I posted this over on Rokslide but thought there might be some interest here from guys who mule deer hunt or have been thinking of going on a mule deer hunt.
Ok guys so I've been bowhunting for 20+ years and for some reason i have never hunted Mule Deer?? Im not sure why or how that has happened but its about to change. I thought it would be fun to do a live thread keeping up with my preparation and things i do both wrong and right with this hunt. I also have a podcast called hook and arrow that I will post links to as well as youtube videos because i plan to film a ton both before and during the hunt.
This is the moose I killed last year. (No need for this pic other than I like to show it to people)
I drew a Colorado archery deer tag.
I have hunted this area once 6 years ago for elk. It is gorgeous country with the bottoms being around 10K feet and where the deer are around 12k+ When i hunted it 6 years ago i never actually saw an elk but there was tons of elk sign and I saw lots of deer. That and the fact that the fishing is awesome is what led me to burn 3 points on this tag.
FIRST MISTAKE!!! My first mistake on this hunt is not scouting. I live in Texas so it is around a 14 hour drive to where i am hunting. Couple that with the fact that I have 2 year old twins that are in the middle of potty training, If i ever want to hunt again i better not try to take a scouting trip. I completely understand that scouting is important. And if i draw my Wyoming Region G tag next year I will be making a scouting trip or at least going up for a extended period of time.
We will be leaving Texas on September 2 and hunting September 3-9. I will be joined by my best friend Brian and his dad Clay on this hunt. Brian and Clay will be getting Elk tags and possibly a bear tag. I will also be purchasing a elk tag with hopes of making a second trip late September if i don't punch my tag. As far as expectations go, I plan on killing a deer. That said it may not be a big deer. From the time I've spent in the mountains it won't be hard to kill a forky. I plan on being pretty selective the first 4-5 days and looking for a good solid 4 point. If I see a few decent deer i may even be more picky and see if I can't get on a 150" + buck. But as you can tell I know going into it I'm not hunting a 200" deer.
I have two areas that I plan on hunting. Both are 2000+ft elevation gain and 2.5 miles plus from the truck. These are the two mountains I'm looking at via Google earth
If the animals aren't there where i think they will be we will keep going. This will be a backpack hunt. The way the mountains set up we will have to hike out in order to change locations. SO the plan is to hike into the first area with enough food for 4 days and nights. At that point we can either hike out and reload on food and hike back in or we can come out and change mountains. Its kind of imbarassing to say but this will be my first true backpack hunt. My moose hunt last year we had a cabin and cook
we weren't roughing it. Although the 60 mile horseback ride out of camp was pretty rough. That said I'm not worried about it and i am really looking forward to it.
I am going to go fairly light even tho I could cut more with a few different pieces of gear. Here is most of my gear list. I will add exact pieces and numbers when i pack.
Gear List:
Sleeveless first Lite Merino
1/4 Zip First Lite Merino
First Lite Puffy
Yukon Rain Jacket
Attack Pants
Merino Socks
1 Extra Pair Socks
Merino Underwear
Lowa boots
Gloves
Billed Beanie
Elite Impulse 34 29"70#
Easton Axis 432 grains finished
Rage P+ broadhead with 1 wacem 4 blade in the quiver for elk
tight spot quiver
Carter target 4 release
Kifaru Duplex Highcamp bag w organizer pocket and Lid
Big Agnes 15 degree bag w/ TI Goat Bivi for Bugs
Mountain Smith Mountain Shelter LT
Sea to summit Pillow
Big Agnes Insulated Pad
Squeeze Water Filter w 2 64 oz pouches
Nalgene
Easton Carbon Poles
Garmin Oregon GPS
Delorme In Reach(to check in with Wife)
Kill kit with bomb bags
Primus Stove w 1 fuel Canister
10x42 razor HD
Leupold 50mm spotter
I havent gotten my food completely sorted out other than a mountain house for dinner each night.
