White Tail/Mule Deer in Nebraska

[leetrev1]

I'm going deer hunting for the first time this year, on our local creek and by our lake here in southwest nebraska. Rifle season starts up on November eleventh. I've been looking forward and planning for this hunt for a long time. This weekend I'm going up to set up two ladderstands, one on the creek and one in a dry creek coming up from the lake, two very promising spots. I'm using a Browning .243 with Winchesters 95 GR. Ballistic Silvertips. I think I have everthing I will need.
1) Ladder stand (2)
2) Pack (binoculars, knife, extra amo, scent cover and buck urin (don't know if i need it), thermus, rope, extra gloves and socks, permit etc.
3)Blaze orange (nebraska state law requires it to be on the head, back, and cheast)
4)And gun ofcourse.

Question #1: Is this amo suitable?
Question #2: I was only able to get a white tail only permit. Can someone give me an explaination of the visible differences between a mule deer and a white tail. My biggest fear is to take a mule instead of a white tail.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

[FirstFreedom]

Main difference is mule deer have bigger ears - and are bigger in general - there are several subtle differences that are hard for me to describe - highly suggest you start looking at many pictures of both kinds before the hunt.

The gun and ammo should be fine, provided you can make a good accurate hit.

Put your stands up NOW. Don't wait until the hunt - the deer will see them as out of place and steer clear. If you cannot put them up now, you're better off just hunting from the ground.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[leetrev1]

If I put the stands up this weekend, it will make it two weeks to the day that they will be up before opening day. Is this enough time? The hardest thing about this tip is the fact that I only have Saturday 11th, Sunday 12th, and Monday 13th, to get my deer. I'm a student on the other side of the state and can maybe miss class on that monday, but other than that, if I don't get one, I'm sol. So needless to say, I'm not going to be too picky on my white tail.

[davlandrum]

If it is bucks only, look at a bunch of pictures - the horns are vastly different.

I guess when I was in college, I had my priorities a little off center - I never let school interfer with hunting....or fishing....or golf.... Of course, I graduated by the skin of my teeth - had to pull a 95% on a history final or no diploma.

[leetrev1]

Yeah, I try to avoid that but sometimes, between all the work of school and the stress of working full time, I need an escape. And even though I may only hunt a couple of times a season, simply the planning of the hunt as well as the hunt itself seem to be a way of rewarding myself for hard work. However, I still have a year left of undergrad and three left for environmental law, so needless to say, I've got a lot of work and limited hunting ahead of me for the next few years. DANG IT!

As far as pictures go, I notice that on a whitetail their seems to be one main beam and then the rest go straight up, singles. Whereas on a mule, they just keep forking out. Is this correct?

[FirstFreedom]

2 weeks should be enough to acclimatize them to the stands - barely enough, but enough. Try not to leave much scent on the stands.

[rem33]

Mule deer have a large ears, small tail with a black tip, white rump but greyer than a whitetail I think. Whitetail deer have smaller ears, larger tail very white underneath they tend to " flag" or raise their tail when alarmed or running away. Here Mule deer are grey this time of year in their wiinter coat and from what I have seen the whitetails are still brown.
Your bullets should be fine with a well placed shot.

[trooper3385]

Mule deer for the most part are going to have a larger body than most whitetail. There going to have a shorter tail with a black tip on the end. The whitetail, as there name says it, have a long tail that is white underneath. The tend to throw there tail up when they run. You will also notice that when whitetail run, they just run normally, kinda like a dog or other animals. The mule deer tend to bounce when they run. The kinda look like a pogo stick bouncing up and down. Mule deer are going to have much larger ears than whitetail. Mature mule deers ears are going to have about a 20-22 in span from tip to tip while the whitetail will be around 15-16 in. tip to tip. A whitetails antlers are different as well. You will notice that the points on a whitetails antlers will most likely all come off the main beam, going up. The mule deers antlers will fork towards the end. For example, a 10 point mule deer will most likely have 2 antlers coming off the main beam on one side that fork. Your best bet is going to be to look at some different pictures of whitetail and mule deer on the net or get some magazines. There real easy to tell apart, even at longer distances with the naked eye if you know what your looking for.

