TEN SECRETS FOR TAKING MOUNTAIN MULE DEER
Secrets No. 7 & 8 for Trophy Mule Deer
Editor’s Note: Last week I hunted with Chad Schearer
of Central Montana Outfitters, a guide for 14 years
to mule deer, antelope, elk, bear and fish. He also
has an unusual talent of knowing how to get out-of-shape,
overweight, middle-aged-plus hunters within range to
take shots at the game they're hunting. This week Schearer,
who has had his own outfitting business for 10 years,
tells us the secrets of how to take those trophy mountain
mule deer that so many hunters want to bag. Schearer
serves on the pro staffs for CVA Muzzle Loaders, Mossy
Oak Camouflage, Knight & Hale Game Calls, Trophy
Rock Minerals, Buck Knives, Montana Decoys and Fred
Bear Archery.
7) Don't pass up the buck on the first day that you'll
have been happy to have had on the last day of the hunt.
Many times you'll go into a new area with high expectations,
see a really-nice buck and pass him up, holding out
for a better buck. This practice is usually a mistake,
because generally that really-nice buck may be the best
buck you'll see on the hunt. Before you go on a hunt,
know the size and the kind of buck you want  to
take. If you see that buck on the first day of the hunt,
you may want to go ahead and take him, because you very
well may not see him on the last day of the hunt.
A good rule-of-thumb is to let your guide pick the
buck for you to take on your hunt. The reason I suggest
this is, that I have the opportunity to go on a lot
of guided hunts, even though I'm a guide myself. I usually
ask the guide I'm hunting with to decide the buck I
should take. I do this because I know that that guide
has a better handle on the types of bucks he can produce
than I do. I also know that this guide wants me to take
as big a buck as I can take because if he produces a
satisfied customer, namely me, I'm going to recommend
him and his operation to other potential customers.
Therefore, my best suggestion for how to take the biggest
buck that you can possibly bag when you go on a mule
deer hunt or any other type guided hunt, let the guide
pick the buck that he feels would be best for you to
take. Then all the pressure is on the guide as to whether
you should shoot or not shoot the buck.
 If
you're with a guide, and he says, "That's a good
deer. You need to take that deer," then you're
generally better off to take the buck that the guide
suggests rather than waiting for and/or hoping that
you'll find a better buck. Typically you'll get a better
deer if you take this deer that the guide suggests than
you will if you hold out for a deer that you may not
see.
8) Stalk only the mule deer you intend to take. Many
times I'll see a lot of deer for two or three weeks
that I'll really like to take or have my clients to
take. However, perhaps for some reason the wind will
be wrong or the deer will be in a place that I know
I can't get a client to for them to get an effective
shot. So, when I run into a deer that's in a bad place
to get a shot or if the deer is in a place where I know
I'll kill my client if I try to get him or her to that
deer, I won't make a stalk on the deer.
 Now,
if you're hunting public lands with a lot of people,
the likelihood of someone else's taking the buck is
very high, if you don't take him. However, if you're
hunting in the back country and/or you're on private
lands, only stalk the buck if you know that you're going
to try to take him. Don't stalk the maybe bucks, because
that buck may be a good buck to hunt next year if you
don't booger him up this year. Remember when you're
hunting deer, whether they're mule deer or whitetails,
if a deer doesn't know you're hunting him, you have
a
much-greater chance of taking him than if the deer realizes
you're hunting him.
To learn more about hunting trophy mule deer, you can
contact Chad Schearer at P.O. Box 6655, Great Falls,
MT 59406; (406) 727-4478 (home); (406) 799-7984 (cell);
email him chad@centralmontanaoutfitters.com;
www.centralmontanaoutfitters.com.
TOMORROW: SECRETS NO. 9 & 10 FOR BAGGING TROPHY
MULE DEER
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