Mule Deer Scouting Trip

[Gianni2507]

Hey Gianni I had a very similar experience to you in my alpine hunt this season. I revisited where I spotted bucks in early July a few weeks later but I couldn't find them and the greens seemed to have dried out a bit. Before hiking up on my hunt I checked out some easier to access spots mid slope on a north facing mountain and saw several does and a fair amount of sign. On top of the mountain I couldn't find much fresh deer sign and only saw one possible deer butt. There was no shortage of black bears in my spot though. I lucked out still hunting my way off the mountain and caught a 4x4 below the sub alpine in the timber. He was on an east facing slope.

I agree with your take aways you've noted. My biggest takeaway is that more time on the mountain would help a ton! I think more outings to really pattern the deer and follow them throughout the alpine would have helped me. The summer was really dry so I feel like that shifted their haunts mid summer. Knowing exactly where they are close to opener would help the confidence a ton. Counting down the days till July!

Congrats on the velvet-buck! Yes, I also can't wait to get up there again next summer!

Right on great pics and thanks for the update... congrats on the buck you got later... I found the early season hot and dry, was there water sources around there in the 2nd week of Oct when you went back? I did not find big game in my high country hunt for elk in Sept, as previously mentioned by others, I believe the premium forage had dried up... I'd go back up in the future for a hunt if you predict the forage is there, depending on the weather..

Water isn't a problem at all at that spot, there are multiple little glacier lakes and creeks running off them, but the forage was obviously dried out, so that might have played a role in it!

Thanks for sharing, great write up and pics.

PS. you can get used tripods at Value village cheap until you want to go carbon fibre

I see quite a few tripods for photographers on the fb marketplace and always wondered if they would do the job too, I'd imagine you can't shoot off them and they're not built with weight-savings in mind, but the sturdiness should still be there, right?

[Treed]

You wanna get a tripod that’s light, especially if it’s just for binos. Go to a hunting store and take a look at them to get an idea. A lot of the ones used by photographers are too heavy and you’ll end up leaving it at home. There are attachments that you screw into your binos and then attach via a plate to the tripod. Look for used tripod on the buy and sell here.

I’ve done a a bit of subalpine / parkland mulie hunting and I think the dry summers really do affect browse up there. I find a lot more sign in the subalpine fir and spruce forests than higher up. The forested areas tend to stay moister during dry summers.Deer don’t graze, they prefer herbs, which can dry out and disappear, and they browse on quite a few shrub species. That being said, there can be some big bucks hiding out higher up but absolute numbers of deer are less, in my experience. Nice place to hunt though, which is half the reason I hunt higher elevations. If there’s no fresh sign, don’t waste too much time up there unless you’re ok with lower chances of getting a buck.

it’s great to shoot a buck, but it’s also great to do what your doing. Don’t get discouraged, focus on the process not the result (it helps me stay more positive and focused) and you’ll tag out and have a great hunt.