Mule deer

[Caldwellgsp]

Hey all! It's been a while. I must admit that big game hunting is not my number one like most of you. We spend most of our time training our shorthairs for field trials. That being said I like to get some away time from the dogs and spend a little time big game hunting ever year. I would like to get better at finding mule deer. We took my son out on Sunday and rode in about ten miles on our horses In a spot that I got a small deer toward the end of the season last year. We only found 3 deer. I am thinking that maybe we were too low for how early the season is? Or that they were bedded up because of the full moon? I would like to get him a deer. We running our dogs at a trial until the last week of the season but would love to get him into a deer. Not looking for spots but more behaviors or advice for something we might be doing wrong.

 

[Caldwellgsp]

Some pictures from Sunday!

 

[DeerMadness]

Yes they were bedded up..dang full moon.

 

[DeerMadness]

Yes the full moon. They bedded early and came out late.

 

[idhikker]

A lot of horse guys do more riding than glassing. That doesn't help with the hunting.

 

[Caldwellgsp]

We did about 3 to 4 hours of glassing. We basically ride in a ways then find a good glassing point and glass for about an hour or so at each spot. Maybe this is not enough glassing. Open to all advice.

 

[Outdoordan]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-16-19 AT 08:47AM (MST)[p]We killed 2, one on Friday, and my daughters on Sunday. Saw about 12 bucks. 8 were 4 points. One was a giant. Didn't see as many little bucks, but typically if I don't see antlers I move on to the next area and do not scrutinize small deer for horns. It was not stellar, but they are there. Go a little higher, mid valley. Look at the top 1/3 of the mountain. The bucks will be on the South slopes early in the AM, as soon as the sun hits them they will roll over the backside unless there are dimples in the mountain that have shade. We watched 2 bucks for a couple hours. They bedded when we finally decided to go after them. The last time we saw them on their feet was about 10:30, but that was Thursday and it was COLD out. Muleys are vampires and do not like direct sunlight much. At night, they will come out last hour or less of the day. Each climb was from 500' vertical to over 2400' vertical (I didn't make it in time on the 2400).

 

[DownThePipe]

We bedded a buck on Saturday at 10a. He was on a shady west facing slope on the edges of the pine and aspen. All the does and cow elk got up around 5:30p. He didn't get up until 7:15p when the shade hit again (10 minutes before shooting light was gone). We saw about 5 other bucks in 3 days of hunting but the full moon, sunny days, and loads of hunters made life difficult. Hoping for some snow!

 

[BPKHunter]

We did see a drop in both deer numbers and 4pt or better bucks, relative to the last few years in our area. Feel we are seeing the effect of the big winter of 16/17 in our 4pt and better bucks. Still saw plenty of deer and a fair amount of bucks. Cold was good, but dry conditions and then the warm up kept the opening week kill down.

 

[DeerMadness]

Went yesterday- me and buddy saw zero deer. I found a big 6x6 Elk but he will probably move before my hunt starts in 2 weeks.

 

[Caldwellgsp]

Well went out yesterday and covered a lot of country hitting two new spots. I ended up seeing 46 does. Did not see any bucks. I guess they haven't come down yet. I have a couple more days. I might try a bit higher up.

 

[6packup]

Winter of 2016 was very hard on Mule deer.
Also some forget last Feburary, it snowed like an entire winter does in only a month, that was very hard on the deer again. I have hunted two units in Idaho since 1997, when I moved here from Wyoming. Units 43 and 35. And I have not seen deer numbers this low, It was poor hunting arround 2009-2010 but nothing compared to today.

 

[BPKHunter]

Also remember just how much winter ground between Boise and Mt Home was charred 5 years ago. Lack of bitter brush and cover may be having a slow downward affect, especially in harder winters. Good news is that it is recovering, but it will be another 10-20 years to be near what it was, particularly cover wise.

 

[6packup]

Fish and game has got to limit the Mule deer doe hunts, or the herds will never stand a chance. The youth tag opportunity for does needs to go back to the first 2 years only. The way it used to be, there is no reason for 8 years. My son took a doe his first year hunting at age 12, he wanted his first deer to be a buck, But it did not work out for him so he took a doe on the last day he could hunt that year, he passed on several earlier on. The second year he did take a buck. 2 years is enough time.
I am seeing way to many kids being road hunted, shooting at any deer they see. This is not hunting at all. I have seen some unit that have had the controlled doe hunt cut, but not by much. I would really like to see most units go to a Forked horn or better. With zero doe tags except for youths the first 2 years.
And I bet Fish and Game would like to do this but, we all know they are self funded and need the MONEY.
Well if they keep managing money,and not game, they will soon have to change there name to just Idaho Fish And Birds. No game left.

