Mule Deer Hunting
As always before we get started i want to chime out about responsible hunting. Know the state mule deer hunting regulations before you even apply for a hunting permit. many a mule deer hunt has gone bad from lack a preparation. Get good information like hunting maps, local contacts, and all the state laws, rules, and hunting regulations for your mule deer hunt. then decide on your weapon weather your a bow hunter or a traditional deer hunter know the regulations pertaining to your hunt. Taking a mule deer as a bowhunter can be quite a challenge.
Mule deer. Fabulous animal. Mule deer are the king of deer in my opinion. So, how to hunt them? ... some tips. First, get in shape. Mule deer typically inhabit big country. Mule deer love to inhabit steep country. So to hunt mule deer you need to be in good physical shape, to be able to cover a lot of flat ground, or a little bit of terribly steep ground, or some mix of the two, or something in between. And many hunters of mule deer acquire the help of outfitters (with horses or mules) and guides.
Second, have decent optics (binoculars, spotting scope, or both). Mule deer inhabit open and sometimes very sparsely vegetated terrain. You best cover it with your eyes (optics) because there is no way you can cover it all on foot. And much of the terrain they live in you can only cover on foot, as using vehicles, and in some cases even stock animals, would prove suicidal. Get to a place where you can look, and look, and look. Except in early season (late summer) mule deer tend to be mostly gray colored. Seen from behind, however, they have a distinctive and very noticeable white rump patch, with a short black-ended tail. They have bigger ears than whitetail deer, and also have a white throat patch, or double throat patch. Mule deer typically have double branched antlers, in contrast to whitetail deer from which the points typically tend to come off of one main beam on each side.
Mule deer tend to move more at dawn and early morning and late afternoon and dusk (and probably a lot at night). So it is good to be at a place where you can do a lot of looking at dawn, and before dusk. The advantage to looking at dawn is that you can watch them to determine where they are going, and even bedding. And then plan a stalk, or ambush. The disadvantage to watching at dusk is that, if they are not in range of your high powered rifle, you have limited time to get within range to get a shot. So, spot them from afar with your optics, plan a stalk, and then go after them.
Another way to hunt mule deer is to go in and invade their territory. If you don't know where they are, and if it is a time of day in which you don't expect movement, put on your hiking boots and go looking for them. Hill by hill, ravine by ravine. Bucks will tend to bed under trees or rock outcroppings, where they can see what is going on around them. Mule deer (bucks and does) may even bed on completely bare open hillsides. And what is fascinating is that they can virtually disappear in such. If you are sneaky, and you can get to a place where you can see, look for antlers (and their mule-like ears), just above the grass.
Generally when mule deer see people, they stand up and begin to move off. (In this way they are quite different than whitetail deer, which will often not move at all and try and see if you will just walk right by. Then if they do jump, they don't stop until out of sight.) Depending on how close your encounter, mule deer may simply walk off, or bolt and run, or trot. With some practice, and patience, you can move from draw to draw, get to places where you can look, and see them (bedded) before they see you, and plan a stalk to get closer. But, again, you need good optics, and you need to use them. Or, if they are in range, take the shot while they are bedded, depending on your skill with shooting at distance. In hilly and steep terrain the deer may move off more slowly if they are above you, but more swiftly if below. Apparently they are quite aware of the difficulty of you climbing to catch them, or, alternately, the advantage you have if you are above.
So, speaking of shooting at distance, to successfully hunt mule deer, you must be proficient at hitting targets at hundreds of yards, or, you must be very skilled at stalking, to get within bow range, and take them at tens of yards. Or if you hunt with a muzzle loader, some range in between. For modern firearm hunts a high-powered rifle with scope (with sling) is the norm. And the use of bi-pods and shooting sticks is becoming more popular with those who hunt these creatures.
In terms of a caliber, 30 caliber works well, whether it be the common 30-06, or 308, or similar, or a bit bigger, or smaller. Or a bit faster, or slower. Mule deer tend to be bigger than other deer, so what might be `magic' for whitetail might be a bit `light' for `mulies'.
