Hi IR. Here is what I do every year when I go Mulie hunting. You may try it or tell me I am full of Sh$#%, but just remember I have taken many large Mulies with the bow a few of which are pope and young class.

I spend at least 1 to 2 days doing nothing but scouting for the largest 2 or 3 deer in the area. I do this by walking or preferrably driving. A good spotting scope is useful.

The morning I start hunting, I move into their area and find a vantage point about 1/2 mile away from the deer so that I may watch them to see where they bed. Where I hunt, I have found if it is hot out, the deer will stay right there the entire day and will only begin moving at sunset. I then have 2 choices. I either wait until evening and setup on a trail I may have seen them use earlier in my scouting or I will immediately do a spot and stalk. Spot and stalk is my favorite but I have been equally successful with both methods.

When doing a spot and stalk I watch them bed and then I pick a route taking into consideration all the conditions such as wind, quietest route, best cover, etc. The last 50 yards are the toughest and most fun. I take off my shoes and put on some extra socks. I then do a 3 point contact stalk by sitting on my rump and using my 2 legs and one arm, I slowly approach the spot I have picked. My other arm is hanging onto my bow. I will also have an arrow knocked to avoid any unnecessary movement and noice later on. I call this the snail crawl, because a snail would actually get there faster than I move. That 50 yards usually takes me well over an hour. Once I am within 15 yards, I sit and wait for the deer to stand. I do not try and intice him to stand as in the past I have found that some deer run off 50 or 100 yards first and then look back to see what was calling to them.

I usually find the deer will get up to stretch or move slightly every couple hours. Quite often I will see the antlers which is a great indicator for me. When the antlers are not moving, the deer is likely snoozing. Before he gets up, he will look around for a couple minutes so when you see his antlers move, get ready to draw back. As soon as the deer begins to stand is when I draw back. I have found that quite often as they are standing if they are facing away from you, they will most likely spot some movement and turn broadside to you to see what it is, resulting in a better shot for you. Almost always they will not run if you draw as they are getting up. I do not know why this is but I think that they may think you are simply another deer getting up, or maybe they are confused as to what to do or maybe they are just groggy still from thier snooze. This technique has proven quite successful for me in the past.

One last thing you should know if you are a bowhunter. Mule deer seldom jump my string. They usually do not move at all until the arrow strikes them. Therefore, as a general rule, I will typically shoot for the top of the heart. That way if they jump the string, I will still double lung them.

Hope this helps and sorry for being so long winded.

ElkHnter

Huntertj,

I' m originally from Babbitt and live west of Chaska in a little town called Cologne. I hunt up near Babbitt and also over near Hinckley. Email me at [email protected] and we can chat...