 

[Mallards_Only]

>Fish and game has got to
>limit the Mule deer doe
>hunts, or the herds will
>never stand a chance. The
>youth tag opportunity for does
>needs to go back to
>the first 2 years only.
>The way it used to
>be, there is no reason
>for 8 years. My son
>took a doe his first
>year hunting at age 12,
>he wanted his first deer
>to be a buck, But
>it did not work out
>for him so he took
>a doe on the last
>day he could hunt that
>year, he passed on several
>earlier on. The second year
>he did take a buck.
>2 years is enough time.
>
>I am seeing way to many
>kids being road hunted, shooting
>at any deer they see.
>This is not hunting at
>all. I have seen some
>unit that have had the
>controlled doe hunt cut, but
>not by much. I would
>really like to see most
>units go to a Forked
>horn or better. With zero
>doe tags except for youths
>the first 2 years.
>And I bet Fish and Game
>would like to do this
>but, we all know they
>are self funded and need
>the MONEY.
>Well if they keep managing money,and
>not game, they will soon
>have to change there name
>to just Idaho Fish And
>Birds. No game left.

Could not agree more. The number of does being taken by youth is not doing the population any favors. If the population is healthy and you can withstand several does being culled, great. But based on what I've seen, that is not the case now. I seriously doubt that a family of kids shooting a bunch of does recruits those kids into hunters for life. Call me sexist but this weekend I saw guys toting their young girls around to shoot does. You really think those girls are gonna turn into life-long hunters? Statistically, NO. It's just an excuse for dad to go out and get some blood on his hands and fill his freezer. In the same vein, they need to put limits on the buck tags for a while as well. Either limit the numbers, shorten the season, or place limits on branch antlers. None of us want to see it but at the same time, everybody bitches about it not being what it used to be. Mother nature can be cruel. But if you want it to return to what it once was, you have to make some sacrifices.

 

[BPKHunter]

I personally watched 4 different occasions in the last 2 years where a group of multiple dads and youth hunters all shot at does. I never got it on video or I would have called it in. So frustrating to see the obvious poaching and teaching youth all the wrong things.

I don't disagree that if our wintering ground has the carrying capacity we should reduce or eliminate doe hunting. I am concerned our carrying capacity is being over-estimated. I'm no biologist, but it does seem our numbers are down from last year overall, but then again, maybe the deer just didn't come down as fast. Definitely saw less bucks overall this year than last. Last year we saw a lot of does and mostly 1.5yr old bucks the last week.

 

[andrew12gauge]

If we are talking unit 39 specifically they may as well keep shooting more does because there are no bucks left to breed them. Or they could limit buck hunting in 39 and try to balance the population that way but I know that is a no-go with IDFG because I've asked the biologist in the past and he said unit 39 will always be an opportunity hunt and they have no intention of managing for a quality opportunity

 

[Dman]

Sorry, I know... differnt place different time... but I'm one of those dads that has taken my daughter out hunting and killed does. I sure as heck DO hope it helps make her into a life long hunter. I understand some guys don't do things the right way, but some of us do. And IFF the deer herd can sustain it, I really do believe there is great benefit to a youth hunt.
FYI... i'm hunting up north and we are killing whitetails on a general tag that allows us to kill a buck or a doe. So, no I'm not hunting a struggling deer herd like your muleys to the south. I'm in an area where extra whitetail tags are handed out like candy on Halloween. Our youth turkey hunt up here is a blast as well.
But i do agree, if your herd population is not what it should be, you just can't keep killing the does.

 

[critterstalker]

I spent the 26-29 of Oct in 39. I saw 30-40 deer a day and 3-4 bucks every day. No mature bucks but I wasn't in an area I expected to see them either. Watched people every day ride their 4 wheelers right by deer.

 

[Mallards_Only]

>I personally watched 4 different occasions
>in the last 2 years
>where a group of multiple
>dads and youth hunters all
>shot at does. I
>never got it on video
>or I would have called
>it in. So frustrating
>to see the obvious poaching
>and teaching youth all the
>wrong things.
>
>I don't disagree that if our
>wintering ground has the carrying
>capacity we should reduce or
>eliminate doe hunting. I
>am concerned our carrying capacity
>is being over-estimated. I'm
>no biologist, but it does
>seem our numbers are down
>from last year overall, but
>then again, maybe the deer
>just didn't come down as
>fast. Definitely saw less
>bucks overall this year than
>last. Last year we
>saw a lot of does
>and mostly 1.5yr old bucks
>the last week.
This is exactly what kind of "recruitment" is being taught by some of these guys. The lesson is, "let's kill anything at any cost." No value on the resource, no ethics in the hunt--just gimme the gun honey, we need some meat. It's a joke. I often wonder how many of these daughters/sons would choose to be out there if given the choice. I'm all for encouraging youth to take part in the hunting heritage but the youth hunts are being taken advantage of for the wrong reasons and by the wrong type of hunters.