Since mule deer inhabit open, and often steep terrain, and because they know they can out-run just about anything in it, they often make the (classic) `mistake' of standing and watching you, if and when they see you. They may even bolt, run a ways, and then stop and look back. And that is often their demise. You can almost count on a jumped (spooked) mulie running a ways, and then stopping to look back, at least one last time, to see what he, or she, is running from. And it's not because they are stupid, or necessarily tired, it's just because a lot of them haven't figured out that their modern predator can chase them at several times the speed of sound. But, hunted a bit, they figure that out also. And you may not get that classic `stop and look back' in an area that has significant hunting pressure.
Oh, and one tip. If they have `smelled' you, they probably will not look back; they already know what you are. So, as best as possible, hunt up or cross wind.
In agricultural lands do some scouting to see what fields they are feeding in. Late afternoon they will start making their way from their beds in the rocks, trees, and brush ... out in the open to the fields, where they may spend a good portion of the night. Find out what kinds of crops they are `hitting' and when. Around here the mule deer love the garbanzo bean fields.
If your hunt goes into late November, mule deer bucks, somewhat like whitetail deer, drop all guard in pursuit of the does. Bucks that have been otherwise invisible, show up, and instead of fleeing hunters, will simply walk around them to get at breeding. Hunting in late November can be a lot of fun, and provide a lot of action. In units that have seasons that coincide with the rut, that's when the big deer are generally taken. So, if you can hunt that late in the year, do it. You may also have snow and the beginning of forced migration in your favor.
Big country means adequate preparation. Be sure you have maps, GPS, water, necessary clothing, a `lunch' and a means of field dressing your animal and extraction if you get one. Pursuit of mule deer may take you considerable distance from your vehicle.
Some argue that mule deer aren't as smart as whitetail deer. They are smart enough for me. Hunting mule deer will put you up against a fabulous animal in fabulous terrain, big terrain, for a big and beautiful animal.
Before we can answer the question of when to hunt, we need to go over a few things about deer. Deer are nocturnal animals. Nocturnal means that deer can see at night, which is one of the reasons they are more active at night. Mule Deer have more light-detecting cells in their eyes than humans, which aids their nocturnal vision. However, a deer's nocturnal vision is not perfect on a very dark night. A deer will spend more time looking for food and less time eating food on a dark night, than they would on a clear night with a full moon. Deer tend to be the least active on days following a clear night, because their stomachs are usually fuller and they are content to stay near their bedding area until sundown. As sundown approaches the deer will start the feeding cycle all over again.
Deer travel to their feeding area from their bedding area in the last minutes of daylight. On the reverse trip they travel from their feeding area to their bedding area in the first minutes of daylight. In most areas you are allowed to hunt from 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset. This one hour time period is usually the most productive time of day to hunt. Many hunters seem to avoid this hour of daylight, I guess it is just not convenient for them. If a hunter is going to waste an hour of their hunting day, they should choose one at mid-day when deer are less active.
A deer's behavior is not set in stone. Their behavior is easily altered by several factors. The most common of these factors are precipitation, wind, hunting pressure and the rut. Deer will usually stay in their bedding area during times of heavy rain or snow. When the storm stops, deer will start moving for a couple of reasons:
• The trees and brush are usually dripping with rain or snow and this noise will make the deer nervous, so they will move about.
• They will also start moving if the storm lasted through their feeding period. They will be hungry and out looking for food.
When the wind blows it becomes noisy in the woods and the deer can't hear approaching danger, so they get nervous and start moving. Windy days in the woods can be very dangerous for hunters. The wind can cause tree limbs to fall and even trees can topple over. If you choose to hunt on windy days use extra caution.
Deer hunters roaming through the woods will cause deer to move from their bedding area. If other hunters are in your hunting area, this might be a good time to stake out a deer trail or crossing and let the other hunters chase the deer to you.
The rut is the period of time when bucks mate with does. The rut usually lasts about a month. In most parts of the country the rut occurs in November, although this varies depending on geographic location. During the rut all deer are more active, especially the bucks. It is not unusual to see a buck chasing a doe during the middle of the day, when they are normally resting. It can be said that the rut clouds a buck's judgment as they are often seen doing things they wouldn't normally do. I have observed a similar behavior in other animals, down at the bar on Friday night!
One last factor that seems to have an affect on deer movement is the position of the moon. Most of you have probably heard that the position of the moon plays a big part in the activity of fish. The moon also seems to have an effect on deer movement. The peak of this activity is when the moon is directly overhead.
