Is itpossible to hunt Mule Deer withoutbeing a millionaire?

Are there public places to hunt mule deer? Is it possible to hunt without spending a small fortune on fees?

OTC in a AZ and ID, easy draw odds in NM, UT and WY. With a little research it is very doable

Your going to have to draw as a non-resident in western states. Lake Meridith has public hunting for mule deer, from what I hear its crowded though, not sure on numbers of deer either

It was very crowded in '08 when we went!!! Saw a few mule deer doe but nothing with head gear.

Sure, it is. There are plenty of public land hunts available. The question is do you want to hunt mule deer or do you want to kill a monster? If you want to kill a monster without spending years and thousands of travel miles to do it, the price rises quickly.

Do a little studying and find the areas in the west that consistently produce trophy deer and start putting in the drawing with a second choice area too. If you don't draw your area you get a preference point. Stay with it a few years and you will be drawn for a great area. Units 66 and 67 are big deer areas in Colorado for example.

I have friends in CA that hunt near Casper out in public land every year and they do very well. Some years they only get pronghorn tags, but this year all four had mule deer an pronghorn tags. They all scored on 4x4 bucks with one being really nice. They hunt hard and they get back away from where everyone else is at, which I feel is the secret to any public land hunting. It took them years to find this spot, and if you are serious, you need to put in the time to find a good place.

I personally found it cheaper in the long term to pay to hunt on private land. More money to have access to a great place to hunt, but the experience is so much better, and I didn't spend years going to places that didn't have any animals, or where over run with hunters. I actually did do that for many years, but now avoid public land unless it's a very limited draw area.

Yes...the answer...Wyoming....really it's not that bad, if you need contacts, PM me and I can see what I can do for you. It will cost something but a lot less than the guided Colorado or NM hunts usually found in this part of the world...now shooting a 200 class bruiser...well better get to work...

I'm hunting Texas mule deer first time this year...I'm pretty stoked...

Ed

I live in ARIZONA good luck on getting a MULE DEER tag in a good area! Its easy to draw a Coues Whitetail tag down by the border since most hunters I know put in for Mule Deer and if they don't get drawn they put in for the left over deer tags which are almost all in Southern AZ!

I would not mind shooting a mule deer doe... don't care about antlers.. just large meaty things that taste good on a bun, in a stew... etc.. lol

All I care about is the meat. I big rack is cool but a steak on my plate is way cooler. I just got real serious about whitetail hunting in 2010. I used it as my therapy when I came back from my 2nd deployment to Iraq. It calmed me down to sit in the stand in the quiet. Now I am hooked.

if your in it for the meat you might want to look at something other than a mule deer....

Not sure about that, the best venison I, and those who I shared with, have ever eaten came from a mule deer buck.

Alafafa field yes....mountain sage country takes a little more effort.

To the OP NM and CO have decent draw odds for meat type hunts. Cow elk NM is probably the easiest draw

On another site I visit you can buy your own little piece of mule deer heaven in Sanderson, about two hours west of Del Rio. For $63,000 you can purchase 160 acres with a cabin on it.

Wyoming is good and a bunch of public land. South Dakota is another great option as well, lots of public and I'm heading there tomorrow to do just that!

If all you are wanting is a meat hunt, there are lots of opportunities for cow elk out there. Bigger animal, better tasting. If you want to get some shooting in, Wyoming sometimes will issue up to five tags for pronghorn in some areas, some years. I don't think they taste any better or worse then mule deer. Both need seasoning to be edible.

Considering what it will cost for an out of state license and tag, gas money to get there, a place to stay and food, nothing would be cheaper then some of the doe hunts offered here in TX. I've seen axis does for $300 each, sika for about the same. Both are excellent eating!!!! The sheep hunts are also fairly affordable if you are not looking for a trophy. If you think mule deer tastes good, you'll love sheep.

In Texas, sure... you can HUNT them. But if you want to GET one, be prepared to spend some serious cash and time.

Mule deer hunting isn't cheap, but they sure are fun to hunt.

I live in Nevada and hunt muleys almost every year. That being said....

If you are willing to change it up, you can hunt mule deer here every year and cheap. Archery tags here are almost OTC with how many there are issued every year. You have to apply, but chances are you will draw easily.

My first year here, I applied as a nonresident. I drew two premium tags (lope and mule) in great areas, but because I applied for archery and muzzleloader tags. Rifle will have you waiting for a few years.

