My four-year-old son just got a new bike. It’s nothing like my bike, in fact, it doesn’t even have pedals. It’s called a strider bike, and he kicks his feet for thrust. The other day I went on a walk around the neighborhood by my house and he was telling me all about his bike.
“See these black spots Dad!?” He asked. I nodded, and he continued, “This is where you can put your feet.” He proceeded to lift both feet, place them on the frame of the bike and balance himself as he rolled a few yards down the road. He started to lose his balance, put both feet on the ground, and came to a brisk stop. He turned his head towards me, his grin filled his little boy face. “Is that cool Dad?”
“Yes,” I replied, “super cool!”
Just like my son, learning to ride his bike, we all start somewhere. It’s easy to look at others who’ve devoted hours to honing their craft and skillsets and expect to be like them, but it takes time. Becoming a big buck hunter is just like that. Some will find they have a lot of natural talent, others may find that they can learn quickly, or perhaps have recruited a good mentor to accelerate their progression and learning. If you’re like me, it doesn’t come easy, and fortunately, there are a lot of great mentors out there, even if you never really talk to them in person, or spend a day on the mountain together.
We live in an age where information is available by the truckload. You can jump on youtube, or google and burrow straight down the rabbit hole of information about nearly any topic, including hunting big bull elk or giant mule deer bucks.
It is our goal here at Altitude Outdoors, to help you find the success you’re looking for. You’ve come to the right place, as we’ll help hunters of all skill and experience levels learn valuable information, get their hands on the right gear, and stay motivated and ready to take advantage of your time on the mountain! That being said, we don’t necessarily have all of the information either, and we’re still learning. But we’ll share the resources we’ve found along the way.
Mule Deer Hunting Books to Get your Started:
Books - if you’re reading this article, chances are you don't mind reading, especially if you’ve made it this far. There are a handful of incredible books available that will help you learn a lot about hunting mule deer hunting. This isn’t necessarily a ranking, but here are a few different mule deer hunting books that have become part of my personal hunting library.
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Hunting High Country Mule Deer - By Mike Eastman - This book is a few decades old, but the skills and tactics discussed are still relevant today - especially if you’re looking to hunt big mule deer bucks in the high country. You can pick up a copy at Eastman’s website or on Amazon.
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Hunting Big Mule Deer: How to Take the Best Buck of Your Life - by Robby Denning - This book is a must-have. Robby has devoted all of his hunting time over the years to strictly mule deer. He has incredible passion and devotion to hunting big bucks and isn’t a one-trick pony as you’ll see if you read this book. He shares tactics that can work in almost any terrain type, and weather conditions. This book is available on Amazon.
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The Edge - By David Long and Mike Duplan - David and Mike are both incredible big buck hunters who have the trophy rooms to prove it. David’s first mule deer book, Public Land Mule Deer (Another one to look at) was a lock for this list too, but the Edge is an up-to-date refresh and comprehensive skills guide to help you put yourself in the position to take mature mule deer bucks. Get your copy from Western Hunter!
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Wyoming’s Finest Mule Deer - By David and Gia Long - While this may not necessarily be a how-to hunting book, Wyoming’s Finest Mule Deer is full of short hunting stories from dozens of guys who consistently take big deer. While the photos of bucks are mind-boggling, the information you can glean from the pages of this book is extremely valuable. Keep the right mindset as you read the short stories and you’ll find hunters exploiting some tactics that you may not have thought of before. You can pick up a copy right here in our online store or at Wyomingsfinestmuledeer.com.
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Idaho’s Greatest Mule Deer - by Ryan Hatfield - This book has a similar makeup to Wyoming’s Finest Mule Deer but is all about Idaho. Ryan does a fantastic job piecing together a lot of history in this book, and all of the stories can illustrate some very creative ways that hunters are taking giant bucks. You can pick it up from Idahobiggame.com.
- Hunting Open Country Mule Deer - by Dwight Schuh - This book is getting hard to find these days but is a great read by legendary archery hunter Dwight Shuh. Mule Deer are mostly open-country animals and this book explains how to hunt them very well, especially if you’re trying to get close with archery tackle.
While there’s no way we can cover every great book out there, these will get you started and you may notice some common tactics that these skilled hunters/authors talk about in their books.
Stay tuned for more upcoming articles on hunting big bucks, bulls, and other big game right here at Altitude Outdoors.
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