Hunting & Fishing Finally drawn for deer

[Exo]

Finally got the draw...I was beginning to think this was all just a ploy to take my money...anyways.

I have never hunted deer before...need to get schooled.

Hunt Dates: 10/31 - 11/06
Unit 22 in Arizona (Payson area)

Planning on getting up there just about every other weekend to start scouting, checking the landscape, and become familiar. What im planning right now is taking my light barreled 700 (.308) which is a surprisingly capable gun. It will shoot a 10 shot hole at 100 yards with 150gr bulk.

First question, is 150gr round, placed properly, sufficient enough to take a Mule Deer (Male) or should I try and get a heavier match or hunting load?

Second, MAPS...i need to get some maps! Any recommendations on where to get good laminated maps that wont break the bank? I know good and cheap dont go together, so im not asking for cheap, but not crazy expensive. I would like a terrain / topo hardcopy map. Lots of good programs on the play store for my phone but, i dont want to put all my trust into the battery of my phone.

Thirdly, this will be a spot and stalk, we are not planning to use any stand or blind. Is scent a big factor with Muley's as it is with coyotes? I have heard that their eye sight is not the greatest, is this correct? We were thinking scent block spray as we will be camping so the laundry detergent stuff is going to be pretty useless.

I am sure this will bring up more questions as it goes on, but I guess I will start there.

Thanks in advance!
Exo

 

[Rhyno]

Yea, I've killed a few muleys with 22lr (legally they were usually sick.) And 223. A 150 grain placed right will take it no problwm.

 

[Mark williams]

Pm, rhildy77 on here and I'm sure he can help as he hunts and lives their as well. Congrats and good luck.

 

[Exo]

Thanks Rhyno! And Mark ill give him a holler! Thanks a bunch

 

[rhildy77]

If you want a good map check out huntmaps.com

 

[rhildy77]

I would probably stay a little lower as well. When you start heading up towards payson you are getting in sheep country. I would recommend picking up a lion tag as they are plentiful in that area as well. Start looking around apache lake area

 

[roggom]

You can play on this site and build your own map. You can download all of the Topos or capture a specific area and have USGS print it out on waterproof tear resistant paper.


Custom Topographic Maps and Aerial Maps for the USA & Canada



I like it because my hunting area lies dead smack in the middle of 4 larger maps, so was always a pain in the ass to copy and paste one together.








As for loads, shit you could prob take one with a marble and a slingshot, but some good ol Remmy greenbox, Fed fusion, American whitetail(150's) is all you need. Up to Nosler trophy grade if you want some Accubonds

 

[rhildy77]

Don't be surprised of long shots either out.

 

[lancetkenyon]

150gr. .308 is plenty for mulies at most reasonable ranges as long as you put the bullet in the proper place. Practice practice practice, start now.

For maps, I like Wide World of Maps on Indian School and I-17 in Phoenix. Once you get the maps, look for places with nasty terrain and no roads and be prepared to hike a lot.

Congrats on the draw and best of luck! I drew an AZ mulie tag myself for a different area.

 

[Exo]

Good luck lance! Thanks for the heads up!

 

[gknutson]

As far as scent control goes I would work the wind and don't worry so much about sprays. (Just my opinion) There eye sight is good also. And older mulies seem to have a sixth sense and know when trouble is coming. Have fun.

 

[Exo]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Getting pretty stoked already about this!

 

[DetroitRearView]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Getting pretty stoked already about this!

a little help on getting really stoked from an elderly neighbor (now deceased)

 

[teamvit]

Flatline maps makes some good stuff. I have archery hunted 22 for several years now. Scout, scout, scout, glass, glass, glass, and you will find animals. Nicer optics make your life easier.

There will be plenty of other people on that hunt so get away from the roads. On that note the mazatal wildeness is enormous. Get in shape and use it to your advantage

308 is plenty of gun

If you have any questions let me know. I grew up in fountain hills and have spent lots of time in 22 and 23

 

[Trochlea]

As for scent control, I have stored my hunting clothes in cedar, not that it has really mattered. It seemed like being upwind of them always spooked them no matter what I did. Mine experience has been with 95 grain pills out of a 243. Never had a problem, good shot placement with a berger hunting vld has done the trick for me, although I am relatively new to this as well.

