What makes a feeding or bedding area?

[JakeL]

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.

[DesertBull]

Well, in the mountains a bedding area is generally a north or northwest facing slope with cover and shade and a quick escape route nearby such as a saddle between two peaks or ridges. The feeding areas vary depending on the season, the range conditions, etc.

 

in the desert, it seems the deer feed and bed in a more wandering style and just lay down where they feel like it. Often in the the flats surrounded by thick mesquites, palo verde or ceders.

[rcdinaz]

Sounds about right to me. I have noticed that I find a lot of deer bedded way up high in saddles that allow them to get out of the wind. Usually it is almost impossible to glass them in these areas but you will see them move occasional from one side to the other or in the evening when they decide to wake up and start moving around.

[JakeL]

In the desert, it seems the deer feed and bed in a more wandering style and just lay down where they feel like it.

 

I'm sort of glad and also sad you say this. Glad because it means I'm not stupid for thinking it's totally random, sad because that will make hunting even that much harder.

[donniedent]

The only consistent thing about desert muleys is water. That's it and that's all. You can generally find good feed by finding green up areas but that could be as large as a couple square miles. Now I do have a small hill in an area I hunt that always has deer on it in the morning but they use it for cover as they approach... You guessed it, water. The best thing you can do is find a series of water sources or at least a couple water sources that you can see from one glassing spot. Get high early and watch them. A big desert buck is in my opinion one of the hardest animals to hunt.

[JakeL]

Do you all find watching water productive even during this time of year when it's relatively wet and cool?

[naturegirl]

I'm with you and watching for any help on this thread. I so want to get a mule deer in the flats, but like you I'm working on trying to figure it out and am getting a little frustrated with my scouting even though I'm scouting an area I've seen big deer year after year. I've spent 2 days on horseback and haven't seen one deer in the area I want to hunt so I'm rethinking my plans, but it stinks because I know the big ones are down in the flats.

 

I think I'm agreeing with the water, although I just don't like hunting over water very much. My husband and our hunting buddy both took decent mule deer in the desert and both were very close to water.

 

On a side note, we have beds marked in the flats from previous years where we actually saw deer bedded and sure enough 2 years later a couple of these beds are still being used so that's good!

[desertbowhunter]

Finds the does, stay mobile and glass your butt off. Muley bucks roam the desert looking for does. Cover as much ground possible everyday with your glass. I have been very successful doing this the passed 9 or 10 years. I have got it done on some pretty decent desert bucks. Good luck have fun! My favorite time of year in the desert is upon us!

[donniedent]

I personally believe that desert muleys will exhaust every option ie... pothole, seep... before they will come into a dirt tank. If you get into wet weather they will scatter. Cool temps? They still need water no matter how cool it gets. Desertbowhunter is right on the money.

 

let me add that it isnt hunting over water per se. What I'm talking about is getting a high vantage point where you can watch water from afar. Preferably 2 or more water sources. Once deer are located you can then plan accordingly. Like desertbowhunter said, find the does. Last year I concentrated on one group of does. I spent 4 solid days concentrating on those does and in those 4 days I saw 4 different bucks with them. All shooters ranging from 150"-180". For different stalks and still went home empty handed. Find does and watch them!!!!

 

Muleys have no rhyme or reason as to what they do, especially bucks this time of year. Bucks will travel 25 miles away from their little home areas to rut. Does stay put but still have large areas they move around in.

 

One last tidbit. You may find country that looks absolutely perfect but not see any deer. If you don't find deer move on. Just because country looks like perfect deer country doesn't mean they are there. Muleys are where you find them. Many many times I have found deer in country that looked like less than good deer country when a mile away there's absolutely perfect country with not a deer in sight. Pick a general area and scour every nook and cranny and dont pass over country that doesnt look good to your eyes.

[donniedent]

Forgot to mention the flats. If you don't like hunting water, there is only one other tried and true method to hunting deer in the flats and that's with at least 2 hunters and radio

I know there are other ways people do it but I've never seen any other method be consistent and is truly pure luck. I've heard of guys dragging washes with chainlink then coming back and lokking for tracks. Ive heard of ladders in the back of trucks... here. I'm not saying these methods wont work and I'm sure at times they have but if you want to hunt the flats consistently and effectively you're going to get high, glass a buck up and have someone with a means to guide you into that buck.

