Im in the EARLY stages of planning a solo Mule Deer hunt in Nevada

Mule deer are dumb compared to whitetails.

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I'd spend an absolute frick ton of time and effort preparing

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Already am but I know that no matter how much I prepare it will still be more than I expected.

Im doing a ton of reading.
Talking to people from the area about hunting as well as hiking.
I get my bow back in March and will begin shooting daily again.
I currently live in OK and am looking at places to practice hiking with a 50lbs bags(packing the meat out is going to fricking suck)
I am in decent shape but have changed my diet and started working out(calisthenics for now move to gym in April)
I am planning to spend 5 days this summer at our Woodville camp(very hilly) hiking, camping and hunting hogs(gonna try with a bow)
I want to have another 4 day camp before the trip where I again eat what I pack, getting a better idea as to what I want to bring to figure out what foods and flavors I like and that don't mess with my stomach.

There is a ton of stuff so I was wondering if people had personal experience.

If you have a place in woodville, corn up some hogs and practice stalking those bastards, killing, skinning, and packing them out, while you camp out there for a week. It will help you use the wind in your favor. See if you can slip up and kill one of those blind bastards with a bow from the ground.

In western Kansas pheasant hunting, we would kick up mule deer, they would run 10 yards, stop and turn broadside...

Sorry for wall of text, I was bored at work

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If you have a place in woodville, corn up some hogs and practice stalking those bastards, killing, skinning, and packing them out, while you camp out there for a week. It will help you use the wind in your favor. See if you can slip up and kill one of those blind bastards with a bow from the ground

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This is my exact plan.
Ill start sending someone up to feed certain areas the week before I arrive an hope to get them out in field. I'll sit in a climber or something and try to shoot at a distance to practice that. Then spend some time walking the woods, check spots we know they bed and see if I can sneak up on them.
Only problem is going to be the damned thicket and briars. It is terrible in most places, but I plan to stay close to some creeks.


As to why I never killed anything with a bow...
It was my first bow hunt and I was about 10. I watched two does feed under me for an hour, my stubborn arse wanted a buck, and sure enough this little six point comes out. He was eating right under me and there were always branches in the way, so I could never get a shot. Well as he starts to walk away he exposes himself. I draw back and then *tink* my arrow falls off the little rest thing and he stops and looks at me. I try to fix it with my finger and he puts his head down and starts to walk off faster. once I got it back on I shot at him in frustration and missed

After that I was pissed, said never again and went back to hunting with a rifle. I was fortunate enough in my younger years to kill plenty deer, and even a few really nice 8s. in my college years I didn't hunt much then work happened and even less. This past year I got back into it and I caught the bug. Went on an exotic hunt in texas and killed a fallow. When I told some friends( that don't hunt) that I could have killed a zebra they gave me shite that I was hunting at a petting zoo, I explained how I normally hunt and still gave me shite. That's when I realized I really wanted to test myself. I gave up the gun for good at the end of this season.

My uncle came in for a family reunion and told me about the mule deer in Nevada and I said frick it why not. and that's where I am now

Youbhavr a better shot at dying than you do at killing...unfortunately for you, I'm dead serious.

Yep, that is my experience too. Big its hard to get a mule deer tag so...

Sounds like an awesome trip. Don't let the negative comments bring you down. Practice camping a few times and practice with your bow. Not a big deal.

I would want a friend with me though, not for any other reason than to at least have someone to share the experience with.

If its the teip of a lifetime. A friend will make it so much better.

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you need to spend every moment of the spring and summer in the woods that you possibly can

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I know, sucks living far from our camps, I also have a trip to peru march-april so wont get anything done in that time(maybe some hiking experience) after that all free time will be archery practice and hiking and maybe a couple long weekend trips back home to try for pigs

Being a realist here. Take plenty of food cuz the chances of you killing an animal that you have no experience hunting with a weapon you have zero experience hunting with is dam near zero. That being said you'll probably kill a new state record.

I don't mean dumb to be a bad thing. It can really work in his favor to get a kill. We were driving on a main road with a local land owner and he stopped and there were 15-20 mule deer 20 yards from the road, including a big 160"+ buck and he says that he shot at and missed that deer with his ow the afternoon before and the deer didn't have a care in the world. When we saw whitails in the same area, if you stopped the truck on a deer at 200 yards they started getting figitty...