Hunting Fun

Have you dreamed for years of backpack hunting mule deer miles from the nearest road? It has been said that it’s not the sheep hunt that is the greatest part of the adventure, it’s where bighorn sheep live. The same goes for true wilderness mule deer hunts. Mule deer thrive in some of the most beautiful, uninhabited areas in the world. Just seeing these majestic creatures and the country they live in is worth the effort to get to them. With that said, here is some advice to make your first backcountry mule deer hunt a success.

First and foremost, get in shape! I’m not talking about walking to your mailbox once a day or playing a game of basketball every weekend. To truly enjoy your mule deer hunt, you want to be in the best shape of your life. I understand, depending on your age, that may not be possible, so if that’s the case, shoot for the best shape you’ve been in for the last five years. The big thing here is to do all you can. My workout is jogging three to four times a week. I start out walking and jogging about three months before the trip and by the time trip arrives, my goal is to be able to jog for an hour straight. I find this easier than trying to give distances. If you can maintain a jogging pace for an hour, you should be capable of climbing the mountains required for backcountry mule deer hunting. I also jump rope, bike, hike, and walk with my loaded pack (around 50 lbs) in between. All of these are good to build the muscles you’ll need on your hunt.

Second, shoot your rifle. If you pay the money, get in shape, but don’t practice with your rifle, you aren’t ready to go mule deer hunting. The best case would be to shoot the rifle once a week at ranges out to 300 yards. You need to know where your rifle will shoot at the different ranges. Start out at the range at 100 yards with a steady mechanical rest. Test different types of ammunition until you find what your gun likes and stick with it. I use Winchester 130 grain Ballistic Silvertips in 270, but each rifle shoots differently and you need to find the load the works. Once you know where your rifle shoots on the bench, try using shooting sticks, prone position, over your pack and other positions you will encounter in the field. You won’t have a bench in your hunt and even if you’re a great bench shooter, that doesn’t make you a great shoot in a hunting situation. You will also want to study up on angles versus distances. Most shots at mule deer are up or downhill and hunters have a tendency to shoot over deer. Get out and practice some shots downhill and uphill. You’ll be amazed at the difference a steep angle makes. I also recommend you buy a laser rangefinder and use it at your practice sessions. It is also helpful to learn to judge mule deer in the field. The hunting video line by Mossback Outfitters titled Mulies Gone Wild is an excellent tool for judging big bucks. They give you the score after you have seen footage of the bucks on the hoof.

Third, buy the best gear you can afford. There are some great products on the market today. Look for the lightest sturdiest material for your backpacking and clothing items. I will not go into each item, but a few I recommend are: Lowa Sheephunter boots, an internal pack – I use a North Face pack, but there are lots on the market, wool socks – I use Smartwool, and light packable rain gear – I use Frogg Toggs. If you are hunting with an outfitter, ask him for a list to bring and follow it. Buy the best optics you can afford! I personally use Brunton Epochs in 10.5×43 because of their magnification and weight, but there are lots of quality optics on the market. I’ll say it again, get the best you can afford.

Lastly, watch some great Hunting Videos on the topic. These will get your blood pumping and get you excited to make your trip of a lifetime. They will help motivate you to get in shape and find that deer of a lifetime.

By: David Dukat

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Arizona mule deer hunting is a very popular sport in the state, and has been for quite some time. Very simply, Arizona offers a lot more wildlife than most people think; it is not simply all desert. There are many deer that live and the state, and therefore the hunting there is very abundant.

For many people, hunting for mule deer is all about the scenery that they are hunting and, not so much the hunting itself. This is because the mule deer generally live in some of the most beautiful places in America.

In fact, sometimes just being out in the nature that they live in is enough, even if you don’t catch any deer and your trip. Believe it or not, Arizona offers a lot of great scenery in addition to the Grand Canyon, and when you hunt for mule deer, you will find this out.

Often times, being out there is simply a great way to unwind and relax after a long work week, and get rejuvenated. Of course, if you are interested in catching some mule deer during your Arizona hunting excursion, hopefully these tips will help you to achieve success.

Obviously, the most important part about hunting for mule deer is to be in shape. Very simply, this is even more important with mule deer than it is with most other kinds, because of some of the remote locations that they live in.

With other deer, you can often times simply go into your backyard and hunt, assuming you live in a wooded area. This usually is not the case with mule deer. Because they live so far out, you’ll have to do a lot of walking, and therefore be in very good shape.

Also, practice shooting as much as possible, so that you can simulate a real-life Arizona mule deer hunting shooting experience. For this, go down to the driving range and practice at ranges of about 300 yards.

Start out of 100 yards, and work your way out. This is similar to golf in that when you start practicing golf, you would start with your pitching wedge, and work your way up with to your driver. Hunting is really very similar. This is probably the typical range you will be shooting the Arizona mule deer in real life, so you want to get as good at this range as possible.

Generally speaking, mule deer like to stay into the fields and valleys, but also sometimes wander up on to the bridges to do their feeding. Therefore, you want to be sure you know where they plan and feeding before you go on.

As I’ve often advocated, without knowing this, how can you ever be a successful as you can otherwise be? No matter how good a hunter you might be, if there are no animals to hunt, you will never really catch anything.

Therefore, knowing the area you plan on hunting and, and knowing where the deer will be migrating to, is the most important part of your hunting trip. Everything else is secondary.

Another great Arizona mule deer hunting tip is that, if you are shooting for a buck, when you see a group of does there will generally be a buck either behind them or with them. Therefore, you can generally count on this when you’re hunting for mule deer, and you can go after some of the biggest here you can find.

Also, if there is a group of does and there is no buck, don’t simply give up and going to the next location; wait and be prepared. Often times, the buck takes up the rear of the group, so you need to be prepared even if it doesn’t show up immediately.

Of course, if you do plan on taking part in stalk hunting, this is very difficult with mule deer, but can still be done. For this, make sure that you know exactly where you are going to go as you follow the deer; be sure you have the plan is to which brush, rocks, you cannot hide behind.

This is sometimes necessary if the original location you are in does not have the best chance to catch the deer. Ideally you will have this stalk route plan out beforehand, in case your original location doesn’t work out as planned. Hopefully these Arizona mule deer hunting tips will enable you to catch as many deer as possible in the upcoming season.

By: Jerry Jackson

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bigben205786 asked:

Mule deer hunting in Idaho with Bear paw Outfitters. Dave and tom take nice bucks.Dave takes a 2×2 and tom takes a 5×4.Mike also takes a 3×3(not shown).Vist www.bearpawoutfitters.com To hunt with bear paw outfitters.

CottonwoodHuntClub asked:

Colorado Elk at Private Hunting Ranch at Cottonwood Hunt Club located at Crawford Colorado. Private Colorado Hunt Club offers pheasant hunting, upland bird hunting, mule deer hunting, elk hunting and big game hunting.