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Muley strategies

Hi guys, this is my first year bowhunting and live in southern CA. The only local bowhunting area near me is an inland desert/chaparral/mountain biome and I am having trouble developing a strategy to find bucks in this type of environment. The mountains are vast, very rocky, and mostly covered in sage scrub that is extremely dense. There are also pockets of pine forests with very limited grassy meadows/openings interspersed in these areas. The locals have not been helpful at all, so as a newbie I'm having a very difficult time trying to figure out how to locate and pattern bucks in this type of land. Trying to glass from a high spot proves pretty impossible because the cover is so thick and there are few openings to see deer. Trying to walk the land is impossible because again, the cover is so thick and noisy you get nowhere fast. My only luck actually kicking up bedded does has been walking through some of these more pine foresty areas with small open meadows, but again, the deer hear me way before I see them so sneaking up on them with a bow has been extremely difficult. I'm trying to figure out some strategy generalities like: will the bucks be way high in the mountains, or low in the valleys? Will they frequent the grassy openings and pine trees or mostly be in the dense sage/scrub oak thicks? Do I bother hunting during the heat of the day or only early AM and late PM? Should I just try to glass from a high point and focus on the meadows to locate a buck? If anyone have any experience hunting in this type of environment, I would greatly, greatly appreciate any tips.

Hunt the water.

I've heard this from a local, but when I asked him how he found a spring, he said he just stumbled upon it. How do you usually identify water sources, especially if they're tiny? Out here we're in a bad drought and things are dry as a bone...

Ask game and fish department; get a good map; look over google earth really well; follow drainages; drive every road and look for ponds/windmills/tanks.

Join CBH (California Bowmen Hunters) and a local archery club......you'll be amazed at the assistance you may get once you join these organizations and meet fellow bowhunters from the area. CBH is the state organization.....and there are numerous local archery clubs in Southern Cal....all are affiliated with CBH.

I've bowhunted those mountains for almost 40 years....they're tough, but doable.

Great info on finding the water sources, I'll try those, thanks Gambyt. I'll look into CBH as well. As far as getting info from locals, I go to a local weekly archery shoot and like I said, the few fellas I've gotten some info from give very basic, general info, (like "go to a high point and glass") never anything strategic or workable, like what geographic areas to target, where to find water sources, how to pattern the bucks, etc. BOHNTR - since you're familiar with the mountains, what is the best strategy you use? Is it locating the water sources? Getting way off the roads and far back into the mountains? Any help is greatly appreciated. After being out a few weekends and beating brush, I'm starting to think it'll take me 10 years before I harvest a buck unless I put together a clean, smart strategy...

Southern California is tough, no doubt about it. I grew up in Riverside and used to bird hunt all over San Bernadino and Riverside Counties. Deer hunted zone D8 from the time I was old enough until I left for College. Never did kill a deer there, but I really didn't know what I was doing then either!

Which National Forest system are you planning on hunting?

Look for deeper canyons that appear to be dry, often you will find springs and seeps in the bottoms. That chaparral country is tough, but if you search enough you can find a few areas that have enough open country to really glass well.

I spot and stalk those deer in the the San Bernardino and Angeles NF.......the key to bowhunting them is hunting during the rut.....which peaks the last two weeks of October in the ANF. Find the does and wait for the rut....a buck will show.

As for areas.....NOTHING beats good boot leather on the ground to scout. However, the LA Front of the San Gabriel Mountains is open to archery only......has been for over 40 years. This is the range I've arrowed most of my CA deer over the years.

One of the best mule deer hunters on earth just gave you several tender little morsels... I'd listen to Roy :)

Join your local and state Bowhunting Orgs!

All excellent info guys, I really appreciate it. Wait a sec, which one of you is Roy by the way?? Haha. I'm hunting zone D19, basically the Idyllwild and surrounding areas. I've been trying to take the "boots on the ground" approach and I'm in excellent shape, so can hike miles upon miles, but after doing this for a couple weekends, busting brush like crazy and scarring any deer within 200 yards because of how loud it is, I started realizing just how vast this area is and suddenly I felt like I could be totally wasting time just wandering around like a lost hiker without zero'ing in on the better terrain. So I figured if I could get some good scouting info from veterans that would help me focus my precious weekend scouting/hunting time. So basically what I'm hearing is: find and key in on water (obviously going to be in/flow toward lower elevations) using scouting and maps/google earth, word-of-mouth, etc, hunt the rut, look for deep canyons and drainages with open areas to glass, and join the local orgs and clubs…got it! Sounds like a lot of this comes down to a hunter's ability to read and assess the terrain and match that to the deer's habits and needs. Alright, great info guys, again, I REALLY appreciate it. These damn hunting shows make it look so darn easy…I see this is not the typical experience. :)

Oh, one last question, do you guys use GPS? I'd like to get way out there far off the main and service roads but then I worry about getting lost, especially because I tend to see peaks and valleys and be like "cool, let's go see what's over there", then when I get there and see beyond, I'm like "oh cool, look another peak or valley, let's go check that out!" and before I know it I'm hours into the field and looking back like "oh no, where exactly did I come from…" So far I've always cut my scouting hikes short when I start losing my bearings for fear of getting lost and not being able to find my way back… I'm not much into new technology, and I figure every hunter before GPS figured out how not to get lost, but then again I don't want to be that guy who they put out a SnR bulletin on, so just wondering if you guys deem GPS useful and necessary, or if one just needs to look back every now and then and mentally keep their bearings as they go...

Compass, Map, and GPS. Learn how to use all three and it will open up your hunting area to you. Once you know how to use them you can navigate your area with zero fear of getting lost. Good Luck!

I find a gps extremely helpful for things siuch as ditching your pack for a short side trip, returning to your carcass if need be, keeping your witts if a storm rolls in or night falls. You can also record watering holes, lookout points, heavy game traffic areas, etc. for future referral. I don't like to leave the truck or quad without it. Also helps you to gauge time and distance of your travel.

You may want to check your area out with google earth. I'd be checking draws and bright green areas.

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