Just North of Terlingua

Desertfox · December 8, 2008, 05:49 PM

Thanks for the information Art. The wind was up this week and my compartment had an east to west valley for the most part. The wind was a killer and it took me a few days to figure out these deer.
On the last day, I found a group of deer bedded at 8 in the morning on the leeward side of a military saddle, in the shade.
The wind was blowing directly over the ridge towards them. I stalked the ridgetop from the south so my scent would reach them about the time I was directly over them.
They popped up and headed to the ridge top to my north. Single file, 16 antlerless in a row. The last deer to top the ridge was this 6 1/2 year old buck. 3X3 with brow tines.
My first Desert Mule Deer.
The Yucca, New Mexican Agave, Prickly Pear, and various other cacti type plants made for a scenic yet painful hunt. Mountains and cactus were a surprise.
Thanks for the good instructions, it worked once I learned the pattern.
By the way, no elk were in the area during our hunt.

Desertfox · December 8, 2008, 05:53 PM

The attachment wouldn't upload again. The pic is in the thread Winchester Power Point.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...8&d=1228775624

Desertfox · December 14, 2008, 07:29 AM

Bump. Thanks again Art.

Jseime · December 14, 2008, 06:45 PM

Nice work...

For animals that seem so dumb most of the time mulies can be quite tough to hunt.

I shoot them in Saskatchewan in the open prairies... I would be nice to hunt mule deer in all of their different territories. They cover such a vast and diverse area.

Art Eatman · December 15, 2008, 10:04 AM

Glad things worked out well.

Three of us went to my back-country hunt camp, but it was pretty much a dry run. Lately, I'm not even seeing tracks in areas where I used to see deer. For some reason, not even many blue quail, this year. Lots of javelina, though. We had good rains for the vegetation, but not enough to put water in the tinajas, so I guess the deer mostly went closer to better water supplies.

December 8, 2008, 05:49 PM	#1
Desertfox Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2006 Location: Arkansas-Oklahoma Line Posts: 336	Just North of Terlingua Thanks for the information Art. The wind was up this week and my compartment had an east to west valley for the most part. The wind was a killer and it took me a few days to figure out these deer. On the last day, I found a group of deer bedded at 8 in the morning on the leeward side of a military saddle, in the shade. The wind was blowing directly over the ridge towards them. I stalked the ridgetop from the south so my scent would reach them about the time I was directly over them. They popped up and headed to the ridge top to my north. Single file, 16 antlerless in a row. The last deer to top the ridge was this 6 1/2 year old buck. 3X3 with brow tines. My first Desert Mule Deer. The Yucca, New Mexican Agave, Prickly Pear, and various other cacti type plants made for a scenic yet painful hunt. Mountains and cactus were a surprise. Thanks for the good instructions, it worked once I learned the pattern. By the way, no elk were in the area during our hunt. __________________ Teach a kid to respect wildlife, then teach a kid to hunt and fish.

December 8, 2008, 05:53 PM	#2
Desertfox Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2006 Location: Arkansas-Oklahoma Line Posts: 336	The attachment wouldn't upload again. The pic is in the thread Winchester Power Point. http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...8&d=1228775624 __________________ Teach a kid to respect wildlife, then teach a kid to hunt and fish.

December 14, 2008, 07:29 AM	#3
Desertfox Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2006 Location: Arkansas-Oklahoma Line Posts: 336	Bump. Thanks again Art. __________________ Teach a kid to respect wildlife, then teach a kid to hunt and fish.

December 14, 2008, 06:45 PM	#4
Jseime Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1,775	Nice work... For animals that seem so dumb most of the time mulies can be quite tough to hunt. I shoot them in Saskatchewan in the open prairies... I would be nice to hunt mule deer in all of their different territories. They cover such a vast and diverse area. __________________ I love the smell of fresh shotgun in the morning.

December 15, 2008, 10:04 AM	#5
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Glad things worked out well. Three of us went to my back-country hunt camp, but it was pretty much a dry run. Lately, I'm not even seeing tracks in areas where I used to see deer. For some reason, not even many blue quail, this year. Lots of javelina, though. We had good rains for the vegetation, but not enough to put water in the tinajas, so I guess the deer mostly went closer to better water supplies.