The way to bigger bucks

Here's an exercise for you; imagine that it's possible for you to harvest bucks much bigger than you currently are. If you're taking 150" bucks, imagine for a moment that it's possible for you to take 180" bucks consistently.

The first reaction of most people to that exercise is to smile briefly and then to begin thinking about why it isn't possible. One man said to me, "If you knew how hard it's for me to harvest the quality of bucks I’m currently taking, you wouldn't be suggesting that I could start harvesting larger bucks consistently."

Well, my response to that is "Don't sell yourself short."

Mark Twain once wrote: "there are a thousand excuses for every failure but never a good reason."

The truth is, the average American hunter has the potential to harvest far bigger bucks than he or she is doing currently.

That's why I created a special book for you called "Blood in the Tracks."

Grab your copy today

Increase your hunting potential today,

Jim

Hitting Running Deer

If you can’t hit a running animal, you’re missing a lot of action.

Why is it shooting at a standing bird (ground sluicing) is considered un-sportsman like, while shooting at a running deer is un-ethical. For the life of me, I can’t see the difference.

Hitting running deer can be a daunting task even for experienced shooters. However, there are a few tricks, which will greatly improve your shooting performance at running deer.

There are two schools of thought on hitting running game with a high powered rifle. They are the swing through and the sustained lead.

Swinging through the deer is the same as swinging a shotgun at a flying bird. The hunter moves the cross-hairs through the target and squeezes the trigger when the cross-hairs pass the intended target.

Sustained lead is just that. The hunter leads the deer with his cross-hairs and hopes the deer runs into the bullet. Unfortunately, this rarely works out.

A rifleman with a good swing is about 5 times more successful at hitting running game than one using the sustained lead method.

Here’s how to master the swing:

Mounting the Rifle

One common mistakes most hunters make is properly mounting the rifle. The tendency is to bring the butt of the rifle up to your shoulder. The butt of the rifle can easily get hung-up on our heavier hunting jacket making it difficult to get a consistent mount. It’s best to practice pushing the rifle away from your body and then bringing it straight back to the shoulder. Good shooter practice their mount before they go to the range.

Gripping the Rifle

Learning to mount your rifle properly will ensure a good solid anchor of the rifle to your shoulder. Equally important is learning how to properly grip the forearm. A good shooter will extend their index finger and aline it with the barrel. Where the finger points, the barrel also points. This makes it a lot easier to follow the deer with the muzzle.

Trigger Pull

A good trigger pull will greatly improve your shooting at all game, moving or not. Factory triggers tend to be stiff, have excessive pull or both. A hunter should never have to force the trigger. If you have to put too much pressure on the trigger or there is too much slop in the pull, you’re likely to slow or even stop your swing causing a miss. The rifle should go off easily when the hunter wants it to. I like my hunting trigger to be crisp, with a pull between 2 and 3 pounds. Any gunsmith can help you adjust your trigger to the proper pull.

Swing and Follow Through

A good swing and follow through is a lot like playing baseball. The batter keeps his eye on the ball and doesn’t stop his swing when he hits the ball. He follows through. Likewise, a batter has to time his swing to make contact with the ball. If he gets excited and swings too fast or too slow, he’ll miss the ball all together. These same principle apply to shooting.

Our natural tendency is to stop the swing once the rifle goes off. This inevitably causes our shot to land behind the deer. If we swing too fast or try to speed up our swing, we’ll shoot in front of the deer. Practicing your swing and follow through is essential if you want to become an accomplished shot at running game.

It’s best to keep the rifle moving at the same speed as the deer and slowly increase the speed of the muzzle and squeeze the trigger when the cross-hairs pass through the deer.

Just like a batters focus is on the ball and not the bat, our focus should always be on the deer not the cross-hairs. If we shift our focus between the deer and the cross-hairs, our swing will be erratic and we’ll miss.

Hitting running deer isn’t easy. It never is. However, if you follow these four simple tricks, you’ll greatly improve your odds at hitting the running buck.

