DIY OTC Mule Deer
Mule Deer
What do y'all suggest, probably gonna do it next year, we have been looking at Nebraska, Colorado, maybe Utah and I wasn't sure if Oklahoma had mule deer or not but if so its a possibility. I would kinda like a place where I could take a whitetail or mule deer.
I Dont think Colorado has any OTC options for Mule deer. You can probably find a zero point unit to hunt, but you will have to apply in the draw. I think Idaho has some OTC opportunity.
Hopefully someone more helpful than me comes along, I Dont know much about mulies.
The bulk of Colorado where mulies and wt overlap in numbers is private and access can be hard. There is public but I believe all those units require preference points. We have no OTC deer tags but we do have tags that can be drawn with zero points and some left over after the draw.
If hunting CO, I would pick a mountain unit and forget the whitetail part. Huge mounts of public land, beautiful country and tags that can be had with no preference points.
Idaho has plenty of OTC options, but most of the general tags are a little tough. You will have to work to find them. In general the whitetails and the Muley's are in different habitats, but there are exceptions, particularly in Central and North Central Idaho.
pm me if you want more details. I moved out of there about ten years ago but I think most of my intel is still valid.
What does everybody think of South Dakota?
In SD you can get an any deer tag. Mulies and WT overlap in some areas, particularly further west. Public access can be an issue, but SD GFP had an online map system that can give you some ideas.
"Dont think Colorado has any OTC options for Mule deer."
If I remember right, most plains units east of I25 were OTC and a few mulies can be found out there...
ZBone, all mule deer tags are limited and draw only, but some can be had with zero points or leftover. There are about 20 units in the roughly CO Springs/Trinidad/Salida triangle that have OTC whitetail only licenses...
Thanks for clarification... Haven't been out there in a while, but back in the 90's I think you could get OTC tags for some of the eastern plains units, if I remember correctly, but yeah, that been a long time ago now...
Here is a Wyoming OTC mule deer I killed on a DIY hunt. Shot him at 13 FEET.
What I liked about Wyoming is the license was good for Mule deer or whitetail, buck or doe. Being primarily a meat hunter, I liked the flexibility the Wyoming tag gave me.
If you are going next year, start planning now. More than 1/2 of all the fun is in the planning.
Didn't realize WY had OTC Muley tags, will research, thinking about getting out of town this fall... Thanks for sharing...
"Didn't realize WY had OTC Muley tags, will research, thinking about getting out of town this fall... Thanks for sharing"
To be fair...it technically wasn't OTC, but that year, there was a 100% chance of drawing the tag I put in for. I had zero points going into the draw. I was told by the Wyoming G&F that I could put in for the tag in the drawing, or buy one after the draw. I chose to put in to be certain.
Be careful if you draw one of the eastern plains units that only require 0 or 1 point. Virtually all of the deer habitat is private and everything that can be leased is leased. I met with the head WCO for a big bunch of the plains units last week and we talked about the near-total lack of access out there without paying big $$$$.
On the one ranch where I still have permission the owner gets at least 5-7 offers from outfitters every year. Its a totally different deal than the 90's.
You didn't mention MT. You can get a tag most every year, but you will still have to put in for the lottery in March. Tons of public land to hunt.
My pop and I have been applying for mule deer in SD for 4-5 years as non-residents and haven't gotten a tag. Maybe if you know a landowner...
SD archery tags are unlimted.
And they have quite a bit more land to hunt than the neighboring states.
In MT the number of NR deer combo licenses is limited by law and true OTC for deer is non-existent. They don't sell deer licenses by species. Permits, yes but you first must buy the license then apply for the permit.
One area I hunted in SD has whitetails enter the fields from the east and muleys from the west.
Years ago hunted SD, but can't remember if their OTC tags were unit specific or statewide... Anybody know now days?
Thanks Worthless... Either muley or whitetail, or is that specific? Then I'm done asking...8^)
Archery is either species in SD and statewide. They have other options that involve more than one deer. You can also get doe tags cheap.
^^ what he said. Out west around Thanksgiving the mule deer were thicker than all get out
I've hunted SD with longbow 4 times. Have a doe and a 140 class 3x4. Lots of fun and some areas are pretty good for spot and stalk.
