Mule Deer Complacency and Legal Hunting Hours

[GambelOak]

Do mule deer in general get complacent during that last few minutes of legal archery hunting? What is your experience.

I'm still new to getting archery close to pressured mule deer in loud open terrain with thick patches of Gamble Oak and Maple. If they want to get away, they melt into that thick stuff, gone. All of my chances have been within minutes of the end of legal hunting hours including the deer I finally took. So close to the end of legal hunting that I ended up setting my alarm so I would know if I ran out of race track. It was too difficult checking time, is my shot legal or not. I have enough going on, watching the deer, ranging, nocking, and getting to full draw. I get 30 minutes after sunset and the deer seem to become complacent and less afraid in that last 10 minutes. Multiple 20 yard stare downs, multiple encounters on my hike out, the deer just sit there 30-50 yards away, some go back to eating. These same deer, If it were 30 minutes earlier, during the day, or first light, wouldn't let me within 175 yards before melting into the think cover, over a ridge, and gone. It is like they are two different species. The rut is going, maybe just ending but I didn't see much difference in behavior other than there were more deer and more eyes.

 

[jeffpenland123]

Do mule deer in general get complacent during that last few minutes of legal archery hunting? What is your experience.

I'm still new to getting archery close to pressured mule deer in loud open terrain with thick patches of Gamble Oak and Maple. If they want to get away, they melt into that thick stuff, gone. All of my chances have been within minutes of the end of legal hunting hours including the deer I finally took. So close to the end of legal hunting that I ended up setting my alarm so I would know if I ran out of race track. It was too difficult checking time, is my shot legal or not. I have enough going on, watching the deer, ranging, nocking, and getting to full draw. I get 30 minutes after sunset and the deer seem to become complacent and less afraid in that last 10 minutes. Multiple 20 yard stare downs, multiple encounters on my hike out, the deer just sit there 30-50 yards away, some go back to eating. These same deer, If it were 30 minutes earlier, during the day, or first light, wouldn't let me within 175 yards before melting into the think cover, over a ridge, and gone. It is like they are two different species. The rut is going, maybe just ending but I didn't see much difference in behavior other than there were more deer and more eyes.

i do not hunt mule deer but whitetails here in the mountains in north carolina are the same way.