09.02.2025

Searching High Country Mule Deer: Identifying Patterns

Mule deer who get to maturity have actually been via a minimum of 4– 5 hunting seasons, so this time around it won’t be a lot different. They’ve found out to endure this far as well as are challenging to kill. It will likely take some homework, perseverance, combined with a good bit of good luck to take these dollars.

In the very first article of this series I talked about “The Search” by going over a couple of actions you can take during the preseason and searching period to discover a dollar.

In this post I’ll look at comprehending Mule Deer habits to determine routines and also forecast where the buck will be throughout the period.

Variables that affect Mature Mule Deer Behavior:

All deer have 3 basic demands: safety/security, water and food, as well as reproduction. Recognizing their demands can aid us comprehend their motions and also with any luck anticipate upcoming actions.

Food/Water: In the high country, feed is very offered. Deer do have liked browse, yet inevitably they can locate feed in a great deal of locations. Water, on the other hand, can be a lot less readily available. Bucks need to water ever couple of days, and in locations where water is not bountiful, this will certainly be a big contributor to their activities as well as task. In areas where water is scarce, recognizing the place and patterns of deer on water resources is critical to learning a buck’s patterns, routine and also habits.

Safety as well as Security: Security and safety is probably the most significant driver of a deer’s activities. A deer is regularly being pursued by hunters or natural predators. They bed, feed, and relocate locations where they can escape if required. This makes tracking and searching them a lot more difficult, however it can additionally limit where they go and confine them to even more predictable behaviors. If they feel risk-free in particular locations, they will certainly remain to use them. Try not to interrupt their natural patterns.

Searching Pressure: Understanding what various other hunters are mosting likely to do throughout the quest will be vital to your success. This makes experience with a searching area during previous periods extremely beneficial due to the fact that you understand where pressure will originate from and also have actually seen or can anticipate what the deer will carry out in action to hunting stress. Scouting new areas is enjoyable, but predicting and also preparing for hunting stress is difficult, as well as it can range years.

I when saw and also looked a location 4 terrific dollars in a solitary hunting trip. I was delighted, however I had never hunted that certain location as well as really did not recognize what searching pressure would certainly be like. I figured that 2 of the bucks would certainly not exist when the season rolled about since they would certainly get a great deal of stress, both from hikers and hunters since they were along a really heavily took a trip trail. The other 2 dollars were in a location that was a bit more off the beaten track. Obviously, the stress was much higher than I expected and I didn’t find any one of the 4 dollars during hunting season. I invested a lot of summertime days keeping tabs on those bucks, only to have them pushed out by the time the quest rolled about. I discovered a lot concerning that location and the “in-season” hunting stress and it assisted me predict what to anticipate the list below year.

Recreation: This plays a very important duty during late season as well as rut pursues. I’ve seen rutting activity in late October on many celebrations and also it will certainly last into very early December. There are some dollars that don’t rut very hard, and also others that wear themselves rough from chasing after does. However, the requirement to replicate is a HUGE driver in mule deer throw habits during a brief time structure. Dollars will be searching for “hot” does who are ready to be bred. The dollars will move a lot during this time of year. If you find a herd of does, there will likely be a buck with them, or one will certainly drop by quickly — — so keep checking them to see when he shows up.

This late season dollar was a competitor during the rut while aiming to hand down his genes! Determining Patterns: Older mule deer bucks can be hard to pattern, and also their characters as well as actions can vary a great deal between specific deer. It’s rare for me to locate a buck that I can locate daily without fail. They typically reside in a general location during the summertime and early loss, however they don’t necessarily use the very same routes and beds each day. Their habits is additionally regularly changing throughout the year. Learning a dollar’s propensities can be irritating and also time consuming.

Find Him Twice:

It’s one thing to find a buck as soon as, but laying eyes on him again is a BIG step in the direction of taking that dollar. When a dollar is found a second time, the practices and patterns (or occasionally do not have thereof) begin to unravel. This may appear like good sense, but there have actually been a lot of times that I’ve only found a buck and returned a number of times, hoping to locate him once more without fruition. When I’ve returned as well as found a buck a 2nd time, I locate that it’s quite likely that this dollar has an established pattern or practices as well as I can consistently discover him once more.

Spend the Time:

The finest means to discover a certain buck’s behaviors is to enjoy him as long as possible, yet most of us can not pay for to invest every day watching deer prior to the hunt, so use your time properly as well as efficiently. The majority of us don’t have the luxury of spending a lots of time in the area preseason. Use your early period looking dates covering a great deal of nation as well as seeking your target buck. Try to limit your target buck a number of weeks prior to season so you can spend time learning the behavior patterns of that particular pet.

If you’ve found a buck you’re interested in hunting, try to return to his location to watch him at various times of day. Some bucks will just show up throughout a certain time of the day. A dollar’s patterns will certainly cycle over several days, so if you can find a dollar during mornings as well as evenings it will inform a much clearer tale of what he’s doing, and where he’s going during the whole day. This will offer you an advantage once season rolls around to have several encounters and also forecast where the buck will be.

Bear in mind:

Some of the best seekers I recognize lug notebooks with them in the field. They bear in mind as well as log info everyday. This is a great way to look back and identify behavior patterns. Listen, make note, and attempt to understand what the buck is doing. It can be very important to reflect on your notes, instead of counting on your memory to determine dates, time of day, behaviors, etc. This can help to predict where dollars will feed, water, and also bed (typically).

Scout Like You Hunt: A huge regular and a couple of younger bucks feeding on an august morning. In summer season( preseason months ), deer are normally a lot more energetic as well as will certainly feed later on in the early morning and also invest more time in the open in general. I’ve still seen the old, fully grown bucks are really calculated as well as concise in their motions and habits. A great deal of the time, these older dollars are still only visible throughout the initial few mins of daylight, as well as the last few minutes of twilight — — if in all. Use your scouting trips as a simulated hunt. Check your gear, learn your travel times from camp to glassing vantage, or back to the vehicle, and so on. I understand I’ve been late reaching my preferred hunting/scouting location and also missed deer, or simply hardly caught them as they were going into the trees. Scout like you would certainly quest, do not expect the dollars to avoid late just because it isn’t hunting season.

Various other things to keep in mind in regards to treating preseason looking as hunting season is to position your camp and also keep your visibility as well as effect as minimal as possible. Occasionally a huge dollar will just endure a human experience once before he changes his pattern.

Trail cameras are an effective means to acquire more intel on dollar activity and actions. Make sure to check out our recent short article on Using Trail Cameras for Mule Deer.

This large normal had a mi-day bed with a wonderful vantage. This buck used this bed often, also into archery season. Do you see him?

Be a Student of the Game:

Hunting isn’t cut and also dry to where we can always prepare for or predict end results. There are SO lots of outside pressures as well as variables that enter play. Targeting particular pets, or hunting for just fully grown animals (particularly Mule Deer), requires persistence, time, and also focus. For many years, as well as via several encounters with mule deer their actions obtains a little easier to anticipate. Every deer encounter can aid us understand the total behavior of big bucks!

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