I need experienced Mule Deer hunters help!!!!!!!!!!!

Or if there are other states to hunt in that have good public land hunting thanks

Welcome to the MADNESS.

Here in Utah all public tags are draw only. The most popular areas are the south and southeast units for the general season hunts. If you have the money there are units called CWMU's that land owners have tags that they can sell to whom ever they feel like that way you don't have to worry about the draw. While we have some really nice deer in this state getting a tag to hunt them can be difficult.

I would look into Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakota's also.

Thank you for the welcome and for replying to my post. Well I have heard that Colorado is all based on points so it would almost be impossible to get in next year. I dont know if there is any truth to that. I would like to kill a nice Muley so I dont know what direction to go

I know of a few people that go to Colorado every year to chase those pesky mule deer so I think that there are some ways to do it. The best place that I've found to start is to surf the states game and fish web sites and pour over the rules.

Here is the link to Utahs web site.

http://wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/

As with our state the better units will be harder to get a tag. Now is the time to do your home work because the draws are starting soon and when you have more specific questions we will help as much as we can.

Wyoming had lots of leftover tags this year for some areas.

Colorado is draw only for the entire state. The only way I could see someone being able to hunt muleys year in and year out is to purchase land owner tags, as has already been explained.

As for which unit in CO? Hard to say as there are good bucks taken all over the state every year. The numbers of deer in each unit is another matter though.

This is a good place to start: http://wildlife.state.co.us/

It is possible to hunt Colorado or any other state out west without having preference points. The fact is that you have to do some research and find which unit require o preference points to draw and then hunt hard. Without preference points, any unit will be crowded depending on where you hunt. Get away from the roads and you will find less people.
Here are some link to help you out.
Colorado:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/BigGame/
Colorado Statistics: show preference points required for different species
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/BigGame/Statistics/

Wyoming
http://gf.state.wy.us/wildlife/hunting/NonResident/index.asp

Keep in mind that most non resident aplications are due by the middle or end of March to put in for a draw tag. They are very simple to fill out but require you to put your money in for the tag up front, then if you don't draw they will issue a refund.

I was in your shoes last summer/fall trying to get an idea of what i needed to do to plan a do-it-yourself mule deer hunt for my Dad and I. I had only ever hunted Whitetails and a few trips for Elk. I wish I had the time you do, as you still have time to apply for some tags. We planned the hunt based on what over the counter tags were available in Wyoming. We were both successful, but it took a lot of work to figure out how to work around the hunting pressure.

I was running out of time, and I chose Wyoming because of the access to public land and the fact that they had leftover tags in some areas that had potential. I started my research by looking at the regions where left over tags were available and made a list of all the possible "hunts" we could take. I then looked at harvest reports and subscribed to Eastman's hunting journal to get access to the Members Research Section of their website and used the information I found in those sources to rate the possible areas by potential for shooting a decent buck. After I figured this out I then started pouring over maps found in Wyoming fish and game and BLM to figure out where I could get good access to public land. We are both in good shape, so I was looking for areas where we could walk in deep or into terrain that would likely keep other hunters out and hopefully encourage a big muley to hang out there. after figuring out these two factors "deer quality" vs "access to good habitat", I chose the region we wanted to hunt.

Another thing nice about Wyoming is they cluster a group of Hunt areas into a region for non-residents, so we were able to hunt an area that encompassed seven different resident hunt areas. This is very nice for the non-resident allowing them to have several different chunks of public land they can hunt, so they have some options when their first choice was also 30 other hunters' first choice.

From the perspective of the white tail hunter heading west, you are going to use your binos constantly, more than I had ever before from the treestand. I brought out a set of Leupold Mojave 10x42s, they were great. The only piece of equipment I bought for the trip was a spotting scope and tripod. It was a good purchase, maybe not absolutely necessary, but it saved a lot of time and boot leather. I first spotted my buck from about a mile away, not sure if I would have gone after it had I not had the scope.

