First timer muley questions

PSUbowhunter, welcome to MuleyMadness!!! I can tell ya, this is a great place to start your research. The folks here have a wealth of knowledge regarding Mule Deer (I'll try to help out but I am far from the smartest on this site).

I will begin by saying that I am a rifle hunter so as far as bow gear goes, you'll have to wait for one of the others to respond. As for hunting Mulies themselves....FUN, FUN, FUN!

You mentioned "spot-and-stalk". That's the way most mule deer hunting works due to the wide open country they frequent (You'll have to let the folks that have hunted ND to give you the rundown on the terrain there. I am speaking from my experiences). Therefore you'll need some quality optics. Cheap ones work, sure, but the better the optics the better chance you have of spotting those big mulies. I've seen bucks lay flat in the wide open in a rock slide and completely disappear. They'll lay under sage brush or scrub brush or against a rock bluff and unless you look hard you'll never see them.
If you've hunted at all, and from your post I know you have, you know you have to make sure the wind is in your favor when stalking, try not to skyline yourself, and go s...l...o...w. In the wide open country they can spot ya from a long ways off and more often than not they know you're there before you spot them...even if they give you no indication that they have a care in the world. As for bow tactics and gettin' within bow range, one of the bow hunters here at MM will have to help you out.
Good, quality hiking boots are also a MUST. Normally you'll cover a lot of rough terrain while trying to locate and then stalk your buck. You'll also need a light-weight quality pack with you. That same rough country you'll be hiking through to get to the bucks will be the same country you'll have to travel back through to get out. De-boning the deer and packing the meat out is always the easiest way if you're on foot and deep in the country but quartering/halving the deer are also options. Therefore a lightweight de-boning kit or field dressing kit can come in handy (I use just a serrated edged knife but I'll tell ya, I've been MEANING to get me a de-boning kit one of these days...LOL).
I also carry a hand-held GPS unit with me to mark spots in which I want to return later (to include my camp site...LOL), mark spots in case I need to leave gear or the animal and make a return trip, etc. I have a habit of hiking all over the place before realizing that I have not been paying too much attention as to where I am exactly and the GPS unit has bailed me out every time.
There is a lot more that I am sure I am forgetting. I am also sure that the other folks here at MM can fill in the blanks. If you have more precise questions then fire them at us. The more exact the questions are the better the answers we can give you.
Take care my friend and I look forward to your future posts. Also, please remember to let us know how your hunt turns out and show off your pics at the same time.

PSUBowhunter, Welcome. For Mule Deer in ND I take it you'll be hunting in the breaks country of the Little Missouri. The only trees that would support a stand are the Cottonwoods right down in the bottoms, where Muleys don't usually spend much time.

Believe it or not, the country is very rugged, lots of deep, and steep coulees.
It's very much like the Missouri River Breaks in Montana. Yes spot and stalk works very well.

I think the best way to archery hunt the breaks country is. Find a heavily used deer trail, using the wind to your advantage. Get a good ambush spot from above, and use it much like you would a tree stand.

Good Luck

Welcome :thumb

Believe it or not u will have better luck waiting till the end of rifle season to hunt bucks with a bow,once they go into the rut your chances on connecting with a "shooter" buck with a bow skyrocket.

So when do you think the best time to go muley hunting in ND would be. We were planning to out the last week of September. Is it alot better latter in the season.

PSUBowhunter, Good to have you on MuleyMadness :) Welcome!

Is a archery tag "over-the-counter" in ND? because I know the buck rifle tags are by draw and ND only gives out 1% of their tags to Non-Residents. So the rifle and muzzleloader tags are pretty tough to draw for a NR.

The archery tags are lottery also, but I have talked to several people and they said you have decent odds of drawing, and we are putting in as a party. Worst cast scenario is we dont draw and go to SD and buy over the counter license.

PSUBowhunter

::wel , don't have any experience with the area in dicussion. But any other general questions you have? Fire away!

I guess one of my main questions is what would be the best technique to hunt these mulies in this area. We will be hunting around the Missouri River, so the land is pretty cut up and rugged with steep deep draws.

Also, do you think it would be worth applying for an antelope tag also.

I think you can still buy ND archery deer over the counter at ND Game and Fish offices and county Auditors. The same for Antelope.

As long as your taking the trip, why not spend another 200 for NR Antelope.

All the draws and coulees in that part of ND does give the Archery hunter some advantages.

When you're glassing, usually you'll spot the muleys by picking out a tip of a horn or a twitch of an ear. They blend in so well in so many environments, they can be almost invisible. Most importantly, don't expect them to stand up and show themselves, no matter how close you are. Some bucks you almost have to step on. The biggest buck I've shot so far let me walk to within ten yards of him before he jumped up. And you know what? I never knew he was there.

First off welcome to the site. You picked a great place to come and ask questions on muleys. In answer to your question on time of year.western ND like western SD you would do much better in late oct.through november. Spot and stalk is by far one of the better techniques for this area. and in these months I stated look for does first to see if a good buck is with them.Also be prepared for weather ranging in the high 70s all the way down to below zero.

I would also like to add that there is nothing wrong with western SD.but you will have to put in for tags as they are not over the counter.of course since there isn't a quota you don't have to worry about drawing.

id say spot 'n'stalk just plan on a lot of glassing and rough hiking. i dont know a thing about nd so cant help you there. my buddies and i have used ambushing techniques too if you spot a buck and dont think you can make a very good stalk and have a good idea of the escape route (ex. like in a canyon with only one way out) some one can set up on the escape route and the other can jump them to you. not the most efficent but in same areas ive hunted its the only way to have a shot on them with a bow. but it can be frustrating if they dont take that route cause you may never see that deer again so use that for a only have to situation but in most areas that wont work very well anyway.
most of the time ive used it is for noctural bucks in tall tall sage brush when you know they are bedded some where in there but not quite sure exactly where and the only way to ever have chance at the deer is by jumping them while they are bedded but like i said you have to have a good idea of the escape route and make sure its far enough away thet they will have slowed down so you can have a shot say a couple hundred yards from the bedding area. its hard but can work i can say from experiece