What is your stalking success rate?

WestNDMuleys · Oct 18, 2016

LAST EDITED ON Oct-18-16 AT 09:55AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Oct-18-16 AT 09:54?AM (MST)

Just out of curiosity, what is your success rate on harvesting a mule deer while stalking with a bow? I haven't done any research into it but I expect a very skilled hunter to be about 1 in 4? This is assuming the deer is at least a 3 and a half year old deer. Going off memory I believe I have made about 7 stalks after mule deer with one of them being a success.

elks96 · Oct 18, 2016

>LAST EDITED ON Oct-18-16
>AT 09:55?AM (MST)
>
>LAST EDITED ON Oct-18-16
>AT 09:54?AM (MST)
>
>Just out of curiosity, what is
>your success rate on harvesting
>a mule deer while stalking
>with a bow? I haven't
>done any research into it
>but I expect a very
>skilled hunter to be about
>1 in 4? This is
>assuming the deer is at
>least a 3 and a
>half year old deer. Going
>off memory I believe I
>have made about 7 stalks
>after mule deer with one
>of them being a success.
>

HAHA. On big mature bucks I could only dream of 1 in 4. There is so much that comes into play it is almost an impossible task. I have had much better success with spot and stalk archery antelope than deer.

My buddy and I have well over 40 stalks and only 1 archery buck. My wife alone went on 17 different stalks this year and never killed a buck.

Wind Noise, cover, time, etc. all have to play out. I find it much easier to ambush than to stalk a bedded mature buck.

On the flip side getting into shooting range on a bedded buck is not overly hard, but getting an actual shot off is pretty hard.

WestNDMuleys · Oct 18, 2016

Shows my inexperience no doubt. Traditionally a whitetail hunter out of the Midwest. I've spent a lot of time scouting and glassing for deer (compared to my actual hunting time) but have not had the pleasure of hunting the grey ghost for a lot of years.

live4muleys · Oct 18, 2016

I would love to have stock result in 1 in 4 success. I would actually have a lot of mule deer success with the bow in that case. I am pushing about 1 in 20 or so, but maybe I just suck at stalking. I agree with above. A lot of the archery here is done during the rut also so there are many different eyes and noses on you. Bucks play a little dumber but does say head for the hills. Mature muleys have been to smart for me a lot of times. Hopefully I can move that ratio down some this year.

Zeke · Oct 18, 2016

westND,

I don't even want to think about it!

I've chased them more with a bow than any other means so I'm really good at it after 5 decades! NOT!!!

You're bringing up all sorts of repressed memories. Peace out, I'm off to therapy now thanks to you!

Zeke

elks96 · Oct 18, 2016

OH. I will point out that my very first stalk was on a very old mature buck that was past his prime. I managed to kill that buck, but since then I am 0 for some unreal number.

I would think that rut hunts would be easier just because there is so much more activity and even if you bump a doe, they do not go far and the buck is still focused on one thing.

For most of us in the west we are stuck with early season archery tags. For me the biggest factor is always noise. Late summer early fall everything is dried out and dying. As a result even the ground is hard and crunchy.

Most of my stalks are blown by noise even with boots off and socks on.

My wife on her very first stalk this year was 32 yards from a 190 4x4 and was busted drawing. talk about heart ache.

4corners_sportsman · Oct 18, 2016

I have put on 5 stalks and made one kill with a bow so 20 percent chance of harvest.

live4muleys · Oct 18, 2016

The problem with the rut hunts is also the very loud crunch snow that comes along with it.

Also when I say 1 in 20 successful stalks it does not mean I killed. I am yet to kill with the bow, but have had two successful stalks that have resulted in missed shots or opportunities. Long story but once trigger slipped off as I was drawing back and punch myself in the face and other just didn't work out, but the stalk was successful to get me there.

Hawkeye · Oct 18, 2016

I have a piss poor success rate and I added to my failures last weekend. But I have one heck of a time along the way.