Jim

Mule Deer Rut

What’s most important to remember about the rut, is that it’s about the does not the bucks. The doe will only be in heat for about 24 hours. If you miss that opportunity, you missed your opportunity. The short answer to hunting the rut is; do what the bucks are doing, hunt doe groups.

Jim

More on the rut here

http://jimcollyer.com/

Feeding Patterns

Ambushing deer on their way to a primary food source is one of the best ways to harvest trophy animals. However, a hunter who understands a deer's feeding pattern during the middle of the day will be more successful year in and year out. Take time to find out what plants the deer feed on during the day and plan to hunt those areas this fall. If left undisturbed the deer will bed right in the middle of these spots. It’s always best to play in front of the deer and getting into these spots before the deer do is essential.
Jim
http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Tracks-Mule-Deer-Manifesto/dp/1470168987

Early Season Mule Deer

Believe it or not, most early season mule deer are killed while spotting and stalking. It isn’t the best tactic, in fact 80% of the deer will spook before your in range. Stalking to within range works best with a strong wind to blow both your scent and the sound of your approach away from the deer.

I avoid stalking bedded deer unless it is a last resort. The problem is if you spook the deer (and you probably will), they won’t return to that bed again this season and you’ll be left looking for another buck.

A much better way to hunt early mule deer is to wait in ambush between feeding and bedding areas. Look for trails with rubs, droppings, and nibbled plants, This is where you’ll want to wait in ambush.

If the wind is right and you don’t get a shot, you’ll be able to setup on the same deer agin tomorrow.

Jim
http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Tracks-Mule-Deer-Manifesto/dp/1470168987

How the Zen Approach Can Help You Be a Better Hunter

Even if you're the type who would rather eat worms than meditate, getting a little Zen can improve your hunting:


Don't Get Attached
In Zen-speak, it's called "being attached"—that is, caring so much about harvesting a big buck or an outcome that you're disappointed when you can't have it. Don't get attached to your tactics, because you may change them. Don't get attached to the idea of Getting into Boone & Crockett, because if it doesn't happen you may be too discouraged to keep plugging away.


Simplify, Simplify
Zen practitioners urge people to make do with less. Not only will this simplify your life—it will help your hunting. Go through your equipment and gadgets and throw away all unnecessary items. This will be about 90% of them. Don't buy into the latest complicated, expensive hunting fad, it won’t help.


Be Mindful
Do what you're doing. When you're hunting-hunt-don’t be think about your partner, job or what you have to do tomorrow. Being mindful will help you become more productive—and less stressed while you’re hunting..

Happy hunting!
Jim

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Tracks-Mule-Deer-Manifesto/dp/1470168987

Mid-day

Many hunters are under the impression that big deer only feed at night. While deer are primarily nocturnal, they can’t go all day without feeding. The demand for nutrition is just too great. A buck must feed at least every couple of hours, even if it is a small amount. A deer is most vulnerable when feeding and they eat very fast. During the day buck will bed right in a food source if possible. He can stand up, feed for a few minutes, and lay back down without much movement. This has been the undoing of a lot of bucks.
Jim
http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Tracks-Mule-Deer-Manifesto/dp/1470168987

Don’t Give Up on Mid-day Hunting

Most hunters are gone by 11:00 am, and most of the deer know this.  A mature buck will often get out of his bed and feed for a few minutes around mid-day.  This is an excellent time to catch a buck feeding or looking for does. Staying in the field will produce more opportunities than eating lunch.

Jim

 

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Tracks-Mule-Deer-Manifesto/dp/1470168987

Staying Flexible in a Changing Hunting Environment

Think of yourself as stretchable, expandable, and able to adapt to anything new. Who wants to view themselves as static, inflexible, and unable to adapt? Changes in the hunting environment are unpredictable, and we will be asked to adapt to changes we never anticipated.

When changes occur it’s best to think ahead, but not too far ahead. Instead of abandoning our efforts, focus on changes we can make in the immediate future. I mean think of how you can get ahead of the deer, not next time, but right NOW!

