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Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
#5467929
12/09/14 10:00 PM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
Hey guys,
The Sanderson thread in this forum got me thinking. I'm headed out to some property with a lot of mule deer for the last three days of mule deer season. It is 4500 acres and has a good mix of canyons and flat creosote bush scrub. We see mule deer every time we are out there, but it's our first year on the property and I've never hunted them. I'm going to get up high and glass in the mornings, then probably hunt feeders in the evening.
Does anyone have any tips or techniques I should try to fill my tag?
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Re: Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5467937
12/09/14 10:04 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 357
GunsUpHunter
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 357 |
Lots of glassing, lots of walking. Never hunted feeders for MD...
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Re: Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5467979
12/09/14 10:26 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 173
B-Man
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 173 |
I can tell you from my experience from last week, that you got to go to them, they will not come to you. I would say finding water sources is a good idea to keep in your sights as you glass the canyons walls and ridges. We never found them on the bottoms, but rather on the sides of ridges buried in soto bushes and cedars. Pick a canyon and glass in the morning looking for movement and you must use the wind in your face to do so. It's a lot harder than it sounds, but it's got to be well worth it. I'm looking forward in connecting next year.
My buddy Steve in Terrell County had a recent run in with another MD buck, not the big one we were chasing but a very respectable one none the less. He closed to within 150 yds broadside and realized he had his 5.56 instead of his 7 mag. He tried to close the gap to make a great shot placement and then got busted by some immature WT does. Very frustrating.......There is still another day. He got pulled away to go chase a mountain lion on a neighbors ranch. So I'm sure he will be back at it in the next couple days.
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Re: Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
[Re: GunsUpHunter]
#5468018
12/09/14 10:45 PM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,034
Western
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,034 |
Lots of glassing, lots of walking. Never hunted feeders for MD... Same here. Be out at daylight and glass like a MoFo. From my experience, they tend to bed close to the top, just off a ridge, hardly ever in the bottoms, or right on top. Little shelf's on a hillside, are a great places to look at.
If at first you dont succeed, then skydiving is not for you..
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln Dennis
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Re: Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5468081
12/09/14 11:26 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,948
txtrophy85
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
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Posts: 31,948 |
Hunting has been tough
Walk with your eyes not your feet. It's green and deer have not been moving much
Find a god spot you can see along way and glass, glass, glass
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5468108
12/09/14 11:42 PM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
Given that I have three mornings and two evenings to hunt, what should I be satisfied with? I have never shot a mule deer. Someone told me that for Texas, any 4 X 4 buck outside the ears is good. Should I be satisfied with any non-spike buck? To be honest I would like to shoot a big bodied deer to help fill the freezer.
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Re: Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5468172
12/10/14 12:33 AM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,948
txtrophy85
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,948 |
Depends entirely on the ranch.
Some ranches have small racked deer
What county are you hunting?
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5468173
12/10/14 12:34 AM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,948
txtrophy85
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
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Posts: 31,948 |
FYI there are big deer in the trans pecos
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5468250
12/10/14 01:13 AM
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,755
eneat1119
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,755 |
I hunt south of Iraan right off I-10. Hunted mulies all weekend this past weeekend with my buddy getting one buck the last day. We drove the ridges and spot and stalked for several days. Only time we had any luck was early in the morning as the deer moved to their bedding spots. Exactly how we caught the buck as he was with a doe. I've finally figured to target the areas they cross and wait in ambush for them to bed.
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Re: Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5468610
12/10/14 05:16 AM
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,796
dogcatcher
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
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Posts: 110,796 |
Make sure you are in good physical shape, mule deer hunting is real hunting.
Combat Infantryman, the ultimate hunter where the prey shoots back. _____________"Illegitimus non carborundum est"_______________
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Re: Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
[Re: dogcatcher]
#5468781
12/10/14 12:48 PM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 41,173
J.G.
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This is my first one. These fellas are right. Lots of moving and lots of glassing. Mule deer are the color of the earth around them. And yesterday they let me drive my four wheeler to within 30 yards of them before they got up and trotted off. But the good news is that they went 100 yards from me, stopped, and looked back at me wondering what I was doing. I moved so much that a whitetail woulda hauled a$$. The muleys were unafraid.
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Re: Another West Texas mule deer questions thread
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5468882
12/10/14 01:55 PM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
There are big deer on the ranch. We have seen many nice muleys with 4 X 4 racks outside the ears. Given what people are saying about the hunting being tough and since I have never shot one, I think I'll shoot the first decent buck I get a good shot at, if I even see one of those.
Thanks for the tips. It appears I'll be spending some time behind my binoculars.
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