Stalking open country mule deer

[Hunthigh1]

I was fortunate to draw a 39-1 late season archery deer tag in Idaho. I am starting to realize that i have no experience stalking to bow range of deer in open sagebrush/winter range type habitat. Any tips or advice would be appreciated! I have hunted alot with a rifle and killed a few things with my bow so i understand the importance of wind, quiet clothing and the basics. Once I locate them how the hell do i get to 40 yards in the open stuff?!

The hunt will be in late November so the rut will be on and bucks will be with does. . . plenty of eyes to beat.

I would like to practice stalking tactics and visualizing the hunt during my early season hunts and as much as possible.

Would love to hear some lessons learned through failure.

 

[amassi]

Dont overthink it, same rules apply as a high basin or mtn buck
-Bed the buck and 6 or 7 of his closest friends
- get the wind right
- take your time
- get within 40 yards and try not to sweat to death waiting for the dumb buck to stand up from his nap
- wait some more, kick yourself for dropping your pack 60 yards ago
- wonder to yourself what would the buck do if you threw a rock at him
- make piles of throwing rocks
- wonder why as the sun gets more intense, the bucks shade gets heavier
- take 1 boot off, search for safari sneaker(its in your pack)
- sit for 15 minutes with 1 boot on, curse the desert and all its inhabitants
- ignore pain in kidneys
- try to not focus on the fact that you've stopped sweating
- try and ignore all his bachelor buck buddies that are up and milling around, changing beds
- when he lifts his head to stand, realize you've been there for 7 hours and never ranged him
- range
- shoot
- honestly not know if he just piled up 100 yards away or your hallucinating

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[Hunthigh1]

Dont overthink it, same rules apply as a high basin or mtn buck
-Bed the buck and 6 or 7 of his closest friends
- get the wind right
- take your time
- get within 40 yards and try not to sweat to death waiting for the dumb buck to stand up from his nap
- wait some more, kick yourself for dropping your pack 60 yards ago
- wonder to yourself what would the buck do if you threw a rock at him
- make piles of throwing rocks
- wonder why as the sun gets more intense, the bucks shade gets heavier
- take 1 boot off, search for safari sneaker(its in your pack)
- sit for 15 minutes with 1 boot on, curse the desert and all its inhabitants
- ignore pain in kidneys
- try to not focus on the fact that you've stopped sweating
- try and ignore all his bachelor buck buddies that are up and milling around, changing beds
- when he lifts his head to stand, realize you've been there for 7 hours and never ranged him
- range
- shoot
- honestly not know if he just piled up 100 yards away or your hallucinating

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Hahaha, love it! Laughing my ass off.


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[RustyHazen]

Pray for snow. If we don't get it, that hunt will never reach it's potential, and you'd be better off in the other 95% of that unit with everyone with an OTC tag. That country isn't too bad to hunt. Decent amount of big brush and lots of terrain relief. I like to hunt country that has a lot of small, tight draws. That way, you can get the wind right and walk right up the bottom of a parallel draw. When you get even with them, range and slip over the top to shoot across the small draw. I've taken twenty-some bucks that way in nearby foothills. I would say, though, that it would help to have your reliable shooting range out to 60 yards. Less is fine, ethically, but it will severely limit your number of shooting opportunities.

My other tip would be to move slower than slow. People tend to get tunnel vision on their target buck. But in the late season, there's always a few more deer laying around than you first notice. They scatter about, all bedded facing different directions. These are the ones that will bust you. And there's nothing harder to spot than a steel grey mulie with a white butt in broken snow, which is likely during that season.

 

[idahohikker]

Sweet. I live very close. PM me and I can tell you what I'm seeing. I may be hiking around during that time and I might be able to do a little spotting or recent scouting.

The deal is you blow tons of stalks and there's plenty of deer since they're on the winter range. You just need to make one perfect. Glass up multiple groups and deer and determine which are most stalkable and move to the next one after. You could try to pattern them if you'll be there for a while.

Snow makes it better but they'll be bucks down with the does. The hunt goes until mid December, right?

 

[sagebuster]

Snow is a help and sometimes a hindrance in that hunt. If there is snow, then animals will be visible from a great distance. They can also see you and hear you walking on it from a great distance. You need to spot from a distance and plan your stalk carefully. Know which way the wind blows. Bucks will be with, or nearby, large groups of does. Its better to work from above rather than below. Think about escape routes. After about your tenth blown stalk, when your trudging uphill trying to follow your bucks tracks and you come upon some local who saw you stalking the buck and ambushed him while waiting at some crossing route from your canyon to the next, you'll get wise. Like amassi says, "Don't overthink it". But don't stop thinking. Be in shape. Good luck.

 

[idahohikker]

Along these lines, it's not a bad idea to bring a buddy to put on a ridgeline to distract deer and/or push them to you while you're set up where you think they'll go. Decoys could be useful. Most of all, don't get discouraged with lots of blown stalks.

 

[Nomad]

Read Dwight Schuh's book from the 80s. Fantastic read. Like $15 on Amazon.

Hunting Open-Country Mule Deer: A Guide For Taking Western Bucks with Rifle & Bow

 

[Hunthigh1]

Read Dwight Schuh's book from the 80s. Fantastic read. Like $15 on Amazon.

Hunting Open-Country Mule Deer: A Guide For Taking Western Bucks with Rifle & Bow

Ordering the book now! Will be good to add to the mule deer book collection. Currently reading Idaho’s greatest mule deer. . . Think I’ll hold out for one of those 275” non typicals


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[Glendon Mullins]

thanks for the book recommendation

 

[Hunthigh1]

Sweet. I live very close. PM me and I can tell you what I'm seeing. I may be hiking around during that time and I might be able to do a little spotting or recent scouting.

The deal is you blow tons of stalks and there's plenty of deer since they're on the winter range. You just need to make one perfect. Glass up multiple groups and deer and determine which are most stalkable and move to the next one after. You could try to pattern them if you'll be there for a while.

Snow makes it better but they'll be bucks down with the does. The hunt goes until mid December, right?

Yeah the hunt ends December 16th. Unfortunately I just moved out of the state this year so I’ll likely only have one week and possibly an additional
weekend to hunt.

I do have a friend living in Boise so that’s helpful.


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[Hunthigh1]

Pray for snow. If we don't get it, that hunt will never reach it's potential, and you'd be better off in the other 95% of that unit with everyone with an OTC tag. That country isn't too bad to hunt. Decent amount of big brush and lots of terrain relief. I like to hunt country that has a lot of small, tight draws. That way, you can get the wind right and walk right up the bottom of a parallel draw. When you get even with them, range and slip over the top to shoot across the small draw. I've taken twenty-some bucks that way in nearby foothills. I would say, though, that it would help to have your reliable shooting range out to 60 yards. Less is fine, ethically, but it will severely limit your number of shooting opportunities.

My other tip would be to move slower than slow. People tend to get tunnel vision on their target buck. But in the late season, there's always a few more deer laying around than you first notice. They scatter about, all bedded facing different directions. These are the ones that will bust you. And there's nothing harder to spot than a steel grey mulie with a white butt in broken snow, which is likely during that season.

Small tight draws, great advice. Thank you


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