A day in the life of a mule deer hunter

[justin84]

I've been archery hunting mule deer in Wyoming for four years now. High country (8000' - 10000' in WY) in early September.

As a midwest whitetail hunter, it's tough to get out of the first few hours/last few hours mentality. But with 7 to 10 days to hunt, it feels like a waste spending half of the day at camp.

I've seen plenty of deer during those hours, and have had some success (two bucks in four seasons, with plenty more close calls/missed chances). I've also learned more every year about locations, habits, etc. and feel more prepared every season than I've ever been.

Where I hunt, deer tend to disappear into timber early morning and stay there. This has made it tough for me to do any actual stalking. The majority of my hunts are ambush type hunts based on earlier observations while glassing.

So, what are others strategies for hunting mule deer in this type of country? Do you hunt all day? Do you venture into the timber? We have, but it usually ends up the same way...lots of deer seen or heard but they see us before we see them. Hopefully this can generate some good chatter on tactics and the best use of time when time is limited.

 

[ianpadron]

When I first started hunting up high I had a bunch of bad experiences blowing stands of timber.

I'd see bucks head in as the sun was coming up and chase after them a few hours later. Every time, I'd bust deer out without getting a shot, including one year where I bumped some elk and watched a 180" class 4x4 bound away with them through the timber.

Needless to say, I was frustrated.

I read up and watched some videos on still-hunting (some of which are on this forum) and realized I was moving way too fast, even though I was already barely crawling.

The next year, I told myself I'd creep 10 yards, glass 10 minutes, no faster. That's what I did. Ended up dumping a buck that I glassed through a tiny gap in the timber.

Hunting the timber is tough but with enough discipline, it can be super fun. Beats the hell out of sitting in camp in the middle of the day!

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[Nickofthewoods]

You could always continue to glass all day. Hats off to good still-hunters but I personally would rather keep my presence low and spot and stalk.

 

[justin84]

Still hunting with a bow is a tough prospect but give me a muzzleloader or a rifle and I will do it. As far as hunting all day goes, I have killed 4 years in a row on various hunts in broken timber type habitat. The times of the day for the kills were 3:30 pm, 4:30 pm, 7:30 am and last but not least 12:00 pm on the nose.....So if I hunted only prime time I probably wouldn't have 3 of those 4 bucks.

One thing I’ve noticed over the years that if I’m heading out around 4 in early September when closing is probably around 7, I’m too late. I’ve come out as early as 3:00 and have bumped bucks bedded out in the sage, so they are out there in the open, it just takes time and patience to locate them.

 

[Dustin the wind]

Still hunting, once you slow way down and let your senses fully sink in, you may be surprised just how much you missed moving fast or even at a moderate pace. When deer are hyper aware of something they think is off, they stop and sit still taking in every sense for a good reason.

 

[justin84]

Good examples, thanks. When you say avalanche chutes, what are you looking for geographically? I've always called the openings in the example below chutes, but never really saw a good example to confirm. These are the types of narrow clearings where we'll see a lot of deer activity.

 

[justin84]

Nice, same general idea it looks like but yea not as steep in my example.

 

[WAHunter]

This is what I am referring to. It looks like the terrain I hunt is a bit more vertical than where your at.View attachment 125324

That's super helpful, keep my eyes open for this in WA.

 

[BluMtn]

If you are sitting you are glassing. If you are moving you do it very slowly and with your head on a swivel. I look back as much as I look ahead. And if I am in the open I am using as much cover as I can, if that means staying under the hill so as not to skyline I will stop every now and then and look over the opposite side I am on and glass. I may sit in the rocks below the top of a ridge and not move for hours, just glassing every bush, rock, or anything that does not look right and for me that is a lifetime because I have a bad case of ADD, always have to see what is over the next ridge or around the bend in the trail.

 

[Block]

I had some frustrating experiences like you described my first few archery seasons... I opted to hunt lower elevation high desert. There’s plenty of deer and the terrain is much more conducive to bedding and stalking deer... won’t catch me in the timber again... like EVER

 

[justin84]

I had some frustrating experiences like you described my first few archery seasons... I opted to hunt lower elevation high desert. There’s plenty of deer and the terrain is much more conducive to bedding and stalking deer... won’t catch me in the timber again... like EVER

I hear that. Where I hunt it's more popular for elk than deer, but they are in there. It's an area my buddies invited me to years ago so I will definitely keep going understanding there are probably better mule deer hunts available. The amount and density of the timber can make it a tough hunt for sure.