Mule deer habitat

[Flatlander3]

I am a mule deer newbie but have hunted plenty of whitetails. Do mulies hang around areas with no trees? I am looking at a area and it looks more like antelope county and guessing the only areas mule deer would be would be in the steeper draws and not the rolling hills where they could be easily spotted. Is this correct?

Thanks

 

[Deleted member 28227]

No trees no problem.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Nope they don't need trees. I have seen mule deer out on the sage flats far from any trees or steep draws. If they have water, feed and taller sage they will bed in any little wash or taller sage. Very early in the morning or late evening I have found to be the best time to spot them, usually from far away.

 

[Bigjay73]

Depends where you're at. I rarely see mulies in the northern grasslands in Co, but the middle and southern part of the state is a different story.

 

[Ryan2782]

I would say depends on state and region, if you're hunting a forested area and you found a small area with no trees, chances are they'll randomly pass through there from time to time but stay in the trees or feed in and out. Large area of no trees in a mule deer area they are alive because they can see and sense danger for a long ways off. Open area mule deer are a great hunt.

 

[Flatlander3]

I am looking in SE Montana.

 

[JCS]

Eastern Montana

Treeless

 

[BrentD]

Nice buck there!

 

[Flatlander3]

Very nice buck. I appreciate the feedback. Think I am just lacking the confidence in areas being a newbie and all about mule deer.

 

[BrentD]

I have seen lots of does out in the sage flats, but I never see bucks, esp. mature bucks in those kinds of flats. I normally kill babies, and I think this is probably because I hunt where I see the most deer (which are mostly young bucks and does), and not where I see the most big bucks (which are pretty damn rare). This is true of my Whitetail hunting as well.

 

[8andcounting]

I've shot some good Mule deer bucks in pretty open areas .they don't need a lot . Hunt the rut and look for doe's and you'll find a good buck eventually

 

[uncle sage]

I used to guide a bit on a place that we'd usually find 30-40 bucks a day and though they had easy and close access to some very rough country, most would be down lower or on the flats chowing down at night until just passed first light. My usual plan was to cruise the road along the foothills that could be refereed to as the "edge". Most of the deer we'd see down low were in or from the sage mixed bitter brush. We'd be there early with some fast glassing and passing, then on to the next bunch for a look see. By the time the sun was peeking over the mountains, you would find strings of deer side hilling up the mountains to their bedding spots. This place was the exception as access to that huge area was extremely limited but it showed me what muleys like to do when not too disturbed.

Now a story if you care to read further. I was tooling along the edge one early morning with my severely disabled Uncle riding shotgun and him telling me of a 30" buck that he saw recently in the next fried chicken patch (bitter brush)up ahead. He told me that he passed him so i could shoot him being the nice guy that he was and then went on and on about how this "huge buck" compared to the bigger ones he had on his "wall". When i nudged up on top the glassing knoll with my rig, we could see deer moving about in the flat before us and it was easy to pick out the wide racked buck, bad luck for him being less than a hundred yards away. I got out, racked in a round, and easy as the gun nesting in my shoulder, the buck was smack in the middle of my cross hairs... but something didn't look right so i paused.

My Uncle cussed me the rest of that day and then some saying i was crazy and what came over me?... but that buck was pencil thin, not high at all, and though a 4x4, he had smallish forks all around and just wasn't what i wanted to put my tag on from the country we had to hunt. I know and hunt with guys that have and will pass up 30" wide bucks for bigger examples but that was the first and maybe only time for me. I know for sure that he taped out at 30" because my Uncle made a big deal about him shooting him the next day if we saw him again, which he did, and though he didn't come out and say so, i'm pretty sure that after we ground check him, he probably wished that he'd held off too.

 

[uncle sage]

As a general rule, i look for bitter brush mixed in the sage, fried chicken patch, down lower, Mahogany trees edging the ridges and draws at mid altitude, and tiny small individual quake patches up as high as you can find them. All those areas can hold a good buck, all great places to hunt carefully and fill your tag.

 

[BrentD]

I've shot some good Mule deer bucks in pretty open areas .they don't need a lot . Hunt the rut and look for doe's and you'll find a good buck eventually

Hunting the rut is not always an option, legally or logistically.

 

[mevertsen]

As a general rule, i look for bitter brush mixed in the sage, fried chicken patch, down lower, Mahogany trees edging the ridges and draws at mid altitude, and tiny small individual quake patches up as high as you can find them. All those areas can hold a good buck, all great places to hunt carefully and fill your tag.

This. I don't like to hunt "big" country. Smaller patches even a small distance away from a road where they can be pretty free. Glass an are hard, pick it apart, then move on to the next.

 

[8andcounting]

Hunting the rut is not always an option, legally or logistically.

I understand that but I won't hunt mule deer if it's not over the rut period end of story ....

 

[mtmuley]

I understand that but I won't hunt mule deer if it's not over the rut period end of story ....

Why? mtmuley

 

[slamdmini]

Why? mtmuley

too hard

 

[8andcounting]

I like when a 18" wide buck is with a doe so I can fill my b tag at same time as my A . This year I have several b tags so I hope that 18" buck has couple with him ! Gotta love montana and the opportunitys ! just teasing . I guess during rut there's always a chance a new buck moves in . When ruts not going the deer don't move as much