J
Jeephunter
Guest
LAST EDITED ON Nov-05-10 AT 10:03PM (MST)[p]My family hunting party of three just finished our sixth consecutive hunt, over about 12 years, with no harvest. All of us are very frustrated. We believe we have all the pieces together for a successful hunt. For example, we all have the ability to shoot confidently out to 400 yards, and have good field skills and equipment. We routinely see all kinds of wildlife while sitting or stalking; elk, bears, lion, Cues deer, muley does, coyotes ect, just no muley bucks. I had a Cues buck walk up to my within 30 yards of me a few days ago. We are by no means novice hunters, just lousy Mule Deer hunters. To be clear, its not just that we are not getting a confident stable site picture of a nice sized buck to pull the trigger, where not seeing any bucks at all.
We are not getting into the game. I think the problem is a lack of proper stalking and scouting, but none of us have much of an idea where to start with that--or at least what we have tried has not worked. We move around the unit, or hike in, glassing for bucks in cover, but never find them. We started years ago in high country (8000 ft) but have moved lower (4500-6000 ft) to hunt into country we can see the game in, but that has not helped. Moreover, we are in Arizona where the deer enjoy year round ranges so are driven to move by something other than snow. The literature I have found on Muley hunting seems to be structured around hunting the rockies.
What I am looking for is some kind of pattern, method, or set of rules that I can follow that, with sufficient time and effort, I can reasonably expect to locate where Mule Deer bucks are bedding/living in Arizona high country or or even the desert. In short, what kind of places should I look for them and how should I look for them. Where not to waste our time, and what has the best chance. I could care less about trophies--any buck will at least be a step forward.
Most hunters around us seem to road hunt, covering thousands of acres in the morning and evening in slow moving ATVs or 4wd golf carts on forest roads. Once they spot a deer from the road, I assume the procedure is to step out, load your rifle and shoot. This is not for us. While not filling a tag is depressing, most of the enjoyment we get from our hunts is the time out in the field--that's most of the point and why we keep doing this after so many failed hunts.
Apologies for the long post, but can someone recommend a book or a other guide that is chocked full of (Arizona) muley wisdom? I am willing to put the work in for next year, but I need to make sure I am at least following the right principles.
Thanks in advance.
David
We are not getting into the game. I think the problem is a lack of proper stalking and scouting, but none of us have much of an idea where to start with that--or at least what we have tried has not worked. We move around the unit, or hike in, glassing for bucks in cover, but never find them. We started years ago in high country (8000 ft) but have moved lower (4500-6000 ft) to hunt into country we can see the game in, but that has not helped. Moreover, we are in Arizona where the deer enjoy year round ranges so are driven to move by something other than snow. The literature I have found on Muley hunting seems to be structured around hunting the rockies.
What I am looking for is some kind of pattern, method, or set of rules that I can follow that, with sufficient time and effort, I can reasonably expect to locate where Mule Deer bucks are bedding/living in Arizona high country or or even the desert. In short, what kind of places should I look for them and how should I look for them. Where not to waste our time, and what has the best chance. I could care less about trophies--any buck will at least be a step forward.
Most hunters around us seem to road hunt, covering thousands of acres in the morning and evening in slow moving ATVs or 4wd golf carts on forest roads. Once they spot a deer from the road, I assume the procedure is to step out, load your rifle and shoot. This is not for us. While not filling a tag is depressing, most of the enjoyment we get from our hunts is the time out in the field--that's most of the point and why we keep doing this after so many failed hunts.
Apologies for the long post, but can someone recommend a book or a other guide that is chocked full of (Arizona) muley wisdom? I am willing to put the work in for next year, but I need to make sure I am at least following the right principles.
Thanks in advance.
David