tomengineer
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2019
- Messages
- 258
Three of us flew out to central ID October 15th-24th in search of mule deer. We split up, hiked an estimated 80 miles combined over a 6 day hunting period. We saw 80+ does, 8 cow elk, one dead bull elk and 5 bucks, one of which was a shooter (for us). We were not successful although two of us could've shot small bucks had we wanted to fill our tags. It was an exhausting adventure during which we learned a lot. We had help for a couple of excellent folks on this forum and Rokslide and we know there were deer in our areas we just couldn't seem to find them. I'll try to summarize what we learned below.
Logistics - Flying with firearms wasn't a big deal. We flew from upstate NY into Salt Lake and didn't have any issues. Follow the TSA guidance and it will likely go well for you. They only charged us for a second checked bag for the rifle cases.
Camping/Hiking - We planned to spike camp out and day hunt from that location for 1-2 nights then relocate. This was not a bad initial plan but two things really limited us here. 1) The tipi tent we selected was far too heavy to hike with. We envisioned needing much more space than we really needed. We only slept in the tent 2 nights of the 6 with the remainder being day hunts for the weight savings. 2) One member of the party was not in adequate shape to hike to spike camp. This left 2 of us to carry the remaining community gear and at that point it was not worth it. The tipi was fine as a base camp but if I did it again I would do a smaller tipi or individual bivy sacks for maximum flexibility.
Finding Mule Deer - I personally could not have covered more ground than I did over the week. I hiked approximately 40 miles but failed to glass any bucks. In retrospect I probably should've glassed more and walked less. While I do feel like I was glassing systematically I'm sure my inexperience glassing for mule deer (first trip) cost me some spots. I'm not sure what I would try next time other than possibly a pair of 15x or 18x binos combined with a spotting scope. I was carrying 10x42's and my eyes much preferred them over the spotter but they lacked magnification. The one shooter mule deer I did see over the week I actually bumped from his bed walking a higher elevation trail. With my rifle on my pack I was not able to get a shot. The locals we spoke with were having the same experience with regard to finding shootable bucks.
General - I would still recommend hunting with a group as for me it adds fun/companionship to the experience. I would suggest however you plan to allow maximum flexibility to each individual with regard to transportation and hunting means and methods. We each found our own style over the week and it was key we were able to hunt the way we wanted to.
That's all I can think of. Hopefully that helps anyone considering a high country mule deer trip. Not the results we'd hoped for but that's part of hunting. Feel free to PM me if you have questions about any of the above.
Logistics - Flying with firearms wasn't a big deal. We flew from upstate NY into Salt Lake and didn't have any issues. Follow the TSA guidance and it will likely go well for you. They only charged us for a second checked bag for the rifle cases.
Camping/Hiking - We planned to spike camp out and day hunt from that location for 1-2 nights then relocate. This was not a bad initial plan but two things really limited us here. 1) The tipi tent we selected was far too heavy to hike with. We envisioned needing much more space than we really needed. We only slept in the tent 2 nights of the 6 with the remainder being day hunts for the weight savings. 2) One member of the party was not in adequate shape to hike to spike camp. This left 2 of us to carry the remaining community gear and at that point it was not worth it. The tipi was fine as a base camp but if I did it again I would do a smaller tipi or individual bivy sacks for maximum flexibility.
Finding Mule Deer - I personally could not have covered more ground than I did over the week. I hiked approximately 40 miles but failed to glass any bucks. In retrospect I probably should've glassed more and walked less. While I do feel like I was glassing systematically I'm sure my inexperience glassing for mule deer (first trip) cost me some spots. I'm not sure what I would try next time other than possibly a pair of 15x or 18x binos combined with a spotting scope. I was carrying 10x42's and my eyes much preferred them over the spotter but they lacked magnification. The one shooter mule deer I did see over the week I actually bumped from his bed walking a higher elevation trail. With my rifle on my pack I was not able to get a shot. The locals we spoke with were having the same experience with regard to finding shootable bucks.
General - I would still recommend hunting with a group as for me it adds fun/companionship to the experience. I would suggest however you plan to allow maximum flexibility to each individual with regard to transportation and hunting means and methods. We each found our own style over the week and it was key we were able to hunt the way we wanted to.
That's all I can think of. Hopefully that helps anyone considering a high country mule deer trip. Not the results we'd hoped for but that's part of hunting. Feel free to PM me if you have questions about any of the above.
what’s the story behind that? 
