see even a mule deer like this one i would shoot one like this....
I covered every inch of 4F last fall while pronghorn hunting. Very little public land in the mule deer terrain. I did see some mule deer in the more rugged terrain, including some really nice ones. Most of the deer I saw were whitetails. That Big Gumbo Management area was an oilfield wasteland with VERY little cover. What wasn't drilled on was grazed to the nub. I was really disappointed with that area because I thought it would be miles and miles of open land. I didn't get far off the roads in that spot, so maybe I missed something. There are trails/roads all over in there for the oil rigs.
The land along the little Mo definitely had mule deer, but almost all of that is posted. You also have to remember that every inch of public land gets hit hard from bird hunters.
That being said, there aren't many units you can apply for that give you a chance at a buck with 3 points. So have at it!
and im 100% ok with that as long as some of the public land actually has some mulie ground you can see public land on the maps all you want but until you are standing right in front of it its pretty hard to see whats actually there, i have no issues getting way back in there off the road and camping out and chasing mule deer, i would actually prefer to do it now while im physically able so if there is good ground out in the middle of those huge tracks of public land im all for it, i just havent been to most of those areas the only area im kinda familiar with is north of killdeer where i used to chase mulies with the bow
thats good info, ya i checked out some of that public land on google maps and it looked like it was just spidered with oil rigger trails.. are you able to drive down any of those now or are they all marked as private land? also if i did decide to hit 4f and head out hiking and stay back there a few nights what are the chances i would be able to leave my pickup somewhere with out it getting destroyed by someone?
thats good info, ya i checked out some of that public land on google maps and it looked like it was just spidered with oil rigger trails.. are you able to drive down any of those now or are they all marked as private land? also if i did decide to hit 4f and head out hiking and stay back there a few nights what are the chances i would be able to leave my pickup somewhere with out it getting destroyed by someone?
Yeah its a pick your poison type of deal. You really only have three options 1. Good grounds but bad odds 2.good odds but not as good of grounds or 3. Spend $500 or more on an out of state or res tag.There aren't really huge tracts of land in ND where you can get "way back in." Getting into a solid mule deer unit with 3 points is pretty tough. You really need to have some private land access or else live closer so that you can scout the country more and find some deer. I'd recommend taking a scouting trip before you apply if you go into one of the fringe units.
looking at 4f public ground on the map it seems like if you get off the road a bit there is some pretty good stuff that looks like this that is public? there has to be some good mule deer hiding out there somewhere?
In 22 years of hunting, I've only been denied a buck tag twice. Don't know if it's just lucky or what but I don't even worry about not drawing one.
BS!!!!! Based on the trail-cam date and assuming it's a 6-8yr old, that deer won't even be born for 75-77yrs. What's with no snow and green stuff in the background on Valentines day too????????????? I think the above deer is photoshopped.