who bow hunts muleys?


joebobhunter4

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during my youth hunt was around sept. 16th we would sit on buttes and watch where the bucks would bed down... so wed sneak real slow to em and just before gettin to em.. wed think why hasnt he got up yet? and we thought he was gone... so i seen deer on the ridge behind me i shot at one and never came close... (buck fever) and 20 feet behind us after 5 shells shot... the 6x6 we were watchin jus stood and looked... and bounced away... now this was a once in a life time deal with riffle... but are they not spooky at all during bow season for you guys???

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Re: who bow hunts muleys?

I dont' bow hunt them, but I have seen them get hunted with bows. I think what they do is spot a buck front far away and try to intercept him by getting in from of him so he comes straight to them. Doing this really quietly of course. Im sure I missed a lot of things.

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Re: who bow hunts muleys?

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I've bowhunted them anually for over 25 years. They are one of the most difficult TROPHY animals to chase with a stick and string, IMO.

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could be just where i hunt... but when i was hunting... i could have shot at least 4 or 5 nice 4x4 or bigger bucks? with a bow even... thats why i was confused on either if they were that smart to not move or just that stupid?

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Re: who bow hunts muleys?

I bow hunt muleys and believe me it is really difficult to get in within 40 yards of them during the bow season, especially a large buck. You can't hunt them from a treestand where I hunt because the area is too wide open and there aren't many trees. You can't even hunt them from a ground blind because they don't stick to a pattern the same way whitetails will. Rattling and grunting don't work very well during September and October up here either. Basically you have to spot them first then either try to intercept them or wait for them to bed down and hope they've bedded in a spot where you have a chance to stalk up within bow range. Often the big bucks will bed in a spot where they are absolutely unapproachable due to wind and terrain.

I am amazed to see lots of huge muley bucks every year during the rut (after bow season) because during September and October they just aren't moving much and you don't see near the numbers of bucks. During the rut the muley's get pretty stupid around here - the rut comes after the mule deer rifle season is over and the mule deer know it. Anyone who sees huge mule deer tripping over their noses during the rut and thinks bow hunting would be easy would be in for a big surprise if they went after mule deer with a bow during the bow season. The big muley bucks are much more spooky during September and October (bow season) than they are during the rut.

I've always maintained that to get within 40 yards of a mature mule deer buck and be able to draw on him, you need a bit of luck. You can be as good as anyone, but you still need a bit of luck to close the deal. The last two years I got lucky in that the wind was strong enough to cover my noise and both bucks I arrowed were too busy rubbing their antlers on the bushes to notice me sneak up and draw on them.

This was the mule deer buck I arrowed back in October. He got away from me back in September, and I finally caught up with him again about a month later after walking countless miles and passing up some smaller bucks. He was the biggest buck I had seen in the area in the past 3 years. Sorry to be long-winded, but I love bowhunting muleys.

05MDbow_cape1.JPG

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Guest andymansavage

Re: who bow hunts muleys?

I did in high school and I'm getting back into it next year. It is easy to get within 40 yds of a small buck, yes a lot of 4 pts (10 eastern count) are considered small. Getting close to a big buck is a whole different story. In high school I hunted every night and never got within 100 yds of a shooter buck. It is a lot of still hunting beds and spot and stalk here. here is my buddys small 4pt, this buck would be passed up until the last day where I hunt. I love it, but would also like to hunt whities, I've never even seen a live whitetail buck.

Andy

MATTBUCK.jpg

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