Total cost in fees will be $360, I think, out the door and ready to hunt. Over 80% of the state is public land and good deer can be found if you put the work into it.

Don't forget W Nebraska and SD.

My dAd and I were just discussing mule lease prices. He wants me to get on his lease with him next year. What's a typical mule lease in Texas cost? They pay 3 grand Split between up to 4 people. He has no idea if it's high or low. It's in the county where the state records come from. I wasn't sure if I should or not at that price.

How big is the ranch?


Less than a grand for any hunting lease is cheap. For mule deer in good country they are giving it away

My dad just said it was 4000 acres. And I was wrong on the price it's 3600

If 4 guys are splitting 3600 it's still a give away

4K acres isn't a lot of land though to support 4 mule deer bucks being killed year in and year out though

I've been thru Sanderson many times...
if you drink a six-pack and whizz on one side of 160ac, it'll run off the others side of it...
160ac there is a backyard lot...

It wasn't that long ago you could buy that land down there for $75.00 an acre.

We put in for hunts and if we don't draw we buy an over the counter tag in Montana. It's kind of expensive 600 bucks. It's a sure thing though. You just have to get there.
The deer in Montana are huge. 300lbs. It's so worth it to pay 200 Bucks more then most states. You also get a fishing permit with your license so you can trout fish camp. It seems like trout live in every stream bed there.

We have never killed anything huge but solid 130 and 140s usually. If anything it can be pretty harsh out there but that just makes the hunting better. The last hunt we were on up there we got to the hunting area in the dark. Pulled up google earth and spotted a great bowl about a mile from a road. We got there right as the sun was coming up and the whole bowl was loaded with deer. We picked off the pack of the litter and were hauling the rest of the day in the middle of a snow storm...it was awesome!!
When we got to the road some hunters pulled up and were drooling at our deer. We told them right where to go. They laughed at us and said it's much easier to hunt out of the truck. I noticed lots of Twinkie wrappers in the truck..lol

That's about what it's worth. That is some poor country.

Just returned from my SD hunt.....cheap and done on public land

You did well!

Dude..

Nice!!

Outstanding

nice muley. Congrats!

Thanks for the kind words. We killed a few good ones but don't want to throw photos online if they didn't want to have them there. I was stationed there and willretire there in just two years as that is where my company is located and doing well. There are sooo many deer up there if you willing to put in the work and get away from the roads. Knowing the area helped as we packed in and seen over 150 deer a day. Public land is plentiful in west river and only takes about two years to draw. For about $200, motel fees and a few cold ones ya can't beat this place when it comes to deer hunting.

Very nice. Congrats. Great pics too.

look to sw colorado or n. central new mexico, got to be careful about reservation land but there is tons of nat. forest and some huge muleys if ya can/are willing to hike in a bit. weimenuche wilderness in co. is the largest elk herd in the state, mule deer get big but you got to go to them and that is a way in. do a drop camp through an outfitter, bring your food/personal stuff and get put in a camp by horseback, hunt it on foot.
I did many like that and my hunters had about 85% kill ratio.

north central new mexico has some huge muleys, up by chama and lumberton, just have to watch out and not get on the apache res. plenty of nat. forest though and all public hunting. not sure if nm has a draw for there or not as it has been a few yrs. but the herds will still be there.


the nm hunt you could do with a good 4x4 or two, plenty of roads for access but watch for snow/rain. the colorado hunt is best done through an outfitter or even take your own animals up to ride/pack. plenty of options to do fairly cheaply but still gonna cost more than a road hunt.

That area is very hard to draw in new Mexico especially the "2" units

Yes, You can hunt the long pasture. Chances are you will not get caught. If you do the fine will probably not be a million.

Yes, you can draw a deer tag in some Wyoming regions with no PP. Public land hunting is available with no access fees.

That's a nice muley

If your just tire kicking now or if there is any possibility you will do any public on your own mule deer hunts in the future you should research the states your interested in and start picking up preference points with next season's draw. Do so now even if your hunting over the counter. Sometimes you may need only one or two points to for sure hunt a place in a particular year. Some places get into double digits to guarantee a draw. In fact any young men on this forum who big game hunt should be building points IMHO. Some of us are already too old to start for some game on some areas on some States due to the number of points needed and points creep. I wish I had started years earlier and stuck with it. I do mule Deer points in CO(8), WY(3), SD(3).

Just came from a TPWD draw hunt in Sanderson. Nice area, but it will take a lot more than 160 acres. Unless it is a travel lane.

