I had to interrupt the whitetail season for mule deer opportunities. Last week I was in Idaho hunting both whitetails and mule deer. Today, I'm en route to Colorado, where I'll be specifically targeting muleys.

They'll be in the pre-rut like their whitetail cousins. Muleys are patternable, and you can call them with some success, but most success comes from spot-and-stalk opportunities. I'll be armed with my Nikon EDG binocular and spotting scope to increase my odds of finding a worthy trophy.

You may also find yourself staring at a long shot, so I've incorporated the Nikon Spot-On ballistic technology into my shooting style. My Thompson/Center Venture is topped with a Monarch riflescope and tuned with Hornady Superformance ammunition. When I input that data into the Nikon Spot-On website it provides me with perfect ballistic information to make most shots.

Back in October I was staring at a white-tailed buck at just under 300 yards with a breezy crosswind. I rechecked my Spot-On data taped to my buttstock and dropped a Hornady SST bullet right into the sweet spot with minimal mental computation on my part.

If you still haven't set up your rifle for the year, check out the Nikon Spot-On website. It certainly opened my eyes and made my long shots less stressful.