Every January, I do the same thing.
I start looking at maps.
Long before applications are due, before arrows start flying or rifles come out of the safe, I’m already thinking about the coming season. Like many Mule Deer Foundation members, I’m usually applying as a nonresident. If I’m lucky, I’ll draw one buck tag. Maybe I’ll pick up a doe tag somewhere or have another opportunity later in the year, but the reality is that my entire mule deer season often comes down to one permit.
One tag, One opportunity.
When you only get one chance, preparation becomes part of the hunt.
For me, it starts with e-scouting. Today’s mapping tools have completely changed how we prepare for a hunt, and apps like onX Hunt let you spend hours learning a unit long before your boots ever touch the ground. I look for water sources, north-facing slopes, transition zones, glassing points, escape cover, and the routes I’d likely use to access them.
None of that replaces time in the field.
But it gives me a plan.
Instead of showing up at camp wondering where to start, I already have several areas circled and a good understanding of how I want to hunt them. Then, once I arrive, I can let the deer tell me if my homework was right.
Making sure my legs know what time of year it is: Mule deer country has a way of exposing weaknesses. Steep climbs, loose rock, high elevations, and long days behind a pack can humble anyone who’s spent too much time behind a desk.
That’s why I try to make physical preparation part of the hunt, too. As I sit here writing this in July I am constantly shifting my weight in my chair because my thighs are so sore from completing a Six mile hike with a pack yesterday.
You don’t have to become an ultramarathon runner, but the stronger your legs, lungs, and back are before opening day, the more country you’ll be able to cover, and the better you’ll feel when opportunity finally presents itself.
Just as important is becoming comfortable with your gear.
Every year, I see hunters unpack equipment they’ve barely used. Boots that haven’t been broken in. Packs that have never carried weight. A tripod that’s still adjusted from the factory. Even rifles that haven’t been fired since last season. As I write this I’m thinking about my wall tent and cots that have been in storage since Turkey season. One of my bigger goals for mule deer camp this year is to gather photography that we can use for the foundation and that I can use to make the magazine the best version of itself in order to do that I need all my gear to look good but I also needed to function and I’m not going to be able to do that if I neglect taking it out and setting it up before hunting season.
Opening day is a terrible time to discover your boots raise blisters or your binocular harness doesn’t fit over your jacket. Use your gear before you hunt.
Wear your pack on training hikes. Glass from your tripod in a local park. Practice shooting from your backpack. Learn where everything rides so you’re not fumbling for a rangefinder while a buck disappears over the ridge.
Confidence comes from knowing how to use your gear. As important as all that preparation is, I think there’s one thing that matters even more.
Define success before the season starts.
That sounds simple, but it’s surprisingly easy to lose sight of once the hunt begins. If success only means wrapping your tag around the biggest buck on the mountain, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. We all know that’s part of hunting, but it shouldn’t be the only thing that determines whether your season was worthwhile.
- Maybe success means exploring a new unit you’ve always wanted to hunt.
- Maybe it’s introducing your son or daughter to mule deer country for the first time.
- Maybe it’s finally reaching that high basin you’ve stared at on satellite imagery for months.
- Maybe it’s simply spending a week watching the sunrise over sagebrush ridges and the sunset behind snow-covered peaks.
- For me, success this year is tagging A4 by 4 deer in a new part of the state that I’ve never hunted before. If I don’t put my tag on a deer I’m going to be disappointed in myself but I will still know that I had 15 sunrises and 15 sunsets living in my wall tent in the mountains and that is a nice consolation prize.
Of course, I hope every hunt ends with a full freezer and antlers hanging in the garage. But when I look back over the years, those aren’t the memories that stand out first. I remember the campfire conversations. The mornings when the mountains slowly came alive. The bucks that got away. The lessons learned. Most importantly the people I shared them with.
Those experiences are why I keep applying every year, even when I know my odds aren’t great.
Because a mule deer tag isn’t just a hunting license.
It’s permission to spend time in some of the most remarkable places left in the West.
Help Ensure There’s Always a Next Season
Every mule deer tag represents something bigger than a hunting opportunity. It represents healthy habitat, functioning migration corridors, and decades of conservation work that make these experiences possible.
The Mule Deer Foundation’s 2026 campaign, “The Vanishing Icon of the West,” is a reminder that the future of mule deer depends on all of us. By becoming a member, you’re directly supporting habitat restoration, conservation projects, and the work needed to ensure future generations can experience the same anticipation that comes with drawing that one special tag.
Join the Mule Deer Foundation today and help conserve the future of the West’s most iconic big game animal.
Visit www.muledeer.org/join to become a member and be part of the effort to protect the Vanishing Icon of the West.
