As a reward for reading, here's a picture I found of our beautiful desert. It looks about like the area I'm hunting.
I've been fumbling around through the desert (mostly down low in 24b) the last couple of years trying to find a buck to kill with my bow. After all this time, I've realized I still haven't learned something critical to hunting desert mule deer. What type of area makes a feeding area? And what should I look for in a bedding area?
What makes one section of hill, wash, or flat better for feeding than others? Especially this time of year what plants are the deer focused on? I still haven't even figured out what makes up the bulk of their diet when they're below the elevations with sagebrush and such.
Now and then I spot bedded deer, or deer traveling to/from beds. Or I will find sign indicating beds from a previous days rest. But for the life of me I can't figure out much sense to where they will be. Have you seen any patterns? Do these desert deer prefer thicker cover for bedding? Or would they rather bed on an open hillside with a clear view all directions?
Last year I struck out, and this year despite weeks of scouting its not looking too good. I can't consistently find deer or predict where they will be or go. This week my bow hunt opens up again, and I really want to fill the freezer. Basically I'm hoping to move up the learning curve a little bit further so I can have a better chance at tagging something, anything, this year. Any advice or tips appreciated here or in PMs.