A big, mature mule deer buck is arguably the hardest trophy big game animal to harvest in North America today. I have hunted mulies across Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, and Texas, but have never punched a tag on a buck that touches the 180” Boone & Crockett score. It’s not for lack of trying, or even lack of deer. I’ve glassed them at 12,000’ above timberline, hunted them in the rocky desert Southwest, and have stalked them in dark timber, farm fields, and sandhills. I have found numbers of deer every time I have set out to find them, but I haven’t connected with THE ONE.
If you share a love for hunting, wide-open spaces, and rural land, you can explore land for sale in Texas to find properties that offer access to incredible hunting and wildlife habitat across the state.
I remember the old-timer’s stories of the golden age of mule deer hunting, back in the 70s and 80s. My dad still keeps old photo albums from his years guiding in New Mexico, which are full of big mountain bucks, the kind that would cover magazines today. I remember as a kid comparing them to the small Texas hill country whitetail we hunted. Mule deer seemed like an entirely different species, and they might as well have been. All I knew was, I wanted to hunt them.
Back when we operated our outfitting business, Fever Pursuit, full time, I set up dozens of trophy mule deer hunts for clients. And even still, mule deer have humbled me as an archer. In 2013 I drew back on a 30” wide buck in Colorado, but couldn’t get a shot in the burned timber. In 2014 I killed my first mule deer, a mid-140”s Desert buck in southern NM. I hunted the Sandhills of Nebraska in 2016 and killed a huge bodied 3X3 after missing a mid 170s buck. In 2019 I drew back on an upper 170s buck in the flattops of Northern CO but didn’t have a shot, then deflected an arrow off an oak brush limb to miss another mid 170s buck. I felt snake bitten.
Mule deer live in a wide range of habitats across the western United States, Mexico, and Canada. While they do adapt to urban areas, Mule deer are synonymous with the last great open spaces in North America. They are heavily influenced by agriculture, weather, and predation. Additionally, their herding behavior during the rut and migratory patterns in colder climates greatly differ from their cousins, the White-tailed deer.
Migration
According to a 2013 study by Research Biologist, Hall Sawyer, western Wyoming mule deer herds migrate 150 miles from their summers in the Tetons, to their winter range along the Wind River. The Rosa Mule deer herd from northwestern New Mexico, and the San Juan Mule deer from SW Colorado migrate around 45 and 55 miles respectively to their winter ranges consisting mostly of pinyon-juniper woodlands, sagebrush, and scattered hay fields. Research by the Colorado division of wildlife shows these deer taking the same trails, on nearly the same calendar days, year after year. The more we study mule deer, the more fascinating the data becomes.
Population Trends
While populations in some states are declining, overall mule deer numbers are stable, and near state agency objectives. However, we have seen a double whammy to mule deer in recent years. The Mule deer population nationwide fell from roughly 4.6 million animals in 2000, to 3.8 million in 2013, and fell again 3.4 million in 2023.
“The hard winter of 2022-23 in the northwest dramatically reduced populations in some areas”, according to Deerfriendly.com. To put these numbers into context, this is roughly 10% the population size of their more aggressive and widely distributed cousins, the White-tailed deer.
While mulies and whitetail can co-exist in some areas, the smaller bodied whitetail are more aggressive breeders, and many argue this poses a significant threat to the mule deer.
In his 1990 book, Mule Deer Country, Valerious Geist wrote, “For all its current abundance, the mule deer, so different, so uniquely American, so young and promising, is nevertheless a species marked for extinction… That may be its fate in the long run. Either the white-tailed deer or man may cause that extinction.” Valerious later retracted the certainty of his statement.
I recently had a conversation with Greg Simons, Owner of Wildlife Systems. Greg published a 2020 article in Muley Crazy titled, Private Land Stewardship = Quality Mule Deer. In his article, Greg cites four major factors influencing mule deer herd health in the desert SW; weather, water, predation, and overgrazing of livestock. In fact, we see similar factors across their ranges:
- Moisture, both annually and seasonal. For example, wet years in the SW generally result in higher fawn recruitment and larger antlers.
- Contrast with drought years in the same regions, which causes poor reproductive health, smaller antlers, and higher death rates to predation.
- Subsequently, mountain populations are heavily impacted by harsh winters like the one we had in 2022-2023.
- Predation is a growing concern, with pressure on lion hunting across the country and the reintroduction of wolves in mountain states.
