Mule Deer Bowhunting: Tactics to Overcome One of Hunting's Biggest Challenges

Hunting mule deer with a bow is something that many hunters dream of, but rarely becomes a reality. The mule deer inhabits a vast area of the western half of North America characterized by arid deserts, rugged mountains, forests, and grasslands. Hunting a mature mule deer with a bow is one of the most difficult things a hunter can do.

What is mule deer bowhunting?

Hunting mule deer with a bow can mean different things to different people. Anyone who has spent much time in mule deer country can tell you how silly a young mule deer can be. It wouldn’t be much of a challenge to drive down the road until you see a herd of immature mule deer, get out of the vehicle and pull off the road, and shoot an arrow at a 1 or 2 year old mule deer. These deer don’t know any better and for someone who is truly passionate about hunting mule deer with a bow, this would not be considered an achievement.

For the serious bow mule deer hunter, a mature mule deer is the stuff dreams are made of. A mature mule deer is on a different playground than a young mule deer. Although a mule deer can breed successfully at 3 years of age, serious mule deer hunters generally refer to a mature mule deer as 4 years or older. This is the age when you start to see their potential for antler growth and their ability to evade hunters. While antler size will continue to increase for at least its sixth year, depending on nutrition, most hunters (regardless of weapon) will agree that a four-year-old deer is a marksman and has developed the skills to stay alive even with rifle hunters everywhere. the place.

Unfortunately, not many mule deer live past three years due to the fact that they are shot when they are young and dumb. In general hunting areas where there is no limit to the number of hunters, especially rifle hunters, for a mule deer to reach maturity is to overcome unrealistic odds. If one is able to get through a few years of hunting seasons then they have a sixth sense to beat hunters and taking one with a bow is one of the most difficult challenges a hunter can experience. In the remainder of this article, we will discuss tactics that can make a hunter consistent in bowhunting mule deer.

Methods for bowhunting mule deer

There are several methods that can be used to hunt a mature mule deer. The most common are Spot and Stalk and Tree Stand or Ground Blinds.

tree stand and floor shutters

One of the (dare I say) easiest methods of catching a large mule deer with archery equipment is to use a tree base or blind on the ground. While you’re sitting there waiting for a dollar it may not take a lot of energy, it does take a lot of patience. Patience is the easy part. The real job is finding a good spot for a mature mule deer to walk during the day. This requires a lot of work with preseason scouting, trail cameras, and buck patterns so you have a good idea of where they’ll be when the season rolls around. It is much more difficult than it seems and it takes a long time to be consistent year after year.

Of course, you can simply place your tree stand or blind on the ground at any water hole, feed source, or other high deer traffic area and have success with a mature mule deer, but this will take a lot of luck and possibly patience. Once you find a good area that produces big bucks, it’s reasonable to assume there will be more in the next few years, so this type of hunting becomes easier once you’ve established a good area.

Point and Stem:

Although it requires a little more energy than hunting in a tree or blind spot, stalking and stalking bowhunting is usually a faster way to hunt mule deer. The objective is to spot a large, mature mule deer and then stalk it within bow range without being spotted.

The first thing to remember when stalking and stalking mule deer is to be patient. If conditions are not right, wait for them to improve. This could mean waiting for the deer to lie down in a better place where it can get closer, or waiting for the wind to pick up or change direction to not only draw your scent away from the deer, but also cover it. your noise once you get close.

Preseason:

Most bow mule deer hunters who consistently take large mule deer start their season long before the bucks finish growing their antlers. It is important to have a good idea of what the area has for the large males so that you can develop a minimum size and order to focus on first.

Of course, size is not the only factor in determining whether or not a deer is a shooter. An experienced hunter can often judge a deer’s age from signs on the body and configuration of the antlers. In my opinion, a 6 year old male with low scoring horns is more of a trophy than a 4 year old male with great future potential.

For hunt on the prowl and on the prowl, it’s important to have multiple shooters selected and in known general locations before the season starts. This is because several stems are usually needed before one is successful. After several years of stalking and stalking bowhunting, I found that the average success rate for stalkers is 1/6 or so. Of course, it can happen on the first try or it can take 15 times. An inexperienced hunter may go several seasons without a successful population of mature mule deer.

