Mule deer hunting strategy

[humbolt]

I have a question for the mule deer experts on the hbc forum. You are hunting an area that gets a little pressure nothing crazy. The terrain is logging slashes, old and new, grassy slopes maybe a bit of a burn surrounded by timber. You have been there a couple of times and have only seen small to medium bucks, but you cut a large trophy class buck track almost every other time you are there. The track is in the same area when you find it. How would you hunt that buck.

[dana]

Get on the track and dog him. While not every trophy sized track is made by a buck with a trophy sized rack, it is a good gamble to follow the track anyways.

[Jelvis]

I'd follow it's tracks when there was snow and see where he goes and what he does. Then go back there again, and look for his tracks in the rut, go where the hot doe is. I hate binoculars and spot and stalk and sitting on my rear looking like most egg heads do.
jel, I'm a real hiking hunter, no time for standing around looking through some bino's lol..lah hoooooooozer Jim Carry ..dum and dumber lol ..

[Kirby]

Get on the track and dog him. While not every trophy sized track is made by a buck with a trophy sized rack, it is a good gamble to follow the track anyways.

I'd pick a vantage point where he is coming by regularly and stand hunt him. But then again I sling arrows, if I had a boom stick follow danas advice, get on him, follow him, kill him.

Kirby

[300win]

trail cam also works, if the buck is working an area frequently, especially during the rut the camera will show you if he is what you are looking for??? Good luck!!!

[boxhitch]

Jel you're missing something if you don't use your binos while stalking. Disect what is ahead even in the thick timber.
That buck could lay up anywhere, watch and don't stumble into his room.
The first couple of stalking efforts may be foiled, but if the area is his, he will be back .

[horshur]

how many of you guys have actually shot big buck that you tracked???

[Rainforest hunter]

Track Dana!! he will lead you to the big ones then just hope your a better shot.

[Kirby]

how many of you guys have actually shot big buck that you tracked???

I haven't, but I have been within easy rifle range of two 180 class bucks that I tracked. Bows have their limitations:-D


Kirby

[6616]

You can learn an awlful lot about an individual buck by back tracking him, determine his preferred bedding areas, escape routes from certain areas, preferred feeding areas, etc,,,, perhaps enoughto enable you to set up an ambush of sorts.

[BCrams]

The big track isn't going to tell you if that buck has a huge rack or not but it is definatly something to pay attention to.

You can follow and dog those tracks and hope you bump him or catch up to him. However, once he knows something is on his tail, your odds of shooting him took a nose dive.

Its one thing to still hunt timber or a cut block and another to dog a track with the hopes of catching and getting him.......believe me, I've dogged more than a few book class mule deer and have caught up to them only to be busted again with no shot opportunity .... once he knows you're onto him, he'll do everything he can to shake you and take you on a grand round about tour. Its fun and a challenge for sure.

The conditions have to be perfect to run down a buck .... one year there was fresh knee deep snow down in the Chilcotin and as I drove a road there were fresh tracks crossing and given the area, I knew they were bucks and I ran down several 4 pt bucks but they weren't big enough ..... then the next day I rounded the corner and there was a monster typical in the 190-200" class right on the side of the road .... he bolted .... I bailed, grabbed my gear and the chase was on .... only caught 2 glimpses of him and he was having none of this waiting around and took me on a several hour grunt up and down the mountain and up again all the way to 5000' where I finally had a last gasp ...but futile shot at him as he went over the ridge.....the wind was absolutly howling and I saw the bullet hit the ground behind him so I didn't attempt another shot.

This is what I would do......delineate the area where you keep seeing these tracks on a regular basis ..... figure out if he's bound to come through again at some point. Get yourself a good vantage and set up a ground blind and sit tight. Let the buck(s) do the walking around. Takes patience though......but it works really well. The trick is to figure where a good spot is to set up though.

[Jelvis]

Follow all deer tracks because a buck in rut is going to or coming from a hot doe. Deer are social, they group up in fall, and stand around in spots for hours, follow and if there is a steep bank, crawl slowly up and look over, you will see something before they see you, and that's the secret.
jelly-jars of mule deer hunting know how..experienced journey person, passing proven plans projecting positive persuasions properly posted peanut breath

[Mr. Dean]

If it's early season, I'd wanna know where he came from, and where he's goin'. Pretty good chance that he'd have a routine. :wink:

Good luck!