 

[Exo]

So...basically always try and stay down wind from them...scent blocker doesnt really do anything? I'd suppose it wouldnt hurt to use anyways???

 

[rhildy77]

EXO the whole time I have been hunting here I have never used any scent killer and still have killed great deer. The areas you will hunt in 22 are big valleys and canyons best to stay downwind if possible but the winds tend to swirl a lot.

 

[MCSO1357]

Congrats on the draw, should be a good unit to hunt. I was NEVER drawn for a rifle elk tag in the 15 years of applying while living in the Phoenix area. Talk about a ploy to take money!

 

[NV_Dmax]

Use Google Earth to locate water sources, green vegitation, and potential hiding/bedding areas. Plan around the water. It's fairly easy to ambush muleys once you have established what their patterns are. Muleys like to get where they can see their surroundings while still being hidden. Areas like under thick mahogany, under bluffs, in canyons (with good escape routes) etc. should be glassed. Get/borrow good binoculars, being able to see details will help you in the open areas. It is very difficult to spot a buck in his hiding place.

In Nevada, where I hunt, I typically find a promising area. Then I figure out what the movements will be. Then setup early and wait for them to move. On all the hunts, I was a part of, where a buck was harvested he was out in the open on his way back to his hiding place.

Just a few basics: stay concealed, don't skyline yourself, use natural vegetation to break up your silhouette, move slowly and deliberately because they can see you from many, many hundreds of yards away and alot of the time they will freeze and watch your movements, by moving slowly you might see them where had you been moving too fast they would never move and you wouldn't see them.

 

[Exo]

Heading out Saturday to go do our first scout session. Have been on google earth mapping almost everyday. I have several "promising" spots to go check out, all revolve around water, have access to some plain's/grassy areas and have some trees with what I can tell is a healthy amount of coverage. Only problem with these areas, which actually has me more excited is, there is no road anywhere near them. Will be a several mile hike round trip to each location. Will report back with pics later. My buddy and I's plan (as weve never hunted deer before) is to use every scout trip to its fullest and carry everything we are planning to take on the hunt to do a little trial and error. One last question is, and google hasnt been very cooperative for me on this is, what does a deer bedding area look like? Rough distance on bedding area to water source?

 

[Exo]

Some motivational pic's for a Monday morning...Saturday's scouting trip.

Didnt see anything moving, however, my hunting buddy and I found a metric ton of deer shit. We were following game paths, checking out watering holes for prints, followed a ravine for a bit and spent alot of time just glassing. We know we are in the right spot, we just need to verify muley and not white tail. Cool animal interaction this weekend was sitting on a pile of rocks on a cliff overlooking a valley and not but 15 feet in front of me a buzzard came flapping in checking us out. Could hear the "whoosh" of his wings as he flew by, totally awesome.

 

[tt123]

Looks like interesting terrain! How are you going to get the deer carcass out of there? An ATV? Or are you going to butcher it on the spot and pack the meat in a ruck?

If mule deer are like roe in their habits, I'd guess at the bedding area being somewhere where leaves, and twigs etc. have been scraped away to allow the deer to lie on the bare earth. If there's a lot of grass, it'll probably just be an area of flattened grass though.

Our deer season opens again September 1st (red, sika, and fallow), but the species we have on our lease (roe deer) isn't till October 1st.

Best of luck with your hunt, or 'knæk og bræk' as they say in Denmark.

 

[Exo]

We are trying to secure my father in laws razr to get around and pack it out. If we do find something in one of these ravines, more than likely we are going to have to field dress it, quarter it, and ruck it out. There are lots of big meadows out here too so if we are lucky enough to spot one out there, we will be able to just drive up to it.

Thanks for the intel on bedding, we honestly were looking for something like that, but didnt find anything where it looked like a deer had been residing.

Hoping to get out there every couple weeks from now until 10/31 when the season opens to try and actually put some eyes on the prize.