Still Hunting Mule Deer in the Mountain West?

[CO Muley]

I glass until I can’t then walk. I’ve killed a lot of bucks walking. Do what you feel most confident doing

 

[ImBillT]

Cover a lot of ground on foot when hunting anything. I’m not sure it quite qualifies as still hunting, but it’s not pure spot and stalk. I like to glass morning and evening and move during the day when they’re bedding. I’m more likely to stick to glassing only if I have a target buck that I don’t want to bump, and more likely to move throughout the day if I’m just in the market for something decent and haven’t seen many deer.

 

[FamilyMan]

Glass in the morning and evening. Explore new ridges in-between by slowly walking and intensely glassing as you go.

 

[PapaSmurf]

Never killed a deer still hunting. I have walked up on many little bucks moving slowly through the pines. From what I have observed of big bucks bedded down in the middle of the day I think it would be nearly impossible to still hunt them when they are bedded and you would have to move so slowly that it would be more boring than glassing. If I wanted to be on the move as much as possible during the hunt I would move along the edge of thick cover and open feeding areas during the prime hours. In reality I have found that hiking a long way in the dark with some painful elevation gain is a good motivator to sit still and glass for a while when it gets light out.

 

[ProfJ]

I am also too impatient to glass much and do all my elk hunting by still hunting, but for mule deer I am now gritting my teeth and doing the glassing. I still hunted muleys a few seasons but they are just too sharp (the big guys), always blew them up. Also the density is pretty low so you get few opportunities. Not saying it’s impossible, you may get lucky, but glassing is better odds. If you can start your still hunting in a small area with known bucks that would make a big difference, not having to cover ground fast is a big help.

 

[jls456]

Glass in the morning and evening. Explore new ridges in-between by slowly walking and intensely glassing as you go.

This works well for me.

 

[Bigjay73]

Fresh snow or rain, absolutely! Tracked down several mule and WT bucks in the AZ desert after a rain, go till you find fresh tracks and proceed carefully.