jhedg Report post Posted November 1, 2014 So how territorial are Mule Deer especially in the desert. If you find a pocket of Mule Deer will they stay around a area like a Whitetail, or do they just roam roam roam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xnt Report post Posted November 1, 2014 A stiff breeze will blow them out of country. I rarely see them in the same place twice. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bojangles Report post Posted November 1, 2014 i have found that areas that traditionally hold mule deer seem to have deer in them consitently. however, i've found that muley's roam a bit as well. deer may be in canyon "a" today, and will disapear to ridge "b" tomorrow. just my experience. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jhedg Report post Posted November 2, 2014 not many canyons in the area I am hunting< I am hunting all in the flats Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted November 3, 2014 I have heard Coues have a 2 mile square home area without pressure. I have seen mule deer walk for 2+ miles for no apparent reason while glassing, then see the same buck 2 miles away the next day. Amazing what you can see when the deer don't know you are watching them from a mile+ away. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sneaker Report post Posted November 3, 2014 To me it seems like the less contour and steepness the terrain has, the more wondering the muley bucks are. Really steep and bigger canyons, they like their canyon or two, but slight rolling hills and flat, they can be anywhere within several miles of their few favorite water sources. Thats kind of what I see anyway. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shedghost Report post Posted November 4, 2014 This is a question I've been wondering too. I guess it depends on the deer, the area, water and feed, but I've seen some desert deer on camera and then have never seen them again. So i'm assuming they travel a lot. Sneaker brings up interesting point about the terrain, but I do not have experience glassing them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BeardownAZ Report post Posted November 4, 2014 I've heard big deer are lazy,not sure if that's true, but if terrain is flat and easy walking, makes sense they'd wander more. The desert flats are vast, deer could be everywhere and be hard to find. Let alone a few wandering miles before coming back to the same area. I'd like to understand deers movements in open country more, or anywhere for that matter, better. Interesting topic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
backcountry_brad Report post Posted November 7, 2014 I have a spot with some desert muleys and I always find em within the same square mile Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cazador Report post Posted November 7, 2014 An account from another hunter who had been scouting for his upcoming late rifle bull hunt that had seen the buck I harvested, it was roughly 1.5 miles away where he had seen him the week before..... so 3 square miles... I thought this was really good info for next year if I get drawn again.... this area is mostly rolling hills with some steep hills and small mountains... hope this helps... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BeardownAZ Report post Posted November 7, 2014 An account from another hunter who had been scouting for his upcoming late rifle bull hunt that had seen the buck I harvested, it was roughly 1.5 miles away where he had seen him the week before..... so 3 square miles... I thought this was really good info for next year if I get drawn again.... this area is mostly rolling hills with some steep hills and small mountains... hope this helps... I would love to see a big buck as well as some does and smallbucks tagged with trackers and see during a year period what there patterns are. I bet it would be pretty interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azslim Report post Posted November 7, 2014 in the desert they move to the areas that got the most rain, could be a short distance or a few miles Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cazador Report post Posted November 7, 2014 I think the main variable here is feed, water & cover.... The area I hunt has really good resources but depending on the time of the year they could move much further.... I'm thinking ~5 square miles..... that much area would overlap pine & juniper habitat.... Anyhow I chose this unit & area I hunted this year due to the fact I have consistently been seeing them (big bucks) every year since 2010...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nick Report post Posted November 7, 2014 An account from another hunter who had been scouting for his upcoming late rifle bull hunt that had seen the buck I harvested, it was roughly 1.5 miles away where he had seen him the week before..... so 3 square miles... I thought this was really good info for next year if I get drawn again.... this area is mostly rolling hills with some steep hills and small mountains... hope this helps...I was with a guide buddy getting shown around unit 10 for my archery antelope hunt this past Aug. As he was taking me to one of his glassing spots, he told me a story from a couple seasons ago. His brother had a 400+" plus bull on one of their game cameras 2 weeks before opening morning. My buddies client shot that same bull 2 weeks later, 28 miles away. Edit: I misread that as a bull you shot, not buck. My bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cazador Report post Posted November 7, 2014 Oh... I would think so especially for the rut... I know for certain bulls and bucks will travel miles in search of everything they can possibly mate with... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
