See the article: The Kings Deer
- Over 55,000 mule deer roam BLM public lands in the Rock Springs District.
- Mule deer inhabit every major vegetation type in western North America and every climate zone except arctic and tropics. Mule deer in high elevation ranges may migrate up to 50 miles between summer and winter range. Snow depth and forage availability is considered to be the dominant factor in population control by many.
- Mule deer occupy a wide range of habitats. Food, cover, arid water requirements change with the seasons. Mule deer often must compete with livestock grazing practices and other human-caused disturbances. Proper land management can benefit deer.
- Mule deer gain weight during spring, summer, and fall. Deer must be in excellent condition in the fall of each year to survive the harsh winter weather.
- Deer eat a wide variety of foods. The major foods eaten by mule deer include sagebrush, serviceberry, snowberry, rabbitbrush, aspen, bitterbrush, juniper, willow, mountain mahogany, grasses, and forbs. In winter, more shrubs are eaten than dead forbs and grasses. Shrubs are alive and provide more protein and carbohydrates. Mule deer in North America have adapted to these long periods of nutritional stress caused by winter. Protection from human disturbance helps mule deer survive winter stress periods.
- Males gain and lose weight more rapidly than females.
- Both sexes essentially starve a little each day during severe winters because they can’t eat enough forage to maintain their body weight.
- Good quality habitat may keep them from starving to death except in the very worst of winters.
- Antler growth in males begins in the spring. As fall and the rut approaches, the males’ necks and shoulders swell, they become hyperactive and aggressive and begin to eat less food.
- Mule deer have their young in riparian areas and aspen stands when they are available.
- Under good conditions, most mule deer does have twins. Fawns average 7-8 pounds at birth.
- Mule deer nearly disappeared from the plains by the late 1930s, probably due to the combination of excessive hunting, several periods of severe drought, complicated by over-grazing by domestic livestock and several extremely severe winters. Mule deer populations have rebounded in most of their range.
Source: Bureau of Land Management Rock Springs District
It has been said that “In England, only the kings men hunt the kings deer”
What do you think of this scheme? Are we heading this direction in the good ol’ US ?
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Devon project to promote wild venison
Posted: 23 Mar 2008 04:40 PM CDT
Deer Management in the UK (United Kingdom) may not be all that different than the way we do it. Ever body has their own way of doing things but the end result can be more closer than you think.
A pioneering project has been launched to promote wild venison and other deer-related products and activities in the region.
The South West Forest Deer Management Programme aims to get wild venison into the local food chain, and also to encourage tourism by offering deer-related activities such as photography and tracking.
The first stage of the project focuses on forecast target areas around Holsworthy, Rackenford and North of Barnstaple. The project aims to encourage retailers, restaurants and hotels to serve venison as a high-quality, locally-sourced meat.
But the project is not just about the consumption of venison, as Mick Bracken, Rural Development Forestry Adviser from South West Forest (SWF) is keen to point out. He says: “We will focus on raising awareness of the need for deer population control for environmental and economic reasons as well as for the health of the herds.”
Mick also says that the project has long term benefits: “There will be an accreditation and tagging system to assure customers of the high levels of food hygiene for the scheme, and the project will be monitored by Deer Management Groups set up by SWF in each of the targeted areas with managed plans for deer culling in order to supply the scheme.
“In this way we hope to create a model which, over a longer timescale, will be rolled out to the whole of the South West Forest area and eventually other parts of the region.”
Over half of the £100,000 project cost has been met by Devon Renaissance, the rural regeneration programme for the county. Simon Mallett from Devon Renaissance says that the project will be a welcome boost to the region’s rural economy. “The project will supplement rural incomes within the region, as well as providing accredited training opportunities for those seeking a career within the deer trade.
“The increased tourism opportunities and the potential to distribute venison to outlets within and outside the region will also have a positive impact on the economy.”
South West Forest is a partnership hosted by Devon County Council, which manages forest and woodland in the Culm joint character area bordered by Exmoor, Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor. It seeks to support and boost farm businesses and rural incomes, by helping to establish new areas, and manage existing areas of forest encouraging integrated, sustainable rural development.
From: FarmingUK
Since all of us enjoy stories and photos from great mule deer hunts – and since the 2008 season is upon us or is winding down, we would love to hear your stories and see your photos. Submit them by clicking on the Contact tab at the top of the page.
Thanks and Happy Hunting
Here in Northern Arizona, we have a rainy
season referred to by locals as the Monsoon Season. This year and last, it began about the first week of July and lasted until the end of July. Just coincidentally, this is the time when most of the fawns are born. In other areas, fawn mule deer may be expected to be born about the first week of June. I have seen several does this week, that look like they are about ready to pop, but still haven’t shed that excess weight.
When I moved to Arizona, I expected that fawns would be born much earlier – even April. This assumption was based on the, apparently, false logic that the further south you go, the earlier spring arrives. The earlier the spring, the earlier the fawning season. Now the question that might be on your mind is – wouldn’t the breeding season have to be later?
