muley hunting strategy question

[mshred]

anyone have any tactics or strategy tips for hunting mule deer in badlands/small canyons/breaks/small drainages/sand hills type terrain?

i'm hunting a piece of land that i am famiar with and think i have a good idea how to approach it, but i thought i would see if anyone has a trick or two that might help. it's not an area that you can glass for miles and miles. it is basically one small canyon after another with lots of little drainages fingering off each canyon. there is little to no tree cover available except in the nooks and crannies of the breaks.

 

[kawboy]

During the day the muleys will be as high as they can get. If you walk the sand hills do it to where the wind is in your face. Slowly walk up to the crest of the sand hills inch by inch and glass as good as you can. I have shot 3 bucks in nebraska type terrain doing this. they will usually be bedded down. Optics are the key. Glass the shadows very well. Never walk over the top of sand hills to silouette yourself, once your at the top, back down skirt around the side. This is a good time to pay attention to tracks, after a few times doing this you will be able to see some of their more common paths.

or like justr does, walk aimlessly around and hope you scare something up and shoot at it. but that has works suprisingly well for him.


I'll tell you who it was . . . it was that D@MN Sasquatch!

 

[Zeke]

That's a good question.
I usually hunt the ole "spot & stalk" method but if that won't work, you could try tracking and then "still hunt" "cross compartment". You basically hunt across the draws, moving slowly up one side and down the other. Stop and look, glass, listen often and don't rush things at all as you crest the ridge.

My father taught me this method back in the late 60's and I'm sure it would work today.

Just my 2 cents.

Good luck,
Zeke

 

[kingfish]

I do this a lot in eastern Montana. Keep the wind in your face and creep up on every little canyon you can from the top. Most of the bucks I sneak up on are bedded in the top 2/3rd of that draw or canyon and are typically looking down into the canyon. They will have their heads on swivals when the wind is blowing because wind makes most deer nervous imo. slow, slow, slow. go from one draw to another. It's a fun way to hunt....

 

[mshred]

good stuff guys. thanks.

 

[NVMDF]

Go walk it now and look for traditional beds, You can figure out how to hunt if you know what and where to expect bucks to be bedded, you may still jump a few, but it helps to know before you go in what to expect.

locate trails or figure out deer feeding and watering patterns, then watch the travel routes bucks take to a specific draw when they bed.

NVMDF