[Brian011]

I've followed a few bucks through the snow in the rut and havent had much succes. some will travel for miles and mile without stopping and never do stop. i've spooked them only to have them circle me and head right back to where i picked up their track and then they back track where they came from. but if there is a buck in the area, the best thing to do is be patient and find a spot that you think he might walk through and sit and wait. big bucks get big for a reason and are hard to get up on most of the time.

[todbartell]

Get yourself a good vantage and set up a ground blind and sit tight. Let the buck(s) do the walking around. Takes patience though......but it works really well. The trick is to figure where a good spot is to set up though.


man you must read too many hunting rag articles! :mrgreen::mrgreen:

[Fisher-Dude]

then the next day I rounded the corner and there was a monster typical in the 190-200" class right on the side of the road .... he bolted ....

Rookie. That deer should have died in the ditch. You call yourself a mule deer hunter and you can't kill a booner standing on the road? You've got a LOT to learn, Sonny. :tongue:

[CanuckShooter]

I have a question for the mule deer experts on the hbc forum. You are hunting an area that gets a little pressure nothing crazy. The terrain is logging slashes, old and new, grassy slopes maybe a bit of a burn surrounded by timber. You have been there a couple of times and have only seen small to medium bucks, but you cut a large trophy class buck track almost every other time you are there. The track is in the same area when you find it. How would you hunt that buck.

First you would have to try and determine if he is moving in the dark, or during daylight hours. Dogging a big buck track that is several hours old isn't always a productive way to spend your day.

Then you can try and determine where he is feeding and bedding, much easier to do if there is snow on the ground.

Once you have some idea where your likely to see him in legal shooting hours, you can set up a tree stand or ground blind [watching the wind] and see if he will show himself. You'll be far more productive not moving around that you'll ever be moving, your in their everyday life and they'll beat you out 99 times out of 100 at seeing you first.

One trick if your dogging his tracks is to push him hard, when he crosses a cut, turn into the heavy timber where he would have to go in order to circle around on you and wait for him to show. Deek him out if you can.

[frenchbar]

how many of you guys have actually shot big buck that you tracked???

altho it dosnt happen often Andy ..me and dad and a freind of his were in the camels foot range above treeline..i was 12 yrs old ..spotted some big tracks in the snow ..went and got dad and the 3 of us followed the tracks for roughly half a km..eventualy spotted him he went around the back side of a knoll ..me and dad went one way ..dads freind went around the other side ..and he got a big ass muley a 4x6 hawg..dosnt happen often ..but that was one stalk that sticks out in my mind . it also happend on my biggest muley ...was about to give up and turn back from the lack of sign ..when i spotted 2 sets of big tracks ..continued on following the tracks when i broke out of the trees in the alpine i heard rocks rolling look up in the rock pile and 2 big bucks were standing their ..175 yards i took the bigger of the 2 ..a day i will never forget ..

[dave_fras]

just this past season i followed a ton of big buck tracks!!... i only caught up to a couple of them tho!! i was trying to hold for a 170 inch buck tho!... but that technique does work!!! you just have to be patient.. and have some good legs on u!... ohh and my 170... never happened haha

[dana]

I've caught up with plenty of big bucks while doggin their tracks. Many times the scene plays out just as Rams said with the buck trying to ditch ya. Fishhooks, rubbing and burping all play into the strategy. It is a gamble on how aggressive you need to be. I've gone slow on tracks from the night before and killed the buck in his bed at less than 15 yards and I've had bucks spin me in circles back over my tracks again and again. But the point being, a big track is evidence that a big buck is in the area. There are tons of times where sitting on openings and glassin might work, but it is my experience that a big ol' buck plays the light to his advantage and is pretty much nocturnal when it comes to crossing openings. Dogin the tracks is your best bet on getting a look at that buck. The binos are a definate need while trackin. If you don't use them in the upclose and personal, then that buck will make a fool of you.

[hunter1947]

Big mule bucks move when the rut starts there might not be much there at a certain time of the year but as the season changes there could be some big mossy backs in this area.

As for the big tracks and what I would do is be in this area before daylight and set up and wait most big bucks enter back into the hiding places well be for daylight you just might catch him going back into his beding area when it is breaking daylight ,big mulies will come out well after dark as well.

Go back into this area when the rut is on and thats when they the big guys let there guard down...

[BCrams]

Dana makes a good point regarding openings such as those like large natural clearings, cutblocks and fields. A 'big' mature buck won't linger in these areas and if one does cross ... say for example a 100-200 yard clearing and thats being generous ....... he's going to move across it at a fairly quick and deliberate pace .... so if you are sitting, you need to be alert because its only going to take him half a minute to a minute and he's back in the timber.

