Self guided Muley hunt

[Mjohns15]

I'm looking at doing a self/semi guided hunt this fall for muleys! I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with a hunt like this? Any recommendations on ranches or guide services that a guy might have good luck with? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks 

[Scoot]

Do you have any thoughts about what state you're heading to for this?  CO is draw only but there are lots of decent options available with 0 points. MT had leftover tags which is good because you missed the deadline already. WY has options you could draw. ND has passed. NM passed. UT not a good option with no points I think. ID may have some options but not certain. SD and NE may have some good options but I've never hunted either.  

That's some basic info on states. Once you pick a state and get a tag it's really not complicated for the most part. Get elevated, glass up a muley, bed him, sneak in him without being smelled it seen, shoot him!  

My son and I just found out we drew ND muley tags this year so we're pumped about that!

[Bass Whacker]

I'm not a ton of help on the outfitter side of things, but I took of advantage of the readily available MT tags this year to join my brother and dad for a DIY hunt.  I'm still waiting for results from the draw, but it sounds like odds are pretty good this year!  If your interested in doing it on your own on public land my best advice would be to find an area with large areas of public land without roads, or at least minimal roads.  At that point get in the best shape possible, and be willing to hike a long ways once you get there.  When we went to WY a few years ago this was the strategy, and we were seeing more and better deer than many of the guys we talked to who had resorted to plan B and C after their legs were too burnt up to continue hiking back into their primary areas after just a day or two.  

 

Faribault is close enough to the big hills in the river bluffs of SE MN... start hiking hills as much as possible.  If you can do it with a loaded pack even better!  A bag of water softner salt works great.  No matter how good of shape you're in, the hills out west will kick your butt every time.  We are lucky to live in a the area we do.  Take advantage of the training opportunity we have in SE MN, it will pay off, and start now. Rushing it right before you leave never seems to work.  I tried it the first couple trips I took out there, and I paid for it big time.

[Scoot]

Excellent advice above!  MT had some good options and lots of general unit options that would be good. 

But he's right- no matter how good your conditioning, the mountains will whip your behind. 

[Lunker]

Lots of public land options out there as well and you wouldn't have much competition during bow season.

 

Idaho has tags over the counter available right now first time first serve until they run out. Nebraska is over the counter without caps. Wyoming draws later in the spring. 

[lungdeflator]

Good advice above.  I am still learning the Muley game out here in ND.  

 

Scott-  Not sure if you remember exchanging emails a few years ago about ND, but wanted to thank you again for the help.  My wife and I have been out in the badlands for the past 2 years now.  Only a 4 day trip each year, and we have yet to shoot one, but we have gotten close almost every day down there.  The first year was a major learning experience for us.  And last year was better, but still messed things up a couple times.  I had a very nice muley at 20 yards last year, on a drop off and we were above him.  Everything was perfect and I needed one more step before I had a shot and something set him off taking that last step.  Biggest lesson learned last year was patience.  I probably could've waited him out as the sun would've come around and he would've gotten up to move back into the shade.  Still a rush though!

 

What time of year are you going to be out in ND?  

[Scoot]

Yep, I think we've exchanged some e-mails about this.  It's fun!  I think it's really tough hunting and I think any mule deer with a bow is a pretty major accomplishment.  I also think my son will have a blast, but it will be very tough to get him a chance at a buck.  We'll see...

 

I'm really not sure when we'll be headed out.  We'll have to work around football and school, so our time will be limited out there.  If we fail out there, we'll do our best to shoot a whitetail in ND later in the year.  It'll be fun!

 

Good luck to you!

[lungdeflator]

If we are down there at the same time, it would be fun to meet you.  I might try to take 2 trips this year.  

Good luck to you guys as well!   

[Scoot]

Sounds good!  Not sure on where we're even headed this year-- may try some new ground.  Oil operations have messed up a lot of my favorite spots.  I'm hoping to head out there over MEA to maximize my son's available time off from school.

[lungdeflator]

Right on, I think my dad is coming out to Pheasant hunt that weekend.  

My wife and I found a good spot west of Grassy Butte.  Close proximity to AlfAlfa fields.  We have been seeing 15-20 deer each morning we sit and glass the last couple years.  If you are interested in a spot like that to get your boy on some deer, just let me know and I can show you exactly where it is.

[Scoot]

3 hours ago, lungdeflator said:

Right on, I think my dad is coming out to Pheasant hunt that weekend.  

My wife and I found a good spot west of Grassy Butte.  Close proximity to AlfAlfa fields.  We have been seeing 15-20 deer each morning we sit and glass the last couple years.  If you are interested in a spot like that to get your boy on some deer, just let me know and I can show you exactly where it is.

 

I appreciate that very much!  I'll try get a plan together with my buddies who will be coming out there and I'll let you know what we're thinking.  If it ended up being just Ryan and me I may take you up on that.  However, there will probably be a couple or few buddies along and I may be a bit at the mercy of the group vote on where to go.  No real plan yet, but it will develop over the course of the summer.

 

BTW, I had a spot just like you described a few years ago and the darn oil industry came and completely wrecked it.  Stinks-- it was a beauty of a spot too...

[swamptiger]

Eastern Montana has a lot of walk-in areas on private ranchland available for muleys.  If I was going bowhunting, I would probably either go to Colorado, Wyoming, or western Montana, and focus on public land at higher elevations.  The mountains generally have more cover, and easier to get a closer shot.