So this is what I have so far guys. I have been busting my *** at the guy and I am currently doing a workout program from one of my buddies in Austin called the Ultimate Predator. It is a lot of pack work and long heavy tire drags. Still hoping to drop 10-15# in these last 7 weeks but I am getting pumped.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ok guys so I've been bowhunting for 20+ years and for some reason i have never hunted Mule Deer?? Im not sure why or how that has happened but its about to change. I thought it would be fun to do a live thread keeping up with my preparation and things i do both wrong and right with this hunt. I also have a podcast called hook and arrow that I will post links to as well as youtube videos because i plan to film a ton both before and during the hunt.
This is the moose I killed last year. (No need for this pic other than I like to show it to people)
I drew a Colorado archery deer tag.
I have hunted this area once 6 years ago for elk. It is gorgeous country with the bottoms being around 10K feet and where the deer are around 12k+ When i hunted it 6 years ago i never actually saw an elk but there was tons of elk sign and I saw lots of deer. That and the fact that the fishing is awesome is what led me to burn 3 points on this tag.
FIRST MISTAKE!!! My first mistake on this hunt is not scouting. I live in Texas so it is around a 14 hour drive to where i am hunting. Couple that with the fact that I have 2 year old twins that are in the middle of potty training, If i ever want to hunt again i better not try to take a scouting trip. I completely understand that scouting is important. And if i draw my Wyoming Region G tag next year I will be making a scouting trip or at least going up for a extended period of time.
We will be leaving Texas on September 2 and hunting September 3-9. I will be joined by my best friend Brian and his dad Clay on this hunt. Brian and Clay will be getting Elk tags and possibly a bear tag. I will also be purchasing a elk tag with hopes of making a second trip late September if i don't punch my tag. As far as expectations go, I plan on killing a deer. That said it may not be a big deer. From the time I've spent in the mountains it won't be hard to kill a forky. I plan on being pretty selective the first 4-5 days and looking for a good solid 4 point. If I see a few decent deer i may even be more picky and see if I can't get on a 150" + buck. But as you can tell I know going into it I'm not hunting a 200" deer.
I have two areas that I plan on hunting. Both are 2000+ft elevation gain and 2.5 miles plus from the truck. These are the two mountains I'm looking at via Google earth
If the animals aren't there where i think they will be we will keep going. This will be a backpack hunt. The way the mountains set up we will have to hike out in order to change locations. SO the plan is to hike into the first area with enough food for 4 days and nights. At that point we can either hike out and reload on food and hike back in or we can come out and change mountains. Its kind of imbarassing to say but this will be my first true backpack hunt. My moose hunt last year we had a cabin and cook
we weren't roughing it. Although the 60 mile horseback ride out of camp was pretty rough. That said I'm not worried about it and i am really looking forward to it. I am going to go fairly light even tho I could cut more with a few different pieces of gear. Here is most of my gear list. I will add exact pieces and numbers when i pack.
Gear List:
Sleeveless first Lite Merino
1/4 Zip First Lite Merino
First Lite Puffy
Yukon Rain Jacket
Attack Pants
Merino Socks
1 Extra Pair Socks
Merino Underwear
Lowa boots
Gloves
Billed Beanie
Elite Impulse 34 29"70#
Easton Axis 432 grains finished
Rage P+ broadhead with 1 wacem 4 blade in the quiver for elk
tight spot quiver
Carter target 4 release
Kifaru Duplex Highcamp bag w organizer pocket and Lid
Big Agnes 15 degree bag w/ TI Goat Bivi for Bugs
Mountain Smith Mountain Shelter LT
Sea to summit Pillow
Big Agnes Insulated Pad
Squeeze Water Filter w 2 64 oz pouches
Nalgene
Easton Carbon Poles
Garmin Oregon GPS
Delorme In Reach(to check in with Wife)
Kill kit with bomb bags
Primus Stove w 1 fuel Canister
10x42 razor HD
Leupold 50mm spotter
I havent gotten my food completely sorted out other than a mountain house for dinner each night.
So this is what I have so far guys. I have been busting my *** at the guy and I am currently doing a workout program from one of my buddies in Austin called the Ultimate Predator. It is a lot of pack work and long heavy tire drags. Still hoping to drop 10-15# in these last 7 weeks but I am getting pumped.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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