Now all that you need is to get the exact time of sunrise, sunset and moon transit (when the moon is directly overhead) for the days that you plan to hunt.
As hunters we should all take an interest in game management. We should always follow all hunting regulations. Turn in poachers - State fish & wildlife departments . Report dogs that chase wildlife - State fish & wildlife
The State fish & wildlife departments are sometimes looking for volunteers to help count wildlife, help relocate wildlife, help in feeding programs, help at check stations, help building and maintaining trails, etc.
The largest game management organization that we have is our federal and state government. To connect with your State or Province wildlife department's web site click State fish & wildlife department
Which weapon is the best for deer hunting in each of the different categories? The answer is, there is no single best weapon for every situation.
The following information is pretty general and is designed to give the novice a better idea of what to purchase for a deer hunting weapon. I am sure as I can be, that if you ask 10 different people which weapon to purchase for deer hunting, you would get 10 different answers. The following is the opinion of huntNfishregs. com .
Purchase a weapon that is big enough for the job and you must be able to shoot it with a high degree of accuracy. If you can, shoot several different weapons before purchasing one.
Rifles - There are many to choose from, but I will only list a few.
• Light End - .243 Winchester, 6 mm Remington, .250 Savage, .257 Roberts, .260 Remington,
30-30 Winchester
• Medium - .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, 7x57 Mauser, 7mm-08 Remington, .284 Winchester
• Heavy End - .308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, 7mm Remington Magnum
• Authors Choice - .270 Winchester - Is an excellent choice, the .270 has plenty of knock down power with a light to moderate recoil.
Pistols
• Light End - .357 Magnum
• Medium - .41 Magnum, .44 Remington Magnum
• Heavy End - .454 Casull
• Authors Choice - .44 Remington Magnum - The .44 magnum has enough knock down power for close range deer. The recoil is heavy so hang on tight.
Bows
• Light End - 40 pound Bow
• Medium - 45, 50, 55 pound Bow
• Heavy End - 60 pound Bow
• Authors Choice - 50 pound Compound Bow, The 50 pound bow is a good choice for deer. A compound bow, with at least a 50% let-off, is ideal when your waiting for that perfect shot at full draw.
Muzzleloaders
• Light End - .45 Caliber
• Medium - .50 Caliber
• Heavy End - .54 Caliber
• Authors Choice - .50 Caliber - The .50 caliber muzzleloader is a good choice for deer. It has a moderate to heavy recoil depending on load.
Shotguns
• Light End - 20 Gauge
• Medium - 12 Gauge
• Heavy End - 10 Gauge
• Authors Choice - 12 Gauge - The 12 gauge shotgun is a good choice for deer. Use #00 Buck shot or larger, or shotgun slugs. To reduce the heavy recoil of the 12 gauge shotgun, try a semi-auto.
Now that you have chosen your weapon, get out there and practice. If you can't hit a deer sized target under hunting conditions, you might as well stay home and watch the football game. You want your weapon to become an extension of yourself. Practice finding your target in the sights. You might only get one chance this next season, and you want to be ready.
The hunters oath
"I, as a hunter, have a responsibility to the sport of hunting to make quick harvests and recover all game animals."
Quick harvests and easy game recovery can be obtained with accurate shot placement.
The three main ingredients of a quick harvest are knowledge of how a hunting weapon harvests game, shooting only within one's own ability, and knowing the game animal's internal anatomy. The future of hunting and a hunter's own self-respect depends on his or her ability to efficiently harvest game.
Internal anatomy of deer
Bow hunters should choose a spot in the center of the lungs or slightly lower to be their target every time. An arrow in the lungs will bring down the largest game, and the advantage of this shot is that the lungs are relatively large and surrounded by other vital organs: the heart is below, the spine and aorta (a major artery) are above, and the liver and the spleen are behind.
Hunters using firearms have many more choices than bow hunters. A bullet striking either the heart, shoulder, head, spine or lungs is fatal to big game animals due to the massive shock and tissue destruction involved. Once again, the chest area offers the best lethal target.
Bullets
Bullets harvest game by massive shock and tissue destruction. Bullets have a tremendous amount of energy, and if fired from firearms adequate for deer hunting, can smash even heavy bone and enter the vital organs.
