Bowhunting Mulies & Antelope.

[elkoholic]

Well, if you booked with an outfitter/guide, they are the ones you should be asking. I would assume that for the antelope you will either be sitting in a blind watching a water hole or if your hunt is in the first half of the September, decoys are another good option. The muleys will probably be spot and stalk, which is a real blast. You may also hunt out of tree stands depending on the terrain. Most of eastern Montana is open country with rolling hills and steep, brush choked ravines. There are also areas of forested country. If you will be hunting the Missouri River break county there will be a lot of steep ravines and some rough walking. You should see a lot of game with a decent chance at a real whopper. If the current drought conditions persist, hunting water holes may be the best for antelope and maybe even muleys. You may want to practice at greater distances than you normally would as the shots at antelope and muleys tends to be a bit longer then when hunting whitetails from a tree stand. Also, practice range estimation as you may not have the time to pull out the old range finder when decoying in antelope or stalking muleys or antelope. You should have a great hunt.

[Guest LDB]

Re: Bowhunting Mulies & Antelope.

I've spot and stalk bowhunted mule deer in Saskatchewan in hilly pasture country. It sounds like you'll be hunting river coulees, which is a little different but similar.

Get a good set of binoculars and a binocular harness system so that they sit tight to your chest. I use a set of 10x40, but I think most guys prefer 8x42. I find that any objective less that 40 does not seem to gather enough light to be useful at dawn and evening. I use a bino-harness made by Crooked Horn Outfitters. This bino-harness allows me to use a full-size set of binoculars instead of a compact, and the binos sit tight enough to my chest to allow me to shoot an arrow unrestricted. They also save a lot of wear on your neck. It will be the best $20-30 you ever invest in a hunt.

I spend at least half of the time glassing when bowhunting muleys. When I'm searching for bedded mule deer, I look for antlers. I glass patches of buckbrush many times over from different angles and distances. I have glassed a bedded buck's antlers as near as 30 yards and as far as a quarter-mile.

Also invest in a rangefinder. In open country it is a lot more difficult to judge distance, especially if you are used to hunting in forests. It is easy to underestimate distance in open country. I found out last year that there is a big difference between 33 and 25 yards. If you are waiting out a bedded buck, range some objects around it in case it does not offer an immediate shot when it gets up.

If you haven't already, ask your guide what footwear you will need. Get comfortable footwear and use it frequently in the summer leading up to the hunt. Last year I used running shoes most of the time because they were comfortable and silent. I also wore 3 pairs of socks (polypropelene, cotton, and wool) so that at any time I could take my shoes off for a final stalk.

Two other things your outfitter likely recommended are to get in walking shape and learn how to walk slow. You might be covering a lot of miles in tough country, so it would pay to do 4-hour hikes twice a day, 3-4 times a week in the month or two leading up to the hunt. Learning how to walk slow (stalking) is the most difficult thing to do. I practice a timed 1/2 hour, 30 yard stalk (1 minute per yard) with a 30-yard shot at the conclusion.

[superguide]

Re: Bowhunting Mulies & Antelope.

Once you bowhunt mulies you'll be hooked on it-good ankle support is vital in your footwear and good optics. We like to get on highground just before light and find bucks heading to their beds.Big mulie bucks sometimes bed in very open country so even small cover needs to be checked.

[superguide]

Re: Bowhunting Mulies & Antelope.

mulies are awesome to do it yourself on