Help me shoot a mulie!

[sticknstring]

I've got some vacation coming up and the original plan was to head to Aberdeen, SD for 3-4 days on a whitetail hunt. After talking with a local on the phone this morning, it sounds like deer numbers are down and it might be a good year to try out something new. So this morning, I decided that I'd like to try my hand at mulies!

I've been out to the Black Hills once on a spring turkey hunt and was intrigued with all the wildlife. I'd love to get back there in the fall, but I'm not really looking to travel that far this year. Gas money is limited! I know of at least a few of you guys have done some SD trips for both whitetails and mulies and would love to hear a few of your suggestions. Locations, tags, map resources, lodging, camping, - whatever you want to throw out there whether it's whitetails or mule deer. Dates would be probably be around the 1st of November and at this point, it's looking like a solo trip. DIY style, budget-minded. Feel free to PM or email me as well - matts at hharchery dot com

Thanks fellas!

[sticknstring]

Really - no responses? Maybe North Dakota is the more popular destination eh. Scoot - where you at? I've read a few of your Dakota hunt recaps! Not looking for honey holes or anything - just some recommendations where a guy can get on some public land and have a crack at a mulie buck. Planning this one pretty late, but sometimes those are the best trips.

[slimngrizzly]

I know very little but i'll send you a pm

[sticknstring]

Dude - that avatar is awesome! What's the story behind it?

[JJensen]

out by Pierre they have the national grasslands and a bunch of public land around there that have a mulies around

[slimngrizzly]

Actually we are into several "artsy" things. But a family member is an artits and has been drawing pen and ink for years. Now in the past decade or so he does more deer artwork and associates known deer or more often animals we have sheds of. This just happens to be a peice he did of the MN Monarch in the moonlight. The full size original is amazing! Hes quite the artist with any medium! I will have to tell him you liked it! Thanks!

I thought it had a neat "avatar" look

[Scoot]

SnS, sorry, but I didn't see this until now. It sounds to me like your'e looking for general info about where to hunt and not the details of how to hunt mulies here, right? As I understand it, your options are very limited at this point. To hunt muleys in most states, you'd have to have committed quite some time ago. ND, for example, is a draw tag for NRs and for the past couple years there has been more applications than tags- you're out of luck in ND.

As I understand it in SD, you can still go there and hunt given that the area you're talking about is OTC. However, I really don't know squat about SD and I can't offer you any help there. For all I know the little info I gave above about SD may be wrong... Sorry, I'm no help on this one.

With your limited time available, it makes me assume states further West are not an option. So... I think SD is your only real option. DonBo would be a good source of info on this, but I think he may be in SD right now. Maybe track down his cell number and give him a call???

My news gets even more bleak: many areas experienced very, very tough winters and the muley numbers are way down. Muleys, particularly mature muley bucks, don't tolerate bad winters very well and it really does a number on them. Western ND is in tough shape right now regarding muley numbers. Too late for you to hunt there this year, but honestly, I'd stear you away from there anyway. If I make it out there this year it'll just be to get a chance to spend some time with a good buddy who I haven't seen much lately, not for the actual hunting. I love it out there, but the deer numbers are way, way down. I've read reports of six guys hunting for a week and seeing a total of five deer. Wow!

[HNTNBUX]

That is not encouraging. I knew the numbers were down last year, was this past winter that bad again?

[Scoot]

That is not encouraging. I knew the numbers were down last year, was this past winter that bad again?

In terms of the impact on muley numbers, worse. I've heard a few success stories, so it's not completely doom and gloom, but the overall numbers are really bad. A buddy of mine was out there a few weeks ago and he had more days of seeing no deer than he had days in which he saw a deer... To make matters worse the whitetails are taking a serious beating from disease too. Crappy deal for sure.

[sticknstring]

Yeah, I've heard from a few other sources that ND has been hit hard the last 3 winters now and now EHD in the SW part of the state. Pretty dismal. Sodak archery tags are OTC and unlimited. I couldn't remember if your trips had been ND or SD... From SD guys I've spoken with, the harsh winters have affected the herds there too. I guess a nice mild winter would be welcomed.

I'll continue to plug away on the net and see what I can come up with. Maybe DonBo will throw out a few thoughts when he returns. A few extra hours in the truck wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. Might have to just stick to the original plan too and see how she plays out.

Thanks for the replies guys!

[Scoot]

SnS, ND isn't an option this year, but if you decide to look into the state for a future hunt, let me know. I can give you a ton of good info. If you gave me enough warning and you were willing to keep locations quiet, maybe it'd work to team up out there sometime? Something to keep in mind...

[Powerstroke]

Nebraska also has OTC tags for archery and there are mulies in the area. I was checking it out tonight because I always see them advertise their generous tags for youth hunters.

Their regs are a little tough at first glance, but there are lots of opportunities.

[DonBo]

Stick, I'm back. Wish I could be more help, but the spot we hunt is private, we've never hunted the public land areas nearby. We're right on the edge of the Black Hills and yes, there are mulies there but mostly whitetails. From what I've heard you may want to check the breaks along the edge of the Missouri River. I believe there is a lot of public land there with a good population of mule deer.

Beware, tags went up to $285 this year! Yikes.

[sticknstring]

Quote:

Beware, tags went up to $285 this year! Yikes.

I saw that... might be doing the doe tag route this year!

[mrklean]

yea i was pretty surprised to see them go up that much i think i paid $195 last year?

[sticknstring]

Yep!

[Hoyt4]

SNS

Take a look at NE. I think you can even get to the Valentine area and have a good chance to take a muley.