Finding Mulies in the Desert

mac87toy, ::wel to Muley Madness. :)

Dry land Muleys like broken country and draws to hide in. They will sometimes bed in the wide open, especially if they can find a rock, bush or ridge to keep them out of the sunlight. My advice would be to get up high, without skylining yourself and glass, glass & glass. Look for parts of deer, like an ear or leg etc. Many times they will be right under our noses and we don't see them until they move.

Let us know how it goes and have fun.

sorry i dont really hunt in the desert even though i live in one like hunting in the wooded areas better. so since i cant help ya i just wanted to say welcome

mac87toy,

If you're used to hunting whitetails, I would keep in mind that getting away from the crowds in the desert usually means you are also getting away from areas with high densities of deer. Most desert areas are easily accessed by vehicles or ATV's. There are places where I have hunted deer in the desert that you can go a few days without even seeing a deer, let alone a buck. A lot of people don't have the patience to hunt that long without seeing anything. I know it sure tests mine. Also, if you are mainly a meat hunter the desert bucks tend to taste gamey.

I guess it depends on what you call the "desert". I consider the desert as arid low country like those in southern Arizona & New Mexico. Arizona offers bowhunters OTC tags during the January rut hunt, which increases your chances of taking a trophy caliber mule deer.

BOHNTR.....very true.

My response was mainly talking about my experiences in the deserts of Idaho and Utah since he is from Idaho. I also assumed he was talking about the general season rifle hunt and not a controlled, limited entry, or a late season hunt. Obviously there are always exceptions, but that has been my experience hunting the deserts during the general seasons in these two states. In some areas I may see 15-20 deer a day and in others I can go for days without seeing one.

Let me tell you, hunting muley out in the desert isn't easy. I have a deer hunt this coming weekend and have been doing a lot of scouting lately. Now my area of SE NM is more like the high plains, tall grass, canyons and lots of mesquite brush. Just yesterday I spotted a buck bedded under a mesquite bush no taller than about 2' tall, and I barely saw him, but then drove out to the canyons and found them there too. How to hunt them???? Have patience, and lots of them, and a good pair of bi-nocs and a rifle sighted in for 200 yards doesn't hurt much either. They will bed under anything, a cactus, a mesquite bush, scrub oak...... and even if they aren't bedded, it's still almost impossible to find them. Look for shapes that don't belong, an ear, a leg, a bush without leaves. Don't look just for color. Remember, that 9 times out of 10, unless they've been shot at, they wont move. They will turn to stone and watch you and move when they're ready. I literally watched a group of bucks this weekend for nearly 10 minutes, and they never spooked. Good Luck, Happy Hunting...[/i]

Eastern NM hunter, Good advice! Welcome to Muley Madness. :) I hope you have a great hunt and let us know how you do. :thumb

Hey, Thanks for the welcome!! My hunt is this weekend, so I appreciate the good wishes!!!!!