CouesKilla

short but sweet clip I recorded a couple years ago. Desert Buck. I imagine he is at least 180. IMG_1088.MOV

I got the late October rifle bull hunt in 16A. So pumped. This will be my 4th bull hunt in 20 years.

I had a license # next to my application # yesterday. I see it is gone now. Anyone know if that means I got a tag?

I ran across a buyer this weekend, in NM, and he was offering $12/lbs.

I know the area I hunt is thick with bucks during the rut, but in early November I struggle to spot a single one. I also rarely find sheds where I hunt. This leads me to believe they move into the area to rut and then move out after the rut. I at first thought they are just really nocturnal until the rut, but the lack of sheds suggests they are just gone come shed season. I hunt at 3100 ft so my guess is the bucks I hunt move high in the summer.

I like a flash light over a head lamp so you can keep it pointed towards the ground at all times. Use a GPS if you got it so you don't zig-zag your way into your spot and waste time. Time the walk in ahead of time so your are set up and ready to glass about 45 minutes before sunrise. Legal shooting light is usually about 30 minutes before sunrise (when you can safely identify your target and beyond). Remember walking in the dark typically takes a little longer than in the daylight. If I accidently knock over a rock or snap a stick on the way in I will try and kill the light and set motionless for about 5 minutes until the attention is off you then begin moving again. Above all keep it slow and quiet.

This has me concerned. I just moved to Las Cruces after being in Tucson for 35 years. In my efforts of trying to figure out where to hunt deer here I have been greeted in a not nice way by a rancher already. Best I can do is find a map and pray. I thought it was wierd not seeing many posting signs or fences, so now I understand why. I got a left over 20 tag, so i may just hit the national forest so I can be safe from the Catron County Boys. I do love desert hunting and have noticed the desert in southern NM looks like crap compared to AZ. Just miles and miles of creosote and bald hills. Also I had to get a leftover tag, because I didnt get drawn. I got drawn in AZ 99% of the time. A lot fewer tags available here.

Anyone know when they will list the avaialbe leftover tags in NM?

Hmmmm? my app still says pending. Did you check via the nmdgf website?

I am thinking of taking a trip back home and visiting either Roosevelt or San Carlos. Anyone having luck out there yet? What is the state of San Carlos? I heard it was shut down last year for a bit.

I've seen action clear through the archery hunt. I find it to be tapering off a bit now compared to a couple weeks ago.

I typically find desert mule deer bedded in washes (with thicker vegetation) during this time of year during the day. At the same time I have seen them bedded up on flats as well. Really no rhyme or reason to where they are, when they are not watering, if you ask me. I think they can find feed and bed just about anywhere to an extent. I usually try and catch them rutting and feeding on hill sides and flats in the early morning then work towards the washes as the day progresses. I have my best luck around water in the late afternoon and evenings. I have found some escape routes that seem to be the best thing to key on consistently, as opposed to feed and bed, if there are other hunters in the area . Unfortunatley I think feed and bed can change from day to day and you just need to glass alot of ground and be lucky. They for sure like certain hills/washes more than others as I seem more numbers in these areas year after year, but for the life of me I can not figure out what makes that spot hot.

I am heading to unit 28 this weekend. I've found the first winter storm in the middle to end of December usually kicks them into high gear. I'll post what I see. First test for my new bow.

I am looking into getting a new bow. I currently shoot a PSE Avenger from about 12 years back. I'm looking at the Drive and the Vendetta. There about $200 apart. If I go the Vendetta I want to make sure the $200 was well spent. Really dont want to drop $900+ on the Evo or Omen. Anyone shot both the Drive and Vendetta that can provide some pros and cons?

I have tried this a few times when I have spotted big deer in the flats from a higher glassing point. Even with a guide and radio it is tough. I more often then not get in on the deer before I realize it. Classic case of moving too fast. I try to creep about 20 yards at a time, stop and glass through the limbs looking for leg movement for 10 minutes and repeat. In the brushy flats they can walk by you at 100 yards and you wont even see them. I have learned to use a orange hat when I do have someone guiding me in. You are being so sneaky and the guide often looses your position. I do believe that is where the big ones live though. Little hunting pressure and they can run there a$$ off when spooked. At the end of the day sitting at trails into water is the best bet if you have the patience.

