Click for List of Ranches and Outfitters with Hunting Packages for Mule Deer Hunts.
Prices for a Trophy Mule Deer Hunt
The average cost of a mule deer hunt is between $4,500 and $25,000 depending on the number of days, size of rack, lodging, amenities, etc. A 150+ Class Mule Buck can cost more. A doe hunt / meat hunt is more affordable. The final total depends on the size of the rack, trophy fee, rifle or bow hunt, number of days, taxidermy fees, guide fees, accommodations, amenities and services available.
Mule Deer Hunting Season
There are many seasons for mule deer hunts in Texas.
Visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department website for Mule Deer hunting season information.
Hunting Trophy Rocky Mountain Mule Deer and Desert Mule Deer
The antlers on a mule deer are bifurcated. Instead of following a lone main beam, the antlers spread out in forks, giving them wide and impressive racks. This makes the antlers look more bulky and powerful than most whitetails. The antlers are shed in the spring, but they grow back very soon, allowing them to get huge during the course of the year.
The antlers are generally between 22 and 30 inches in length, with the average around 25 inches. Most hunters look more at the spread from tip to tip, though, which is often as much as 30 inches.
Physical Characteristics
Other than the antlers, the main body feature is the ears. These looks like a mules ears, giving the deer its name. They can be wide and stick out far to the side, below the antlers.
Mule deer can get fairly large, running between 31 inches and 42 inches tall at the shoulder. They are often between 3.9 feet and 6.9 feet long, and the tail is typically under 10 inches. The adult bucks that youll hunt are from 121 pounds to 331 pounds, averaging out right around 200 pounds. Trophy bucks (150 Class) are always on the larger side, with some deer weighing 460 pounds or more!
The mule deer has a coat that is much like a whitetails, with the thin, sleek hair that is fairly coarse to the touch. It is often the same medium brown in color, and the throat, tail and underside can be a lighter white. The tail on a mule deer is black-tipped, helping to set it apart from the whitetail deer. Still, the most notable feature to look for is the white on those over-sized ears.
Origin, Native Habitat and Countries
The mule deer is actually indigenous to West Texas, originating in western North America and the United States. In fact, they are rarely found east of the Missouri River, and most common in the Rocky Mountain region. Their preferred habitat is lightly wooded areas near water sources where they mostly eat shrubs, weeds, twigs and other types of vegetation. This means that they survive very well in the mountains South and West Texas and forests of East Texas.
Behavior/Social Characteristics
Male and female mule deer typically live apart in small herds. The males will seek out multiple females during the rut in the fall, during which males grow more aggressive with one another, and physically competing when they come into contact with females. This is a great time to hunt Mule Deer, as the males are more concerned with the females, and less careful with their own safety.