The most important strategy for staying flexible during change is to prepare for various change scenarios. If we create a plan for each possible set of change circumstances, we are prepared to engage change in any way that affects us in the field.

Jim

Get the Book

My Secret Buck Lure

People often ask, "Where do you find all those bucks?"

Sometimes, I let the bucks find me.

I started using this tactic over 40 years ago and my ability to get close to mature mule deer in heavy timber increased dramatically. I actually doubled my encounter with trophy sized mule deer.

HER IS MY SECRET LURE:

I started saving the hock glands from the bucks I had taken. The next season I cut slits in them and laced them on to my hunting boots. Not only does this help to cover-up any human odor, but it also leaves a small amount of residual deer odor on the ground, which attracts bucks to you.

I can’t guaranty you have the same results I have had, but it worked like a charm for me.

Learn more on trophy mule deer here

Jim

Insanity

Most hunters want to hunt the same way their fathers did, only they want significantly better results.

If you hunt the way your father or uncle hunted, then you can’t expect to kill any more or bigger deer than they did.
Albert Einstein said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
We must be willing to change ourselves and the way we hunt if we expect to change our results.

Become a better mule deer hunter now

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Look for the Questions

Good scouting is not so much looking for the answers as it is looking for the questions. In nature nothing is random and nothing happens by accident. The when and the where are a lot easier to figure out if we know what makes the we’ll go around.

Scouting tips

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

The Difficult Part

The most difficult part of becoming a great hunter is making the commitment to be one. Trust me: it’s much more difficult to be an average hunter than it is to be a great hunter.

Get a copy of my book "Blood in the Tracks"

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

The Stink Buck

The bucks, for their part, secrete their own strong hormones to help induce the females to ovulate. Researchers have long understood the effects of male odors on hormone levels in females, and have found that the length and timing of the menstrual cycles are markedly influenced by odors produced by males. This is why big bucks will always enter the field upwind of the doe herd. Not only does this promote estrous, but also the buck can visually detect even the slightest sign of sexual arousal his scent might be causing in the doe.
Get a copy of "Blood in the Tracks"

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Sit Quietly

While tracking deer is the best way to learn about an individual animal, I don’t know of any other method that propels a hunter into the rhythm of the forest quicker than sitting quietly. It’s hard to control anything when you’re sitting still. The hunter has no choice but to observe and become a student of nature. This is the best way to experience the harmonic relationships of nature.

grab the book here

Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Mule Deer Migration

Mule deer migrate along the same corridors or routes year after year. Migration trails are rarely found on ridge tops or in the bottoms. Most of these trails are located about a third of the way down the slope. Although the deer seem to show up out of nowhere, the truth is a deer’s migratory journey can take several days to several weeks to complete. In some areas, the deer need to migrate only eight to twelve miles to reach their winter range. In other areas, the deer will travel as far as 160 miles each fall. The deer will travel three to four miles and then stop over in much the same way people do when taking a long trip.

 

More about mule deer migration here

 

Jim

 

http://jimcollyer.com/

Mule Deer Rut

 

The mule deer rut is triggered by a decrease in the photoperiod. A hormone called melatonin is produced in response to increased darkness. When the melatonin reaches a certain level in the bloodstream, it induces estrus. Most does are bred in their first cycle. However, deer can continue to cycle, every twenty-eight days, until there is enough daylight to reduce estrogen levels.

Learn more on what triggers the rut 

Jim
http://jimcollyer.com/

Tracking Mule Deer

Tracking is the only way to learn everything there is to know about the deer in any location. The tracks tell all. They can tell you the age and sex of the deer you are following. They will show you where the buck travels in the morning, where he travels in the evening, where he feeds, and where he sleeps.

 

I grew up in the era before camouflage and six-hundred-yard rifles. When deer season came, we tracked deer from dawn until dark. It was not only great fun, but also a great lesson in life. Do a kid a favor and put him on a set of tracks. Tell him not to come back until he kills the deer or it gets dark. If he comes back wide-eyed and excited, he’ll be a hunter for life. If he comes back bored and resentful, you can always buy the kid a set of golf clubs.

