Welcome to Muley Monday, today we have a special podcast for those from my old home state of Oregon. Eric Vanderzanden is a Mule deer fanatic in every sense of the word. I can always tell when someone just lights up talking about hunting mule deer. Eric is one of those few Oregon Mule deer hunters who consistently kills great bucks year in and year out in a state that isn’t known for great mule deer hunting and has as much hunting pressure as anywhere. Oregon’s Mule deer season is generally about the first week of October give or take some days, which is one of the toughest times to kill a big buck. Deer are not in their summer patterns but snow has not yet pushed them into the lower country and rut behavior is out of the question.
So many people get discouraged with nocturnal deer behavior and other hunter pressure that they usually call it quits early. Eric jumps on the podcast to tell some great stories and examples of times he though it was all but over only to find himself in the right place at the right time and punching his tag on a great buck. Often times in areas he thought he had seen every deer.
This podcast is a great reminder for anyone with a rifle buck tag but especially those with an Oregon buck tag. Good luck out there this year!
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Show Notes:
Introduction – 0m 58s
Opening Weekend Strategies – 8m 6s
Patterns, Pressure, Weather & Movement – 15m 28s
Walking vs Stationary & Glassing – 21m 36s
Common Mistakes – 25m 27s
Keeping Optimistic & Pushing On – 29m 8s
It’s About Having a Good Time – 35m 51s
Closing Thoughts – 40m 9s