Mule Deer Hunt
Next to the whitetail deer, mule deer is the most popular deer to hunt in North America. The long, mule like ears is what gives this deer its name. They can often reach ten inches in length.
Mule deer are considered a more plentiful meat catch than a whitetail deer because they are a much stockier built deer.
Mule deer hunts are popular in the western US as far east as Wisconsin and Texas. Mule deer hunting is also popular in western Canada.
Knowing the mule deer's habitat preferences will certainly help make your hunt more successful. In most cases mule deer will seek out the height of the mountains. One exception is the Chisos Mountains of Texas. In this mountainous area the mule deer seeks out the base of the mountains and give the mountain area to the whitetail deer.
Mule deer are not known to be deep forest dwellers, so mule deer hunting is most successful at forest edges.
The mule deer really likes yew, mushrooms, grapes, berries, willow, aspen and Douglas-fur. However, they will feast on other vegetation which makes it a little harder to predict hunting locations.
These deer take on a grayish tinted hide during the late fall, where in the summer they have a rusty red color. Since they will blend into the scenery during open hunting season they will present more of a challenge to the mule deer hunter.
This species generally stand about 3 1/2 feet tall at the shoulders and the female will generally weight 100 to 150 lbs. The mule deer buck can be much larger and will weight in at 125 to 400 lbs.
Because of their size and the fact that they can run at 40 miles per hour you want to be careful that they don't charge in your direction.
It is not uncommon for a mule deer doe to have up to four fawns born at one time, making their population grow faster than the whitetail deer who will usually have two fawns at a time.
The mule deer young are typically around 6 months old when mule deer hunging season opens. They are typically conceived near November and then born between April and June.
Here's wishing you much success on your next mule deer hunt!
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