One of my favorite’s, Jim Zumbo wrote this article for Outdoor Life and I thought you might like to read it.

Should We Hunt Muleys?
by Jim Zumbo

Despite all the doom and gloom reports, Zumbo says "Yes!"

Mule deer are going extinct," the old-timer told me. "I read about it in a couple of magazines and I'm a believer. The big bucks are gone, and I don't see a fraction of the deer I saw 40 years ago."

Were his remarks on target, or off base? A little of both, I think. We hunters proudly tell everyone who will listen that most big-game numbers are currently the highest since the turn of the century. By 1900, big-game herds across America had been decimated by settlers, ranchers and market hunters. As new game laws were enacted, herds slowly began building. Mule deer were no exception, and by the late 1950s and 1960s, populations were at all-time highs. I laid eyes on my first muley buck in 1960 when I went to forestry college in Utah, and for the next dozen years was fortunate enough to experience the best mule deer hunting of the century in the top Western states. I regret to say that those days are gone forever.

In the early '70s, mule deer populations began a decline. The catastrophic winter of 1972-73 started things off by causing a horrendous die-off. I traveled to several Western states that winter and observed thousands of dead deer and many more thousands about to die. Eleventh-hour efforts to feed them by wildlife agencies failed, and the future looked bleak. Pessimists said mule deer would never return to their former numbers. Unfortunately, they were right.

Since that fateful winter, mule deer populations have ebbed and flowed, following cycles that have been essentially weather-related: droughts and severe winters, especially the latter. However, other factors hastened the mule deer's decline.

Mountain-Lion Mania
Back in the heyday of mule deer hunting, mountain lions were considered varmints. They were bountied, could be shot year-round and were in far lower numbers than they are today. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that a population of 2,000 lions per state, which is about the average these days, will take about 100,000 muleys per year, figuring one deer per week. That's double the number of deer taken by hunters in most of the top states.

As if that isn't bad enough, we now have burgeoning coyote numbers. A few decades ago, coyote hides were worth money; trappers and hunters collected all they could. Government trappers killed them by the thousands with poison, and muleys had one less mortality factor to be concerned with. Contrary to what you've been led to believe, coyotes are entirely capable of killing healthy deer, not just the old and weak. And then we have the biggest culprit of all: habitat loss.

Loss of Land
To understand habitat loss, you must first be aware of a fundamental fact of life in mule deer country. The biggest share of our muleys live in the mountains, but only for part of the year. When the serious snows come (typically in late October and early November), deer have two options: remain in their summer high-country range, or migrate to lower elevations. To do the former means certain death, since several feet of snow will typically blanket the upper elevations. The latter means a so-so chance of survival. Winter range is critical to muleys. At best, deer will obtain enough forage to see the winter through. At worst, they will starve to death. Therein lies the problem. Even with plenty of quality winter habitat, muleys must still struggle to make it. Winter forage is never as nutritious as the food they consume during other seasons.

Now let's compound the problem and look at the millions of acres of mule deer country that no longer exist. Prime winter habitat is going down the drain. According to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, about 2,500 acres of wildlife habitat is being lost every day, and a good share of that is mule deer range. The destruction of mule deer country really began during the energy crunch of the early 1970s, which coincided with the killer winter of 1972-73. Oil and gas exploration suddenly picked up tremendous speed, and I can remember watching with dismay as energy companies punched new roads and drilled oil and gas wells in my favorite public hunting areas. When it was over, practically every ridge and valley had a fresh road in or on it. Hunters now had access to every nook and cranny, and deer had far fewer security areas. New towns sprang up, and civilization made a steady crawl away from towns. Now, the exploitation of the West is progressing at an even more frantic pace as urbanites from congested areas seek their little bit of heaven in the quiet West. But the West is no longer quiet. Even in Wyoming, where I live (the state with the fewest people of all), mule deer country is giving way to progress. And deer are paying the price.

The Bottom Line
With all the doom and gloom, should hunters join the group of people who believe the days of the mule deer are numbered? I certainly will not. As long as some of the horrible infestations, such as hoof-and-mouth disease, don't hit our herds, I believe that muleys are here to stay. There is still superb hunting in every Western state and the Canadian provinces. Good hunting can even be found in Midwestern agricultural states such as Nebraska, Kansas and the Dakotas.

As always, the key to success is hunting where there are fewer people. That often means hunting private land, which can be pricey. Hiring an outfitter or drawing a tag in a limited-entry area is also an option. I've tried all three, but the best in my opinion is hunting for free on the more than 300 million acres of public land administered by the federal government. I enjoy doing it my way. And when I can draw a tag on a public land unit in a limited-entry area, it's even better.

However, the simple requirement of getting a tag may preclude your chances of hunting a lot of that public land. In some outstanding mule deer states, such as Arizona and Nevada, everyone (even residents) must draw a tag in a very competitive lottery. There are no so-called "general" seasons, for which you simply purchase a deer tag in a sporting-goods store. Colorado, one of the prime states, also has gone recently to a lottery system, even for residents. And in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, nonresidents are reserved a small quota of tags and must obtain them by lottery or on a first-come, first-served basis.

Many hunters are aware of the superb hunting on national forests, but there are an additional 270 million acres of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Alaska and the Lower 48 states, much of it prime mule deer country. (See "Cyber-Scouting," page 80.) The BLM is a Department of Interior agency that offers free public hunting on all of its lands, except for recreational areas such as campgrounds, developed historical sites and other similar places.

Though much BLM land in popular areas receives heavy hunting pressure, I've discovered many gems by researching maps, scouting and looking into areas that require a hike from a road. Many of these public-land parcels are bordered by private property on most sides, but there's often a way to find access if you look hard enough and are willing to walk.

In the Rockies, where some of the best mule deer hunting in the West is found, most hunters ignore vast lowland juniper forests, where bucks can often be found in abundance, and instead drive through them to reach traditional muley habitat in higher- elevation mountain areas. That's a mistake. Much of that low country is public BLM land that is harboring big bucks. In fact, three of my top muleys came from juniper forest, and all of them were bucks with spreads of 30 inches or more.

Not all public land supports mule deer, however. In some areas, migratory herds don't move in until the snow flies in the highest elevations. In others, there are simply very few deer. Proper planning and homework will help lead you to good hunting.

Despite what you might have heard, mule deer are not about to go away. There is plenty of wonderful hunting to be had, but it might take a little work to find it. For my money, muleys are worth it.