Desert Mule deer rut

[bonecollector]

I was on some mulies this past saturday. 3 bucks and 7 does running together.

[bstpeter]

My old man used a cheap 9.99 bleat call about an hr after he got to his stand this year just a couple bleats and waited...20 min later mr hornytoad walked up and the rest is history. You never know with those things. Probably doesn't hurt to try. Just telln ya what happen to him

[Guest super jumbo]

I have seen plenty of rutting activity in the last week. The deer were rutting in the middle of unit 21, and they were rutting in 22 also. Have friends scouting 23 and i am getting some solid reports of bucks chasing there also. I think the hole shooting match is just about to begin in less than a week.

[.270]

i've seen em rutting hard in the desert well into february. it's like old people diapers. depends. as far as calling, all i've called in were does. bucks don't seem to interested. i like the hunting shows where the guy uses a grunt call on a buck and it walks right past him to the cornpile. i don't think i've ever seen one come to a call on a phonied up hunting show. Lark.

[GRAYLIGHT]

I have never had luck with distress calls, however, A buddy of mine has called in the doe that had a yearling and the doe was hot, the buck followed her in and he shot him. With that said, I do have a set of 150 class muley sheds that I sometimes strap to my pack and those can bring in curious bucks SOMETIMES, during the right circumstances...Usually when in tight to the herd with a dominant buck... My favorite and most reliable technique is good ole spot n stalk... Nothing better!

[200"mulie]

depends on weather ...seems couple people have seen some decent bucks on doe's but nothing huge.

[HUNTAZ]

I ve seen 3 smeller muley bucks pushen does this past week, in the same area a buddy shot a 145" buck that was alone. He was starten to stink and his neck was swellen up! Really hopen they wait unti Jan 1 to kick it off hard!!!

[200"mulie]

I ve seen 3 smeller muley bucks pushen does this past week, in the same area a buddy shot a 145" buck that was alone. He was starten to stink and his neck was swellen up! Really hopen they wait unti Jan 1 to kick it off hard!!!

 

 

+1 my bow is in the shop for another week - week n half.

[rclouse79]

Maybe a dumb question:

Do the calls you can buy in the sporting stores work as well for Muleys as they do for Whitetail? Is there enough difference in the species' grunts, bleats, etc, that a Muley would be able to tell if the standard over the counter calls are not specific to their species?

I have called them in on a regular basis with distress calls calling coyotes... just does though.

I once gave a couple of buck grunts to a nice 3x3 muley that was hot on 3 does trail they were moving below me the disappeared but I could here them walking. so I start glassing else where when all of a sudden these does are making a beeline for me with buck in tow! I didn't even have my bow ready it was up the hill about ten yards. Needless to say they heard me scrambling for my bow and the does veered off! I bleated at the buck and he gave me a long shot. the hill was very steep so I shot under and watched him wander off after the does.

moral of the story is ..... you never know! big bucks will run of little bucks for sure. I wouldn't blind call but if you can stalk to within 100 yards or so you may try a little buck grunt.

 

james

 

A couple years ago I glassed some muley butts going into some thick stuff. I went after them, and was about as patient as I am capable of. I was actually crawling slowly from bush to bush with long rests in between. I finally convinced myself the deer were gone and started walking back the way I had come. Just like always happens, I came across a group of does when I was not even "hunting". They saw me and started to bolt. I pulled a doe bleat out of my pocket and let her rip. They all stop and start looking around. After a minute or so the actually seem fairly relaxed. There was one fork horn in the middle of them. I thought to myself if my doe bleat worked this buck grunt should be awesome. No sooner had I finished the call, and all the deer were in the next unit. I would be hard pressed to try a buck grunt on a mulie again.

[firstcoueswas80]

Called in 6 does, and a 130-140 muley with the late Andy Hinds a few years ago in January.

[dtower]

Just a question, when does the desert mule deer rut peak??

 

 

Went out after work, found 4 mule deer doe's, NO Bucks (Queen Valley 24B). I watched them til dark to see if a buck would come out..... Didnt happen .

 

DT

[KaibabHunter]

Im in one of the 40's and I have 5 does bedded now without a buck. Cut a big fresh track yesterday and followed it for 1.25 miles before losing it. Never caught up and no hills close to climb and glass him up. The storm hit hard and standing water is everywhere but starting go down. My plan A and B spots were flooded out so I just found a good hill and started glassin. Maybe in 2 weeks when I come back these does will have picked up a buck.

[GRAYLIGHT]

It is interesting to read about the hunt reports here and how they vary from unit to unit... While the deer we are seeing are not in full rut yet, all the does do have bucks with them, nothing big but they will do on the last day

[soccerstar2013]

Saw a nice 4x4 and a forky following 2 does today!

[Scooter]

I'm hoping to see some tomorrow... who knows.