Once the shooting starts, mule deer can be difficult to pattern. They react to hunting pressure both as individuals and as herds, moving erratically to sanctuaries. Weather, too, can push mule deer from high-country summer range to lower-elevation habitats in just a few days.
Therefore, preseason scouting has limited utility in most areas. After all, most rifle mule deer seasons around the West begin in October, and, as any backpacker can tell you, there’s a lot of change between late summer and deep autumn. But that doesn’t mean you should go into the season blindly. You can learn a lot about antler growth, distribution and overall herd health by spending some time in mule deer country now, while bachelor bucks are still running together and deer haven’t been bumped by archery elk and deer hunters.
As for you archery mule deer hunters,
