first time mule deer hunting, lots of questions

[horsesense]

My buddy and I will be hunting near Glasgow, mt Nov 2-10 on his relatives land. I have never hunted mule deer so I am very exctited. Coming from Alabama I have white tail experience, but most hunting around here is from trees with shots under 100 yards. I have spent the summer practicing out to three hundred yards, but would prefer 200 or less of a shot. I am running three miles three times a week and will begin carrying my pack (25 pounds of stuff) this week. I have plenty of questions, but to start I am just looking for advice. Any help would be most appreciated.


Horse sense

 

[Rammu]

No matter how many miles your running just remember that the elevation will dillute all them miles ran and you will feel like you are starting from scratch. IMO good luck and hope you have a great hunt cause if you do you may never mess with them Whiteys again..

 

[FamilyMan]

Actually the elevation in Glasgow is only about 2100 feet. It is out on the Montana plains so you probably will be hunting on the prairie or in the breaks instead of in the mountains. Should see pleanty of deer.
Mark

 

[overton]

What county in Alabama?

Ransom

 

[horsesense]

We hunt Baldwin and Escambia now (southern part of the state). I hunted wilcox, Monroe and Conecha (central) when I was a kid.

 

[overton]

You are really southern. My family is from Jackson, Dekalb and Limestone Counties way up north, hillbilly you know. I now live in the fruit and nutt state of California. You almost need a passport to come here.
Good Luck on your hunt and shoot a nice one.


Ransom

Southern Cross is drive the yankee's nuts.

 

[horsesense]

Well this hunt will be a long way from home and I want to do the best we can with a week. The land owner is supposed to pick out a few areas for us to start, but other than that I think we are on our own. Spot and stalk seems to be the preferred method, but based on the satelite images of the area there are no trees to speak of except in teh river bottom. So, do we attempt to get behind the deer and sneak up on them in the wide open or just find out where they are feeding and wait for them to return to their bedding area? I am afraid if we spook a big one and don't get a shot he will leave the area and not be seen again. I dont feel good taking a shot over 300 yards. Any suggestions?

 

[foghorn]

Horsesense
Welcome to Monster Muleys!!!

I would suggest the best binoculars you can afford. They are absolutely essential for spot and stalk. Second I suggest a range finder. You will want to stalk from downwind, utilizing whatever cover is available. One whiff of a stinky human and them Deer generally LEAVE. You mentioned ambushing them between feeding and bedding areas. That is also a good option. It allows you to get set up (hopefully) without the Deer knowing you are around. Set up downwind from where you expect the Deer to come from. That way the wind will be sure and change direction on YA!!! Sounds like you are getting prepared in a good way. Good physical shape and lots of shooting.
If the land owner is going to get you started you should be okay for locating Deer. After that it's nothing but FUN!!!
All the Best.
Later
Foghorn

 

[Model_70_Guy]

Ditto to what foghorn posted, bring the best glass you can and a spotting scope is a good idea also.. let your eyes do the walking. I learned the value of good glasses when I first statred hunting muley's in Nevada. Probably 75-80% of my time was spent behind glasses picking apart cover.
And probably the best advise I could give you is keep shooting right up til it's time for your hunt... You want to be ready for that buck when the oppurtunity happens. Good luck, shoot a big one and I hope you guys have a great hunt.

Jim

 

[horsesense]

Thanks for the warm reception and all the advice. There is still 30 days before we leave and I am sure I will have more questions. Regarding optics I have a pair or 10 x 42 wind river binos that I really like. a bushnell range finder that I have barely used, but seems to work just fine. No spotting scope yet, but I am looking at a Burris 12 x 24. Any comments on that spotting scope?
I have a question about when we harvest a deer. Is it better to have a local taxidermists do the whole job and send a finished mount back, or should I cape it and ship home to the local guy. I realize this is a little a head of the game as I have never even seen a live mule deer, but I always like to be prepared and optimistic. Thanks again for all the help.


