Live from Spearhead Ranch
    Day 8 - Mule Deer Hunting

Parker and I headed to the South Ridge again but this time he dropped me off to sit at a funnel. I was looking for that great big buck I stalked last night but nothing happened. On the way out of there, we spotted several bucks on a hillside, two were shooters. I put the stalk on them but blew it quick.

Parker headed to another area with deep cut banks. The technique is to glass down into the banks, from a high vantage point, and look for deer that may be bedded in the shade. Mule deer like to bed in these draws to get out of the sun and it makes for a good stalk (providing the wind is correct and you don't paint your shadow down in front of the buck).

While moving along the cut bank, I jumped two bucks (see picture below). One of them was a decent buck for my last day but not as impressive compared to the bucks we had seen. I made an attempt on him anyway but it didn't work out.

It was now 11:00 AM. We turned the corner on this one deep draw and I spotted two bucks. One of them was a magnificent 4x3, very massive and extremely tall. He would not have made the book due to a crab-claw on his right horn, but he was probably the fourth largest buck I had seen all trip. What made the setup was they were both feeding in a cut bank. Perfect.

I started my stalk, moving quietly up the cut bank; watching the deer as I took each step; stopping when their heads were up and moving when it was safe to move.

View video of this tense scene (922k)

Unfortunately, they both moved up into a deep draw. I went with them. I turned the corner right into the bedded buck but luckily he never spotted me. I needed to find the other buck so I scaled the back side of the hill and located the big one. The smaller of the two was bedded underneath a pine tree less than twenty yards away. He was a really nice buck but I decided to check all my options before moving on him.

I noticed Parker on the next hill and walked back to discuss the situation. The small but decent buck was bedded beneath the top of the bank and I had a good clear shot at him. That was option 1. The other option was to attempt to push the deer toward me, we ruled that out. The third option was to wait, perhaps several hours, to see what happened when they got up to feed. I decided that option was the best. I really wanted a shot at that great big buck.

We ate lunch back at the Hummer before I headed up to the ridge for my very long wait. I got there at 12:30 and laid down above the bedded buck, twenty yards below. I watched every move (took a snooze too - like in the pic below) and when the buck got up at 4:30 PM - I moved with it. I lost the small buck so switched gears and watched the big one instead. I soon found both bucks feeding up the draw. I carefully stalked to within 25 yards of the big one (his head was down and he was quartering away) but I limit my shots to 20 and held off. I never did get that shot and eventually the stalk was blown at 6:30 PM (total stalk time was 7.5 hours). My hunt was over but it was fantastic!

 Notes

Spearhead Ranch - Frank and Elaine Moore were well known to me. They have been featured in several magazines and are a favorite destination for a lot of bowhunters. Dave Canfield, the former publisher of Bowhunter Magazine, had been telling me about the Mule Deer and Antelope hunting at Spearhead for a few years and I decided that if Dave (who has the ability to go just about anywhere) religiously hunts Spearhead each year, it must be good. Well as you can tell, it is hot. I was simply amazed at the large numbers of trophy mule deer, the incredible numbers of big pronghorn, and the efficient, friendly atmosphere back at camp. I would highly recommend this hunt to anyone looking for either antelope, mule deer or both. For more information on hunting Spearhead, please visit their website at www.bowsite.com/spearhead

Trophy Hunting - I did not get a shot at a trophy mule deer this week, but I had several shots at big bucks that I passed - some quite close. My goal when I came here was to hunt mule deer as primary and antelope secondary. I was also looking for a big mule deer, it did not need to make the book, but it had to be impressive. I fully understood that the odds of me getting the close shot that I needed, the right angle, and the right buck were against me. Had I wanted to shoot just a mountable animal, I could have been tagged out the first day. These decisions are entirely up to you and what you want from your hunt.

Limiting yourself/Patience - I often hear writers claiming that for whitetails you should limit your shots to 30 yards, yet 50 or higher for western animals like mule deer. I do not necessarily agree with that. Mule deer are tough to stalk, but the answer is not more pins or higher performance bows, it is patience and hunting skills that will help tag your mulie. If you take note of most of our stalks, you will note that we spent hours, sometimes a full day hunting a trophy animal. We concentrated our efforts on particular bucks and passed up many nice bucks that happened to be alongside a bruiser. Mule deer, probably more so than other animals, require patience to get the right shot. Of course, if the animal is in a good position for a shot - take it.