier with the right equipment. In fact, it takes some equipment to give Bowhunters an advantage. Below is a list of archery equipment you will want to consider purchasing before starting mule deer archery hunting. Just remember that you get what you pay for, so choose the best you can afford and then upgrade what you can.

  • Rangefinder: Knowing the exact distance to your target is a great benefit, especially when shooting long distances or hunting with a bow. There are certain specs you’ll want on a rangefinder, so be sure to check out the link below to make sure you’re getting the right one.
  • Binoculars: Hunting deer for spotting and stalking requires you to find the deer. It’s amazing how many more deer you can find with the use of binoculars that you wouldn’t see otherwise. They are also essential on the stem, as you must find the deer before they find you, which means using your binoculars to distinguish the tip of a horn or the movement of a tail.
  • Spotting scopeBoth are used to spot deer and then be able to judge them to make sure they are worthy of a stalk. Telescopes are also important for finding other deer and anything else that may compromise your stalk that is on its intended path. It is very easy to be caught by an animal that you did not know existed. Telescopes are essential for spot hunting and stalking.
  • Boots: When stalking deer, it is important to be as quiet as possible. I have taken my boots off and stalked with my sock before, but with cacti and thistles predominant where I hunt this is simply not doable. So I use lightweight boots made for stalking to close the final distance within range of the bow. They have saved my feet and helped me to be much more stealthy.
  • Camouflage: With the vision of the deer it is not so important to be the same color as the background, but even more important to break your silhouette. Also, in typical spot and stem habitat, foliage may be dry and yellow on grasses, or green on trees and shrubs. That is why it is important to have a camouflage pattern that is very versatile.
  • There is another team that will give you an advantage that you may want to take advantage of and which we will talk about later.

Experience: now learn for yourself

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