MDF News2
Federal Ammunition has recently launched a ground-breaking long-action hunting cartridge focused on 7mm/.284 heavy-for-caliber bullets, raising the bar for what a non-magnum, centerfire rifle hunting load can achieve. Three numbers quickly back the innovation behind it: 20, 170 and 3,000.
Every hunter hopes for a clean shot, but even the best shot placement doesn’t guarantee an immediate recovery. Tracking a wounded mule deer takes patience, skill, and respect for the animal. Doing it correctly not only increases your chances of success but also ensures a humane harvest.
Ask any mule deer hunter and they’ll tell you: elevation matters. Between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, mule deer country shifts dramatically from sagebrush basins to aspen slopes to high-country meadows. Each band of elevation offers unique challenges and opportunities, and hunters who understand how deer use these habitats will have the best chance at success.
If you’ve never seen a line of mule deer moving across the skyline at dawn, nose to tail, mile after mile, you’re missing one of the last great natural wonders in North America. These migrations aren’t just impressive; they’re ancient. Some herds travel over 150 miles between their summer and winter ranges, crossing rugged mountains, ranch fences, and six-lane highways like they’ve been doing it for a thousand years, because they have.
It’s been twenty years since that hunt, but I can still feel the burn in my legs, the thin air in my lungs, and the pounding of my heart as if it happened yesterday. I was twelve years old, hunting with my mom in the high country, and I was about to take my first mule deer buck.
Success in the high country doesn’t happen by luck. Rifle season comes fast, and by the time the opener rolls around, hunters who have done the homework, the scouting, the glassing, and patterning mule deer bucks, are the ones most likely to punch their tag. The key is simple: treat pre-season scouting as seriously as the hunt itself.
Brew Coffee, Support Conservation: Hunting Day Coffee Company Partners with the Mule Deer Foundation
The Mule Deer Foundation is proud to announce our partnership with Hunting Day Coffee Company, where 30% of profits go directly to MDF’s mission of conserving mule deer, black-tailed deer, and their critical habitats.
On the dry ridges outside Tucson, AZ hunters know that a year of poor rainfall can turn a once familiar hunting ground into an unfamiliar puzzle. Traditional glassing spots may come up empty, and the basins that normally hold deer can feel barren. But those who adjust their strategy now hyper focusing on scarce water sources, higher elevation forage, and subtle changes in deer movement can still find success even in tough years.
This is an easy and refreshing salad that makes for the perfect light dinner or lunch. I used steelhead, but any pink-fleshed fish will do, including any type of salmon or trout. You could even make it with canned salmon in a pinch.
Don’t sleep on the lemon zest, as it adds a brightness to this dish that will be missing otherwise. If you don’t have a zesting tool or a rasp, use a vegetable peeler to carefully remove the peel without including much white pith, then mince it finely with a knife.
I made the garlic optional in the salad, as it adds a punchiness and light heat that may not be up everyone’s alley. I’m always good for it, though!
Hunting deep in the backcountry with nothing but the gear you can carry on your back is one of the most rewarding ways to access wild, hard-to-reach mule deer country. It’s an adventure rooted in self-reliance, and while it can open the door to areas few others reach, it also adds a layer of complexity you won’t find when hunting from a truck or a traditional base camp.
In this article, we break down the Mule Deer Foundation’s recommended backcountry gear list — including tips and specific product suggestions — to help you prepare for your next hunt.
Bowhunting mule deer in open country is one of the most rewarding — and frustrating — challenges a Western hunter can take on. There’s no treestand to sit in, no food plot to watch. It’s you, the sagebrush, the sun, and a buck that can pick you off at 400 yards if you blink wrong.
Early season mule deer hunting is a long game. You might spend days glassing and never make a stalk — or you might get it done on the first morning. Either way, keep your head in the game and your ego in check. Velvet season rewards the patient and punishes the reckless.