-Hawkeye-

JACO · Oct 18, 2016

On a spike or 2 point it is probably close to 1 in 4... if you are very patient and skilled. On a mature buck, it is much more difficult. I've had dozens of stalks blown by one thing or another, no matter how much effort and patience I've put into it. I haven't stuck a mature buck with an arrow yet. Tons of close calls, but I haven't put it all together yet. It sure is fun trying though

WestNDMuleys · Oct 18, 2016

LAST EDITED ON Oct-18-16 AT 06:33PM (MST)[p]Interesting stuff! If I had really thought about it I would have said that the success rate is much worse than 1 in 4. That being said the real success is just being out there and living it. That's all that matters.

dillon · Oct 18, 2016

I would say less than 10%.

soupcreek · Oct 18, 2016

My first attempt was decades ago when I was 13. I had a recurve and no clue what I was doing. While walking into an area to hunt elk we spotted a little forked horn muley about 200 yards in front of us browsing in the scattered timber. My dad told me to stalk up and get him. I went as slowly and carefully as I could, only moving when his head was down. I got to about ten yards and thought, "Well, if I could just get to that next tree I know I can make the shot." I didn't make it to the next tree. The buck took off just like they all do, but I have been hooked on the spot and stalk ever since. The adrenaline rush is too much!
I have since nearly perfected the spot and stalk. I've even had some good experience with the spot and stalk and shot. The problem is I've never quite figured out the spot and stalk and shoot and kill. I'm still hoping I'll figure it out someday, but until then I'm still loving trying to figure it out.
I once crawled 200 yards on my belly though 10 inches of fresh snow only to figure out that I had no way to sit up and pull my bow back before the group of 5 whitetails (that I was now within range of) took off at a million miles per hour. Still lots of fun, though.

-Soup

BOHNTR · Oct 19, 2016

Nowadays.....about one out four stalks are generally successful.

BOHNTR )))---------->

dhoshauer · Oct 20, 2016

Stalking success is a loaded question! In my younger days ,yes, my success was much lower. But failure on those stalks taught me that its not the number of stalks that count, but rather stalking a deer when you have as much in your favor as possible( quality stalks). It is far better to sit on a buck for a few days to a week waiting for conditions that favor a good stalk. Most mature bucks wont tolerate getting bumped around to many times. And remember, there aren't mature bucks in every basin, so you don't want to have the task of finding another buck, it might take a few days. Patience is key. Most archery hunts take place early in the season when deer aren't moving around a lot. so you can be very patient, which is hard. On the other hand a Rut hunt you don't have time to wait around because the buck could be gone the next day.

I use to think that if the stalk was 50/50 I would take off and chance it, resulting in more stalks and more blown stalks ( lower success rate). Now I wait until the odds look like 75/25 which equals less stalks, but I higher success rate.

Anyway you look at it at, the end of the Day the bucks always seem to have more wins then losses!

SDBugler · Oct 20, 2016

It is hard for me to determine success rate on stalks but the rates vary significantly based on the area/terrain that I am hunting. Some areas are better suited to bowhunting based on terrain, cover, and most importantly a consistent wind. Where we mostly hunt I would guess that 75% of failed stalks are due to a shifting wind, which is out of the hunters control.
Some areas I would guess my success rate to be around 20-30%. The area that we usually hunt it is probably around 10%.
I'm hoping that one of my sons or I have a 100% rate this weekend. We found this buck a couple weeks ago - I'm guessing 32" wide and 200" gross. This is a bad pic and a bad angle but he is a buck of a lifetime.

WiscoKid · Oct 26, 2016

Awesome buck Brian, I'm assuming that deer does not live in Brandon, South Dakota

WiscoKid · Oct 26, 2016

I would definitely say it is historically in the 10% range, but that all depends on the terrain. If you can get above them in some rocky open terrain its not hard to get close to them, they just have to cooperate when they stand up!