ALPINE MULEYSget allthe love frommule-deer
bowhunters, and it’s easy to see why. When you con-
sider the country they inhabit — mountain basins dot-
ted with trickling streams and towering pines — the
heart begins to flutter. When you picture yourself
nestled against a rock escarpment with a quality set of
optics locked onto a towering velvet rack, those flutters
turn to steady pounds.
I’ve hunted high-country mule deer many times over
the years, and I do love it. However, for me, a certified
plains dweller, chasing hard-antlered muleys across
sage-dappled flats littered with winding dry creeks is as
good as it gets. When it comes to my location of choice,
the plains of Colorado are awfully tough to beat.
Pace Yourself
Something that always rubbed me wrong about
early-season, high-country bowhunting for mule deer
was the length of said season. In Colorado, the season
typically begins during the last weekend in August and
runs through the last weekend in September. While a
month seems like a long time to chase velvet dreams,
I preferthestate’splainsarcheryseason,which runs
from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31. There’s a break in the sea-
son in some game management units when rifle hunt-
ers take to the field, but you still have a lot of time.
In addition to the longer season, you also get to
experience the mule deer pre-rut, rut and post-rut, all
of which can be great for arrowing a prairie monster.
So, let’s break the plains season down and highlight
the tactics that work best for each time frame. Strap
in — this is going to be fun.
Oct. 1-25
First off, it’s important to note that the Oct. 25 date
isn’t exact. The first rifle split typically starts some-
where between Oct. 25 and Oct. 28.
Early October on the Colorado plains can be hot;
temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s aren’t uncom-
mon. Buck testosterone levels are still very low, and it’s
not unusual to see bachelor groups even into the second
week of the month. One of my favorite tactics during
this phase of the season is to set trail cameras over stock
tanks and small ponds. Deer have to drink, and if you
90 PETERSENÕS BOWHUNTING 09 • 2019
TAKE THE
TOP TACTICS FOR EVERY STAGE OF THE SEASON
