while i was scouting

[muleynoob]

Hey there! I have an early season controlled hunt tag in Idaho unit 39. I am Needing a Couple mule deer hunting tips for a noob to mule deer hunting.

While I was scouting an area that has a big buck in it I have found what people consider a highway trail where it has 8-10 separate trails joining this one huge trail.
My question is it a good idea to hunt on that "highway trail"?

What food source should I pay extra attention to?

Please take note: the area where I saw this buck is an old burn area so coverage is limited..

Also any other tips would be very welcomed looking to harvest a good buck with this tag...

Thanks for your time!

 

[Maxxis31]

A lot of the trails up in 39 are migration routes so they wont be heavily used until the migration. You can look for big deer tracks, 3" is if you are looking for a buck, if there are lots of them on the trail you could still hunt it but with the weather we are having the tracks can stick around a while and unless you are familiar with tracking and reading tracks it can be hard to tell how old the tracks are. How high are you? If you get on a good trail and follow it all the way up to a high ridgetop without any roads on it you should have no problem finding deer now or in a few weeks. I have a friend who lives in Boise and he is seeing a lot of deer every time he is going out, but he is going high and hitting little pocket basins which mostly have bucks in them. He won't be hunting until rifle season so most of those bucks should be up there at least until the first week in Sept when they shed their velvet off, maybe all the way through the season.

Did you go buy Robbys book? If not go do that and sit down and read it.

 

[brymoore]

You're going to spook the buck out of that country if you keep walking in his living areas. Find a high point and spend your time glassing.

I live in 39 and I'm seeings deer when I'm out hiking. It's a good year to have your tag.

 

[WildRHK]

I second glassing...That is how I do the vast majority of my scouting. Only time I've got my feet on the ground (all over) is early in the spring when I'm shed hunting. After that - I'm perched on a lookout spot.

Good luck to you on your hunt.

 

[muleynoob]

Maxxis I sent u a pm

 

[muleynoob]

Thank you all for the advice! It's amazing to me just how different mule deer hunting is compared to hunting whitetail... I will be going back into this area 1 last time this weekend to get my game cam then I will be leaving it alone until opening day... Also I just wanted to say if I do any good this year I will post pics for y'all thanks again and good luck to all of you with your seasons....

Sincerely
Kacey aka muley noob