My 2010 Mule Deer Hunt

C

Catskill

Guest
Well, I guess I've procrastinated long enough on getting my 2010 hunt summarized and posted to share with you guys. I just couldn't decide how to do it. I started with the 2010 Hunt Adventure Challenge but, since I live back east, I didn't have exciting scouting pictures, videos and stories to post. After starting the Challenge, I realized that I wouldn't really have much to say until I returned from my hunt. I also realized that I'd prefer a format that was interactive because I enjoy reading everyone's comments (both positive and negative). I only made one post and let my thread drop to the bottom. I'll be telling my story here using several medium sized posts beause I don't have the attention span to type it up in one sitting. Please feel free to comment as we go along and I hope some find it to be interesting reading.

I live in a semi-rural area of Upstate NY so please don't envision me as some New York City rich guy - Not that there's anything wrong with that but it's not me! I've been hunting for 40 years and I enjoy all sorts of it. I chase turkeys, deer, grouse and woodcock with shotguns, rifles, bows and muzzleloaders. I've been fortunate enough to have gone on several Western hunts over the past 15 years. I try to get out there every other year or so; some hunts have been guided and others DIY. I've learned alot on these hunts but I'm still a real novice when it comes to Western hunting. I apply for a few tags each year so I guess I'm one of those dreaded Non-residents that also wants to hunt your animals. Please forgive me for that addiction; I was just born in the wrong place!

I drew a nice Mule Deer tag last year and the so the process of hunt preparation began. Like anyone else, I had a ton of things to do but this is the fun part for me. I had to:
~ Decide on guided or DIY
~ Make sure I was profecient with my weapon at a reasonable range for the hunt
~ Learn the unit and deer behaviors during my hunt timeframe
~ Figure out how to scout
~ Decide on where to sleep

As many of you know (and despise), the internet has made all of this work alot easier. Game and Fish websites, Google Earth, Discussion Groups (like this one), magazines (Huntin Fool/Eastmans), are tremendous resources and it would be foolish not to take advantage of the information. I was not foolish. I spent countless hours staring at my laptop trying to gather information. The info typically comes in small tidbits and its amazing how many generous people I met while researching this hunt. I guess I'll cut it off there for now. More to follow and I promise to post a picture of my hands wrapped around some deer antlers in the end.
 
Which state/unit did you draw? Did you find that the unit information in Huntin' Fool and Eastmans accurately described the unit?
 
Yeah....'cause I was trying to "cut to the chase"....did he get it?, how big was it? where was it?....please.


Within the shadows, go quietly.
 
Yea, I figured some guys might go there but I'm not letting you off that easy. You'll be agonized with the details before you see the hero pic and GPS coordinates will be lacking. I'll try to provide some good info for the novices but the experienced guys might get impatient. Sorry!


To answer Desperate's question, yes, I did find Huntin Fool and Eastmans info to be accurate. I've found that to be the case on a couple of occasions now so I feel good about their info.
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-11-11 AT 10:20PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Aug-11-11 AT 09:26?PM (MST)

LAST EDITED ON Aug-11-11 AT 09:20?PM (MST)

LAST EDITED ON Aug-11-11 AT 09:15?PM (MST)

I've been applying in multiple states for about 10 years and I decided it might be a good year to torch some deer points. My application strategy had the following criteria in mind:
~Late season hunt
~Low tag numbers
~Hunt area close to town to facilitate DIY possibility
~Mountainous or foothills terrain

I identified a few such hunts, applied and drew one. My first calls went to outfitters and previous tag holders. I was very honest with the outfitters about the potential to try this hunt DIY. They were understanding and very helpful. I quickly decided on DIY for financial and hunt satisfaction reasons. The previous tag holders also provided some good general information but none of them had killed a deer. I also called a biologist and some Forest Service staff. They gave some good access type info but deer locations were lacking. I called a taxidermist who provided some good intel as well. I then used the search function on several forums (like MM) using my hunt unit, nearby towns, season timing and location names ("Notellem Ridge" etc) as Keywords. I then PMed the posters who seemed the most friendly and knowledgeable and asked for some help. This led to some great info and the plan started falling into place. I was amazed at how helpful so many perfect strangers were. Several of the guys offered to actually show me around a little when I got out there. The first guy to make this kind of offer was willing to go out with me on the first 2 days of the hunt if his work schedule allowed and I readily accepted. My planned DIY hunt was rapidly morphing into something else.