Dogging tracks and catching up to smaller bucks happens often ...... and I find the larger the buck, the harder it is going to be to get him.

How often have people gone off hunting with snow on the ground only to return at the end of the day along some route to cut a good set of tracks along some trail or ridge? I like still hunting / tracking as much as the next person but everytime I cut a track in such a situation, I muse to myself, now if I had only sat here all day, I may have seen that buck.

Hunt an area long enough and you'll see where bucks tend to move through on a fairly consistent basis at some point. Last fall, I had no choice but to sit in my tree stand for a couple days because I hurt myself. The conditions sucked and there was crunchy snow but there was this one spot that had heavy sign and both Matt and I cut across it that day (I cut it earlier first before Matt came along and saw my tracks there too) and the first thing Matt admitted to me at the end of the day was, "I'll bet he's coming back to set up his tree stand here." and I did...... no one saw anything the next day while I saw a couple moose, and a couple bucks including one 4 point I easily could have shot but wasn't what I wanted.



Moose.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/BCrams/IMG_3016.jpg

First buck just before noon out front.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/BCrams/IMG_3012.jpg

Second buck came strolling along mid afternoon down ridge across from stand.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/BCrams/IMG_3014.jpg

[Kody94]

How often have people gone off hunting with snow on the ground only to return at the end of the day along some route to cut a good set of tracks along some trail or ridge?

Yep...that's a pisser alright. Especially when those tracks follow yours all the way back to your truck, across the draw and up the other side. F-D wouldn't have wasted all that time hiking around while deer frolicked around his pick-up. ;)

[BiG Boar]

I just read a book that said its best to follow them to learn how each individual buck works. Then find where he is beating a trail and wait. The rut will be different of course.

[hawkdog]

no binos?? i never leave home without them, especially if its a 4 point only season, feel naked without them,

doesnt spot and stalk include hiking? I mean if you are out hiking/hunting
and see a big buck, dont you stalk it? you dont just hike right up to it?

[GoatGuy]

Dana makes a good point regarding openings such as those like large natural clearings, cutblocks and fields. A 'big' mature buck won't linger in these areas and if one does cross ... say for example a 100-200 yard clearing and thats being generous ....... he's going to move across it at a fairly quick and deliberate pace .... so if you are sitting, you need to be alert because its only going to take him half a minute to a minute and he's back in the timber.


That's good advice. Couple spots like that for mulies that produce daily; they cruise through within 10-20 seconds if they aren't with does and then they're gone.

One of our wt spots lucky if you get 10 seconds for them to cross and there's really only two shooting lanes. You've got to catch them as soon as they pop out because you've also got to stop them right in one of th shooting lanes. We've had 8 or 9 bucks fall in the exact patch of ground and even more get away.

Those spots produce all day long in the rut. Best off just sitting, watching and being awake otherwise one might wake up to the gunshot alarm. :wink:

[snareman1234]

Very good advice here. good read

Just one question to dana. what does this mean?



Fishhooks, rubbing and burping all play into the strategy.

[BCrams]

Very good advice here. good read

Just one question to dana. what does this mean?


Fishhooks: .... a way of moving through timber to catch bucks that are doubling back on you. Sort of like a big J. Its a tactic that pays big dividends if you know the terrain really well and can aniticipate where the buck is going to go.

Rubbing: using an antler to rub trees is quite effective. More than rattling for muleys. Sometimes bucks come charging in or sneaking in when they hear another 'buck' in what they may deem their territory or a threat to his does.

Burping: he doesn't use grunt tubes ..... he mastered that himself

[snareman1234]

ahh, I see, now maybe if I use the lingo of a master I will become one myself,
ha ya right

-Thanks

[Kody94]

Very good advice here. good read

Just one question to dana. what does this mean?


Fishhooks: .... a way of moving through timber to catch bucks that are doubling back on you. Sort of like a big J. Its a tactic that pays big dividends if you know the terrain really well and can aniticipate where the buck is going to go.

Rubbing: using an antler to rub trees is quite effective. More than rattling for muleys. Sometimes bucks come charging in or sneaking in when they hear another 'buck' in what they may deem their territory or a threat to his does.

