Australia visitor after Mule deer questions

[S13tsilvia]

Hi All

I am looking to come over to the USA next year with my dad who has never left the country before for a hunt after Mule deer and maybe an elk. I am trying to leave plenty of time to do research, talk to people etc about how to best go about it.

I am looking to hunt free range deer only, we want to actively hunt for the deer via stalking / glassing etc. I am not interested in sitting in blinds all day or high fence options and came across Randy's videos and think they are amazing and thus joined the forum to ask the people for help.
Due to coming from Australia i think my best option would be to hire a guide for my time over there, what are peoples thoughts on this and do you all have any recommendations on good guides or outfitters etc.
My dad and I are both very fit active hunters who chase Sambar deer over hounds and we regularly cover anywhere upto 15k a day on foot chasing them on weekends through the mountains of Australia

Anyway i look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions on how i should best go about arranging this hunt

Cheers Josh

 

[Redman]

Depending on what you want. The list of guides are long and any guide can put you on mule deer. Like the majority of the people on here I am a DYI hunter so I will steer you away from a guided hunt. For a guaranteed tag Idaho is your best bet. Montana has been good in the past for an easy draw. Again depending on what you want.... old muley bucks with big antlers are a different animal compared to 2 1/2 year old that when the rut kicks in is to distracted by his hormones to notice the orange army of hunters invading his home.

 

[wannakillabigbull]

Are you looking to draw a tag or are you looking to buy a landowner tag? Depending on how much you're wanting to spend would affect the advice I would give you.

 

[Ryan2782]

Welcome! If this is a once in a life time hunt for you, depending on your time frame put aside for hunting, a guide is a good option. It really comes down to the time you have available. The shorter the time for hunting, I would recommend a guide. Also look at an outfitter, someone that would take you into the wilderness, drop you off at a preset camp, and you hunt the surrounding areas on your own. There are a lot of options out there for both.

Doing a do it yourself hunt can be difficult at times, but may also be the most rewarding experience also. Regardless of the size of deer harvested on a DIY - it was all on you to get it done and it's not always an easy task - but the time, effort, and harvest is one for a life time of memories.

 

[publichunter1]

Welcome from MS! Hopefully we can help you a little more when you answer some of the questions already asked.

 

[Reeltime]

Do you want to hunt mountain bucks or desert bucks? Do you just want to shoot any buck in the chosen area or mature bucks? How much time will you dedicate to being in the region you choose to hunt? There are so many options and variables. Like mentioned above, answer some of the questions above and you will get better info. You might even find someone interested in your Australian deer to trade hunts with.

 

[Bigjay73]

I've never hunted with a guide, but if I was lucky enough to travel abroad to hunt, I imagine I would highly consider it. If for anything, to maneuver through the local game laws to make sure I was able to obtain tags and hunt legally. Good luck.

 

[S13tsilvia]

So answering the peoples questions,

Tags, i know nothing about the tag system and how to go about getting one, i thought that if you went with a guide/outfitter they would have them already and thats part of your overall fee?

I see there appears to be a difference to a guide versus an outfitter, my dad and I would probably manage fine if we are dropped into a camp and then are to hunt by ourselves.

Budget would be the cheapest possible haha but in reality i see most guided hunts are around the 5k mark so we would be prepared to spend that, but if we could buy tags ourselves, have an outfitter drop us in a location and only have to pay half that well its a bonus!

Quality of heads, we are not after world record setters, but good respective heads say 140+ would be ideal, once again a 140 doing it ourselves versus a guide i would probably want something much bigger...

mountain or desert doesn't matter to us, admittedly your cold in the mountains is something we probably have not experienced too much. We hunt in weather down to about -1 centigrade but it gets lots colder than that in your mountains i read?

 

[Kiwi]

My advice would be to spend ALOT of time researching tags, states, success rates etc and go DIY. If you want an easy option then talk to a few guides about how they work and how to get tags. Either way I’m sure you will have an awesome time.

