ND Badlands Bowhunting

Buddy

New Member
Messages
0
I am pondering the idea of bowhunting the ND badlands for mule deer in mid Novemeber, which appears to be the 2nd weekend of gun season. I have hunted there other times during bow season but never when the gun season is going strong. My questions are are as follows:

-What is the gun pressure like?
-It there a possibilty of getting a deer shot out from under you while making a stock?
-How many deer could I reasonably expect to see in a day, since hopefully the buck will be traveling all day?

Any comments you have would be greatly appreciated.
 
hard to bowhunt during rifle season.come before or after later is better.after rifle is good still in rut.some come early an hunt antelope also.my son got a nice antelope this year. got a nice deer also.plus a buffalo with bow.i always hunt later i just like it is colder.good luck i live in the badlands have a few good buck from here.3 30inchers plus some smaller.
 
Bowhunting in the rut or bowhunting out of the rut, Man hard choice, Take the rut everytime. You find Does and you will find bucks.


"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
 
It can be done, I took this buck in ND during the rifle season last fall. Not big by Monster Muley standards but a personal best.

However, as a general rule I would think your best 2 times to be out would be either early season, or right after the rifle. In 2009 rifle will end the weekend before Thanksgiving, by then the Mule Deer rut should be just cranking up. I took mine during the last weekend of rifle this year and the bucks were starting to gather does, but there were still 3-4 bucks running together with them.

http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/User_files/49837aa74648cfe8
 
Thanks for the info guys. It is very helpful. By the way badlander I cannot open your photo link.

Good Luck this fall.
 
I would say you are crazy to try it. There's a lot of other states you could go instead of ND. It is always a very hard hunt in ND and weather is a big factor. There are many other states that you would have a better chance on tagging a deer.
 
I live in SD but hunt ND every year with archery. I have taken a deer with my bow every year for the last 18 years and nice bucks consistently for the last six. Mule deer hunting in ND is in its glory days now. Early season is my favorite time of year to hunt. Seems like I see more bigger bucks in September then during the rut and they are way more predictable to pattern during September then in November. Not saying some real bruisers don't show up in Nov. but you also have the sea of orange to deal with.

There is plenty of public land and with a little patience a pope and young caliber buck is very obtainable. 145-160 class mule deer can be had, with a very good chance at an oppurtunity at something bigger. This year I took a 28 1/2 " 7x8 in full velvet on the second weekend. This deer was on public land and I did not see another hunter. ND should be on your list of places to hunt for mule deer. I have hunted in numerous other western states and ND is still my favorite place to hunt mule deer with a bow.
 
Here is some pictures of what you may see during an early season hunt
499f39f37e096cf6.jpg


499f3a317f2083ea.jpg

499f3a5501aa050b.jpg


499f3a7d02769476.jpg
499f3a9a02c2cd6b.jpg

499f3ae70554b158.jpg

499f3b84088cce13.jpg




hope you guys enjoy.
 

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos
Back
Top Bottom