In order for fawning to occur in late July, breeding must occur in late December – early January. Because winter doesn’t get serious until that time period, mule deer don’t have much cause to congregate. Breeding doesn’t occur until bucks and does get together. During the summer and even into late fall, mule deer in this part of the world are spread as thin as the hair on top of my head.
That’s my twist on when fawns are born and why. Pay attention and see what you observe.
You don’t want to miss our DVD
titled Amateur Velvet. On a recent trip to Southern Utah, my son and I stopped at a local convenience store run by Mr. Quinn Howe.
Among other things, Quinn is an elk rancher, with ranches near Price and Monticello. And, it was a pleasant surprise to see about a dozen mule deer mounts hanging in his store. I asked if I could video tape his shoulder mounts and was kindly told that I could. I asked Quinn if he killed all of the bucks in the store. He said they were all killed by members of his family, beginning quite a few years ago. I asked if the huge bucks were killed in Colorado. He said they were all killed in Utah, but most amazingly, he said that only the small ones were hanging in the store. The “big bucks” were at home. On the store walls were two non-typicals that netted about 230 each.
After Quinn got our adrenaline pumped up,
we headed up the mountain to film some high country mule deer bucks. I have been hunting this area for 22 years (every time I can draw a tag). I have never seen so few deer. It seems that the deer herd just keeps getting smaller and smaller.
The does were in the process of birthing fawns, and the coyotes were eating them about as fast as they hit the ground. It is such easy pickings for the coyotes. We could have caught several fawns, so the coyotes would have no problem doing so.
I have also never seen it so dry. The roads were beat to powder, as were the game trails. The deer were very definitely staying near water.
All that said, we did find a few trophy class muley bucks.
Filming these bucks caused us to go a little muley crazy. The bucks we filmed were not yet completely formed, but some of them showed real potential. You ought to see what we saw. Stay tuned, and get Amateur Velvet for yourself, as soon as it becomes available.
In an effort to help our subscribers, one of our goals, at the beginning of 2008, was to get a good start on a “Directory” of interest to the “Mule Deer Fanatic”. We have been inviting select businesses (sites) to submit their information to this directory. 
If you have, or know of, links that should be in the directory, let us know by accessing the “Contact” page. We will be happy to consider your request.
Click MULE DEER DIRECTORY, or on the Directory tab above, for access to this resource.
Happy Hunting
Admin
We are updating our theme to make things a little cleaner and easier on the eye. Hopefully you will approve. We are open to comments and suggestions.
Admin
From the staff at Mule Deer Fanatic, we wish you a Fantastic New Year.
What will the new year bring? We hope some agency, somewhere, will do something positive for mule deer and for mule deer hunters. We hope that each of you will take some action during 2008 to encourage better mule deer management. We hope your hunting will be successful, however you define success. We hope you will apply for all the tags you desire and that you will draw some coveted tags for 2008. If you are looking for that trophy buck, we hope you find him.
For the Mule Deer Fanatic, we’ll be making changes to our web site to provide more for subscribers. We got started in January 2007. During 2007, we’ve seen a lot of success. We’ve gone from nothing to something, and if you are online searching for mule deer, chances are you will wind up visiting MuleDeerFanatic.com. We’ve worked hard to bring you lots of valuable information during 2007.
Some of our goals for 2008 are: 1) to provide for the best mule deer forum on the internet; 2) to provide a mule deer directory that makes it easy to find anything you want about mule deer; 3) a photo gallery where members can post their mule deer photos; 4) a mule deer calendar so you can keep track of important mule deer dates, such as application dates; and 5) more and better content to keep you completely informed about the world of mule deer. And, of course, we want to improve everything we already provide.
We are also starting a mule deer record book to recognize your trophies, many of which would not be recognized by any current record book. We will provide a hunting report section where you can earn a few extra dollars to apply to your hunting expenses, just by selling your hunting experience to your fellow members (at reasonable prices, of course).
We welcome your input and comments.
Happy Hunting and may the Force be with you
Admin
I don’t know how you got here, 
but I’m glad you came for a visit. If you have an interest in MULE DEER, you came to the right place. And we’re only just getting started. This website will continue to get better.
Look around. Give us some feedback. Let us know what you think. See that little blue bar at the top? You should be able to find what you’re looking for up there. Over in the left sidebar is a search box. If there’s something specific you are looking for, give it a whirl.
If there is anything about MULE DEER, we are interested in providing it or in sharing it with you. This site is all about MULE DEER with a little variety thrown in for good measure. As my mother used to say, “variety is the spice of life.” We have a lot of MULE DEER variety. You might say, we are not very wide, but we are deep.
You may not be impressed to know something about me, but if you care to know, click that little tab at the top that says “About”. I am a DIY MULE DEER guy. I Never have used a guide, though they are great for many. Never have slept in a motel for hunting. I’ve been in all kinds of places…. and seen many, many huge bucks…. a lot got away but we have killed a few. I consider myself a MULE DEER FANATIC. How about you?
Take the quiz and find out how you measure up. If you score high enough, you just might win a nice prize. The quiz will be here soon, as soon as I can figure out how to administer it. Keep in touch.
Register, participate, and enjoy. We’re glad you’re here.
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