MuggyMan

I don't think you got what it takes to defang me.

I agree only boil water in plastic in emergency/survival situation. I never microwave anything in plastic either. Plastic contains estradiol. Estrogen=female horomone and I don't want it.

One of a kind

I’ve only been seriously glassing about a year and still have a lot to learn. Hoping some of you experienced glassers can answer a few questions for me. Just finished my deer hunt – tag soup for me. My young friend Adrian tagged his first deer (his first big game animal actually), a little fork-horn at sunset on day 2, and he and I both couldn’t be more thrilled. Spent about 12 days in the field scouting preseason and found a fair amount of bucks, including these 2 that we glassed up from about ¾ mile away back in September. They were in the open and seemed to come out of nowhere. Two days before opening day, they were nowhere to be found. Don’t know if they got taken in the early hunt, if they had moved out of the area, or if I just couldn’t find them. In addition to these two bucks, I’d found one other nice buck, and half-a-dozen smaller bucks during preseason scouting. But during the week of our hunt, all I saw was does. I couldn’t find a buck to save my life. Opening day I glassed all day and didn’t see anything but cattle. We knew there were bucks in the area because we’d seen 3 the Monday before while checking out the area. Also, someone shot a little 1x2 on the other side of the ridge from Adrian. Morning of day 2, got a text from Adrian that he had spooked a buck before he could get a shot and that it was headed my way. I looked and looked but couldn’t see any deer moving anywhere. I snuck through a wash to a spot where I could see on the other side of a ridge. Found a neat place, a flat spot surrounded by waist-high to shoulder-high boulders –a natural kind of parapet that overlooked a nice little valley. I started looking around and quickly spotted 3 does on a little shelf 280 yards away. They were in a patch of scrub oak and I watched them bed down. Once they were bedded, I could see one of the does in the shadow between 2 bushes, but couldn’t see the other does even though I knew they were there. I searched the rest of the valley, but couldn’t find any other deer. I quietly backed out to a point over 600 yards away and had just sat down when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye through a gap in the ridge. I took a look through my 10x42s and saw a man and a girl walking toward the shelf where those does had bedded down. They were both dressed in camo coats and blue jeans; the man carried a rifle slung over his shoulder, the girl was unarmed. Man those blue jeans sure stood out like a neon sign. I watched as the man and girl walked up on the patch of scrub and those does busted out of there. The man and girl watched the does run off, then the man and girl turned around and walked back the way they came. I don’t know why they did that. Evening of day 5 near sunset, glassed up a doe at 400 yards in a little draw choked with scrub on the side of a ridge. I glassed the surrounding scrub in the area hard for 30 minutes but only saw that one doe. Morning of last day at sunrise, glassed up 3 does at 650 yards in some scrub two ridges to the east. Hard to make out details looking into the sun. Bumped some does hiking up a ridge mid-day. That’s all the deer I saw during the hunt. Other highlights: from ½ mile away through spotting scope, watched a huge javelina square off against a massive longhorn steer. The javi ended up backing off. From the same spot on a different day, watched a coyote making his rounds, covered over a mile of territory. He never knew I was there until we bumped into each other as I was coming down off the mountain. It’s fun watching other hunters who have no idea you’re there. I imagine at some point someone was watching me that I didn’t know was there, and I always wonder when I take a bathroom break if someone is looking at me through a scope. Other than one doe bedded in the shadow between two scrub oaks, I was unable to glass any bedded deer. Once they bedded down behind a bush, I was unable to see them even when I knew they were there. Yes, I know I’m supposed to look for antler tips of ear flicking, but haven’t been successful yet. From what I saw this hunt, the deer were only moving til about 9AM (unless bumped), and they didn’t start moving until an hour before dark. Seeing as how I couldn’t find them at all while bedded – for example, the one doe I glassed in the evening, I had looked at that spot hard numerous times without seeing anything before she got up and moved a little – is it worthwhile glassing in the mid-day hours while they are bedded and not moving? How long does one glass an area without seeing anything before moving on? Any other insights or comments?

