Best Trophy Mule Deer Hotspots

D

Dwarneroutdoors

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Good afternoon hunters!

I'm doing a story on where the latest trophy muleys are coming from. Most of my story uses B&C data, but I also wanted to check with hunters on this site to get some ideas of some other "hotspots" where some of the best trophies are being harvested. If you're interested in sharing info, and would like to talk to me for the story, please text me at 517-290-6471, or email me at [email protected]

Thanks.

Darren
 
I would love to tell you where my best spots are for big muleys! Then you can share it with all your buddies, I'll see you all there this fall! I can't wait!
 
I'd stick to the B&C stat's or buy a subscription to Epic, Huntin Fool and/or Eastman's. They supposedly know it all. The average Joe isn't likely to help you out here. I wish I knew the answer to that question myself.
 
You guys are thinking too small. I am not asking for specific, small locales. I'm more thinking of general areas in different states where hunters have found success. If that still worries you that your favorite hunting spot will soon be overrun with other hunters, then please disregard my message. Hunt on!

P.S. I am also using B&C data. I just wanted some anecdotal info from some other hunters.
 
LAST EDITED ON Feb-20-18 AT 02:30PM (MST)[p]The Western United States is pretty good for mule deer. At least that is what someone told me once. Or maybe I read it in an article that had a lot of B&C data in it on mule deer hotspots.


"Go hunt for meat at Walmart."
 
If you want a trophy 2 point come to utah and be ready cuz opening moring they are all in trouble. Lol






Life ain't about waiting for the Strom to pass.Its about learning to hunt in the rain!
 
Tagsoup hit the nail on the head...Western US has some whoppers! I would actually go all out and say there are more B&C bucks from the Western US than anywhere in the World!
 
LAST EDITED ON Feb-20-18 AT 07:18PM (MST)[p]I would think some of you would have better things to do than write a snarky, immature response. Sadly, some of you do not.
 
I'd pm you some spots...but I haven't found them myself! LOL

Cancer doesn't discriminate...don't take your good health for granted because it can be gone in a heartbeat. Please go back and read the last line. This time really understand what it says.
 
You have 3 posts.

Every year guys come in here with a couple posts, ask for info, then boom, never to be heard of again.

If you actually are doing what you claim, then it should be zero surprise that guys don't need info put out so next year there are a ton of new dudes chasing "tips".

Guys in Wyoming got burned by the Eastmans years ago. Others have by other "writers".

Good luck, I've heard Mexico is kicking out good bucks


"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"
 
I may have come across a little sarcastic, but I'm still confused on what you are asking? What you are eluding to is a Google search away. If you have some Intel on good whitetail hunting in Michigan or something to offer other than further exploiting western mule deer I would give you my honest opinion. If you want to know where nice mule deer bucks are just buy their gps coordinates....
 
Snarky is what you get when you ask for areas where the best bucks are coming from on an open post. If you don't know then why are you writing about it.
 
Antelope Island!

Since I just revealed a super secret spot, it's now your turn to tell me one of your honey holes. Not asking for a specific spot, just a general location.
 
I write a lot on whitetail hunting, and most hunters don't have a problem talking about what county they killed their deer in. Again, I'm just talking general hunting zones and state counties. Now if you're sooooo worried that your favorite spot will be overrun by other hunters, then just don't respond. I can respect that.

Most of my story is using B&C data. All I was looking for were some anecdotal stories and quotes from mule deer hunters to supplement the piece. Some may find this hard to believe, but some hunters actually like talking about their successes, which doesn't have to involve giving away too much information. But I can see that's not going to happen, so I'm sorry I bothered all of you.
 
