my buddy and i have decided to go on a do it yourself mule deer hunt (in the next year or 2). we need to narrow down a state and because we live in Wisconsin it's not going to be possible to scout. so I'm looking for some help. any info. would be greatly appreciated
Depending on what time of year you are wanting to go. Some states like Arizona and some premium units in Colorado you will need some points to draw these tags. Unless of course you purchase a landowner tag in Colorado. In Arizona you can do some good units in January and these tags are OTC. Plently of public ground to and a great spot and stalk hunt. Depending on what you are looking for quality wise, let me know and maybe I can give you some more specifcs.
As stated above, Arizona has a December/January season where a tag is good for essentially anywhere in the southern half of the state with plenty of public ground to chose from. Tough hunt to just show up blind for though, I've done it and wasn't successful although I did get one stalk in. Colorado has plenty of places to go early season in the high alpine after velvet mulies without any preference points, I don't know the best specific units. New Mexico doesn't have point systems for their early or late seasons. South Dakota is OTC tags. This is a hunt where YOU need to pick the place based off of what type of hunt you want. Do you want to camp or a hotel room? Want a mild hiking setting such as rolling prairie hills or the lower desert or looking for hiking up into a high alpine mountain top excursion? Want a late season rut hunt or an early season bachelor groups in velvet hunt? What kind of scenery are you wanting to see? Are you looking for a spot/stalk hunt or a ambush/blind type hunt? You figure out what you want in a hunt, and the rest of the blanks on when/where will be much easier to fill in.
Like everyone else has said there are alot of vaiables to factor in. I have hunted wisconsin for the first 22 yrs of my life, about 4yrs ago i was stationed here in idaho and have hunted it for that long. I do mostly spot and stalk hunts out here, and i start to scouting late spring for them.They do take a little more work to harvest that the whitetails but it is an awsome challenge Best of luck on planning the hunt and getting something on the ground.
the only things i have narrowed down right now is. we'll be camping, need to buy over the counter, and would like to do a spot and stalk. my buddy and I are in ok shape so hiking shouldnt be a problem. as far as the quality goes i would like to see 190" deer or is that asking to much?
190" bucks? You might get lucky. I know very good hunters that don't see bucks like that all season. I wouldn't want to get your expectations up too much. For a DIY OTC tag I'd expect maybe 130"+ without doing any scouting. There are exceptions to the rule but scouting and being familiar with the terrain are the most helpful tools when hunting mulies. I would try and make a trip in June or July and just get a little familiar with the area you are going to be hunting. Good luck!
I don't want to discourage you by any means. I always try to expect average size bucks and that way if you only see 130" bucks you won't be disappointed. But if you get a chance to see that monster it will mean alot more. In some areas a 150" buck is a big deer. We hunted in south central Montana for years and the biggest buck we saw/killed was 147". You will have a great time regardless. Spot and stalk hunting is a blast.
For an OTC Unit, 190 is possible but not may be a high standard. Check into the Arizona January hunt, 160-180 bucks and its OTC. I am looking into this very hunt myself.
I agree about size! It depends largely on the area. I think generally speaking the bigger the average Buck, the harder the tag is to get and the more expensive it is as well. In NW NE Pine Ridge area the bucks are definitely not huge, but 4 years hunting with a bow there I killed 3 bucks in the 140's and one heavy 3 X 3 I was thrilled with. I'd really like to go after something bigger on my next Mule Deer trip. I've been looking at the Eastern Plains of CO , but even there I'd say 190 is a pretty lofty goal Dan
I'm from Oregon and that is where I hunt. Tags are over the counter and the season runs from August 27th to September 25th. you can hunt just about the entire state with that tag. There are only a few draw unit's when it come's to Archery and I think there a bit over-rated. The state is massed in BLM and USFS land so find public place to hunt is easy! 190 is pretty big for our state but not unheard of. I saw a buck this year that would have been somewhere in the 180 range is my guess but may have been bigger. It was pretty far off and it was getting dark. As far as cost once you arrive; $140 for a license, $375 for the deer tag and if you were heading to certain parts of the state I would consider a Black Bear tag for another $182. That being said, no matter where in Oregon you went I would also buy a Cougar tag for $14.50 (not a type-o). We have allot of them, and we can not hunt them with dogs (long story). Back to Mule Deer though. if you were looking for good place's then I would suggest the Eastern part of the state. The NE part put's out some nice Typical mule deer every year. Then more central area's like Crook County are known for there non-typical. Let me know if you got any other questions. Might want to check out this link too. http://www.nwbiggame.com/top_10.cfm
Idaho has some incredible mule deer, look at the record books. Some very strong over the counter tag areas and even better trophy draw areas. The toughest part about Idaho is the rugged and steep terrain you will have to hunt in.
I have been looking into a hunt like this as well just trying to get a friend in on the idea as well. I would like to go somewhere that have a good success rate and would love to shot something big but for the first time out my goals would not be that high. Anyone know of a good area where you have a good shot at getting a 140 or so.
Good info...I want to do a high country early season mulie hunt in CO soon. Last year on my first out-of-state hunt for Elk in CO...plenty of mulies were sighted by our party and at least 3 "Dandy" bucks at close range. So for those just wanting to get in on some action with realistic goals of huge bucks - unlimited entry units are a good/cheap way to start if you want to go this fall. Spottin' and Stalkin' mulies sounds like a great way to spend a week.