[leetrev1]

Thanks everyone, you gave me plenty to go off of and as a couple of you said, I'll study some pictures and I'm sure I'll be more confident during my hunt. Thanks again all, and if I get my first deer this year, you all can expect to see a new thread with some pictures!
Trev

[davlandrum]

Correct - whitetails main comes forward with points going up from it, mulies fork almost straight up and then fork again (if you're lucky)

Last year coming home from eastern Oregon, my buddy and I saw a whitetail/mule deer crossbreed (or at least that is what we think it was). It was a 4x4 (8 pointer). One side was a perfectly typical whitetail rack and one side was a perfectly typical mule rack. One of those things you wish you had a picture of, but 65 mph doesn't give you much time to find the camera.

[Jack O'Conner]

My brother and me have been toppling mulies and 'lopes with our .243 for nearly 40 years. You can't get much better than Black Hills 95 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip Ammo for long distance accurasy and one shot knock down power.

Know any Kings around Scott's Bluff?

Jack

[castnblast]

do a google search and look at as many pictures as possible. You can't judge off color alone, but Mulies are usually greyer. I have shot some really gray whitetails though. The ears are the biggest give away. They are called mule deer because their ears are huge. Also, if you are at a place where you can see a distance, mule deer bound, almost hop when they run. Whitetails just run. Also look at the tail. even when down, the white tails tail is much more puffy. In addition, when the tail is down on a mule deer, they have a lot of white on their butt. (visible) white tails have a lot less white fur on their butt, and you only notice it when they run for the most part. Study them closely. You may want to go out and look at the state wildlife site. I'm sure there are some good depictions out there. As for me, (I'm being a bad influence here) I say forget school and go hunt.

[leetrev1]

Alright. Went back home this weekend to do some pheasant hunting, and somehow between 8 of us, we came up with only three roosters. Thats the bad new, the good news is that I was able to get my stand up. While seeting it up in a valley between the lake and the river that runs into it, we saw several trees in my visual area had been rubbed, found two sets of antlers, and deer waste. By the time we got the stand set up, it was almost dark. On the way back to the road, we spooked about a 5 white tail, one of which had to have been at least a 5x5. They were heading for the valley my stand was in. I hope they keep their habits of going town there for the next two weeks. For my first deer hunt, I think we found the most promising spot we could have, and I am pumped.

[castnblast]

Good luck! Sounds like you got the spot...

...found two sets of antlers and deer waste

O.k. We're all hunters here, you can call it poop, feces, crap, #$@%, bambi dumplings...We don't bite here .

BTW, everyone gets teased on this forum sooner or later...

[Superhornet]

Do not forget your safety harness if in a tree stand...when you doze off, it can save your bacon.....

[castnblast]

1++ on the safety harnes...like AMEX, don't leave home without it...

[leetrev1]

Jack, I don't know any Kings around Scottsbluff. I did live there for a little while when I was young boy though. I have one more question for y'all. Perhaps I should have started a new thread for this, but hopefully I can grab someone's attention in here. It will be full blown rut when I'm in my stand, and I did happen to pick up a can of "The Buck Bomb-doe in estrus-100% whitetail deer urine". When I bought it, I intended to use it as maybe a last ditch effort. But, I'm entertaining the idea of using it my first day. First of all, has anybody used this product, and second, regardless of wether you have used it or a similar product, would it be a bad idea to use it my first morning out? I've only got three days to hunt due to school and work. I've never used attractant scents before so I do not have a strong knowledge of them.

[castnblast]

I'd use it. I have not used it. I have used Tink's 69 with EXCELLENT results. I think it's all the same pee...

I would use it the first day...