Hunting Mule Deer Habitat

I’m fortunate to live in the epicenter of the country’s best mule deer hunting. Central Colorado has high numbers of my favorite big game animal and has long been known for producing trophy quality bucks that, despite some misinformed detractors, are very good table fare. Colorado has the perfect blend of productive alpine summer range, large aspen groves, and sage-covered winter range. More than any other factor as a do-it-yourself public land...

Are Mule Deer Going Extinct?

Hunters have been watching or reading about the mule deer’s decline for so long that some worry they’ll witness its end. Writers and speakers often quote Professor Valerius Geist’s opening lines of Chapter 8 in his 1990 book “Mule Deer Country,” where he warned: “For all its current abundance, the mule deer, so different, so uniquely American, so young and promising, is nevertheless a species marked for extinction.” Geist’s next two sentences...

Best Food Sources to Deer Hunt in October

A focus on food is front-of-mind during September bowhunts. But what about October? Well, here’s your whitetail hot tip of the week: Deer eat in October too. I’m not sure why deer hunters seem to put food on the back burner when the calendar flips to October. It’s a mistake. While it’s true that the rut is inching ever closer, so much of that classic pre-rut buildup will be focused on areas that are directly related to a key food source. Scrapes...