To learn the area, I ordered custom topo maps, Forest service maps, and I poured over Google Earth. I also followed Wapiti Bob's thread on how to use ArcGis here on MM and that was great. I kept in touch with my new friends and I put in alot of time at the range to get my rifle ready and felt pretty good about my setup.

I planned to arrive 5 days before the opening of my hunt period to scout and learn the area as I've had good luck with this method in the past. There's no substitute for this kind of scouting. Before I knew it, I was on the plane and headed for the hunt. A major snowstorm had hit the area about 10 days before I left so I had a pretty good feeling. I was a little worried about getting around in the snow and mud but I figured I could snowshoe my way to a buck if need be. I'm mostly a backpack hunter anyway. My plane landed early in the afternoon and I checked into the Motel and was scouting from the rental vehicle by dark. Much of the snow had melted but there was still some decent snowcover a thousand or so feet above the paved roads. The weather was really working in my favor!
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LAST EDITED ON Aug-13-11 AT 12:01PM (MST)[p]Some people enjoy reading reading about hunting gear experiences so I thought I'd add a little review on how my gear worked out. Gear selection is a major theme on some of the fourms I read but, the MM crowd doesn't seem to get very worked up about gear. They prefer pictures of dead stuff, especially if it has big antlers. I'll throw in a short review in hopes that someone enjoys it.

The late season hunt timing and reality of having to fit all of my stuff in 2 checked bags plus a carry-on made for some careful planning. The fact that I would be driving past a sporting goods store and returning to a motel room each night where I could dry stuff out really helped make my decisions much less final. As it turned out, I had mild, mostly dry weather with the daytime temps in the high 40's. The wind was pretty stiff most of the time so it was easy to get chilled while spotting. I knew this would be the case and planned accordingly.

Here is a summary of my gear and how it worked.

Baselayers-(includes briefs,t-shirt,l/s top and bottoms) Cabelas MTP polyester with anti bacterial treatment. I've used this kind of stuff for years and it works fine for me. I also have tried merino wool but I prefer the synthetics. I have a collection of various brands/weights and they all work about the same provided they have some anti-bacterial (silver, etc)treatment.


Light outerwear/midlayer - I like a layer like this that I can use as my outerlayer when hiking and then layer over/under while stationary. I chose the Russell APX G2 Zepher top and I really like it. It fit (and stretches) to allow for a thin insulating piece underneath or a heavy piece over the top. It has pockets so it works as an outerlayer. My only complaint is the lack of Napolean chest pockets. I love those things so I'll be looking at the Sitka piece (more expensive of course) since it has them. I used the older model Sitka Mountain pant on the bottom and they are fantastic. The Zepher bottom would be very similar.

Thin insulating layer - Mountain Hardware Compressor Jacket/Montbell Thermawrap full zip pants. An amazing layer that many don't utilize. I would never go on a cooler weather hike or hunt without this type of clothing! It's takes up very little room in your pack and is as valuable as rainwear. It was the only insulation that I needed on this hunt. Get some!

Heavy insulating layer - Russel APX G2 Whiteout top and bottom. I learned about this stuff in an Eastmans article that Buckspy wrote. They are quite light and packable for the warmth they provide and the pants are full zip. I didn't need them but I could have handled most anything dished out if necessary. Strictly a late season layer.

Rainwear - Cabela's Space rain top and Sitka Stormfront Lite bottom. I didn't need to use this layer much but it's a decent combo. The Space rain packs down to nothing and has served me well enough over the years. It's not very durable so I'm careful with it and I knew I wouldn't be beating any brush on this hunt. The Stormfront Lite was purchased for the hunt so I don't have much experience to draw from but they are full zip and high quality.

Boots - Cabelas Meindl Canadian Hunter. I've had these boots for 8 years and the are still waterproof and fit like a glove. I've taken them on most of my western hunts and they haven't let me down. The most severe test was an AK hunt that included a 13 mile packout with about 8000 ft total vertical. I don't wear them for my local hunts to save wear.

Sox - Bridgedale Summit sox, no liners. This works for me in all weather.

Pack - Osprey Atmos 65. I love it even though it's not camo or very quiet. It's extermely comfortable and it fits my stuff for day or short bivy hunts.

Gloves - Lightweight-Manzilla Ranger.
Insulating-EMS Primaloft.
Gortex Shell - Outdoor Research.

Hats - Ball Cap, Warm fleece, UnderArmour Beanie

Rifle Stuff - Safari Sling from Cabelas - it's the only
reasonable way to sling a rifle while wearing a
pack or using your glass. Love it.