Burping: he doesn't use grunt tubes ..... he mastered that himself


ahh, I see, now maybe if I use the lingo of a master I will become one myself,
ha ya right

-Thanks

Just read the mule deer books by Walt Prothero, David Long and Mike Eastman (google them). You will learn all that lingo and more....like "coyoteing out", "trash-factor bucks", "rack bracketing" etc etc etc.

You won't be one of the cool kids until you do. ;)

[humbolt]

I must say that I was a bit skeptical about the HBC forum at first, but my hat is off to you guys. This is the best advice you could ever hope to get. Reading books is a great resource, but they are very rarely in your home turf. All this info is pure BC info. Please keep up all the great posts.

[xtremearchery]

Awesome thread!

[Sitkaspruce]

Great stuff Dana and Rams!!!!

One thing to add to the great info

- if you find a great fresh track and decide to follow it, you can tell if he is a good buck by where he walks. If the deer you are following is walking between narrow trees (less that 25" apart) good chance he is a good buck, or if he walks around low down branches or other low, thick stuff. I once watched 4 does, a three point and a small 4 point walk down a river bank through the thick stuff, 10 min later a nice 4x3 came through, but was weaving through the thicker stuff. Of course I never got a shot off:-D, but when I went over there, I could see how he was missing the narrow trail that the other had followed and was walking between the wider trees.

An old timer I met in Tulameen used to hunt by following big bucks. This was how he hunted.......
If they got fresh snow that night or morning, he would get up and fill his thermos full of coffee, jump in his truck and drive his one fav road that cut the sidehills for about 10 k. He would drive the road and stop and get out to look at any tracks that had crossed the road. If they were really fresh, off he went, but most of the time he would spray black paint in all the tracks until he got to the end of the road. There he would enjoy a cup of coffee and then return back down the road. Any tracks that did not have paint in them, he would look and if they were big enough, off he would go. I saw his shed once and he had a ton of HUGE muley racks in there, just lying around. I asked him his method and he told me how he did it. Of course he lived in prime muley country, knew the area like the back of his hand and had a lot of time to chase them. He told me he had never enjoyed tag soup and would only kill mature bucks.

Like Dana, he spent a ton of time in the bush and studied big deer. He knew the area, knew the deer, knew how to follow them and how to hunt them.

Great thread!!!!

Cheers

SS

[dana]

Just read the mule deer books by Walt Prothero, David Long and Mike Eastman (google them). You will learn all that lingo and more....like "coyoteing out", "trash-factor bucks", "rack bracketing" etc etc etc.

You won't be one of the cool kids until you do. ;)

I think it was the imfamous Kirt Darner that was the first to use the 'Fishhooking' term. ;)

As for Burping, I must give credit where credit is due. Got that technique from an old Jim Shockey whitetail video. Of course that was back in the day before he had deer call sponsers. The vast majority of deer calls on the market are whitetail calls and they don't sound the same as the noise a rutted up muley makes. I burp and rake (rubbing) often as I still hunt thick timber. Most yanks have never heard of this strategy and they are actually quite taken aback by it. They think it would be insane to make so much noise letting every buck on the mountain know your pressence. I say that is exactly what you want to do. You want to appear as an aggressive buck ready to fight and steal the dominate buck's does. I burp often by swallowing in air and letting it out in a loud and long burp. I carry a big shed antler and beat brush and rake trees with it. The bigger the antler the better. A big antler has a big sound to it. A dominate buck is not going to turn around when he hears a little buck rubbing his antlers. But he is damn sure going to turn around when he thinks there is a threat of another mature buck honing in on his turf. Quite often when dogging tracks, I jump a buck up and just see ass and antlers as the buck bails. I don't know how many times I've turned that buck around on the spot by burping and raking. They come straight in with their ears pinned back ready for a fight. This gives you that added time to evaulate if that buck is a shooter or not.

Another tracking method is to criss-cross the track as you sneak and peek through the area. You might not be doggin the track but you are headed the general direction as the buck. If you hit the track and it looks to be changing direction, you follow suit. This allows you to make wide arcs covering a lot of ground and you keep your head up more without staring at the track on the ground. Quite often you can catch up to him from the side where he isn't expecting you. Bucks often bed facing their back track.

[22savage]

WOW what a great thread knowledgable people sharing their experiences and information for the benifit of all, I think this is what hbc was intended to be about. you can't take it with you when your gone so why not pass it along

[hillclimber]

Some good info on here for sure. Learned a few things from this thread.

