Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

South Dakota mule deer

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    South Dakota mule deer

    I’m about a week behind posting this, been busy. I drew rifle tags for antelope the last two years in western SD and finally drew a deer tag this year. It’s always a quick trip up north 1k miles and back and this year is the same. I left Dfw last Thurs evening and got there Fri afternoon after a few hrs of truck-sleep in KS.

    I was hunting with my wife’s cousin on my in-laws land and some other area ranchers that allow him access. This area is a mixture of rolling prairie, ag fields, and breaks that give the deer a lot of places to hide.

    At daylight Saturday we spotted a couple bucks sparring about a 1/4 mile off in a planted wheat field. We walked a draw up to the edge of the breaks to set up on them and they ended up coming right where we hoped, crossing in front of us at about 50 yards. 3 small bucks and 4 does in that group. The bucks were both nose to tail pushing those does around.



    Moved on to another section down the road bordering my BIL’s land where I had seen a nice buck this summer and where one mulie group hangs out. According to my wife’s uncle they have not left that section for the last two months, but we did not have permission to hunt that since someone else was on it. That was the largest buck they had been seeing in the area and it was killed that morning.




    So we moved in on a thicket of trees where some decent whitetails had been hanging out and we could see one buck tearing up some trees from about 1/2 mile away. Sneaking in from the other side so we had the wind and can still see the buck in the trees. Tons of rubs and beds throughout this area. Very few trees around there and the whitetails like to hang wherever the trees are.

    Sneaking through the trees we pushed up 2 more whitetail bucks, but nothing big enough to take and moved on up north several miles. We came into a beautiful area where you can see down into a large creek bottom.






    We spotted a group of 15 mule deer way off to the north and spooked 3 nice whitetails in a little draw below us that ran down into the bottom in the trees. We were trying to figure out how to get to them and spotted a doe bedded on the hillside about 1000 yrds away to the East. We figured there was a buck with her and worked our way around to get a better look and finally saw the buck stand up from his bed. This was at over 400 yards. I thought about taking a shot but the wind was really whipping and knew I could get closer. We backed off the edge of the canyon and worked in closer but still couldn’t get a decent look. I backed up again and worked in above them but they were gone. The wind was gusting 40 mph and swirling so they must have winded us.

    I started down through the brush into the draw to get closer and saw the buck crossing the creek below and headed out of sight of my view. I ran back up to the knob of the hill and crawled to the edge where I saw him across the creek looking back. I decided to take him and the hunt was over.






    He’s not the biggest by far but was the biggest I saw after the one I was hoping for was killed. Western spot and stalk hunting like this is just plain fun. In this part of the state you will see wt, mule deer, and antelope. Flushed several sharptail grouse and also saw a pair of bald eagles while we were hunting.

    This deer tag took 4 yrs to draw as a non-resident. I’ll probably concentrate on whitetails next time I draw a tag in SD. Saw some really nice WT but when they spook out in this open country they are gone. My wife’s cousin was nice enough to ‘guide’ me on opening day and he took a nice whitetail the next morning in a nearby hunting unit from a treestand along the creek.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    #2
    That’s cool country up there. Very different hunting strategies

    Comment


      #3
      I love that style of hunting. Congrats!

      Comment


        #4

        Comment


          #5
          Cant imagine how much fun that must have been. Congrats on a very nice deer !!!

          Comment


            #6
            Congrats !

            Comment


              #7
              Congratulations! That type of hunting is fascinating.

              Comment


                #8
                Congrats, sounds and looks like you had a great hunt!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Congratulations on that outstanding buck, and a great hunting story. I am always amazed at the vast beauty of that “Dances with Wolves” country. Great pics, thanks for posting.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Congratulations!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Super cool story and hunt, thank you for sharing. Also great deer that y’all took.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Not a mule deer this year, but a nicer whitetail…
                        I got lucky again and drew a whitetail tag this year in SD. Opening morning today was cold and clear with just a light wind. We were out there on the edge of a millet field where my hunting buddy had been seeing a decent buck occasionally the last week.

                        We got in early at 5am and sat on a field edge for an hour in the dark about 1/4 mi apart. I could hear deer crunching across the field in front of me coming towards a draw but couldn’t see them since it was pitch black. After it started to get lighter I could see some darks dots moving across the field. It turned out there were 11 does crossing into another section about 1/2 mile away. Later on I got a glimpse of a good buck trotting across the field waaayy north of me and disappeared behind a ridge. Turns out he was chasing a doe I couldn’t see but my partner did. He said he was on her hard chasing and headed my way. Shortly after I saw the doe and buck skylined on another ridge about 1k yrds away. I could tell from there he was a big one.

                        They disappeared from sight and 20 mins later both popped up on the closer ridge to me where I was hoping at 200 yrds. He stopped just long enough to give me a quartering shot and that was it.

                        You can see for miles here and you usually have to take chances to get in range without spooking them. I saw whitetails, mule deer, and two coyotes all from the same spot this morning. After dressing my buck we could see another big buck with a doe running off a smaller buck about 1/2 mile away on another section. We’ll be back at the end of December and my son has youth tag for a muley he’ll try and fill then.​ Hoping for snow.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Love the mass...congratulations!

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Great deer. Congrats

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Thats awesome, we hunt in S dakota archery the last 2 yrs north of Belle Fouche. I was lucky enough to get a solid buck this yr. You can see for miles and miles in that country and you def put some miles on the boots but it's great fun. Congrats!

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X