Mule deer hunting shamrock Area?

Question for you guys, what's the best week for the big boys to be chasing in the shamrock area? Thanks

I hunt in Hall county, the rut won't be until Christmas (out of season unfortunately) but they usually start getting their Heram together that last week of season. Hunt the rough stuff early and late, you can catch them around there bed. Or wheat fields are good.

Ok thanks! I'm looking hard to connect with a big one this season, seen some real nice young ones the last 2 yrs

I hunt Mulies a world away, south of there, Terrel county. Last year they didn't start rutting until 11 days into the season.

And the best advice I can give is to move, move, move! Drive, walk, drive, walk, repeat.

Yea I have only been hunting muleys about 5 years now and still trying to learn these suckers. I have figured out they migrate some and you don't always have the same deer back each year. We let young ones walk every year and not sure if we ever see them again, but man I love to hunt em!

The rut on our Mule Deer lease in Western Pecos County is after Christmas or later. I would have thought it would be before ours up in that area. Get you some good binos and good spotter. Your eyes will thank you at the end of the day for spending on the best glass you can afford.

We have a long deep canyon on one side of the lease I'm going to glass and stalk , and it leads right to our wheat field

That will be perfect, watch that canyon in late evening, the old boy's will get up and head to wheat right at dark. And Stx is right, good glass. I have good binos but not real expensive spotting scope and my eyes hurt everyday of mule deer season.

Pattern the draws they use to come out of the canyon. They'll be on that wheat soon as a good hard freeze hits the area.

Hunted east of Canyon,Texas and the season starts the week end before thanksgiving an last two weeks. Some small bucks try to get frisky around first of December but major rut kicks in middle of month.

Thanks guys! Good luck this year too

They have purposely set up the seasons to be over before the rut starts.

Get really good glass, range finder and shooting sticks. Hunt that canyon with the sun at your back.

The bucks like the top edges with good cedar for cover. They like to lay on the edges under the shade of the cedars with the wind at their back. Be very patient and really carefully look over each cedar clump that meets this criteria. The sun along with their head movement or antler reflection is how you spot them.

Like has been said, the rut is generally going well after the season has ended. Sounds like you have an ideal spot to intercept one on his way to food though. I also agree that they are highly "migratory" most times of the year. I guess thats a blessing and a curse. You just never know when a good one will be moving through that you have never seen before.

We hunt the sandhills of West Texas. Rut will be mid December through first week in January.....you can bank on it. You see bucks you never ever see during any other time.

When we had the lease east of Shamrock the mule deer were in a heavy chase mode right around Thanksgiving. Everyone told me that it would be later in the month on into December but for the five years that I was there it was around Thanksgiving every year.

I'm also east of shamrock

I killed a 177 chasing a doe the Sunday before thanksgiving day. Just like WTs, there are does that come into heat before the rut is in full swing.

We have a predominately whitetail lease up N of Shamrock, and we often see muleys rutting a week before Thanksgiving, as PP says.

Ok good deal we are just south of I-40 a few miles east of shamrock

Are you on the lease that BMD used to hunt?

Yes Sir

OK that's the same ranch that I had leased. BMD took it over when I left. They should be going around Thanksgiving unless things have changed. I killed a big mule deer buck at the north end of the draw on the west side of the place. He was following a doe going south after coming off of the wheat right after daybreak on Thanksgiving morning. The doe saw the feeder and made a bee line for it and he followed her right in. BMD killed one in the same spot a few days later. Scatter some protein on the hillside across the draw to the west and the mule deer will swarm it.

Thank you for the advice, yes I've seen them filter through that draw, leads right to the wheat field

I will be there from nov 10-23 then back Dec 2 till end of mule deer season

Is that the best place for MD on the ranch? I imagine that large canyon holds them also

Probably as far as numbers go. My son saw a buck that he said was a giant,over 200" but it was before mule deer season opened. Saw him just south of that big pump on the road. I saw to giant mulies the first year I was there on the east side of the ranch just south of the 1/2 section that belong to the Westfalls. One was a monster non-typical that wound up getting killed on the Westfall place. It's picture was on the Texas Big Game Awards web site that year. I didn't see as many big bucks after David bought the place to the west and let all of his friend start hunting.

The numbers are coming back great, just need time to age lol thanks for the insite Sir

There is some good young WT bucks running around too lol

Always was when I was there. Someone killed a buck over 150 every year.

162 last year , year before some nice management bucks. We are still coming out of the drought and this year should be GREAT!

What stands where yours ? What areas of the lease?

The tower on the draw down by the oil tanks on the east side of the main road was mine. Saw the biggest whitetail buck of my life out of that stand and passed a lot of bucks over 150 because I knew there were bigger on the place.

Hmm I don't know if that tower is still there, I have a shooting house on the canyon side of the top road about a half mile from the cattle gap in the wheat field, and another below the wheat field by a stock pond that you can see when driving the top/main road.

That's some beautiful country, we're blessed to be able to hunt it !

We got a new place just south of Northfield this year. 5000 acres for 5 guns. It reminds me a lot of the Shamrock place with the deep draws and canyons. I hope it turns out as good.

We hunt just north of Northfield

Good deal hope you smoke a big one! How far is that from shamrock?

Oh ok west of Childress, that area should produce!

What is your ratio of whitetails to mule deer? I've been surprised that according to our cams we've got probably 80% whitetails.

I would say about 60/40 heavy on the WT. The muleys don't show up at feeders very often, so our cams don't show the numbers to accurate.