One thing I was told once is that every animal has a stronger side when they're walking which causes them to walk more to the left or more to the right. If your following tracks and notice which side they are "leaning" more towards you can cut across and make up some time.

[gibblewabble]

I have found that if a big buck holes up in some really thick stuff, barge in 10-15 feet then come out the way you went in and quite often they are there watching the bush just dont come all the way out, if you miss it he is gone as. I have had some really nice quartering away shots with this method on some pretty decent bucks. And fishhooks work great when following tracks, my grandfather taught me this trick.

[humbolt]

I am planning to print the thread pages and make a book from it. This is some great stuff.

[dana]

Early season tracking is a little more difficult than tracking in snow. But tracks are still made and it is a good way to know where to focus your attention. One of my scouting strategies in the summer is to look in soft dirt or mud and look at the size of the tracks that I find. If I find a blocky track that a 30 cal shell would fit in both length ways and width ways, I know I have a buck that might warrent some future investigation. It might be worth setting up an hour before light or a couple hours before dark and see what shows up. This also allows you to eliminate areas as well. If all you find is small to medium tracks, you can move on to scout different areas.

[humbolt]

Have you found that the bigger bucks prefer certain types of topography, ridges, old growth. Where do they like to rest and travel. I known when the rut comes everything changes.

[redthorn]

I'm a big fan of dogging tracks, whether in snow or not, and some of my best days in the woods have ended with the satisfaction that I never once lost his track, even if I never saw him.

If you are following a fresh set of prints on an undistrubed deer, and all of sudden his tracks start changing from being purely directional, really slow down. Most deer will range back and forth a bit and do some light browsing before bedding down. And to borrow the term since it will obviously increase my hunting potential, "Fishhooking" plays a part here too. But in the buck's favor. Often he'll "fishhook" back along the downwind side of his tracks before he beds. This way anything following his tracks will cross upwind of him and he'll smell them before they ever turn back along his tracks.

So if his tracks start to meander and you notice a bit of evidence of browsing, then usually go dead slow. in most cases, move off the trackline 30-40 feet downwind, and proceed slowly. And use your nose. There is only one thing in the woods that smells like a rutting buck, and that is a rutting buck. If you're close you will often smell them.

[OutWest]

Have you found that the bigger bucks prefer certain types of topography, ridges, old growth. Where do they like to rest and travel. I known when the rut comes everything changes.

The Muley I shot this year travelled a very long ways from where he was feeding and getting water to where he bedded. Of course it only took him a short amount of time to get from place to place but it took me a couple of hours. He came down quite low to feed and drink but he bedded on a very, very steep North facing slope in some heavy brush. It was a lot of work to get him but it paid off.

[dana]

Have you found that the bigger bucks prefer certain types of topography, ridges, old growth. Where do they like to rest and travel. I known when the rut comes everything changes.

Big bucks are where ya find them. Every buck and every area is different. Some perfer to go way up high in the summer to feed on lush alpine veg and bed on wind swept ridges away from the bugs, others stay low and spend their entire lives in a small home turf. Some perfer steep fir ridges while others like to hide out in the rhodo jungles of the ESSF. This is why a big buck hunter must pay attention to tracks. You find a hawg track, you know there is a hawg living there. Then you have to piece the rest of the puzzle together.

[dino]

Raking and rubbing would be a new tactic for me to try. I would like to try this next season I do have some questions about it.
will it work from beginning to end of the season? especially in early season noisy bush conditions or later crunchy snow conditions?
how often and loud do you rake and rub?
How long after a rake do you wait for?
Wicked thread and long overdue.

[Husky7mm]

Lets say you were hunting at or near alpine and you had scouted a few big bucks there in the pre-season. Opening day didnt work out and it takes two weeks to get back at it(who gets married in early sept anyways dam sister.) Anyways you arrive to find half a foot of fresh snow, but by the end of the day you have not seen a single animal or track for that matter. This snow will likly melt in a few days, would you return or assume they have move to a lower elivation or transision range?

[mark]

how many of you guys have actually shot big buck that you tracked???

Lots of good advise in this thread! I found myself reading it and thinking...hmm... I do that, never really thought about it!

Tracking is my favorite!!! Growing up in 100 mile area, I never really got serious about muley hunting till it snowed! I skipped on work every year on the first snowfall!
Someone mentioned here how a guy used to drive an area....examining every set of tracks that crossed roads... wait for the right one, and get on it.
That was my dads favorite system, and thats how I got my first ever buck!
Everytime i jump on a fresh big buck track, im 14 again, i feel exactly the same, I know at the end of this set of tracks is a big buck, and Im looking for that satisfaction or reward of finding him!