Mule deer, both bucks and does do not taste good unless they are able to feed off plots or alfalfa fields IMO. Had a ranch in Or. and any deer shot in the high desert
was not very good because they mostly ate sagebrush etc., BUT the ones of any sex or age shot off my alfalfa field was vey dersirable. Shot a mulie in Wy and only the back strap was edible.
okiehuntr

Chief, I would like to thank you for service, and glad you are back safe, and enjoying the freedom to pursue hunting. But toanswer your question, yes, if you are just trying to enjoy getting out and happy with any animal,youhave easier chance to hunt, there are some areas in N.M. for rifle not too hard to get drawn, in CO. you might have to apply for a point or two to get rifle tag. You will get 90% of money refund and a point. Many options like someone posted WY. also, you may also think about muzzle loader, or bow. Just lots of opt. Man there are millions of acres of public land out west, hope this helps. Shoot straight.

Ed saw your post, where did you hunt mulie in tx hope you had sucwss. Pics please.

It is getting almost impossible to hunt ANYTHING unless you are a millionaire or you own property. A working class guy like myself can not afford several thousand dollars to hunt ONE animal! About the only thing I can afford to hunt anymore is whitetails on MY OWN property.
Like many have mentioned, a nice rack, horns, etc is fine, but what I really care about is how it is presented on the plate.

You don't have to be a millionaire, but know a few might help! Anymore it's not what you know, but who you know!

Easy. Colorado. You gotta put in for your points. But you can get over the counter elk tags while you wait. I shoot an elk almost every year on public land using over the counter tags...

Just now getting to this thread sorry. However I've been hunting Mule Deer my whole life (from New Mexico) and I've never hunted on private land or bought a LO tag. Of course there is a draw but license is only $250.



This was taken on public land New Mexico this year. Not a "monster" but he was knocking on that door. 300# deer in any case. I've seen plenty of monster deer in New Mexico though. All public land. This was only about the 3rd year ever that I hunted with a modern firearm. I normally hunt with bow or muzzleloader becasue it is SOOOOOO much easier to draw out for them. Matter of fact this rifle hunt was actually my third choice.... Go figure.

I don't know if you bow hunt, but AZ has over the counter archery tags. Not all of the units are open to them, but a lot are. Its a great place to hunt, very beautiful. I lived there for three years, I only drew one time (couse deer). I usually counted on OTC archery tags.

That's a great buck anywhere GunsUp. Congrats.

This is something I'd like to try. I've never hunter either state but I believe they can grow some good ones!

You might be lucky and find a deer track on 160 acres at Sanderson.

Yes there are places, just do your homework. Start reading over various game/fish websites and youll answer your question. And mulies taste fine, grilled backstrap taste as good as beef.

Sure you can "hunt" mule deer on a tight budget. But it helps insure success if your budget is fat and sassy. Just like everything else in a glorious free market economy!!!

You can look out in West Texas around Lamesa and Andrews. Might be able to get a cheap lease on a place during the 2 week season

You can, but why would you want to?

Just become a millionaire and make everything easier.

Perfect.

The "I can" attitude vs the "I can't".

Attitude is everything.

Save your money and put some effort into it and you can succeed. Never understood why people get a "guide" and say they went "hunting".

Seriously?

No cow elk draw in NM for non-residents... Wyoming has some easy to draw cow tags. NM would require a landowner tag which requires paying the landowner (usually around $500ish, then purchasing a cow tag ($300ish if memory serves right?).

If you want to hunt mulies on the cheap put in for some of the NM draw hunts. You'll have to work to get em but they are out there in units that have 10-25% draw odds...

There are Mullies in Texas. I have seen some in Dickens and Guthrie counties, but the season is short. I have heard that Andrews county also has some. Mule deer in Texas are not creatures of habit like whitetails. They tend to wander around. I saw a dead one on the road last week 10 miles north of Post, TX on HWY 84. It was in the wide open cotton fields, no trees in sight. I have a farmer friend that lives East of New Deal, Texas. He says he is seeing more and more Mullies out in his cotton fields. Lubbock, county recently opened an 8 day Mule Deer Season. No, I am not joking!

You can get Mullies in Texas, but it is kind of Luck, if you see one.

We hunt mule deer in West Texas and it's not all that hard to find mule deer.

16 day season

That's good to hear. I am working off old info, back when I use to have a lease of in Guthrie. Hunted every year for years and never saw one during season. Out of season, they would crap on your head. LOL!