More on tracking mule deer. 

Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Still-hunting

Still-hunting is a solo sport, and few hunters can become proficient at it. Still-hunting can be learned only after many hours and seasons of practice. It’s a rewarding experience for those who have the necessary time, patience, and persistence.

Become a better still-hunter now

 

 

Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Spot and Stalk

 



My favorite method to hunt mule deer is to spot and stalk. The technique is exactly what the name implies: you spot a buck and then find cover and stalk close enough to make a shot. Stalking is a lot like walking around in a house made of cards—one false move and everything comes tumbling down.

 

Mule deer are very susceptible to this type of hunting throughout their range. Whether you’re still-hunting, stand hunting, or tracking, some kind of stalk is often required to get within range of a trophy buck.

 

In the preseason, while I’m scouting for deer, I’m also scouting for locations to spot and stalk from. Picking a good location to spot from is critical. We should never be silhouetted on the skyline while entering or leaving the location we are spotting from. It does us little good to find a good vantage point if it doesn’t offer the hunter an opportunity to slip out of sight undetected for a stalk.

We should remain down and out of sight at all times during the stalk.

 

Jim 

 

More on Stalking Mule Deer 

 

http://jimcollyer.com/

Look for Preferred Food Sources

In August and September, the bucks will be visible for forty-five minutes to an hour after daybreak. By mid-October, the grasses and forbes that made up the majority of the deer’s summer diets begin to dry up, and new food sources are found. Now the period of early-morning activity is reduced to fifteen minutes, and being where the bucks are at dawn is critical.

 

Very few deer will be found near mountain peaks. However, what deer we do find are usually big mature males. Every year, hunters rush to the high country for early season bucks. They believe that bucks seek out higher elevations to avoid the late summer heat. Deer migrate to higher elevations in response to preferred feed, not to stay cool. An abundant supply of feed for the deer is crucial regardless of where you hunt. Many hunters have spent weeks in the high country and never laid eyes on a deer. Check to make sure there is a preferred food source at the elevation you plan to hunt before you spend your entire season looking into empty basins.

Jim
More on food sources 

http://jimcollyer.com/

New Book

My new book, BLOOD IN THE TRACKS: A MULE DEER MANIFESTO, is out and available on Amazon. I’m so excited about this book because it’s going to help a lot of people become better hunters. You can check it out by clicking on the link below. I’...m sure you’ll enjoy it and learn a lot about mule deer hunting from it.
Renowned outdoor photographer Tony Bynum has provided some of the best mule photos ever taken for this book. The pictures are great!
Good luck and good hunting to all of you,
Jim

 

Reserve your copy NOW!

 

http://jimcollyer.com/

Learn from Failures

All of us fail at one time or another. Successful hunters fail often. What separates them from the rest is they learn more and faster from that failure than everyone else does.

When you fail, and you will, decide what you can learn from it so you won’t make the same mistakes twice. Hunters who blamed others for their failure will never learn from failure, because they’ve never done it.

 

Get more Knowledge now

Knowledge is the positive upside to failure.

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Small Details Equals Bigger Bucks

In our rush to kill a big buck, we sometimes forget something essential: if our tactics don’t work in one location, it’s extremely unlikely they will work in another location.

Ineffective tactics do little more than waste our time.

You’ll harvest bigger bucks when you obsess about the tiny details. Overhauling how you hunt is almost always a better way to spend your time than trying to double the number of places you hunt.

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

 

Get the book now

The Key Focus

The most important player in hunting is the deer. You must focus on the deer at all times. Deer are fickle, changeable, impatient, and elusive. Too many hunters want the deer to adapt to their strategies. Nonetheless, it’s the deer who sets the pace and rhythm of the hunt and we must adapt to their movements.