Sitka S mentioned zig-zaging a track.... I do this also! The track is either to my left or to my right, I rarely follow it track for track. If you do, you will spend too much time starring at the ground, and your buck will bound away on ya!
I also try to determine his rack size by his trail choice, and see what snow he knocked off whick branches!

To answer horshur's quo, I have cought up and shot, or passed on, lots of bucks in my years.
Unfortunately living in the OK, with short seasons and total lack of snow, im having to find other means to find these beasts that I obsess about! :-D

[dino]

Lets say you were hunting at or near alpine and you had scouted a few big bucks there in the pre-season. Opening day didnt work out and it takes two weeks to get back at it(who gets married in early sept anyways dam sister.) Anyways you arrive to find half a foot of fresh snow, but by the end of the day you have not seen a single animal or track for that matter. This snow will likly melt in a few days, would you return or assume they have move to a lower elivation or transision range?

They may have hunkered down to wait out a storm. Some deer have also already started to migrate by that time of year. Ive noticed this in the chilcotin, after about the third or fourth day after opening day their already timbered up and moving towards the fraser. This is just what I have experienced in the alpine.

[BCrams]

You need to be tuned in on where deer and bucks will move.

Lets use this example from last fall. Conditions for the most part was horrible. The spot where I set up the treestand was a good spot. First day in the stand produced, but day 2 didn't....thats right, all day and nothing. However, given the location, the snow neither melted or softened up and was crunchy......yet just over 1 km away on a hillside it was nearly snow free and just patchy soft wet snow in that same period and thats where the deer moved to (based on track evidence). I spent the following day sneaking through and promptly found another small 150" class muley buck which I let go.

Flexibility and knowing where / when to go adds to the element of deer hunting.

[madrona sh]

I stalked and still hunted an area ALLLL last season for this old black tail.They are sneaky. I put in alot of hours and I mean alot. I caught glimpses but never got him. Came across alot of other deer but they never acted like him. I passed all the others up and ended up not filling my tag. But thats not a problem. I"ll try again next year and he will be bigger yet. Good luck to you on your hunts.

[ufishifish2]

Thanks guys for taking all the time to write down your experiences. This is definately one of the better threads here! Personally, I`m not too good at burping, but damn do I ever have fartin` dialed in. Think that`d work too :)

I found a couple sheds lying together last fall while hunting. I picked them up and 50 yards later flushed a nice 4x5 up. Figured I was busted cause he was heading for the hills and quick. Started using the sheds to rake on a pine, and he came right back in for a nice shot. Yup, it works. First time for me though. Now I`m gonna carry a shed every time I hike. Thanks again guys!!

[Kody94]

Personally, I`m not too good at burping, but damn do I ever have fartin` dialed in. Think that`d work too :)


You are apparently not familiar with the old adage:

"Why fart and waste it, when you can burp and taste it?"

Didn't know it could make you a better mule deer hunter!!

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

[tarzan]

a good technique that works for spotting bedded mulies is using a good digital camera and taking pics from a distance then using the zoom function to scan an area.we seen some bruisers this way.

[22savage]

#1 Be patient (remain focused and be positive) #2 Practise your shooting #3 Make the first shot count #4 Scout your hunting territory #5 Be Quiet and always watch the wind #6 stay fit #7 Learn from your mistakes #8 ENJOY YOUR TIME IN THE BUSH (SUCCESS IS NOT MEASURED BY KILLS BUT BY THE EXPERIENCE)

[dana]

Raking and rubbing would be a new tactic for me to try. I would like to try this next season I do have some questions about it.
will it work from beginning to end of the season? especially in early season noisy bush conditions or later crunchy snow conditions?
how often and loud do you rake and rub?
How long after a rake do you wait for?
Wicked thread and long overdue.

Raking and burping only seems to work well during the prerut and rut periods. I've tried it in the early season and in the post rut late season and have had both bucks and does bail hard because of my aggressiveness. Deer are not stupid. They know when another buck should be on the prowl and when he shouldn't be on the prowl.

