I live in Orange County California. I am 39 years old and have been target shooting and bird hunting all my life. I would like to know how a person would go about learning how to hunt mule deer. I have read a book on the subject and read part of the incredibly complex procedures you need to go through to get a tag. However, it really seems like the type of thing that you need to do with a knowledgeable person or group that can show you the ropes.
I have never dressed a large animal and would not want to try it without some help at first. Are there hunting clubs, groups, or organizations I could join that would put me in touch with others to get involved with deer hunting? I’m sure there are hunting clubs, etc. around, but I would think that if you just ask around your friends, relatives, co-workers — you will find a fellow hunter. Most hunter I know are pretty willing to help out a new hunter and even include them in the group.
I think it is great that you have become interested in hunting Mule Deer. I have been hunting all my life ( I am 36) and truly enjoy hunting mule deer. I have a group of friends that hunt to gether every year for the desert mule deer in the Trans Pecos region out side of El Paso, Texas. It seems to be much more chalenging than whitetail hunting because it is a spot and stalk type hunt, plus the fact that you must be in pretty good shape in order to make your way around the mountains not to mention if you do take one of these grey ghosts from the top.
The fun is over and the real work begins. I guess if you can not find any friend with the same interest it would be adviseable to use a hunting guide for the first go around for a learning session. The very best thing you can do is find a mentor. First step is to join a club, and show up for all the meetings. It is very likely you will find someone who has gotten to the level in the sport where they want to help someone start. They will probably give you tons of assistance. They may even take you hunting. Probably not their hot spots but some public land or something like that.
Let them know you want some experience in tracking and field dressing a deer and you may get a call some day next season to help find a downed deer and learn more then you really wanted to about the process. Also if you are not week of stomach, you may as about helping to process a deer. There are some videos on field dressing and processing a deer. They are not as good as the hands on stuff, but much better than nothing. Many pro shops rent videos. Many clubs own and borrow out videos.
Out here in Saskatchewan we do a combination of field hunting and water hunting. After scouting the day before we like to drop field decoys consisting mostly of shells and full bodied Canada goose decoys as well as full bodied mallard enticer decoys (these seem to work extremely well in the late season when the geese have been shot at a few times, downside is they are pretty expensive). When the snow geese first come down we put about 200-400 Texas rags out.
I’m a resident of this area (Delta) and have hunted here for birds for almost 20 years. I have taken my share of ducks and geese but have since given it up. In Ladner, some of the best shooting is in the fields for which you will need to obtain permission from the farmers. I don’t know if that is difficult these days or not but you will have to try. Lots of greenhouses going up which is limiting areas to go.
We’ll pick you up in Cape Town and bring you to our beautiful holiday farm on the border of Namaqualand and the Cederberg mountains. For 3 days we’ll teach you to shoot with various hunting rifles. We’ll prepare ammunition to your specific needs for the hunt. Then we’ll introduce you to the finer details of hunting the African games. During these 3 days of training, we’ll vine and dine you to the wonderful cuisine of the “Boers” of the west coast of Africa. Depending on your specific needs, we’ll then proceed into to African veldt, whether that be the open savanna to hunt “plains game” like springbok, gemsbok, blesbok of even ostrich.
I suppose one can be rather smug when the balance between predator and prey are in balance and a sense of “fair play” pervades the sport. But our situation was different. We were faced with a skilled predator with no natural enemies (wolf or cougar) that was introduced some time ago to augment the fox hunting. Well, they got more than they bargained for. The coyote became a serious threat to endangered species, reduced most populations of ground-dwelling or ground-nesting creatures and routinely preyed on cats, small dogs, calves, foals, and anything else it could overpower singly or in a pack.
Some friends of mine in south Georgia (USA) are looking for any area in Canada densely populated with coyotes. Until a few years ago they often hunted packs as large as 50 in number using a combination of dogs and horseback with an ultralight aircraft as a spotter. But in recent years the coyote population has dwindled due not to overhunting but to the pervasive spread of canine parvovirus. So, on their behalf, I would like to know if : 1–are coyotes considered vermin in Canada with no limits ?, 2–do local governments, farmers, etc pay bounties such as US$50 per tail ?, 3– are there any restrictions on night hunting (infra-red) with a two-seat ultralight (pilot in rear, shooter in front) using selective-fire 5.56mm (legally registered with BATF, of course) ?
