First Muley Hunt in the North Dakota Badlands

By

Dan Ackerman

Rough Creek Productions

                My first mule deer hunt began way back in the end of May when I had to decide where I wanted to go hunting for muleys in North Dakota.  That might have been the hardest decision due to the fact that I knew the Badlands fairly well north of I-94 and west of the Little Missouri River, however, I was willing and wanting to learn more of the Badlands so I decided to try my luck south of I-94 and west of the Little Missouri River. 
                Of course I was going to apply for a buck tag first then I would be willing to take a doe if I did not get drawn the coveted muley buck tag.  I enjoy the Badlands region of the state so much that I wasn’t going to let a chance go by where I couldn’t get out there so I still wanted to get a chance at a doe.  When the results came back in August, I was slightly disappointed that I didn’t get drawn the buck tag, but I thought the best of the situation and was still lucky enough to get a muley doe tag.
                Now, after the results, the fun begins.   Where do we want to go.  I had three other friends that I had planned on hunting with so we decided we would meet a few weekends while out elk hunting and discuss areas we planned to focus on for hunting our muleys.  We took a couple weekends to explore the hunting unit and were able to find what appeared to be logical places where we would spend our first couple days.  After that, it would be just walking over the next ridge, and the next, until we happened to come across a few deer.   
                Hunting season was finally upon us and for the first weekend I decided to go with my family and head east to hunt white tails and would hopefully be able to find a nice doe to harvest for the dinner table.  After the first couple of places we checked for deer, we knew we were in for a tough couple of days.  Numerous corn fields were around which make us believe the deer must be thriving in there, or else the last winter took a tremendous toll on the wildlife in the area.  Personally, I think it was a combination of the two, but all the farmers beg to differ.  They fully believe the deer are in the corn, as one farmer noted that while harvesting the corn crop nearly 40 deer fled in front of his combine.   The days ticked by and we had only filled 4 of our 10 tags and I hadn’t filled mine so I decided I’d come back on a later date.  That later date was the next weekend, when I connected on a beautiful white tail doe!
                The third weekend of the season brought my first chance at a North Dakota mule deer in the Badlands.  I brought two friends of mine along to hopefully help me with the animal once I harvested a deer.  Well, 10 minutes into my first walk along a nice draw, we found a nice mature muley doe standing broadside and quartering away at approximately 250 yards out on the top of the next ridge.  Once she was spotted, I quickly sat down on my haunches, unfolded my bi-pods and tried to set the crosshairs on my target.  My heart was pounding so much due to us just climbing a 60 foot ridge that I couldn’t settle down quick enough and she was over the ridge in about 10 seconds.  Dang, I should’ve had my first muley doe all within the first 10 minutes.  I just didn’t feel right taking the shot when the crosshairs where moving so and I just couldn’t settle down enough to get a clean shot.  O well, I knew there was going to be other chances.  My next chance came an hour later when at last legal shooting time a big muley doe stepped out of a juniper draw and stood broadside at 401 yards.  This time, I was comfortable, ready and willing, though I had a 20-25 mph side wind to contend with.  OK, so I took my time, placed the crosshairs just above her spine and just behind her head knowing my bullet’s trajectory, or so I thought.  BANG, I let one fly, and a cloud of dust appeared, surrounding the doe.  She stood there for a couple seconds, then decided to head up the draw!  DANG,  a clean miss!  We watched her climb up the next draw with ease and then decided she was truly ok and did not appear to be injured at all.  I decided to let her go, and believed I would get a better, closer chance the next morning.
                I couldn’t sleep an ounce that night as my buddies were snoring so loud the windows were rattling and the fact that my adrenaline was pumping through my veins with thoughts of what tomorrow would bring. 
                RING! RING! RING! The alarm clock sounded and we awoke in a frenzy.  We threw on our hunting clothes, had a few small bites to eat, and rushed out the door.  Our drive to where we wanted to be at first light was a mere 15 miles away.  Nice, quick little trip.  Thank goodness for the oil roads, we were able to get to an area we had looked at on the map and decided to go into this area that was void of other roads and hopefully other hunters as well.  We parked the pickup, threw on the backpacks, and began our hike.  We had hiked nearly a mile when we came across a beautiful drainage harboring lots of hard wood trees and numerous pockets of junipers.  For sure, we thought, there must be deer in here.  “Let’s just sit here for a few minutes and glass the draw,” I stammered as we found a comfortable place to sit.  Sure enough, we were looking for five minutes and out ran 3 does across the large drainage at MACH-10 speed and out of sight.  After that commotion, we decided we would glass another 10-15 minutes as the sun as know creeping over the horizon in the east.  Nothing.  So we decided we would start making our way back to the pickup so we could go check another area. 
                Finally, just over the last ridge before our final descent to an area where the pickup was located, I peeked around the corner to check out this upper bowl that seemed to be protected quite a bit with numerous trees.  Sure enough, I spotted a nice muley doe at 100 yards looking straight at me from the next ridge over.  I got down on my haunches once again, flopped out the bi-pods and settled the crosshairs on the doe.  I felt totally confident and squeezed the trigger.  She fell right in her tracks!  If she would have stuttered at all three feet behind her, she would have fallen 200 yards to the bottom of the drainage.   I was so ecstatic.  My first mule deer!
                We walked up to her and noticed she was a nice doe and would be great for some fresh venison.   We skinned and quartered her there right in the field knowing that it would be a tough chore dragging her to the vehicle which was over one and half miles away. 
                Now that I have my first mule deer under my belt, I can’t wait to get drawn the coveted buck tag!  Hopefully next season my dream can come true.