During the prerut and rut, I burp often. Especially if I am busting through noisy thick timber. If you have ever heard a buck on the prowl, he ain't quiet, so neither am I. When I do jump deer, I burp numerous times. Even if they are just does. It calms them down and allows ya to walk right past them. Does are your biggest threat during the rut as they are the ones that alert the buck to your presence. Keep them calm and you will be able to have to chance at the buck that is just out of sight. I've had deer many a time just accept me as part of the herd and feed right around me even though they see my movements.
As for raking, it depends on the deer activity I am encountering. If, while stillhunting, I cut a big set of fresh tracks, I take out the shed and pick a bigger alder, aspen or pine and start beating it. Look at the size of rubs in the area. If a big buck is beating bigger trees, I need to be as well. I burp as I'm beating the tree. I also thrash brush and break sticks to make it sound like I am pissed off. I do it for a couple mins and then silence right down and listen. Alot of time I will do the routine again about 5 mins later. If I am stillhunting and I bump up a buck out of his bed and see his ass bail through the trees, I'll burp numerous times and start pounding brush with the antler. Tons of times I've had the buck respond by grunting and beating brush as well. This is a battle of dominance and to draw him back you need to get him pissed at you.

[dino]

Thanks for that advice Dana. I have jumped some bucks while still hunting and they stopped after a short run to look back. I watched them stomp their feet and snort a bit would this be the time to try burping and raking?

[dana]

There is a big difference between the actions of young bucks, does, and big mature bucks. Very rarely will a mature buck stomp his feet or snort or blow after he's been spooked. It is my experience that the young bucks and does are the ones that do that. A few quieter burps are the way to go when you bump up young bucks. Act big and aggressive and they will think they will get their asses kicked and they will head for dodge.

[field marshal]

Jelvis my friend :)
It is not surprising you don't like using FARLOOKERS??
Aren't you the guy who refuses to get his eyes checked:confused:
I'm sure we would all love to know how you find game using the BRAILLE -method??? Waiting with breathless anticipation?? Sorry for the Hijack.
Cheers , Field Marshal.

[husky30-06]

I have gotten several fours but none in the high 100's...... but I will tell you this, I have learned that if you get on that "Big Guy" if you dog him as hard as you can........ he sputter out and the opportunity can be yours. I missed out on a 180 class several years ago, just because I broke chase to early and he got the break he needed to kick my a$$ on round two that same day. the bigger they are the shorter they can run hard. I was always on him at 40 -50 yards at all times and he was showing it in his track. when they bound then run, then bound again.... you are close to him. check his foot drag in the snow.... he will drag hard if he is beginning to tire out. yes the gamble is there for a no shot or a running shot, but I LOVE THE HARD FAST CHASE!!!!!!:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

[husky30-06]

Lots of good advise in this thread! I found myself reading it and thinking...hmm... I do that, never really thought about it!

Tracking is my favorite!!! Growing up in 100 mile area, I never really got serious about muley hunting till it snowed! I skipped on work every year on the first snowfall!
Someone mentioned here how a guy used to drive an area....examining every set of tracks that crossed roads... wait for the right one, and get on it.
That was my dads favorite system, and thats how I got my first ever buck!
Everytime i jump on a fresh big buck track, im 14 again, i feel exactly the same, I know at the end of this set of tracks is a big buck, and Im looking for that satisfaction or reward of finding him!

Sitka S mentioned zig-zaging a track.... I do this also! The track is either to my left or to my right, I rarely follow it track for track. If you do, you will spend too much time starring at the ground, and your buck will bound away on ya!
I also try to determine his rack size by his trail choice, and see what snow he knocked off whick branches!

To answer horshur's quo, I have cought up and shot, or passed on, lots of bucks in my years.
Unfortunately living in the OK, with short seasons and total lack of snow, im having to find other means to find these beasts that I obsess about! :-D

"ZIG-ZAGING" can work for most but I have found that the big guys will track on other tracks which can make it very hard.... that is why I like to take my dog (Sydney) with me as she does very well at disserning the tracks (not always, but she does very well for not being formally trained)
JUST MY EXPERIENCE!!!!!

[Caribou_lou]

Follow that big buck track and find out where he sleeps. keep an eye out for a good spot you can set up a blind also.

[dana]

The one thing people need to realize is mule deer are not whitetails. The only thing predictable about a big ol' muley buck is his unpredictablity. The pattern that you can always count on is randomness.

[bruin]

Good thread, lots of good info, thanks guys. I haven't tracked alot of bucks and the ones I did always beat me. Definitely some new stuff to try next season.

[BCrams]

The one thing people need to realize is mule deer are not whitetails. The only thing predictable about a big ol' muley buck is his unpredictablity. The pattern that you can always count on is randomness.

