Mule deer top 3

[Tbob]

Hey there everybody. I am going on my first AZ mule deer hunt this August/Sept. Let's see what the experts can give a newbie on advice. This will be a solo hunt and if unsuccessful will be going back in Dec/Jan to try again closer to the rut.
What's your top 3 bits of advice to a new Mule deer hunter hunting the hot AZ desert.

 

[ccc23454]

I have never hunted AZ but if your looking for a monster look at a lot of deer. Don't be too happy to pull trigger and just enjoy hunt till you find the one that takes your breath away and no doubt is the buck to shot. It might take hundreds of bucks but hold out if that's what u want.

C

 

[Gr8bawana]

Being that this is your first mule deer hunt I would suggest not looking for a monster buck. That may be setting the bar too high and put too much pressure on yourself. Just go and have fun and if you get a deer that makes you happy that's just icing on the cake.
Good luck to you.

 

[Maxxis31]

Glass, Glass, Glass. If you are not putting stalks on deer you are not going to kill one. Typically it will take several stalks to be successful, I would set your mind to what you want to kill before going. Not necessarily 1??" but maybe you are after a nice mature deer, or a 4 point or so forth. If you see a deer that is close to what you are after put a stalk on him, if he offers a shot you will be close enough to make up your mind then. I really want to do the Jan. hunt one of these days, right now i am going to ID on a rut hunt with my bow and it is great.

Also if you see a buck in one spot during the rut hunt he could be 10 miles away the next day so you will have to make a decision right away to try to make a move or not. When you are there in August Glass until you find a buck, my advice would be to stay out all day glassing and look in the shade under trees, brush and rocks. Deer will move all day following the shade around and IMO August is the best time of year to find bucks, they will still be bachelored up and wont be in the really thick stuff until their horns harden. Look for steep areas where they can be high and look down hill. Try to approach them from above but most importantly watch your wind.

I assume you are doing OTC Archery,

 

[Tbob]

Awesome! Thanks for the tips so far, and please keep them Coming!! Yes, this is an OTC tag that I have for AZ. For my first time out, I think I'd be more than happy to take a legal buck with my bow, so for now I have no size requirements. The glassing will be tough for me as I'm one who likes to get a round a bit, but I'm going to mount my 10x50 binos on my tripod and hopefully that will make it easier to sit and glass for long periods. I've never hunted in 90-100 degree weather so that will be interesting as well. I was told by the warden in the area the the deer densities are a little lower in 18b, but I'm okay with that and hopefully that will mean less hunting pressure as well. I scouted out a huge moutain range that I will be hunting and you can walk for days out there so that's where I'll be hunting.