Snipe Pod - Lightweight bipod. Get one

Optics - Older Leica 8x32 Binocs - Bought them as a demo, nice
Minox MD62 ED Spotting Scope - Decent Glass/Good value
Cullman Compact tripod - need a better one
Rangefinder- Nikon Riflehunter 550 Didn't have time
to use it. Guessed right!

That's about all I can think of gear wise. I'll add more if it comes to me.
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-14-11 AT 08:10AM (MST)[p]Sorry if I'm moving too slow for some of you. I'm not trying to tease anyone or raise expectations, I just want to give a little more of the story than a picture of a dead deer. There are tons of those threads posted each year and I always wonder what the rest of the deal is. Not just the stalk, the whole story! I got a ton of help on this hunt and I want to give something back to the forum. I probably could have written something up for Eastmans but I didn't want to shake them down for a Hydration Pack:) Writing this in a somewhat organized fashion is a little more difficult than I thought it would be so I'm doing it real time in smaller posts. I could have posted the pic in 2 minutes.

Scouting Day 1

I only had a couple of hours so I drove up to the northern portion of the unit to try and find a Forest Service road to check road conditions and explore the lower elevations. I had a difficult time finding the road as it's hard to tell the difference between private roads and public roads. They aren't really marked and people seem to put gates and intimidating signs up on public roads. I'm sure that the Western guys are used to this but it was a new experience for me. I didn't really figure that out for a few days but I got more brave as the week went on.

I couldn't find the road so I headed over to a place where I knew there was road access through phone conversations with my contacts. I got there before dark and watched some deer feeding into the sage. I made a plan to check this road out the following morning. It was really muddy so I'd be hiking it. I then checked out a nearby sporting goods store to get some last minute stuff. I noticed that a couple of the customers were wearing camo and muddy boots so I approached them and introduced myself. They had the hunt that preceeded mine and had been seeing alot of deer but hadn't connected yet. Like everyone else, they were extremely kind and gave me some places to scout with the details on how to find the exact access point. We exchanged phone numbers, kept in touch during the week, and they called me when they finally killed a deer on the second to last day. They were great guys and offered additional info and told me that they could go out with me later in my hunt if I still hadn't gotten a deer.

Later that night I called the guy who offered to take me out the first couple of days and we planned to meet the next night to shake hands and go over maps. The plan from there would be to check those and other areas out and then decide on where to hunt on the opener. The unit is pretty big, maybe 50 miles long and 20 miles wide. I mostly needed to find the exact access points and then hike around to make a quick assessment of deer sightings and sign. I probably spent more time driving around to find the parking spots than I did looking for deer but I realized that it was time consuming and I wanted to get that out of the way before the season started. This strategy would also allow me to learn the layout of the unit and understand the info that my contacts would be trying to tell me.

Scouting Day 2

I headed over to my spot from the night before, opened one of those gates that seemed to lead to private land and parked near the gate. I hiked up the muddy road for a couple of miles and started seeing plenty of deer. I didn't see any mature bucks but I knew they were around somewhere. I continued poking around until I felt that I could find my way around the area well enough to hunt it. I then hiked out in the afternoon and explored some more territory. The snow was disappearing quickly but the dirt roads were still a mess. That was fine with me because I don't mind walking.

I met my buddy after he got out of work and he was just what I expected from our phone conversations. We put the maps on the hood of his truck and he pointed out some scouting targets. I had a decent idea of where he was talking about but I'd still have to find them. We agreed to talk on the night before the opener and pick our best spot to hunt. I was beginning to think I was in the midst of destiny.


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This is awesome. Thanks for taking the time to write everything out, I know I really appreciate it, much more than a dead deer photo. I'm hoping we get to see a pic of a 220" monster at the end though!
 
Wow, I surely won't be posting a 220" deer so let's put that one to rest right now! Actually, I haven't even measured the buck so I don't know the score. I sort of had a goal of a 170ish deer but, after researching the scoring of Mule Deer antlers (guess the score threads), I realized that my scoring ability was hopeless and I'd shoot the first deer that looked really nice. As I probably already mentioned, I'd only been on one other Mule Deer hunt where I killed a decent OTC 5X5 and my daughter got a fantastic old character buck. I just haven't seen enough of these deer to be able to judge them, but I have seen enough to really like hunting them.

