No love for mule deer?
Mule Deer
Contributors to this thread:
Jeez!
All these elk threads popping and hardly anything about anyone getting excited for mule deer this year...
Heck, I’m still on the fence about even getting an elk tag this year. I might try for a leftover tag or may just get a rifle cow tag for one for the freezer. Just not too excited about elk myself.
Anyone excited for mule deer out there?
Any scouting or pictures?
I’ll be looking this coming weekend and hope to find a few nice ones.
Good luck to anyone going for mule deer this fall!
sept 1 ill be chasing them. I'm putting all my eggs in one basket so to speak and if i'm not successful first trip i'm burning all my vacation on a couple more.
I hate mule deer. I’m convinced there are no bucks in Colorado.
From the National Bison Reserve in MT. There are two bedded down in the pic.
I get excited about them around November 7th.. ;-)
I haven't been after Elk or Mule Deer in many years but did 30+ trips when younger. The draws & restrictions were less in those days & most years my hunts were combos (all DIY, Public). NOW, that being said, I loved Mule Deer & though never taking a huge Buck, managed several.
I'm fired up for mule deer! I will be chasing them Sept 1 as well. Then a break for elk and back after them in October. Still my favorite animal to pursue with my bow.
My brother and I drew WY tags and we are so excited. I'm taking my family out to do a little scouting and a lot of family vacationing! We have no idea what to expect on September 1st, but we will be as prepared as we can be but with low expectations. Looking forward to some fuzzy antlers!
I'm ready! Leaving for Colorado on the 22nd! Woohoo!
Hope my boy is in decent shape after being in Texas for the last 6 months.... Gonna be dragging him up to some high country above 12K. See if I can make that skinny kid puke:)
Here’s a picture of his buck from last year.
I'm excited, but I won't start hunting mule deer until sometime in November. Just the dreaming and anticipation of what "could be" is enough to get excited about!
Rod, your last one was spectacular! Hope you get another one even bigger this year!
An early season CO md hunt is in my future. Just not this year.
I leave for Nevada in eight days. Love me some velvet mulies!
I love anything that involves stalking. Antelope, caribou, mule deer. With moving to MT and the decline of the Haul Road bou it's Antelope and mule deer now.
Next year I should have enough points to draw in CO. If it's like it was, should be successful in killing a decent deer if I go early. But, with never having a deer tag before while hunting elk, we all know how that goes. Time will tell but, I'm excited about hunting them. And, its a whole year plus away.
Going on my first Mule deer hunt in CO this year. Will be there on the 25th! Looking forward to the country and the deer
I love mule deer hunting! Here is last years deer...........as he lay when I found him.
Will do a couple days in November in CA. Should have a CO tag next year.
I’ll be chasing them in NE Labor Day weekend. After that, I’ll be chasing them in Oct/Nov here in Ks
I'm headed north, to scout, next week! Then head back up for my hunt about 10 days later! Cannot wait
I'm excited to be going to the high country in CO again. I've drawn a marginal (for deer) and brutal (terrain) unit this year. I'll scout and acclimate for almost a week in advance of the season. I've never been so committed. Still have some work to do with the compound but I'm getting it dialed in.
Curt, I would not necessarily call any of our deer units “marginal” in Colorado.
There are very big bucks (B&C) in many units that take few or no points to draw.
I would take any of several no-point units over the units that take the most points to draw in Colorado... Especially after spending a lot of time up in those NW units last year.
Find a big ‘un!
I'll be leaving Sept 1st for my first Mule deer hunt in Wyoming. I hope I'm ready and can figure it out in time. Never been out west!
Getting ready for the early AZ hunt. My wife has a general rifle tag. I have a NM Burro Mt. muzzy tag. I will take off work from mid Dec through January for the late archery hunt. I live to hunt mule deer, especially low desert muleys.
Strangest thing....I do not get "buck fever" when bowhunting any animal....bear, elk, caribou, whitetail, buffalo etc. except mule deer. My heart and breathing literally makes noise. I don`t understand it.
I'm eagerly awaiting Aug. 25th! Will be in CO high country for 9 days and then chasing them in NE again in late Sep.
Chasing them has become a bit of an obsession the last few years. I will hunt elk again someday but I'm gonna need a couple muleys on the wall first. They are WAY more frustrating than elk and I guess I love the punishment!
I'm looking forward to the start of season. Fresh off a mid-august honeymoon, I should have no issues from the old lady about my time in the mountains. Now I need the hurricanes to hold off til late fall so I can actually get some hunting in! The last 3 years have been brutal on my hunting time.
Mule deer are the 'red-headed step child' of the West - :)
I drew an Early Rifle tag and have my eye on a few decent bucks
Found a few over the weekend...
Lots of fun to hunt Mulies before whities.
If I remember correctly there was a heck of a good thread last year showing some great deer on the ground.
Wife drew a pretty good mulie tag in Alberta this year with another friend's wife. Should be a really good time and looking forward to getting out with the bow and doing some scouting if time allows!
I went scouting in a general unit last Thursday. Turned up this buck I’ve chased for two years. Round three starts in a few weeks.
This should be the elksite . Headed to Montana sept 1 with a mulie and an lope tag can't wait !
My daughter and I each drew limited entry rifle elk tags this year so I’m going to hit it hard and try to finally get a velvet Mule deer buck. In addition to the buck above (my target buck) I also found an identical twin to first hard antlerd muley I got last year. No way I’ll pass on him in velvet either.
One of the fun ways to chase mulies is spot n' stalk in canola fields of Alberta. Its been a few years but looking forward to it again.
I like mule deer just like elk a little bit more. Good luck this year boys.
Now we’re getting some action!
Hope this is the year, YZF! Go get him!