Jim
Learn More About Mule Deer Hunting Here

http://jimcollyer.com/

Blood in the Tracks

"Big bucks don’t want to be found, and that’s exactly why they are so hard to find."

Have you ever wondered why some hunters are wildly successful while others--maybe even you--struggle?
Great news: I know precisely why. And the even better news is that the truth behind what makes some hunters successful, while others struggle, can be learned.
You may or may not know this, but when I was young, I couldn’t hunt my way out of a brown paper bag. I stumbled, failed, and learned a lot of lessons throughout the years. In fact, I’ve spent the decades since then perfecting those lessons, culling them down into a science.
I'm going to share my experience with you!
My book, Blood in the Tracks, is the tale of my journey towards hunting success – the funny, exhausting, heart-stopping whole of it – PLUS the lessons it taught me, and how you can apply those lessons to your deer hunting.
In 170 pages, I unravel one of hunting greatest mysteries: trophy mule deer success. Why do some people seem to experience it almost effortlessly, while others seem to seek it continuously?
And is it possible to become a more successful hunter? The short answer is, yes. It takes some mind-shifting, some serious thinking, and even some hard-to-make habit changes – but in the end, you have the potential inside of you to achieve the success you crave.

Jim

Learn more here

http://jimcollyer.com/

Relocating Summer Bucks

When trying to relocate bucks, I draw a three-mile-radius circle on a map with the summer range at the center. Next I search this circle for feed, water, and preferred bedding areas. Then it’s time to get the spotting scope out and hit the trail.

I did just that a couple of years ago. I found a promising ridge and decided to walk it out. The first basin was deserted, and so was the second. In the third basin, I found the deer. I watched the bucks until they bedded for the day.

Stay as far away from the deer as possible. The damage from overscouting is always irreparable.

Jim

More on Scouting Here

http://jimcollyer.com/

Early Season

The key to early-season hunting is food sources. The bucks are gorging themselves to build fat reserves for the upcoming rut and winter. The largest bucks will be found in the best and most abundant food source in the area. The bucks’ actions and movements are much more predictable now.

 The deer have a regular routine, and intercepting a buck between bedding and feeding areas is the best way to hunt early in the fall. Both morning and evening hunts can be equally successful.

              There is a lot more to their lives when the velvet comes off. Having lived in harmony all summer, the bucks are now increasingly aggressive and begin to challenge each other. The younger bucks begin sparring regularly. Mature bucks, uninterested in establishing a pecking order, move off. The bigger bucks are not roaming around aimlessly. They have moved to more remote areas, waiting for the rut. Sometimes bucks will relocate several miles from their summer range, but usually they will set up temporary residence within three miles.

 

Jim

Blood in the Tracks

 

http://jimcollyer.com/

Scouting Mule Deer

Great hunters spend far more time investigating (scouting) than they do hunting. Good hunters are good detectives and have honed their investigative (observation) skills. Good scouting is not so much looking for answers as it is looking for the questions. In nature, nothing is random and nothing happens by accident. The when and the where are a lot easier to figure out if we know what makes the wheel go around.

 We can become effective hunters only when we understand the deer’s needs and wants. This is done first by careful observation and then by asking ourselves what, where, why, and when. Most hunts fail due to poor observations and poor fact-finding techniques. When scouting, it’s best not to make snap judgments. Instead, spend time being aware of our surroundings and, later, meditating on them. Analyze yourself, analyze the deer, and analyze the situation.

 

Jim

Grab "Blood in the Tracks" here

 

http://jimcollyer.com/

Fast and Easy Scouting

Another great Nevada Buck

Rule #1 Don’t ever walk into a bedding area while either scouting or hunting. Above all else these areas are sacred. If you jump a big mule deer buck from his bed he will NEVER bed in that same spot again that season.