Scouting Days 3-5

These days were similar in that I basically drove all over the Eastern 1/2 of the unit to check out the spots that had been pointed out. I really enjoyed this process because I love drinking coffee in the truck while I mess up the interior with donut crumbs. I could get used to this kind of hunting and I might have to reconsider my preference for the old Barney's pack. I explored the areas from about 4500 to 8500 ft in elevation. The higher country had several feet of snow so I didn't spend much time there. The general drill involved either glassing from the car/roadside or parking at a trailhead and hiking a few miles up the trail. I covered a good deal of country but didn't find many deer. It was quite windy for the much of the time which may have affected my ability to find them. I'm not the greatest deer spotter so I wasn't overly concerned with the lack of sightings in these new spots and my confidence in finding my way around the unit was growing. By the evening of my final day of scouting it became evident that the area I visited on my second day had the most potential. It was also the spot that the 2 guys I met at the sporting goods store had focused on and eventually killed their deer. I called my buddy that night and we agreed to meet there the following morning to begin my hunt. Here are a few pictures from these 3 days. I don't have any deer pics because I don't have a digiscoping setup but I'll definetly be getting one of those for my next trip.

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Ya, this foreplay suspence is killing me. Let's speed things up a bit.


I'll tell you who it was . . . it was that D@MN Sasquatch!
 
Ok, I'll start the hunting story soon. But first, since you guys have been asking for some deer antlers, here is a picture from my only other Mule Deer hunt which was a 2008 Idaho OTC hunt that I took with my daughter and a couple of buddies. We went on a good old fashion horseback deal with Mike Scott out of Challis and had an amazing hunt. My daughter killed the biggest buck and we were all ecstatic for her. I'm standing next to her on the far left and I absolutely fell in love with hunting these deer on this hunt.



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Looks like your Daughter kicked some Tail!

Which State did you Hunt in 2010?

For GAWDS Sakes Guys,We Got Kids on this Site,Some of them are 65 years Old!:D

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!
:p
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-17-11 AT 10:25AM (MST)[p]One more thing regarding my 2008 hunt. The picture above was taken at Mike's place in Challis. The hunt was a late October high country hunt in a beautiful area. We saw goats and couldn't believe the scenery. Here is a pic.



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LAST EDITED ON Aug-17-11 AT 10:15PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Aug-17-11 AT 10:10?PM (MST)

Hunting Day 1

We met near the FS road about an hour before light and transferred my gear into my buddy's truck. He had a nice rig for navigating the rough roads which had gotten much less muddy due the recent clear weather. We headed up the road, parked the truck and set up on some high ground to glass around. First light revealed plenty of deer feeding through the sage and grass areas. It was quite an experience, watching all of the activity, but there were no mature bucks to be found. We moved around to a few different vantage points without finding a stalkable buck. There was one other hunter visable about 1/2 mile away so we decided move. We drove the truck another mile up the road and hit some deep drifted snow so we took off on foot. By mid morning we had found 2 mature bucks. One was a really nice 4x4 that was hiding in a little bowl filled with fallen burnt timber and brush and the other was a 165 type buck feeding in the sage. The 4x4 was a much better deer and was hanging with several does and a few other smaller bucks. We had some decent cover to made a stalk by circling to the west but we ran out of cover at a group of pines that were about 75 yards further than I wanted to shoot. I got a nice long look at this deer and knew he would look good in my backpack. We headed back down the hill to try an eastern approach which resulted in the dreaded spooking of an unseen doe. The bowl was rapidly cleared of deer. The 4x4 wasn't super spooked so we decided to let him go in hopes that he'd return to this hideout if we didn't push him. We spent the rest of the morning looking for other deer hiding spots. The spotting scope wasn't really used very much and we stayed on the move with the binocs glued to our eyes.

The afternoon was much like the late AM in that we covered ground and saw plenty of deer. Just before dark we got to a spot where we could watch the area that the 4x4 had run into and some other good looking country. The deer piled into the sage as darkness came over the hill but my buck wasn't to be found. Overall, the day was fantastic. Mature bucks were very sparse but I only had one tag and we had found a deer that we wanted to attach it to.

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Hunting Day 2

We met at the same place and time then drove up the road to find our deer. First light exposed hungry deer getting ready for winter and a few bucks on the prowl. We made our way across the hill to view the 4x4's bowl from below by 8:00AM or so. Our deer was feeding on the eastern edge of his little fold in the landscape and we hunkered down to wait for him to bed. He wouldn't settle down for us and slowly fed up and out of the bowl into an unstalkable area. Damn! He gave us the slip again but at least we knew where he felt comfortable so we were still in the game.