Horsesense

 

[driftersifter]

I would spend the first day driving around in a pickup surveying the local potential. Mark good areas on your gps or map and continue to look for new heads or great vantage points. Keep in mind these deer are sporting much larger headgear than you are use to seeing. I have hunted up in that country before and don't think deer neeed trees to live. They don't and often times the biggest bucks will be found where there isn't a tree in sigt or shooting range. When you are looking for vantage site look for the kind that show you country you can't see from the road. I like the kind that show a couple of drainages from one site. As stated earlier let your glass do the hard work and be patient as these bucks will move miles in a day so if there isn't anything today don't write it off till you have looked the area over a couple of times.
Driftersifter

 

[Wiszard]

You'll need a stronger power spotting scope. You will save yourself a lot of miles by being able to tell if that buck a mile away is really worth going after...especially if you are thinking of getting one mounted.
I got a decent buck in Wyoming a few years back aqnd had a local taxidermist do the work. I saw all the mounts in his shop and was impressed. When I got the mount back 9 months later, I was not happy with him. His hide between his shoulder blades (brisket sp?) was completely off center. Not much I could do at that point. I really think you take a chance if you let a local guy do it. I would get research the local taxidermists in the area you will be hunting and get references! It may sound cheezy, but how many first mule der mounts do you get?
Good luck on your hunt. After you walk up on that huge bodied mule deer, you'll be hooked!

 

[overton]

Hey guys this is a photo of Mr. Big from Cullman Co., Alabama. This is just to show you Bama doesn't have just dik diks.

Ransom

 

[horsesense]

They don't grow deer in South Alabama like Mr. Big in the photo above. Our deer are small bodied (150 pounds or less generally with small racks) we just have a bunch of them. Thanks to everyone for the help so far. Can soemone give a recommendation of a spotting scope brand and magnification that will work good for this hunt. I have a friend that has a 20x60 but even on a bench sighting in rifles it is almost impossible to find the target. I can't imagine using that to glass a hill. It would drive me crazy.

horsesense

 

[FamilyMan]

First, make sure that you have a sturdy tripod. No need to spend a ton of money on one (although you can, and there will be a diference) but make sure it is stable. Also, many better quality spotting scopes have a sighting device on the side to make aquiring your target easier.

I own a Cabela's brand 20-60X60 spotting scope. I bought it about 14 years ago for $300 and have yet to be disapointed. Noticed that Cabela's still has them in their catalog for $400 now (see link below). The image is pleanty clear and bright. I have looked through much more expensive spotting scopes like Swarovski and Zeiss that folks have had set up in Yellowstone and they were not nearly as clear. The reason for this may be that I did not take the liberty to refocus the image on the other peoples scopes, I do not know. In any case, I would recommend the Cabela's spotting scope very highly.

Mark

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&indexId=cat601579&hasJS=true

 

[Wiszard]

Horsesense- The reason for the spotting scope is not to glass a hillside 200 or 300 yards away. It is to glass a mile to 2 miles away. If the country is open, you will be able to see a lot of game from one spot. From there, you can decide which buck is worth stalking. Use your binos to glass out to 300 yards but you spotting scope to really reach out there. You will save yourself time and energy. Good Luck!

 

[Racktracker]

Most people say buy good glass...you will never regret it. But in your case I would ask myself a few questions before dropping $1000+ on a spotting scope.

Is this going to be a once in a lifetime hunt? Will you likely hunt somewhere that you can utilize a spotting scope ever again? How much are you willing to spend? Do you really need a spotting scope for this hunt?

If you are going to be hunting strictly private land, there will be roads pretty much everywhere. So there is a good chance you will be able to get a closer look from the pickup, in most cases a decent set of binos will be enough. Now if there is a chance that you will be hunting down in the breaks then definitely get a spotting scope.

Talk to the landowner if at all possible. That will be the best source of info. If he has done any hunting to speak of then he should be able to answer most of your questions.

I have been hunting the prairie of montana for 20+ years and I don't consider my spotting scope as mandatory equipment. I have a 82mm Nikon fieldscope ED and I do use it often, but if I didn't have it, I would still be out there.

If you do decide that you need a scope my suggestion would be to get a spotting scope with a variable power eye piece. Something in the neighborhood or 18X on the low end a 50X on the high end. I would go with at least a 60mm objective and don't even consider anything under 50mm. The high dollar scopes do have better glass and are more pleasant to use, but the lower end scopes are better than nothing.

The only taxidermist that I could find in the Glasgow phone book was Kent Morehouse. If my memory serves me right he only mounts fish (don't quote me on that), so that won't help you much. I know there was a taxidermist in Glasgow that worked on big game, but cannot remember his name. My advice would be to go to D&G (local sporting goods store) and ask one of the guys at the gun counter. They can point you in the right direction. Besides it will give you a chance to look at the mounts they have. That should get your blood pumping.