Darren,

I'm a freelance outdoor writer too, but its obvious you've touched a nerve. It started w/ asking this kind of question outright w/ too little investment in this forum. You were looking for the easy answer w/o doing the homework. Several days of searching/reading the archives in the search section would give you basically what you wanted. The majority of good whitetail hunting takes place on private land back east and all you need to get a tag is to buy one. The nature of trophy mule deer in the West is a totally different story as people wait decades to draw that special tag...so pardon them if they are a little reluctant to give out even the areas they put in for as public articles have destroyed odds of getting a tag in many units. The Boone and Crockett database is a good one and gives you a good solid foundation for your article. Its also no secret, the Henry Mountains of Utah, Northern Arizona, and Rio Arriba county NM are good spots for trophy mule deer. The gem for this kind of article is connecting with hunters, establishing a network of reliable and ever changing data, and keeping it current and relevant as it changes. It's a great forum, but can be a little rough around the edges. Introduce yourself, share your ideas/information among friends and stay awhile...good luck!
 
2017%20deer%202_zpsiijoinq4.jpg

Last year this was a hotspot for trophy bucks.
 
" I write a lot on whitetail hunting, and most hunters don't have a problem talking about what county they killed their deer in. Again, I'm just talking general hunting zones and state counties. Now if you're sooooo worried that your favorite spot will be overrun by other hunters, then just don't respond. I can respect that."

I'm not sooooo worried that my favorite spot will be overrun. I'm worried that by publicizing trophy quality, the general zone will get just a little bit harder to draw.

Is it possible that most of the whitetail hunters that share information with you hunt on private property so increased interest in their county of choice won't result in more hunters on their acreage? Is it possible that the whitetail hunters get landowner or otc tags so an increased interest in their hunting zone doesn't negatively effect their draw odds?

The people on this forum aren't selfish...they are just operating within the realities of hunting mule deer in the West today.

Good luck on the article, hope it turns out well.
 
So here is an anecdotal comment about western Mule Deer hot spots.
I have found that big trophy class bucks exist in most mountains range in the west, but they are cagey and keep to themselves. They almost always require a hike away from roads and they lay low during the day. It often takes days of sitting and glassing from one spot in order to locate them. They can be in heavy timber and they can lay all day in high sage brush so you never know they are there. They get big and old because they learn how to avoid human interaction. Pretty much like whiteys.

Since most of the western terrain is public land, most successful western Mule Deer hunters spend a good deal of time searching for these spots, and when they find one, they keep it to themselves because as soon as word gets out about a big buck, hundreds of hunters converge on that location. Thus the snide remarks by many.

Best of luck with the article.
 
>I write a lot on whitetail
>hunting, and most hunters don't
>have a problem talking about
>what county they killed their
>deer in. Again, I'm just
>talking general hunting zones and
>state counties. Now if you're
>sooooo worried that your favorite
>spot will be overrun by
>other hunters, then just don't
>respond. I can respect that.
>
>
>Most of my story is using
>B&C data. All I was
>looking for were some anecdotal
>stories and quotes from mule
>deer hunters to supplement the
>piece. Some may find this
>hard to believe, but some
>hunters actually like talking about
>their successes, which doesn't have
>to involve giving away too
>much information. But I can
>see that's not going to
>happen, so I'm sorry I
>bothered all of you.

You are getting good intel from the whitetail guys because most eastern whitetail hunting isn't about being a good hunter, No offense WT guys, but it's about being a good deer farmer and manager. The Drury brothers can tell you every detail about every buck they have raised on their property because it's their property and you can't hunt it. Western hunting doesn't work that way. For the hardworking guys on this site, it's a free-for-all public land game.
Except for the once-in-a-lifetime draw areas, like the Arizona Strip or the Henry mountains, you're going to get crickets if you are asking for even the most opaque details. Here ya go... "Money or Time" If you want to kill a giant mule deer on purpose your going to need to spend a lot of one or the other. But, probably both.
 
Kane and Garfield do well only because of the Henry Mountains and the Paunsagunt plateau. Both are once in a lifetime draws any more. If you check the record books Colorado will dominate.
 