We hunted this unit for WT this year and seen a few mule deer down low. Down in the flats below Portal. I have never seen mule deer up in the higher elevations here. I dont think this unit holds a whole heck of a lot of mule deer. Used to be a lot of mule deer off of Tex Canyon road at the southern end of the unit just north of the ranch. They like that big giant hill with the bowl on top. It seemed when ever I drew this unit for mule deer I would see them in 30A and then the following year they would be in 29....which ever tag I did not have.

We had gone back into unit we had not been in for over 10 years (scouting from 10 years ago is still good, right?) While my brother posted up on the same spot we did way back I tried to switch things up a bit and get into some steeper, rockier and timbered terrain in hopes of getting a big one opening morning. Day one goes by with my dad and my brother catching glimpses of 2 bucks, but could never get them in the scope before they disappeared. The only deer I saw was through the glass at about half a mile away, it was a samll buck walking within a stones through of where we had parked the trucks. Crazy. Both evening hunts where essentially nature hikes with no deer spotted except a bunch of does glassed from the truck. The second morning was a bit more action packed while I had seen nothing but a couple does. My brother radioed me and said he saw a huge buck up by me, but I could never get glass on it. While he was glassing this buck from afar turns out there was another buck on the hill to his right. Something can be said for spending too much time behind glass. This deer had already walked clear across the hill and almost out of sight before my brother spotted it and he missed a 310 yard shot as it bounded away into the canyon below. My walk through the area where he had seen the big buck turned out to be fruitless. Sunday moring was do or die for us. We both had tweeked our plans to get in areas where we had been seeing most of our deer. While I was in a great area nothing was moving around me early morning. At about 6:50 shot rang out in my brothers direction. After about 15 minutes passing of me looking for deer flushing to me and waiting for a call from my brother 2 more shoots ring out. Then I get the call to come over with my knife. His first shot at 180 yards was a bit back, and when he approached it he tried to finish him off only to miss at 20 yards and then the final third shot in the neck ended it. Not sure if thats where he was aiming with the adrenaline and all. Never the less it was a good morning. At the end of the day the spot that was hot 10 years ago is where all the action still was. So much for me trying something new. I have no idea how to measure bucks, but this is the 2nd biggest coues we have ever taken out of this area. I'm guessing somewhere in the 90's. If he had some more mass he would have been a real good one. The biggest buck we had got in this area many years back, we had measured by someone who knew how, was 109". My brother said the huge buck he spotted on day two was even bigger than that. I guess we will try and get him next year.

Wow, 2 very nice deer! You shoot an absolute monster, and your son shot a deer he will have trouble beating for awhile. Real big bodied deer too, lots of steaks.

I was down by Bisbee a few years back and had some suspicous behavior heading back into my camp one evening. Car stops about 100 yards from camp and then you see LED lights disperse into the desert. Needless to say we got the heck out of there and got a room in Bisbee. Next morning everything was fine. I found about 50-100 uneaten macdonalds cheese burgers on the ground. I tend to stay in the northern part of that unit these days. You should be safe because there is plenty of BP 24/7. Illegals are harmless for the most part. The drug runners do most of there work at night. They tend to avoid hunters as they know what time of year it is. Just be aware of your surroundings and pack some side heat just in case,

If 6A looked anything like 5BN there is water every where. Don't know if that will be the case in November. The big bulls will be in the nasty canyons with timber, grass and water very close by. If you are seeing cows move to a more nasty area. They like to be solo that time of year. Tough hunt, but there are still big bulls to be had. Trick is finding one thats not all busted up. If I had that tag I would be in Rattlesnake area. Make sure you are in good shape, or find a friend with horses!

I moved to New Mexico but missed the draw deadline. I figure I would do some scouting this year in preperation for next year. I live in Las Cruces and was wanting some info on good units near by with good chuncks of public land I can start looking around in. I did a little snooping around in the south end of 24 but ran into a bunch of locked gates I like hunting desert mule deer, so any help would be greatly appriciated.

I would hunt that 3X4. He looks mature (big roman nose). He also is creeping around near shooting light!!!!!

+1. I heard a very high scoring record book deer came out of that unit within a quarter mile of a hard top road. The deer avoid hunters, not roads. I'll leave it up to you guys to figure out which road. Good luck.

+1 +2

Not sure what was up with the line in the text? Guess you can still read it.