Thanks everyone for the responses and all the great information. Maximus, I found the older thread on glassing and the post by Coach. Definitely good stuff. Thanks. Adam, I will try giving you a call, thanks. Becker, thanks for the feedback. I also have some friends I hunt with. Adrian is young and he sat with me for 7 hours glassing from one spot while scouting, so he is game for whatever I throw at him. Allen, on the other hand, doesn't like/doesn't have a lot of patience for sitting for more than an hour or two in one spot to glass. Anyone have hunting partners like this? How do you hunt together?

I have to ask, What's "o Thingies"?

DesertBull, that's a good list. I would add license and tag. My friend Lance (different Lance) forgot his one year and had to drive home to get it.

Found the same thing with a gate that had a lock on it but not locked, and I knew it was a section of public land bordering private ranches. We went in and camped there. The locals stopped by on the first day we were there and said "Hi" but that was it. I thought the same thing: the lock was just an attempt to fool those who don't look closer.

Woke me and my wife up at 11:30 and again at 11:50 in Chandler. First one was bigger. Earthquake monitor shows it in western AZ -- 4.0 on the Richter scale http://ds.iris.edu/seismon/

My hunting self completed 3 jobs on the "honey do" list today.

Same thing with me last trip. Dang catclaw. I just bought some snake chaps. Tried the gaiters, but the chaps were actually cooler and more coverage. Plus I can wear shorts with them if I want.

Sorry for your loss.

Nice write up. That's totally awesome. Love hearing stories of sticking with it and it paying off.

Bao Feng had a high rating. Has anyone used these?

Hiked many miles to get to this glassing spot. How nice are these bucks?

Nice bucks.

I’m pretty new to mule deer hunting; most of my experience is hunting elk. Never hunted desert before, always hunted high country. So I have a few questions for some of you with lots of mule deer knowledge. Been doing my homework in an effort to be successful: studying maps and Google earth – a lot (starting to get dirty looks from the wife). Made 4 trips to new unit so far. I’ve worked hard to find these bucks. I’m going to fib a little bit on a few of the details, just enough to keep anyone from guessing where exactly we were. If by some chance someone has an “Ah-Ha!” moment and recognizes the location, please keep it to yourself. Like I said, I’ve worked hard to find these bucks. They are not monsters anyway, but I would be thrilled to tag one for my first ever deer. Actually, I've taken a lot of details out. Don't want to give away location. If we harvest either of these bucks, I will write it up and tell all the scouting details. Made a trip to new unit this weekend, and glassed up a pair of decent 4x4 bucks. Hiked miles from road, over a ridge to a spot overlooking some water in a little valley we found miles away from any road. Our glassing spot was the high ground by far. We could see for at least a mile in 3 directions. We glassed up 2 bucks, not in the draws and ravines in the hills where I expected to find them, but in the middle of a patch of scrub on a flat plateau, cliffs and rimrock on 3 sides, a gradual downward slope on the 4th side. At first this surprised me as I would have expected them to be bedded in the hilly part. But after thinking on this, I can see how these bucks would have felt safe there. Is this an unusual spot for mule deer bucks to be bedded? These 2 bucks were almost exactly same size – body and antler (maybe twins?). My hunt is November 13-19. Are these 2 bucks likely to still be hanging together then? Will they likely be in the same place?

mc68, I'm glad you asked/started this thread. In the past I've talked about which unit I'm hunting in the open forum, but this discussion made me rethink that. Not anymore because I definitely trust that any and all information I share on the public forum will be used. Thanks. Seriously, I appreciate it.

I usually leave camp in one direction then circle back around. Just saying....

nice bull

I have the Havalon barracuda and really like it. Like others said, the blades are wicked sharp. I can change the blades with just my hands, but there was a learning curve. Broke a flimsy blade in an elk joint - only complaint. Like it and will continue to use it.

I got some in the rough out too. Awesome price and the boots fit great!

Awesome deer. Awesome podcast.

If that don't get you going, I don't know what will....

Your new boss must hate you....