- And perhaps the greatest threat to mule deer hits in the mountain west, closer to home, where urban expansion and development has impacted their winter range.
The Impacts of Mule Deer on Texas Real Estate
Mule Deer are found in 74 of the 254 counties in Texas, these generally being the Trans Pecos region of West Texas and the Texas Panhandle. The effects of mule deer, free ranging elk, aoudad and Desert Bighorn sheep have been extremely positive for land values in West Texas, with hunting and conservation buyers surpassing traditional ranch buyers in the region. Land prices in West Texas spiked during the Covid boom, as large buyers and speculators were drawn to the Texas private mountain ranges. However, they have retracted since. Data from the Texas A&M Real Estate Center and Land.com suggests prices have dropped 6.21% in the second quarter of 2024 alone, and over 25% since their height.
If you’re looking for land for sale in West Texas, there are and will continue to be great opportunities for buyers and sellers in the Trans Pecos region, as more and more people discover and appreciate this gorgeous and wild part of our state.
Our team at Mock Ranches would be proud to assist you with information about hunting properties across the country.
My 2023 Hunt Story
I have been banking preference points in Colorado for several years, and recently enlisted Wyatt Bowles at Epic Outdoors to assist with my draw strategies. In 2022 I began planning a late season rifle deer hunt with my good friend, Justin Adkisson. Justin is one of the best hunters I know, and has outfitted southern Colorado for most of his life. We have hunted together a few times, and I have seen him guide several mule deer bucks in the 180s – 200” range. Fast forward to 2023, I was able to purchase a 3rd season rifle deer tag, with the intention of hunting bucks from the San Juan deer herd along their migration to the winter range.
If you know me, you know I mostly hunt with my family these days. So we loaded up the wall tent, wood stove, a truckload of Sitka Gear, and headed north. We located a really good buck the day before season along a tribal boundary, along with a stud of a bull elk. That night while in our tent, truck after truck of out of state hunters poured into the area. In typical ‘opening day in Colorado’ fashion, the hillsides were crawling with ATV’s and bearing strong resemblance to a pumpkin patch with hunters clad in blaze orange.
My good friend and colleague, Max Ramsey had joined us for the hunt, and after three days of dodging hunters and warming weather, we decided to break camp. A nice shower and lunch with our families in town was a much needed morale booster. That evening we decided to hike into a different location, a mid migration area about 3.5 miles into the timber. Maybe the bucks were holding at higher elevation?
I bet we looked like a circus at the trail head: six of us piling out of the trucks, stuffing our pockets with snacks, and starting the hike. It was Max, Trisha, Elizabeth (my wife), Maddox (9), Caroline (6) and me. About a mile into our hike, I turned around to see Elizabeth carrying Caroline, and needless to say we were not very quiet. We made it to a small meadow, with an hour and a half of daylight remaining. I had hunted this meadow many times over the years. It is set between a creek and north facing bedding area. I took note of some fresh deer and elk sign, as we positioned our noisy party under the small willows near the center of the meadow.
As the kids were unwrapping snacks and adding layers of clothing, Max and I were quickly discussing where to set up for the unlikely event that a deer did show up. We had not been there 5 minutes, when I saw antler tips moving through the grass 150 yards to the west. I was so surprised that I said out loud, “Max, there’s a buck!”
My grandfather always told me, “You can’t kill a buck through your binoculars!” And remembering his advice, I shouldered my Christensen Arms .65 PRC and found the buck in my scope. There were two bucks: a younger 4 point, followed by a mature 4 point. I had a very narrow window, and the score never crossed my mind. I again asked out loud, “Max, which one is bigger?” Before he could answer, I squeezed off a shot. It all happened so quickly that our wives and kids didn’t even know there was a deer!
The six of us walked up to our buck, “the A-Team buck”. He wasn’t the 180’ incher I had come for, but I wouldn’t change the outcome of this hunt. He was an old, public land timber buck who made his living avoiding hunters in the pines and aspens, and somehow we had managed to harvest him! My kids were proud of their dad, and I was so happy they were there. We quickly quartered him and packed him out the 3.5 miles in the dark. Max, the kids, both of our wives, and myself all packed out our portions of meat. It was a memory I’ll never forget. Mule deer can become sort of a passion for deer hunters, as has been the case for me. And If I could hunt just one animal, it would be a Mule deer. And I still have that 180” goal to accomplish.
