Montana

Three shooting positions for Western Hunting. 

When heading out for your first western hunt, there are a million things to prepare for. We often focus on the gear we need, what type of tent, what kind of pack, and the list goes on and on. Part of the prep phase is picking your rifle and heading to the range to get practice in. We often do this from a fixed, stable position. These stable positions will be nearly impossible during a western hunt due to terrain and the speed at which opportunities often happen. With that in mind, here are three positions you should practice shooting with and why: 

Forest Service and MDF Join Forces on Habitat Projects and Wildfire Crisis work!

Following a keystone agreement on September 2023, the Tonto National Forest and the Mule Deer Foundation committed to restoring 1000 acres of landscape through lop and scatter-type projects

Mule Deer Carpaccio

Carpaccio is one of my favorite dishes of all time. It’s an Italian dish of beef tenderloin sliced paper thin with a deli slicer and served raw. I’ve never seen a recipe of carpaccio done with mule deer and seeing as how it’s my favorite meat, there is no way it could be bad. My adaptation to this recipe can be done in any home. If you can’t get it deli slicer thin with a knife don’t worry, you can pound it after and it comes out great.

Best Boots in Mule Deer Country

During hunting season at the Mule Deer Foundation, the staff becomes obsessed with gear. The office is bubbling with debates over any type of gear, from brands of water filters to wall tents. When applicable, we try to publish these debates for the reader to consider when making purchasing decisions during hunting season. 

Today, we are discussing which boot is best. This debate has multiple facets, from cost to break-in period to overall comfort and, finally, regionality. We recognize that there is probably no one boot that’s best for all scenarios, but we’ve done our best to decipher which is the closest.

MDF Employee Spotlight

In the MDF Employee Spotlight Segment the Mule Deer Foundation would like to call attention…

Bass Pro Grant Update for Great Plains

In 2024 MDF launched its Private Lands Conservation Program in the Great Plains. The Mule Deer Foundations mission focuses on sharing the conservation of these deer species through innovative land and wildlife management practices, partnerships with various stakeholders, and public education

“Mule Deer Pupusa & Smoked Tomato salsa”

Pupusas are El Salvadorian stuffed corn cakes served with curtido and salsa roja, traditionally stuffed with beens, cheese and pork. We have taking this incredible south/central American favoirite and given it a Mule Deer Foundation spin using some of the roast cuts from our favorite critter.  These are a great item to make ahead, wrap in foil and have waiting for you back at camp to warm up after a long day in the field. Pupusas also freeze incredibly well if your looking for a quick dinner to pull out when time seems to slip away.  The curtido is a El Salvadorian version of slaw that cuts through the richness of the cakes and is definitely a must with these.  And the smoked tomato salsa is my favorite way to use up those sweet summertime tomatoes. We keep this on hand during the summer for all sorts of uses, its sure to become one of your go to faves. 

MDF Awarded $250,000 from Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s for Great Plains

The Bass Pro shops, and Cabela’s outdoor fund grant was generous enough to award the Mule Deer Foundation $250,000 that we can leverage with an additional $1.4 million in funds from other partners and internal sources. By combining these funds, we are implementing more than 27 projects on working lands and ranches across the Great Plains states resulting in improvements to over 55,000 acres of wildlife habitat.

Mule Deer Alley

A detour down the Mule Deer Highway known as the Alzeda highway through the most beautiful landscape in the world”

“New Non-Resident western hunter? Look No Further”

All you need to know about western style hunting for the non-resident.

“Skunk Pig & Mule Deer”

Skunk pig is the wonderfully unique colloquial term used to describe the North American native species, collard peccary also called a Javalina. The name skunk pig refers to a gland on their back with can emit a powerful oder in extreme circumstances.

USDA Signs Memo on Conserving Mule Deer Migration routes!

The Mule Deer Foundation applauds the signing of this Secretarial Memo to ensure that the full suite of USDA programs and resources are coordinated to sustain mule deer and other big game populations that migrate