For be hunting (tree or blind) It is not as important to have multiple shooter bucks sighted as only one mature mule deer is needed in the area and can be hunted all season long. Of course, your odds will increase greatly if you can identify multiple shooters in an area. One thing you don’t want to do in the preseason is disturb an area too much. You will run the risk of scaring off the males before you have a chance to start hunting them.

archery practice: One thing that cannot be overlooked is shooting your bow. No matter how good a booth location you have or if you’re the stealthiest person on the planet, if you can’t close the deal when it matters, then you’re better off staying home. Of course, everyone who has hunted long enough has missed or made a bad shot, but shooting all year long can increase your chances of being able to do it when you need to. One good thing you can do is take part in 3D competitions where you will have the opportunity to shoot life-size deer targets at different positions, angles and ranges.

During the season:

Once the season has started, you will obviously be targeting the mule deer that you like the most. One thing to keep in mind is that with bowhunting mule deer you may not always be able to get the number one buck on your list. Sometimes all you get is one shot, and if it doesn’t happen the first time, you may never see that dollar the rest of the season. That’s why it’s important that you know where other shooters hang out.

Stand Bow Hunting Mua Deer:

If you are sitting in a grandstand, you have to be patient. Just because opening day didn’t produce much doesn’t mean big money won’t show up the next day right where you want it to. I have an impatient friend who moved his tree stand after opening day because the deer took a different route. He then obtained camera footage of the male’s trail the next day from the tree his lay was in just 12 hours earlier while he was sitting in a tree a few hundred meters away. I should have put up with it!

Spot and Stalk BowMule Deer Hunting

You should have a good idea of where good money will be on opening morning if you did a lot of preseason scouting. It is best to be in a position to see it from afar when the first ray of light begins to show. Once you’ve found your desired target, you’ll want to assess the situation and determine if conditions are right to put up a stalk immediately or to watch and wait until conditions have improved. This is where only experience and common sense can help you, as every point and stem situation is different. Knowing when to continue and when not to, as well as how to go about it, will vary greatly depending on how things fall into place.

The same factors that are responsible for most mule deer failing to reach maturity are the same factors that make them so difficult to hit with a bow. Many of the areas they inhabit lack cover to escape from rifle bullets that can fire over 500 yards. This very fact is why it is difficult to get within bow range of a mature mule deer that has managed to slip away from rifle hunters. There just isn’t much cover for a bowhunter to hide behind to get a good shot. In this case, he must use the lay of the ground to get close enough for an archery shot.

Mule deer bow hunting equipment:

Hunting mule deer with a bow can be made easier with the right equipment. In fact, some equipment is needed to give bowhunters an advantage. Below is a list of archery equipment that you will want to consider purchasing before you begin your mule deer bowhunt. Just remember you get what you pay for, so go for the best you can afford, then upgrade what you can afford.

rangefinder: Knowing the exact distance to your target is a huge benefit, especially when shooting long ranges or hunting with a bow. There are certain specs you’ll want in a rangefinder, so be sure to check out the link below to make sure you get the right one.

Binoculars: Stalking and stalking deer hunting requires you to find the deer. It’s amazing how many more deer you can find with the use of binoculars that you might not otherwise see. They’re also essential in stalking, as you need to find the deer before it finds you, which means using your binoculars to pick out the tip of a antler or the wag of a tail.

ground telescope: Both are used to spot deer and then be able to judge them to make sure they are worthy of a stalk. Spotting scopes are also important for finding other deer and anything else that might endanger your stem that is in your intended path. It’s very easy to get caught by an animal you didn’t know existed. The spyglass is a must for Spot and Stalk Hunting.

Boots: When stalking deer, it is important to be as quiet as possible. I’ve taken off my boots and put on my sock successfully before, but with cacti and thistles prevalent where I hunt, this is simply not feasible. Therefore, I wear lightweight boots made for stalking to close the final distance within bow range. They have saved my feet and helped me to be much more stealthy.

Camouflage: With deer vision it is not so important to be the same color as the background, but rather to break up your silhouette. Also, in typical spot and stem habitat, foliage may be dry and yellow on grasses, or green on trees and shrubs. Therefore, it is important to have a camouflage pattern that is very versatile.