Good luck and don't forget to have fun.

 

[horsesense]

Guys,

Thanks for the information. I will look at the calbeas scope when I make my clothes order. Keep the helpful hints coming. Its now down to 30 days to departure.

horse sense

 

[NeMont]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-03-07 AT 11:50AM (MST)[p]I live in Glasgow and my advice would be spend more time at the range and make sure you are comfortable with a 300 yard shot.

Dennis Idler does taxidermy.

The big game taxidermist who moved was named Roy Hagen. He moved to Great Falls.

Kent Morehouse does birds and fish for the most part but will do big game.

Get a decent spotting scope because you will use it and if you don't have it along you may wish you did.

Don't shoot the first mule deer buck you see. You will see lot's of bucks every day and can afford to be a little picky.

Nemont

P.S. I have hunted this area my entire life and cannot think of a time I would have ever needed a 25 lb pack. A day pack is plenty. This isn't the Mountains of Western Montana.

 

[horsesense]

Nemont,

I cant get 25 pounds of usable gear in my pack. I had to place 1 gallon of water and several heavy objects to get to 25 pounds. It was to help get into shape for the hunt. I will probably only have 10 pounds in actual hunting stuff when I hunt as a day pack. Thanks for the info on taxis and the spotting scope. I have made myself promise not to shoot the first buck I see. But based on the photos from this website I think a small muley will be much bigger than any deer I have seen live in the woods.

Horse sense

 

[missinMT]

In my experience, it was a walking trip for me. I love to walk from coulee to coulee very slowly and carefull not to silouette myself. I also enjoy sitting in a good vantage point, as was mentioned before, some of the bucks move many miles in a day, and I have had great success just sitting and being patient. The land has a beauty all its own, so take advantage of the peace and quite. Also, be prepared for some breezy conditions. Er, make that windy.

 

[Califelkslayer]

Horsesense, all above is good advice including how much you'll be hunting out West. Depending on how often and your finances, buy a mid level scope at the very least and go to the "Optics" section to get the best advice/reviews. I highly reccommend Doug at Cameraland.

 

[horsesense]

This is the first hunt out west, but based on my excitemtnet level this far before the hunt, I feel sure it will not be my last. The running and shooting in preperation of the trip started late this summer and fall and have been a blast. We started running in August and have continued until now. I have shot over 100 rounds at between 200-400 yards. It has cut into my local scouting time, so that is a negative, but I feel better than I have in years and I have the excitment about this hunt like its Christmas. The spotting scope hunt is underway-- more info later--maps have been ordered, shooting to continue until further notice. Endurance is still a concern. We are running just over 4 miles now in 40 minutes or so. no stopping and several small hills. Thanks for all the information and assistance. It is nice to find people from so far away being so helpful.

Horse sense

 

[Dean Parisian]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-04-07 AT 07:43PM (MST)[p]Horse sense.......congratulations on drawing a MT tag. Did you draw the Land-owner Sponsor or a non-resident "A" Tag?

If you aren't handy with shooting sticks you might want to practice getting that 10 pound back pack off your back quickly and using it as a prop to down a nice buck. I know it sounds funny but if you haven't done it much and it isn't second nature you should practice the move. Alabama, like where I hunt in TN and GA seldom has a need for pulling a backpack off quick and using it for a rest. Good luck and don't down the first big 2 x 2 that jumps up. I guarantee that body will be as big as those bucks you pound down home!!

Dean Parisian
Chippewa Partners
Team Muleys Pro Staff
http://chippewapartners.blogspot.com

 

[horsesense]

Dean,

We drew the elk/deer combo. We have been trying for four years to draw a deer only tag, but were not successful. It was suggested to try for the elk/deer combo because more are offered each year. The area we are hunting does not have elk, so i dont think I will get to use that, but a mule deer is the goal. The shooting sticks have not been much fun. I have shot many round at three hundred yards and am not pleased with the grouping with the sticks. Things just move too much. I tried the pack idea and that helps alot. Getting the pack off my back and in shooting postion prone is not too bad. I ma considering trying a tripod as another option. Thanks for the suggestion.