Back when those two units were general hunts they produced fewer entries than Wasatch county,Morgan county or Cache county. Look for any area where hunting pressure is restricted and you will find the Mule Deer hotspots.
 
I agree that most whitetail hunting is done on private. Everyone I know here in Oklahoma hunts private land of their own or leases land for whitetails. The same when they go to Texas, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, it's all on private.

Now giving up spots, areas, zones, units, states, etc for mule deer, will only increase the competition on public land in those areas. I like most only hunt public land for mule deer, and it's already hard enough to draw a tag and get away from the orange army?s. So why would someone want to publicly announce their areas that hold trophy bucks and have that area in another story. Eastman?s, Huntin fool, and other magazines are already making units harder to draw when they mention the area.
 
>Back when those two units were
>general hunts they produced fewer
>entries than Wasatch county,Morgan county
>or Cache county. Look for
>any area where hunting pressure
>is restricted and you will
>find the Mule Deer hotspots.
>


Interesting
 
The trend is that they are becoming harder and harder to find. lots of factors, but just look at some of the prices well managed private herd mule deer hunts are costing now. I have learned a long time ago, if you are just hearing of a "hot" area, you are too late. Big bucks are where you find them.

Rich
 
With all due respect maybe your not the right guy to write this kind story....kind of like writing a vacation story about India but you have never been
 
Looks like you got a few names and county info after all.

And like what was said earlier,, take and hour to cruise the post topics and you will know. Cliff Books, Punxsutawne Phil, Bear Island,,etc etc... It actually gets quite exhausting reading about the same thing and the same places and the same questions all the time! :)
 
Post up some of your other articles, any of them feature any of your own first hand knowledge?
 
And of course, we all realize how dam good the deer hunting would be almost everywhere if writers, outdoor magazines, the internet, etc... never began telling every joe-blow where to go!
 
>With all due respect maybe your
>not the right guy to
>write this kind story....kind of
>like writing a vacation story
>about India but you have
>never been


Yup!

Go check out adventures stories from Colorado deer hunt. My guess is most of us read it. This guy writes well, and flat out "gets it". Guys might be more open with a guy like adventure because of it(or not?)





From the party of HUNTIN, FISHIN, PUBLIC LAND.
 
>And of course, we all realize
>how dam good the deer
>hunting would be almost everywhere
>if writers, outdoor magazines, the
>internet, etc... never began telling
>every joe-blow where to go!
>

I cringe every time someone asks where to hunt. It's part of the hunt. Do it yourself.
 
>So here is an anecdotal comment
>about western Mule Deer hot
>spots.
>I have found that big trophy
>class bucks exist in most
>mountains range in the west,
>but they are cagey and
>keep to themselves. They
>almost always require a hike
>away from roads and they
>lay low during the day.
> It often takes days
>of sitting and glassing from
>one spot in order to
>locate them. They can
>be in heavy timber and
>they can lay all day
>in high sage brush so
>you never know they are
>there. They get big
>and old because they learn
>how to avoid human interaction.
> Pretty much like whiteys.
>
>
>Since most of the western terrain
>is public land, most successful
>western Mule Deer hunters spend
>a good deal of time
>searching for these spots, and
>when they find one, they
>keep it to themselves because
>as soon as word gets
>out about a big buck,
>hundreds of hunters converge on
>that location. Thus the
>snide remarks by many.
>
>Best of luck with the article.
>


ya pretty much what he said! like others have stated whitetail hunters are in a different situation.. they have OTC tags, they hunt private property and they raise their own crops just for the deer. it dont work like that out west. as bighorn stated it takes years to find a great spot and one slip of the tongue can have your favorite spot not so secret anymore.. My unit of choice is becoming that way.. few big bucks were killed the last few years now the tags have went from drawing every 2-3 years to 3-4 years. Truth be told its no better than any other unit around the area but word got out that big ones were running around and boom now im thinking about a different unit to hunt.
 

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