Late Season Mule Deer: Finding Monsters in the Rut

For 11 months of the year, a mature mule deer buck is a ghost. He lives in the deepest timber, moves only at night, and vanishes at the crack of a twig. Then comes November. The Rut changes everything.

Unlike elk, mule deer rut in November. This usually coincides with snow and migration. The big bucks that have been hiding in the dark timber all season finally step out.

1. Find the Does

In November, you don't hunt bucks. You hunt does. Find the big family groups of does on south-facing sage slopes. The bucks will be cruising between these groups checking for estrus.

Roam Pro Tip: The "Second Look"

Glass the same group twice. A group of does might be buck-less at 8:00 AM. Check them again at 10:00 AM. A buck may have rotated in from another drainage. During the rut, the landscape is dynamic.

Glassing Technique

Late season hunting is 90% glasing, 10% hiking. You need a system.

The Grid: Mental grid the hillside. Don't just scan randomly. Start top left, move right, drop down, move left.
The Tripod: You cannot effectively judge trophy quality off-hand. Put your binos on a tripod. The stability reveals movement you would otherwise miss (an ear flick, a tail twitch).
The Shadows: Bucks love bedding in the shadows of lone junipers or rock outcroppings. Look into the dark spots.

Dealing with "Cruncy" Snow

Late season often means crusted snow that sounds like stepping on cornflakes. Stalking is nearly impossible.

The Ambush

If the snow is loud, stop stalking. Figure out where the does are feeding and where they are bedding. Get setup in between those two points before they move. Let them come to you.

Roam Idaho Pro Tip: Glissading

Use the Snow. If you spot a buck way down in a basin, dragging a deer back UP through 3 feet of snow is a nightmare. Plan your extraction. Sometimes it's smarter to bring a plastic sled (or just use your rain gear) to slide the deer down to a lower road rather than hiking back up.