When it comes to deciding what to grill for the 4th of July, it’s usually a no-brainer: burgers, brats, and dogs. Perhaps you have ground game and venison links taking up space in your freezer and the Independence Day holiday is the perfect occasion to make room for fall. But what about your guests who are tired of the same-old menu, year after year?

When it comes to mule deer hunting, seeing is everything. Wide open basins, high country ridge lines, and rolling sagebrush flats all share one thing in common: they make is easy for deer to disappear. Spotting a buck before he can spot you could be the difference between a punched tag and an excuse.

That’s why glassing is so important. Not just the act itself but the gear, your binoculars, spotting scopes, rifle scopes are as important as how you use them. Whether you’re just getting into the game or you’re refining advanced spotting techniques, your optics and how you use them matter.

As the hot afternoon sun beat down on my face, a burning bead of sweat rolled its way down my forehead and found its way into my eye. It was a very unseasonably warm mid-May afternoon in Idaho. I had just hustled home from work, jumped into my camo ninja suit, and practically ran up the mountain to my honey hole, where I hoped to bag a late season gobbler. It was hot and dry, and to be honest, I was very much doubting the likelihood of success.

With tag draw results coming in across the West, odds are some of you are holding onto a hot tag and plotting your fall adventure. Whether it’s your first time chasing high country bucks or you’re a seasoned veteran heading back to your favorite canyon, the right gear can make all the difference between a successful, enjoyable hunt and a miserable slog. Lucky for you, you’ve landed in the right place; at the Mule Deer Foundation, we not only care about conserving the species we all love, but we also live this lifestyle 365 days a year.

In 2024, the picture is complicated. In some places, there’s reason to be optimistic. States like Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah are seeing herds hold steady or even tick upward. Colorado’s herd alone is estimated at over 418,000 — a sign that habitat work, smart management, and a few well-timed wet years are starting to pay off.

This encounter marked the first documented scientific description of the mule deer by Euro-American explorers. While Indigenous peoples across the American West had hunted and lived alongside mule deer for centuries, the Lewis and Clark journals provided the first written account of the species for the expanding field of American zoology. This documentation description would continue throughout the journey as more of these creatures were brought in, and Lewis would later start referring to them as mule deer. That’s how they came to be known by the name we know them by today.