94 PETERSEN’S BOWHUNTING 09 • 2019
hurdle during this time frame often isn’t locating a
buck to go after but weaving through the deer between
you and him.
Nov. 18-3 0
People always asks me, “If you could hunt plains
mule deer on any day of the year, what would it be?”
My answer: Nov. 26. At this point, the rut is running
at full tilt. Mature bucks are on their feet most of the
day and have moved their harems into large sage flats,
cedar-sprinkled pastures and grass-filled cuts snaking
down from large plateaus. The big boys are visible, and
they’re flat-out fun to hunt.
Of course, that’s not the case on just Nov. 26. From
Nov. 18-30, you might catch the buck of a lifetime court-
ing does and throwing caution to the wind. Unlike a
whitetail chasing a single doe, a mature muley will have
a harem of girls, many of which are going into estrus at
the same time. He’ll be a busy bee, working tirelessly
to breed as many of his ladies as possible before a rival
buck tries to steal them away.
For me, this is the coolest part of plains mule deer
hunting. Time spent behind the glass will reveal breed-
ing, buck fights and lip curls that will give even the most
seasoned mule deer hunter goosebumps.
Tactics for success during this peak-rut time frame in-
clude treestand use and spot-and-stalk. It’s hard to stay
still in a stand when bucks are chasing does a few hun-
dred yards away, but I’m telling you, I missed the big-
gest mule deer of my life from a gnarled cottonwood in
- Plus, if you’re in a tree, you’re elevated and have
a bird’s-eye view of the goings-on. I’ve slithered down
from my treestand and gone on a stalk many a time.
If you’renotina tree,findanelevatedvantagepoint
toglassfromandthenbereadytorollata moment’s
notice.Personally,I don’tliketowaitforruttingdeerto
bed—twoyearsago,I watcheda monsterbuckwitha
30-inch-widerackcourta groupofdoesfromdawntill
dark.Instead,I carrya bow-mounteddecoy—Ultimate
PredatorGearandHeadsUpDecoymakesomegreat
ones—andgetafterit.Mygoalis tospendtimewatch-
ingthebucknudgehisdoesaround,predicttheirpath
oftravelandthengettherebefore theydo.Whena risky
moveacrossopengroundisneeded,orif I findmyself
ina positionwhereI feelI canpullthebucktome,I use
thedecoy.
Dec.1-31
Althoughtherutcan still bekicking inearlyDe-
cember,you’lllikelyhavea rifleseasongoingon,and
inColorado,thatmeansbowhunterssitonthebench.
Late-season (Dec. 15-31) tactics often mean finding
foodandtakingtoa treestandormakinga stalk.Your
bestbetduringthistimeframeistofinda foodsource
nearheavycover,as rut-wornbucks willbelooking
topackonthepoundswithoutmovingtoofar from
safety.
OtherPlainsPlaces
Colorado(cpw.state.co.us)is anall-drawmuledeerstate,butdon’tlet
hatdeter you: A preference point or two is all that’s usually required for a
nonresidentto pull a coveted plains archery tag. Two of my other
plains-muleyfavorites are Nebraska (outdoornebraska.gov) and South
Dakota(gfp.sd.gov). Both states have numerous parcels of public land, as
wellas lengthy seasons that allow for archery hunting during the rut.
The author harvested this
gnarly mule deer buck
(left) by predicting which
route he would take as he
pushed his harem around
and getting there first.
Inset: Bauserman arrowed
this tall-tined muley from
a treestand as the buck
pushed a doe past the
cottonwood.