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon sneaking and peaking as we did on Day 1. We didn't turn up any new bucks to stalk so we started planning a way to get within range of the 4X4 the next morning. My buddy wouldn't be able to hunt with me durning the rest of the week so we took a good look at the terrain to try and figure something out for me to pull off solo. We thought I might be able to sneak within range of the bowl in the dark if the wind cooperated. I liked the plan and was ready to be paitent if necessary as I had 5 or 6 more days to hunt. I'm not exactly sure what precipitated our next move but somehow, with 3 hours of remaining daylight, we decided that we should try and approach the bowl from above to see if we could find the 4X4 right then. I was nervous about the new bold plan but when in Rome... Before long we were well above the bowl and making our way down the hill. We kept running into deer which slowed us down as we had to sort them out and avoid spooking them. We were now in the last 1/2 hour of daylight and my buddy was quickening his pace. I looked to my left and noticed a small bowl that resembled the 4X4's hangout and I stopped briefly and wondered why my buddy was still sneaking down the hill. I raised my binocs to take a quick look and saw a large buck facing me at 150 yds. I was able to stop my partner and he snuck back to me to check the buck out. Luckily, we were able to sidehill away about 25 yards to allow the hill to hide us from the buck's view. He tolerated our movement and walked away from us into the bowl. As it turns out, we had stumbled on a nice 4X5 in a hidden bowl that was about 200 yards above and to the east of the 4X4's bowl. Nice!

We quickly circled above and found a log to aim for as a shooting position. I snuck to the log and found the deer in my sights at 100 yards only to have him drift off a little ridge downhill into the bowl leaving me no shot. A one horned buck was now visible on the ridge and he took his time following the 4X5 down into the bowl. He went out of sight and 2 does then followed him. It was now or never as the light was fading and we sprinted for the little ridge that the parade of deer had just dropped off of. We stopped just short of the edge and my buddy told me that the big buck would be just below me when I popped my head over the ridge and I just had to find him and take an offhand shot if he gave it to me. I slowly stepped up to the edge and the bowl exploded with deer. I found the 4X5 right away and he took off with the single horn. They crossed a stream in the bottom of the bowl and stopped to look back. I couldn't get comfortable with the offhand shot and my buddy told me that I'd better take him right now. Just then the bucks took off again and started up the other side of the bowl. The single horned buck suddenly fell in some deep snow that had drifted in the bowl and the 4X5 stopped to see what happened to his friend. Major mistake! A strange calm came over me and I felt rock solid on the downhill quartering away offhand shot. I squeezed the trigger and he gave the leg kick, ran 50 yards and was out of sight in some brush. My buddy was sure I had killed him but I wasn't positive. We ran down the hill and found him piled up in the stream. It was an unbelievable ending to an unbelievable hunt!
 
Here is the picture of my 2010 Mule Deer Buck. I broke the LCD on my camera during the final stalk so the trophy pictures are not as good as I'd like but that's a small price to pay for the friends made, vistas enjoyed and experiences gained on this hunt.



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Great thread, loved all the details As I am currently packing poring over maps and getting ready to leave for my archery hunt. Nice buck and glad to hear how much you enjoyed the whole process. Maybe I will post a similar thread on my hunt.
 
Great hunt, great story, great pictures, well worth the wait! This country is full of great people from coast to coast. Thanks for sharing.
 
I enjoyed your 2010 mule deer hunt post. Thank you for taking the time to share it. Threads like this one are what makes moster muleys and awesome place to spend time. I do enjoy some of the light hearted threads, but the hunt stories with some thought and effort put into them are by far the best threads.

Congrats on a fine animal. Nice big rack and body. Your thread is not done. You need to complete it with your taxidermy experience an a pic of that buck on the wall.

Thanks again for sharing.
 
We took our time getting the deer set up for photos and I then realized that I'd broken the LCD on my camera when I tried to get a bead on the deer from the log. I had felt a crunching feeling in my cargo pocket at the time and I didn't think much about it. The photo session was an adventure trying to guess if the picture was framed properly and in focus. In addition, we couldn't review the pictures and make any necessary adjustments. We made the best of it and got a few decent shots.

It was a beautiful calm night and we admired the valley as we took care of the skinning and quartering process. We made 2 trips back to the truck and were headed off the hill by 9:30 or so. Our first stop was a taxidermy shop to drop off the cape and meat followed by a well deserved but late dinner.

I'll finsh this off with a heartfelt thank you to all who helped make this hunt such a tremendous experience. It was one of those deals where things just kept working out as the trip unfolded and I'm grateful for the good fortune. I just got word from the taxidermist that my deer mount will be shipped this week so I'll post a picture when it arrives.

Good luck on your 2011 hunts!
 

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