Before I ever enter a new area I want an aerial view of what I’m looking at. 20 years ago we had to rent planes to learn new areas ( very expensive). Today we have "Google Earth". If you don’t have "Google Earth" on your computer, stop right now and download it. It is probably the most priceless hunting tool (other than your gun or bow) in the world. I use it almost daily.
Here is what I’m looking for on Google:
#1 ROCKSMule deer love rocks. I’m always looking for rocky outcrops that are facing either north, northeast, or even east. These are prime bedding areas throughout the summer and fall months for the shade they provide. In addition these outcrops provide a multitude of escape routes. The further these rocky areas are from public access the better. Rocky outcrops are a big buck magnet. Remember we are hunting during the daylight hours and big bucks like to be bedded during those hours. The biggest bucks like to bed in the same spot all day, only standing up a couple of times to stretch their legs and then plop down again.
#2 "QUAKIE" THICKETS
Next I look for dark green patches of vegetation. These could indicate an Aspin thicket. Early in the season bucks seek Aspin thickets even more than the rocks. Most inexperienced hunters associate these "quakie" thickets with water. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rarely is there ever found standing water in an Aspin thicket. The bucks are drawn to these areas because the ground is cooler in a Aspin patch than under any other shade source. If you don’t believe me try it, put your hand on any other shaded ground and on the ground under an Aspin grove. You will be able to tell the difference and so can the bucks.
#3 WATER
After I have located suitable bedding areas I look for water. Slow moving or stagnant water is always best. I’m looking for springs, marshy ground, irrigation ditches, and even farming pivots. I’m looking for water sources that are within 2 to 3 miles of the bedding areas. Mule deer don’t go to water everyday, but at least once every three days for sure. The problem with hanging your hat on a watering hole is that the bigger bucks will often water at night. Not because of human pressure, but because they tend to avoid crowds.

Once I’ve located several likely spots and marked them on a map its time to grab my binoculars and let the rubber hit the road. I’m still not looking for deer. This time I’m looking for feed. In the northern ranges I’m looking for Redstem Ceanothus or Pachystima (Myrtle Boxwood). In more arid terrain I’m looking for Purshia Tridentata ( antelope bitterbrush).

Learn to recognize the preferred food sources in your hunting area. Being able to distinguish these at a great distance will increase your odds tremendously. If you find a secluded area with rocks, redstem, and yellow pine, you’ll find big deer in the northern Rockies. Likewise with bitterbrush in the desert. You don’t have to get any closer, the buck will be there. Find a high ridge and glass from a distance. Be careful to avoid the skyline as the bucks will see you from miles away. Be patient, the idea is to intercept the deer between bedding and feeding areas. Lean towards the feeding areas as the buck will return there if disturbed, but he will NEVER return to a bed once disturbed there. ( Rule #1)
Good Luck and Good Hunting,
Jim

Are Mule Deer Smart?

 

 

 

Because mule deer have the tendency to stop and look back

 

at their pursuers, a lot of hunters believe they are not smart.

They might be more curious than other deer, but they certainly

aren’t stupid. The fact that mule deer have the largest brain of

any deer on earth should be ample proof of their intelligence.

Jim

Get your copy of the book here

http://jimcollyer.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cancel Your Mistakes

If you could cancel all of the mistakes you've ever made hunting Mule Deer................
You would multiply the number of bucks you've harvested by a factor of three or four. We make mistakes every time we go into the woods. With this in mind I've written a new book on trophy mule deer hunting, "Blood in the Tracks".

I'm going to be giving you some tips and pointers on how to avoid those mistake through this blog.
I look forward to sharing my ideas with you and hope this information will elevate your success.

Good luck to all of you this coming season.
Jim

Grab a copy of the book here

http://jimcollyer.com/

You Need This Book

My new book, BLOOD IN THE TRACKS: A MULE DEER MANIFESTO, is out and available on Amazon. I’m so excited about this book because it’s going to help a lot of people become better hunters. You can check it out by clicking on the link below. I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading it and learn a lot about mule deer hunting from it.
Check the book out here

Renowned out photographer Tony Bynum has provided some of the best mule photos ever taken for this book. The pictures are great!

Good luck and good hunting to all of you,

Jim
Grab your copy here