92 PETERSEN’SBOWHUNTING
youdropoff yourperch,everythingwillprobablylook
thesame.I photographmyselectedlandmarkswithmy
smartphonesoI don’tforgetwhattheylooklike.Hav-
ingphotoreferencestouseduringthestalkisa great
waytoensurethatI don’tover- orundershootthespotI
needtogetto.
Eventhoughyoumaynotbeabletoactuallyseethe
buck,believeinyourheartthathe’sthere.Asyouget
closer,takeyourtimeandreallypickthecountryapart
withyoureyes.Lookforantlertipsinchingabovethe
sage,anearflickingundertheshadeofa cedarora body
disguisedbythedirtofa drycreekbank.
If stalkingisn’tyourcupofteaandyoudon’twantto
spendhourseachdaysweatingina groundblind,take
to thetrees.There are a number ofmuley-richlocales
acrosstheplainsthatboastlonecottonwoods.Forsome
reason,deergravitatetothesetrees.You’llbeglassinga
vastsageflatwitha singlecottonwoodinthemiddleof
a seaofsilverandwatchdeerwalkrightpastit.
Thereare alsomanyareasintheCentennialState,as
wellasotherwesternmuledeerstates,thatholdgood
populationsofmuleysalongsmall,windingcreekbot-
toms.Someofthesecreeksrunyear-round,whileoth-
ers often hold onlysmallpools. Regardless,a treeor
twowillbethere.Picka lightweight,easy-to-maneuver
standthatwillfitintoa less-than-straighttree.
Whenprospectingfora goodmuledeertree,youneed
tospendsometimeglassing.Watchtheareainquestion
fora fewmorningsandevenings.If youseedeergoingby
a treeona regularbasis,playthewindrightandmovein.
Nov.6-18
Again,thesedatesaren’t exact.Theychangeyearly
dependingonrifleseason,butthisrangeseemstobea
goodapproximation.
You’llstarttoseemore buckmovementduringearly
November.Youngscrapperswillemergeandstartha-
rassingdoegroups.If youplantohuntduringthefirst
two weeks of the month, take special note of where
these smallbucks and doesare hanging out; the big
buckswon’tbefaraway.
Bigbruteswillbe ontheirfeeta littlelongerinthe
morningsandevenings,makingtimespentbehindthe
glassparamount.If possible,bringa friendalonginor-
dertohavea secondpairofeyeslookingforlongtines.I
can’ttellyouhowmanytimesI’vebeenglassinga group
ofdoesandsmallbucksonlytohavea buddysay,“Got
him.He’sofftothesidewatchingthesamegroupyou’re
watching.”
I don’tputa lotofstockinwateratthispointinthe
season.Becauseofhowmuchthedeerarestartingto
move,treestandscanbeveryeffective.Mytopmeth-
od for success, though,is spot-and-stalk.Your main
Trail cameras aren’t just for whitetails.
A camera set over a well-used pond
will often reveal the thirst-quenching
pattern of a dandy mule deer buck.
Hunting from a treestand while after plains muleys may
seem unusual, but it works. Deer gravitate toward the
cottonwoods dotting the landscape — take advantage!
Get used to spending time behind your glass. It
doesn’t matter if you’re hunting the early sea-
son or the late season; you have to locate deer
if you’re going to put an arrow through one.