The only other thing I would tell you is, I am a complete novice, and I just sharing the experience of planning my first hunt, but one of the greatest resources I had was this website. This is probably the most comprehensive bank of mule deer hunting knowledge. Cruise the website and keep your eyes peeled, many guys like us have been here asking alot of the same questions we have, and if you cant find it just ask and these guys are going to do their best to help you out.

Good luck planning for your first muley hunt of many.

Good advice from MNHunter. It's still possible for a N-resident to hunt Mulies every year. Apply for the area you want or a good area in CO and start building points. And apply for a WY region that has public access and best odds for a NR draw, or get leftover tags. WY Mulies are managed mostly for numbers so usually plenty of deer and small bucks. Work hard at it get at least a mile away from the 2 track and be prepared to bone out and pack your buck, it works. Hard to find a big buck from the road.
Montana is harder draw. MT has only the limited combination hunts for the NR and you can build bonus points. So you could apply for the MT license, get lucky or get a point to increase the odds next year. Or if you have the $ and want a outfitter you can get a guaranteed license.

Okay I have been going over some of the units in Colorado and I need some help on which ones to chose any ideas on which areas are good?

Archery?

I have thought about trying to archery hunting in Colorado but I would like to get my first gun hunt in. Another quick question I use a 30-06 for hunting whitetails and it is very effective. But I figure it might be better to use a .300 win mag or 7mm mag but if I could use my 30-06 it would be great. Is the 30-06 ok to use?

It's pretty hard to beat a 06 for deer. 150 grain probably zeroed at 250 yards.
I use a 270 130 grain, very good for Mulies.

"waynedevore" wrote:It's pretty hard to beat a 06 for deer. 150 grain probably zeroed at 250 yards.
I use a 270 130 grain, very good for Mulies.

+1 on the .06. It is more than enough for mule deer. Shoot 180 grains and you'd be fine for elk. There are better elk gun choices but .06 is a great all around big game gun that would be fine for mule deer or elk.

If you put in for a general archery tag in you Utah you are sure to draw. Also you are not restricted to hunting just one region. You can hunt most of the state aside from limited entry areas.

If you go for a rifle tag I know it is harder to draw some areas than others. For 2010 Utah changed to a 5 day hunt on the rifle hunt. Some areas will only be a 3 day hunt. Still you can easily get a tag if you put in for the right region.

The rifle hunt in my region the northern is a madhouse. So I hunt archery. You see more animals. It's getting a shot thats tough.

Yes I would like to try archery. One question I have is when you put in for the liscence do you have to choice from the areas and pick 1 or 2 or how does that go. Another question on the Colorado Division of wildlife website they have suggested areas to hunt and it gives the GMU areas and it will say what percentage of it is public and I am hoping this is correct and if you guys know where large parts of public land are that way i dont feel somewhat confined

I would really like to choose the best area because of me never being there before. I guess it might be one of those things I might just have to do and hope for the best. What areas do u guys prefer to hunt more montainess areas or more lower flat ground or is it more of a make your own decision. I would like to say thank you to everyone that has helped me with my questions in my quest to kill a mule deer.

Washington State sells Out of state tags over the counter, most areas (GMU's) are 3pt min. The family has hunted the Sinlahekin for almost 40 years and it's all public land. Check http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/hunter/huntregs2009.pdf for specific details.

Derrick, Most of the regions in WY have all types of terrain. Mountains to Sage brush hills and flat land. Mulies for the most part will be in rough country. Canyons, Mountains, badlands, river Breaks and in the heavy cover areas. I like the visibility of the canyon and breaks type terrain. Don't care for the Rolling Sage country or the vast flat areas for Mule Deer. Some folks like it and makes for some fine Antelope country.

Derrick, I'll help you out anyway I can. Just send me a PM.

I'd take him up on that, Ridge is a great guy and knows where to find some bucks.