Referring back to an early post on this thread, "I'm going to be blunt..." More research, more effort, smarter strategies = success; filled tag or not. Killing a big mulie is not easy. It requires time and effort. I moved out here six years ago from Michigan and have spent a lot of time getting to know areas and getting in away from pressure. In his newest article for Sports Afield Walt Prothero outlines the one key to success... Get Away From Other People! This can be tough to do in some areas if you do not have the advantage of living there. However, it is key! ALL of my nicest deer from public ground have come from the nastiest, hardest to get to country around. I've actually seen deer move off of private ground into some of these secluded "hell holes" because there was less pressure on them on the public due to the rough country.
On another note... Wyoming is upping the ante in some areas (finally!) by going to a three point minimum on Mulies. I'm going to soapbox a bit here. This is NOT enough! I've watched deer numbers in Wyoming plummet for the last six years, especially mule deer. Wyoming needs to make ALL mule deer tags a draw with a three or four point minimum, Period. No general tags for residents, combined with a point minimum would help. Along with that make all whitetail tags over the counter and rut hunts. TWO tags; a draw for mulies and a general unlimited for the rats of the river bottoms. Science and time have both proven we cannot kill off immature mulies during rut hunts and expect to have lots of big deer running around. Whitetails however, handle that pressure okay and I'm fairly certain that most western hunters would rather kill a good mulie every couple of years versus a dink every year.
Wew... okay, rant over. Take Away? To kill big mulies on public ground one needs to go where others are unwilling to venture.
