Hunting mule deer in the rut

[hjbuys]

My 10 year old daughter drew a 16E deer tag for the youth season which starts on Thanksgiving day in November and goes through the second weekend of December (not continuously). I imagine that the deer will be in rut around this time frame. I have never hunted mule deer in rut. For whitetail in Iowa we used rattling, grunts, and attractants (e.g. doe in estrus urine) and called them in to a tree stand. What works the best for muleys? Thanks for the advice.

 

[muleybeast]

I am going to say that unfortunately, most New Mexico Mule Deer actually rut during late December and into January. This is why most Bowhunters put in for the January Tag, it is awesome !!! We hunt mostly down South of Interstate 40, so I am not sure if the Muleys Rut earlier up in Northern New Mexico. Down south, you might be OK, cuz they might start being more active, kind of a pre-rut. Best of luck. Gary

 

[NMdoghunter]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-19-11 AT 07:35PM (MST)[p]Unless we get some extreme cold/moisture, I don't think they'll be hot till 'round the New Year, therefore, I don't see that rattling and calling will be extremely productive. However, they might be starting to gather a few doe's late in that hunt. I would recommend focusing on water, feed, and lots of glass.

 

[hjbuys]

I appreciate the help. I didn't realize they started rutting so late. Perhaps we'll be fortunate enough to have them starting to be more active at least. Thanks again.

 

[sportsman01]

hjbuys,

Yeah, unfortunately as the other gents have mentioned, those deer won't be anywhere close to rutting yet...unless it's an extremely cold winter. I've hunted the gila a bunch...and I don't usually see bucks tailing does until at least mid to late december. Jan 1 is usually right smack in the middle of the rut!
Good luck on the hunt though and post pics. I hope your daughter knocks down a good one!