By Trevor J Hubbs
You finally drew it.
After years of applying, accumulating points and watching other hunters post pictures of bucks you could only dream about, your name finally came up. You have a limited-entry mule deer tag in your pocket, and suddenly you’re holding one of the most coveted opportunities in Western hunting.
Now what?
If your answer is, “I’m going to take it easy this year because I drew a great tag,” we need to have a conversation.
A limited-entry tag is an opportunity. It is not a guarantee.
Some of the best mule deer hunting in the West occurs in limited-entry units, but drawing a coveted tag doesn’t mean a mature buck is going to walk into camp and introduce himself. These are still wild animals living in wild country. Weather can change. Deer can move. Hunting pressure can alter behavior. You can spend days looking at country that you expected to produce a giant buck and never see the deer you came for.
That’s hunting.
And if you drew one of these tags, you owe it to yourself—and to the opportunity—to hunt it accordingly.
Get in shape.
If you haven’t been climbing hills, carrying a pack and preparing your body for the demands of a Western hunt, start now. A great tag doesn’t make the mountains any flatter.
Shoot your rifle……Then shoot it again.
Know your equipment. Know your effective range. Know what you can do from an awkward position, after climbing a steep ridge and when your heart is pounding. You may spend years waiting for a limited-entry tag. Don’t let poor preparation be the reason you miss the opportunity when it finally arrives.
Scout.
Learn the unit. Study the maps. Understand access. Look at migration routes, feeding areas, bedding cover and escape terrain. Spend time behind your binoculars. Learn where mature bucks are likely to be when the season opens and how weather and hunting pressure could change their behavior.
Most importantly, hunt.
I have seen too many hunters draw incredible tags and then approach the season like they won a guided hunt.
Drawing a limited-entry tag is not the same thing as going to a high-fence operation where someone has already located the buck, figured out where he spends his time and put you in a position to shoot him.
You drew a tag. Now go put in maximum effort to filling your tag.
A mature mule deer has spent years learning how to survive. He knows the country better than you do. He knows where the pressure comes from. He knows when to move and when to disappear. The fact that you waited five, 10 or even 20 years to draw a tag doesn’t mean the buck has been waiting for you.
You still have to earn the opportunity.
That may mean getting up before daylight every morning. It may mean hiking farther than you planned. It may mean sitting on a ridge in miserable weather because you know a buck could be there. It may mean passing smaller deer because you’re holding out for the mature animal you drew the tag to hunt.
And it may mean coming home without a buck.
A limited-entry tag increases the opportunity to hunt quality animals. It doesn’t eliminate uncertainty, and it certainly doesn’t eliminate the work.
So if you are lucky enough to draw one this year, don’t waste it.
Get in shape. Shoot your rifle. Scout your unit. Study the country. Make a plan. Then hunt like the opportunity may never come again.
Because it might not.
Help Protect the Mule Deer We Hunt
Limited-entry tags are a privilege, but the future of mule deer hunting depends on healthy herds, quality habitat and hunters who support conservation long after their season ends.
Join the Mule Deer Foundation and help conserve mule deer, protect their habitat and preserve the hunting opportunities that make drawing a coveted tag possible in the first place.
Join MDF today and become part of the effort to conserve mule deer and the Western landscapes they call home.
