A little overwhelmed

[Simba]

Hey Everyone,

So, last year was my first tradbow (first archery at all) hunt and it was for alpine mule deer in northern Utah. I had a ton of fun. Saw a ton of animals including mature elk, moose, deer, and pronghorn. But with hunting pressure and my own novice, was never able to get anywhere near bow range (20yds for me) of a legal buck. I know spot and stalk is probably the hardest method with a tradbow because you have to get so close and any slip up will bust you. But, on the other hand, you're likely to see more animals that way than if you set up an ambush, especially for less patternable animals like mule deer (versus whitetails). Anyway, watching some archery mule deer hunting videos and I'm just like, "How the hell do they do that?!" So, I'm feeling a bit intimidated about how to be successful this coming August. I just learned I drew another general season archery tag in the same unit as last year. How do you know where to set up an ambush on mule deer?

[AZ_Longbow]

Keep at it and focus on the act not the end.
And remember this, the average lion takes atleat 12 attempts to every successful stalk.

[Simba]

Originally posted by AZ_Longbow:
Keep at it and focus on the act not the end.
And remember this, the average lion takes atleat 12 attempts to every successful stalk.

Thanks, that's good to keep in mind.

If you are in an arid area, I would think a water source would be a great place to set up! You might want to get a couple trail cameras, and put them out. Then you will know whether the deer are using an area, and approximate times.

Bisch

[oldgoat]

Glass glass, up high. Get South Cox dvd.  Good luck.

[oldgoat]

And, if you are in Utah get you some cheep broadheads and go rabbit huntn in the sage or find you some gofers or  squrails to practice on I would think that would be the best..Bob

[Daz]

Mule deer aren't patternable as you pointed out because of an adaptation called "randomized roaming". This is thought to be in response to generations of cougar predation.This makes ambush hunting anywhere other than over water in arid country a waste of time. Having said that, they have some characteristics that make them VERY huntable with spot and stalk.

In fact, if you want to be a serious high country mule deer hunter, spot and stalk IS THE WAY to do it. Learn to use optics correctly, and have patience. If you aren't spending 60-70% of your time glassing good country, you are missing the boat.

Look for an old copy of Dwight Schuh's-Bowhunting Mule Deer. Some of the gear recommendations are out of date,but the principles are timeless.
Research mule deer ecology (Mule Deer by Dr. Valerius Geist). Learn what weaknesses bucks DO have that will allow you to get into bow range.

Remember that a high country mule deer is earned with patience and sweat equity, and that every blown stalk has several teachable moments.

[Simba]

Thanks for all the responses so far! Well, I know I'm on the right track with research because I own both South Cox's DVD and Dwight Schuh's book, lol! I spend as much time as I can hiking up and glassing but it's tough to find time as a grad student, parent of a toddler, etc. But, that doesn't change the fact that more glassing will teach me more about the deer here. I did a little rabbit hunting last fall and was able to get a few shots (that I missed) by stalking them carefully. With rabbits, it's just circling 20 yards around a boulder vs. a mile or two around a canyon head... lol. So, in terms of ambushing, setting up in pinch points isn't much use?

[damascusdave]

Smallish mule deer bucks and immature does can be very easy to get close to...the problem is they often hang around with old does that are just about as savvy as any whitetail...try to avoid those big old herd leader does

DDave

[Simba]

Originally posted by damascusdave:
Smallish mule deer bucks and immature does can be very easy to get close to...the problem is they often hang around with old does that are just about as savvy as any whitetail...try to avoid those big old herd leader does

DDave

That's something I hadn't thought of: staying away from old, wary does. I honestly haven't seen many young bucks around the does up here. I've been looking... This is my first deer so I'm after experience, not a "trophy" by any means.

[Michael Pfander]

One of the things that I have to be helpful [experience again] is to know what kind of terrain is stalkable for you.  Everyone I have hunted with has different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to stalking.  I have friends who love thick cover, myself I like crawling from shrub to  shrub sometimes it seems for miles.  Whatever works for you.
MAP

[Terry Lightle]

Keep your head up and stay after em,it will happen!
Terry

[CoachBGriff]

I don't have any advice, but thanks for starting the thread as I'm wanting to do a mule deer hunt in the next couple years.

I've enjoyed reading others' responses.

[ProAlpine]

Great thread!

I too am speaking my first mule deer kill with a trad bow. I hunted all archery season without a shot last year, them hunted 2 hours of rifle season and had a 4 point on the ground from less than 100 yards. It was good incentive to keep trying with the bow!

Thanks for all the great tips and encouragement everyone,

[Hankem]

How do you know where to set up an ambush on mule deer?

Even though mule deer don't run the same trails daily like white tail or blacktail do, you can still find well used trails by scouting your area and find natural funnels or a pass..... its easier to do in rugged country where the deer are forced to use certain trails......

Get up high as you can and glass the animals. watch where they are bedding, and where they head to feed in the evening..... it takes time scouting to find a decent ambush site.

[Simba]

Also, what I do like about the Utah archery tags is that you can hunt the extended archery areas during the extended archery season in which you are also allowed to shoot antlerless. So, I'm going for bucks during the general season, but am making plans to hunt those areas too for does to get experience under my belt.