Mule Deer tactics with bow- Ag field

DLOsoft

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Joined
Nov 18, 2016
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80
Location
FL
I gained access to some private land to hunt antelope this year and while I was hunting, I noticed that in one of the large Ag fields there would be several dozen mule deer, including a few decent bucks, all over the field early in the morning when the sun came up. The deer would also start pouring back into the field (from the bushy bottom that looks like it may have a creek running through it) in the late afternoons. In the attached picture the area on top of the field is where all the deer bed and come out from. I asked the landowner about hunting mule deer and he said that I could if I wanted to, but the mule deer season in this particular unit in Wyoming is very short and he allows a bunch of people to hunt it. As a result, he says he usually has like 10 people trying to hunt mule deer during the short rifle season.

I know in Wyoming you can hunt with archery during a specific time frame prior to the regular hunting season, so I was thinking that it may be worth trying to hunt this spot with a bow prior to the craziness of rifle season on the property. I'm pretty sure that I would be the only one hunting deer at this time. My big concern is I don't really know how possible it will be to get within 50 yards to get a shot at a mule deer buck in this type of hunting situation. You can't see the deer until they come out of the bushy bottom and then there is no cover. Any advice on hunting techniques and feasibility for this situation would be greatly appreciated. I'm a newbie mule deer hunter that has only ever hunted whitetail from tree stands and antelope.

mule deer.jpg
 

realunlucky

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Jan 20, 2013
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12,624
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Eastern Utah
Find where they cross over the fence into the field. They will proably only have a few preferences depending on conditions. The earlier you go the more they stick to thier patterns. Use a blind brushed in and set it up well in advance. Good scouting and a good set up will equal success.

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DLOsoft

FNG
Joined
Nov 18, 2016
Messages
80
Location
FL
Won't be able to pre scout unfortunately as I'm in Miami, Florida! I was thinking that the first day I would try to just watch from a distance to try and figure out where the bucks are coming in and out of the bushes and then setup near there the second afternoon hoping that they use the same paths. I'm not sure that actually hunting the mornings will be possible as the deer will likely already be out in the field before daylight.
 
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