That is a cool buck, Hunt! Would definitely be worthy of an attempt!
Here’s another nice one I got pictures of last year. Hope to find some better before season:)
No tag this year... yet. I’ve got my eye on a left over tag here in Co. next year I’ll have enough points for the Muley tag I want.
Well I'm Excited for mule deer. Had a a fourth season tag last year but held out and didn't fill. Really enjoyed it. Been a life long northern Minnesota whitetail guy and other Fall stuff so never did it. Have archery elk hunted for many Falls though. So... I put in for a second season mule deer tag this year so I could go again. Think it may be a zoo out their but looking forward to it. The little taste I had I wish i'd got into it long ago. So different from whitetail hunting. Treeline knows where I'm going.
Not a monster by any means but, open country January rutting mule deer get me just as fired up as an elk hunt. I get to see and hunt some NM desert muleys that rival any.
Treeline, if that is your second tier buck, I better tag along as the “dink” shooter!
I envy you guys that can go out and find those crankers before season and watch them grow.
I'm heading up to hunt with Graham Brigden in Alberta again. I always have a great time. I see a lot of great bucks, and have been successful that last two times with his outfit.
I cant wait for season to open this year. I live in WY but drew a second choice tag in CO just so I could hunt with my daughter. We got area with low archery success and usually has leftover tags. We are backpacking in and hunting whole week of opener. We will shoot first legal buck we get chance at. The whole summer of planning and shooting our bows has been good. She has dehydrated our meals, been swapping pack lists etc.. Just hunting with her for a week means more to old Dad than any wallhanger!! Good Luck to all honest sportsman.
Heck yea! Doesn’t get any better than high country mulies!
Counting down the days, It’s all I’m thinking about!
Wow, Bud, good for you! My daughter went the other direction and became a total city girl. I miss the days like you two will share. Savor it!
Sounds great bud! Make it fun for her. Bring lots of snacks and treats that she doesn't normally get. Take lots of photos.
Now that is going to make for an awesome hunt recap, Bud!
Take lots and lots of photos of everything - even the preparation and trip. Put it together as a story of your adventure - the good, the bad, and the ugly! Make it up as a nice photo/story book for a long term keepsake!
What a fun hunt you and your daughter have planned!
Something about mule deer. My very first encounter with a mule deer was on a Wyoming hunt back in early 90's. It was a giant of a buck like the one treeline has pictured and it allowed me to get within 30 yards of it before it bounced away. The buck must have watched me the entire time I worked my way up the chute. I never encountered another buck quite that big. I am hooked and will start chasing them again.
Just finished this one
Just finished this one
I plan on making my first muley hunt 2 years from now in CO. I can't wait.
I'm going back next year... got to get some redemption. I loved my first experience in 2016. Good luck everyone!
That the only deer I have love for haha!! Pretty pumped with this year's tag!
A couple of southern Colorado bucks my daughter took.
I love mule deer. I struck out on what I thought was a shoo in LE tag so I will be grabing an OTC this year
Treeline country....
Treeline country....
Heading up
Heading up
Got a little time in the hills with my boy over the weekend.
Nathan and his buddy Joe
Nathan and his buddy Joe
Did a little looking around
Some little guys
Some little guys
And these little guys down lower
And these little guys down lower
Not sure why rotate only works on the first pic...
This one shows some potential. Maybe his big brother or daddy was out of sight?
This one shows some potential. Maybe his big brother or daddy was out of sight?
Really tough to get decent pics of bucks up there. Glassing at long range and trying to take pics of them thru the scope. Don’t want to blow them out by getting too close. Did see a couple of potential shooters but not able to get good pictures.
Beautiful colors!
Beautiful colors!
Hungry little buggers!
Hungry little buggers!
We did have some fun with the little brookies tho!
Took a bit of a challenging road on the way out. You know you’re in for some fun when you see a side by side upside down!
Unfortunately, we were too far in to turn back.
The boy jumped out and guided me thru a lot of nasty. He videoed the toy crawling out. Glad I installed the lift, sliders and winch!
All in all a successful trip!
Still a few weeks left to find “the one”
I hate Mule deer but only cuz I live in the Northeast
I finally cashed in my Colorado points for this fall. I’ll be flying down 3 days before the opener to get acclimated and scout, then hunt the first week of season. Hoping for a P&Y quality buck but don’t have hard standards set in stone so I’ll take whatever buck i feel like at the time. Excited to see some good buddies while there.
Good luck, Trevor! Hope you find a good one!
Leaving for Cali next week to chase some deer out there. Last 2 weeks of Sept. will find me in ID calling for my buddies elk tag, but hoping to squeeze in some time chasing mulies for myself if he tags out early.
Nevada opens August 10th for me....Good Luck to everyone this year!
Absolutely love mule deer! For whatever reason I would take over elk all day Will be hitting hard in NM next month while the rest of the fam chases elk
Some average bucks from this week...
Nice one from the side of the river today
That's a good one Tree. Hope you get to chase him soon.
The boy thinks he knows where we need to go
The boy thinks he knows where we need to go
A little mountain gold
A little mountain gold
Gotta luv them purty mountain brookies!
Gotta luv them purty mountain brookies!
Season starts one week from today. Setup my camp Friday night and hauled/filtered some water ahead of time.
Couldn’t turn up my target buck but found others.
WY elk up first for me. Then I’ll have four tags good for a muley by the end of the year (SD, KS, E CO, AZ). Excited for September, but can’t wait to get lost on the prairie afterward.
Pic is two KS bucks killed five years apart to the day on the same piece of public. 2017 on the left. My uncle put together the pedestal with some oak he worked up.
Wow! Those are awesome prairie bucks! Congratulations, KB!