Arrows
Arrows harvest game with razor sharp broadheads that are designed to cut tissue. Arrows cut arteries and veins resulting in massive hemorrhaging. In addition to severe bleeding, arrows passing through both lungs cause the lungs to collapse, causing rapid death due to suffocation. Arrows can cut through softer bones like ribs, but rarely penetrate heavy bones found in the shoulder, hips, head and neck. Both razor sharp broadheads and careful shot placement are crucial to game harvest.
Broadside shot
Bullet: A broadside Deer offers several excellent shots for the firearm hunter. The best target is the chest area. Find the best aiming point on a deer by picking a spot one third to halfway up the side of the animal and just behind the front shoulder. A bullet enter the lungs or heart will provide a good blood trail and a quick harvest. A head or neck shot will drop an animal instantly with little or no meat damage, but should only be used if you are proficient enough with your firearm.
Arrow: A broadside deer represents the best bow shot because it requires the least amount of penetration to reach the vital organs. The best target is the chest area.The broadside shot is also the best angle for accomplishing a double lung hit, resulting in the collapse of both lungs. Find the best aiming point on a deer by picking a spot one third to halfway up the side of the animal and just behind the front shoulder. This will put an arrow in the center of the vital area by enabling you to pick a spot rather than shooting at the whole animal. An arrow will penetrate the ribs, but be careful to avoid the shoulder bone. Wait until the near leg is forward and concentrate on a spot behind the shoulder. Avoid head and neck shots when bow hunting. Wait for the chest shot behind the front shoulder.
Quartering away shot
Bullet: The quartering away angle is a fine shot for the firearm hunter. Aim behind the front shoulder for an effective hit. The bullet will pass through both lungs and possibly the heart and into the far shoulder.
Arrow: The quartering away angle is a fine shot for the bow hunter. Aim at the chest area just behind the front shoulder. The arrow should pass through both lungs.
Quartering toward shot
Bullet: The quartering toward angle is fine for the firearm hunter. Aim at the head, neck or center of the chest for an effective hit. Be aware of where your bullet will end up. If you shoot a deer in or behind the near front shoulder the bullet will likely pass through the stomach and intestines (gut shot) and into the hind quarters. Always avoid the "gut shot", because the contents of the stomach and intestines will taint the taste of the meat.
Arrow: This is one of the poorest bow shots and should be avoided. Heavy shoulder bones shield the majority of the vital organs from penetration by arrow. Wait for the animal to pass by and take a broadside or quartering away shot.
Head on shot
Bullet: This is a fair shot for a skilled marksman. The head and neck are your only clean shots. The center of the chest should be avoided, because it would result in the "gut shot" (described above).
Arrow: This is a very poor shot for the bow hunter. The vital area is the chest between the shoulders, which is an extremely small target. Wait for a better shot.
Rear end shot
Bullet: The rear end shot is a poor shot for the firearm hunter. A shot to the body at this angle will probably ruin the best cuts of meat and will result in a "gut shot" (described above). A head or neck shot is possible if the animal has its head up. Wait for a better shot.
Arrow: This is a shot all responsible bow hunters will pass up. The hindquarters have very heavy muscle tissue and heavy bone structure which makes it very difficult for an arrow to get up front to the vital organs.
Elevated stand shot
Elevated stands and tree stands, are used by both firearm hunters and bow hunters. This elevated shot angle makes little difference to a firearm hunter, simply aim higher on the deer to compensate for the downward trajectory of the bullet. Lets say this slash ( \ ) is your bullet trajectory and the parenthesis is the deer, visualize how the bullet would enter the top of the deer and exit through the bottom.
The elevated shot angle results in a smaller portion of the vital area being exposed to a bow hunter. The vital organs are more protected by the back bone and shoulder blade. To avoid the shoulder blade when shooting from an elevated stand, aim farther behind the shoulder. Shooting from elevated stands makes it more difficult to achieve a double lung hit.
So in closing remember that for all your hunting regulations for all 50 state and the lower canadian providences you can stop by huntnfishregs.com. for hunting maps, hunter education, local contacts, and all the hunting regulations.
Click Here to go there now.
Happy Mule deer Hunting !!