I'd like to add to this.

Whitetails indeed can be timed like clockwork along......say a scrape line or certain trails.

Big muleys are indeed as unpredictable as anything and are random, however they still like to utilize certain areas and habitat. During the rut, when the big bucks are on the move, they're often covering a lot of ground. Understanding how mule deer like to move, terrain features, habitat, where the does are can all factor in your decision where and how to hunt to increase your odds of catching a big mule deer buck. Putting yourself into these areas enhance your odds of a big buck encounter.

[humbolt]

This is what I was wondering. In an area that I like to hunt the logging crew have logged all the valleys and have left the trees on the top of the ridges. The big buck tracks rarely dip down below 500 yards from the top. Taking the different strategies given previous posts, I should find a ridge that has a good deer trail on it and set a stand or I should still hunt the treed ridges.

[Dolomite]

I've gone slow on tracks from the night before and killed the buck in his bed at less than 15 yards and I've had bucks spin me in circles back over my tracks again and again. But the point being, a big track is evidence that a big buck is in the area.
how selective are you with which tracks you follow? for example. snow fell one night one one of my trips. I saw tracks the next morning and followed a few only to lose the track. I guess that's the chance you take. but my point is...how do you know that deer isn't miles away? and following that track isn't futile. I followed a few tracks only to find an old bedding spot. should I set up a blind in that area? or are mule deer as random as some people make them out to be? I love hiking in the bush but I've spent many an hour hiking around never to spook a beeded deer.

[yzchamp]

How fast do you guys go whille" dogging " on buck tracks?

[Looking_4_Jerky]

I think your technique and the advice that you follow from this thread should be reflective of the conditions at the time and the characteristics of the habitat you happen to be working.

I have caught up with deer that I’ve been tracking and I’ve also had some that I caught the ass end of once and never again. In timber with decent shooting lanes and reasonable visibility (in old growth doug-fir you can often see 75 yards) tracking slowly can be very fruitful. Mixing in raking and grunting (or burping) can add effectiveness and I think they are valuable techniques to learn regardless. If you’re lucky enough that your buck is in such an area you’ll be amazed at what you see by tracking and scanning as far ahead as possible with the binos. You’re absolutely insane if you hunt ANY style without binos!!! If you don’t, do yourself a favour and stay home!!!!

Crunchy/squeaky snow changes the game even if you have a bit of visibility on your side. Thicker or brushy timber also stack the odds in the deer’s favour, as you have to get really close and that’s just not going to happen (usually). In these conditions, you may think more strongly of looking for travel routes and setting up a stand/blind in strategic locations. I don’t have a ton of experience stand hunting, but I can tell you that it is a patience game that I often can’t make myself play. It is also nicer if it’s not F-ing cold out! Regardless, it is easy to understand why it would be a sensible option where viz or noise is going to be a factor. Also, you’ll find that tracking specific deer is not always very easy in areas with lots of tracks. At this time of year in areas with a skiff of snow you can see the track well and can judge its size well enough, but in deeper snow, good luck trying to judge the size of a track, or differentiate it from others in high traffic locations. If you are on a track of a buck that you’ve seen, it is not uncommon to end up getting mixed up as it enters a maze of other deer tracks.

[BigfishCanada]

Tree stand or blind where his tracks are, sit, sit and sit some more..thats how i got my big guy. I dont have much patience to sit that long so I have allot of small bucks also

[SimilkameenSlayer]

walk like a ninja, where other ninjas are not walking.

[Dolomite]

I'm mainly in 3-19 where is not THAT thick, not as thick as where I live on the coast. Its also definitely a lot easier to move around in than the coast since the terrain isn't as steep. There are portions of my tracking where its through open old growth pine, some of it is in new pine growth (they really seem to like dancing around in those areas), and some of it is though skid rows/relatively open areas. Since there was about 3" of snow on the ground it was easy to see the track size and direction. It seems like most deer I was following were real knuckle draggers because they left that long groove in the snow after their step. So I guess what I'm getting at is, is it worth tracking these deer or am I better off trying to pattern the deer and setting up in a spot where they might push through? If I find a bedding spot, is that gold and I should park myself near there all day? Kinda frustrating following tracks all day only to find cold beds and not so fresh droppings. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. I go quite quickly as I'm tracking because from the sign I'm seeing the deer made those tracks quite a while ago. So I want to make up ground and if I see signs that are fresh, then I'll slow down and look a little further in to the bush.