 

[BucksnDucks]

Cheers Mate,
I would suggest the first priority would be to begin researching by state and what is required to obtain a license/tag. Many states require a "hunter education or hunter safety certificate" Each individual state will be different as how they treat non state resident and non US citizen. All western states have web sites and numbers to begin the process.
Something to consider is Indian Reservation land. Game laws and tags are set by the individual tribe and guides are available. Tags may be easier to obtain. If you choose this option due extremely thorough research as the tribes are not bound by state laws pertaining to guides. I do not suggest this option without a guide or outfitter that you have vetted thoroughly.
Good luck!

 

[S13tsilvia]

mmm lots of info to go through... how far south can you find mule deer in the USA (what states) and then what month is best for hunting them would be really helpful.

 

[Kiwi]

Mule deer are in all the western states, but WY, MT, CO, ID are the ones you could start looking at. The best month depends on weapon, state, high county vs lower down. But the rut is in November.

 

[wannakillabigbull]

Based on the information you're giving I would purchase a unit wide landowner voucher third season rifle tag in Colorado in either Eagle, Mesa, or Garfield counties and DIY it from there. Killing a big buck isn't easy to do regardless of where you have a tag, though. Like others have said there's a lot of stuff you'll need to make sure you have sorted out such as Hunters Ed requirements.

 

[Ryan2782]

Here's a couple starting questions -

How many days do you plan on actually hunting? Remember you may need time to adjust for the flight and time change too.

What weapon will you be using? Rifle? Archery?

 

[waygoner]

mmm lots of info to go through... how far south can you find mule deer in the USA (what states) and then what month is best for hunting them would be really helpful.

Check your PMs.

 

[S13tsilvia]

Thanks mate for the info. It’s a massive help to have some things layed out for you.

Yeah I have been reading about the hunter ed course we will need to do and make sure that time is accounted for.

We are looking to hunt for around 5 days so would probably be nearly a 2 week trip in total with flights etc

 

[LopeHunter]

Would be a mess to get a ticket 20 hours of plane rides from home for something like your backpack covering up your orange vest so fell short of the required square inches of orange.

If I am flying half way round the world and is a one-time deal where is likely I will not be able to get very far along the learning curve to hunt a species then no way I enter the woods without being attached to the hip with a seasoned hunter. That hunter might be someone from a forum I have met and knows that species. Might be a guide.

First hunt out West. Wants a quality adventure and experience. Bringing a family member. Probably prefers to keep stress level down as going through preparations. First time navigating state rules and regulations including trespass, shooting hours, prompt tagging, loaded weapons with chamber empty in vehicles or not, shooting across an abandoned two track road, shooting near a two track road, hunter's ed, whether to take neck meat, the need to collect CWD sample, where can camp or not, cell phone coverage, nearest fuel, nearest hospital, etc.


Easy call for me.

 

[David Gough]

Would be a mess to get a ticket 20 hours of plane rides from home for something like your backpack covering up your orange vest so fell short of the required square inches of orange.

If I am flying half way round the world and is a one-time deal where is likely I will not be able to get very far along the learning curve to hunt a species then no way I enter the woods without being attached to the hip with a seasoned hunter. That hunter might be someone from a forum I have met and knows that species. Might be a guide.

First hunt out West. Wants a quality adventure and experience. Bringing a family member. Probably prefers to keep stress level down as going through preparations. First time navigating state rules and regulations including trespass, shooting hours, prompt tagging, loaded weapons with chamber empty in vehicles or not, shooting across an abandoned two track road, shooting near a two track road, hunter's ed, whether to take neck meat, the need to collect CWD sample, where can camp or not, cell phone coverage, nearest fuel, nearest hospital, etc.


Easy call for me.

Agreed. Not say you can't do it, you just need to be honest with yourself and your preparation A-Z. If you want to do an epic western hunt without the stress of crossing every T and dotting every I, find an over the counter tag that has access to some awesome backcountry and hire an outfitter/guide

 

[S13tsilvia]

i have already had some kind pm's from forum members offering assistance and guides etc which is fantastic and i am super appreciative.
It appears regardless any state i still need to do a hunter ed course in person ?

Cheers Josh

 

[Kiwi]

Texas offers online hunters ed and it is valid in the states you are looking at.