 

If you don't want to hunt water or with radios, find the does in the foothills and watch them. A big muley might spend his whole life in the flats but will come out into the foothills to cover the does there. I had a conversation with one of the best desert deer hunters in the West and it was his conclusion that big solitary bucks live in the flats to avoid lions because Lions are sight hunters and sight hunting is useless in the flats. In many areas, there are more Lions in the desert than ever in history which is forcing muleys and solitary bucks especially, into the flats. We are seeing over all deer numbers drop in the desert and I truly believe it is because Lions are forcing muleys into the flats where the fawns are more susceptible to coyote predation. There's the drought as well of course.

[JakeL]

This information sharing is really helpful. Let's keep it coming.

 

Glassing: My current method is to park my little 2wd car a while before daylight, and hike with my headlamp up a hill to where I can sit and let daylight come. Then I glass as patiently and methodically as possible for a couple hours. Usually around 10am I hike around, maybe to a nearby hill to glass a new view, maybe into the bowl or canyon or flat I've been glassing to check for tracks. Around 1 I head home. Now and then I manage to get out for an evening, it's usually simpler. I get up a hill and glass until just before dark (some hills shouldn't be descended in black dark).

 

What glassing routines do you use? Do you move around more, less? Does anyone have success glassing the middle of the day? Will the rut bring more midday movement? Feel free to brag about any other neat glassing tips or tricks you use.

[deserthntr]

Dont skip out glassing mid-day... alot of the bigger bucks ive found have been mid day, getting uo to stretch, feed a little, and move to better shade. This is in august as well, just cause its hot doesnt mean deer wont move in the middle of the day, and because of the cooler weather deer activity during the day definitely goes up. I truly believe alot of bigger bucks bed at first light and get up to feed in the middle of the day when most hunters go home or back to camp for lunch. As for glassing I like to glass at a slightly faster pace then slow wayyyy down for when deer are bedded, and stay slow until I think movement picks back up for the evening. If you can see alot of country, or you know deer are on a certain mountain, stay in your glassing spot all day and memorize and look behind each blade of grass. If I am reglassing a hill and dont remember previously looking at the same spot the first time through, youve gone too fast. I know that goes against my previous statement of glassing quicker... but thats just a quick scan of the country in front of me looking for deer in the open or moving around alot. Then ill slow it way down and go over the country again

[donniedent]

Ah glassing. I glass a lot like what deserthntr does. The last few years I haven't had to glass a bunch mid day because I've been pretty lucky about finding bucks and usually at that point I'm on a stalk or in the middle of blowing one. One thing I will do that has worked well for me is stalking does. If I find a group of does in the morning, usually I find them a ways away. When I do, I will watch them until they bed. Once they bed, and if I haven't found any bucks, I stalk into with a 100 to 150 yds of them. More times than not, when I do that I end up either watching a buck come in on them or i find a buck I didn't see. I'm basically playing the odds that there is a buck close by. Doesn't always work and I'm sure I've missed opportunities but I'm pretty proactive during the rut. The other thing I do like I said above is I glass around water... alot. I look at all the avenues leading into water and pay close attention to them. I find more deer moving into or away from water than anywhere else by a long shot. Especially if there are other hunters in the area. More than oncei have watched hunters bust deer or blow a stalk then watched the deer loop around for a quick sip of water. It's because they just got busted and had to run and simply got thirsty.

[donniedent]

Also and this is a big one for me, watch your 6 when you find does. I always always always try and glass into the wind or at least a quartering wind. Well, more than a few times I've had bucks walk up behind me. Not directly but within 60 yds of my right or left. Once it was only 20 yds from me. Bucks use the wind to find does, so the same wind that is in your face, they are using to find those does. Nothing more surprising than to stand up and stretch and see a buck standing within bowrange... and your bow is on the ground. Now I always check the country next to me for movement when I have does in front of me.

[CouesKilla]

I typically find desert mule deer bedded in washes (with thicker vegetation) during this time of year during the day. At the same time I have seen them bedded up on flats as well. Really no rhyme or reason to where they are, when they are not watering, if you ask me. I think they can find feed and bed just about anywhere to an extent. I usually try and catch them rutting and feeding on hill sides and flats in the early morning then work towards the washes as the day progresses. I have my best luck around water in the late afternoon and evenings. I have found some escape routes that seem to be the best thing to key on consistently, as opposed to feed and bed, if there are other hunters in the area . Unfortunatley I think feed and bed can change from day to day and you just need to glass alot of ground and be lucky. They for sure like certain hills/washes more than others as I seem more numbers in these areas year after year, but for the life of me I can not figure out what makes that spot hot.