N.M. 5A mule deer

hunttx · Apr 14, 2004

we just put in for some landowner tags in unit 5a - kind of a spur of the moment type deal - the ranch supposedly borders the Jicarilla for several miles and has alot of winter wheat fields - sounds good to me but i was wondering if any of you guys know much about the quality and quantity of bucks found in this area. I know the jic is great but was wondering if 5a is overhunted - it seems like a fairly large unit for only 120 tags. we are all trophy hunters and are mainly looking for >180" deer - anybody with any info on 5a would be greatly appreciated (past hunts,large deer seen/taken) thanks, ted

shedcrazy · Apr 15, 2004

I dont know a whole lot about it but I have hunted it twice in the past. I feel like the unit should be better than it is. I think that there could certainly be some fine bucks nestled in there but I have yet to see them. Like I said I am not too familiar so I am not the best judge of whats in the unit.

Shedcrazy

HuntinAddict · Apr 15, 2004

My father and I hunted a small ranch in unit 5A last season. It was our first time ever hunting the unit.

The hunt was 7 days total and we hunted the first 6 days.
Prior to the hunt I was anxious as I heard there were some nice bucks in the area and I had seen a lot of deer driving through the unit in the past. However, I began to get concerned as I began poking around for info and I learned that the buck to doe ratio was not very good (1:25). During my hunt I learned he was not far off about the ratio as I did not see a single buck until the evening of the 5th day of the hunt (I saw 25-35 DOE per day!). I did take the buck and he was a nice 25" wide, heavy and high "FORKER". He had a huge body (300lbs) and his age was estimated to be 9+ years of age.

I hear there are some 180+ class bucks in the unit but you MUST hunt hard for the FULL duration of the hunt. The wet spring that we are having should help antler growth as well.
Good Luck!

hunttx · Apr 19, 2004

thanks for the info, - this years season runs from Nov 9-16, do you think there is any chance of catching some of the rut? we hunted the late rifle 2B hunt last year and saw no signs of the rut but that was a week earlier than this hunt - still saw some decent bucks though

overkill · Apr 19, 2004

>thanks for the info, -
>this years season runs from
>Nov 9-16, do you think
>there is any chance of
>catching some of the rut?
>we hunted the late rifle
>2B hunt last year and
>saw no signs of the
>rut but that was a
>week earlier than this hunt
>- still saw some decent
>bucks though

We hunted the late 2b as last year as well. We did not seeing ANYTHING close to shooint. The weater was quite warm, and we did not see any signs of the rut as well. We spoke to the Warden and she said that the rut was a good two weeks away starting at the end of the late hunt. I was quite disappointed with that area.

huntsonora · Apr 19, 2004

I dont think that you would catch good rut activity with the mature deer until Dec.

Drum

MULEEZ · Apr 19, 2004

You guys that hunted 2b late hunt last year. I would be very interested in any info you could give me on your hunt. I put in for that same hunt this year. Send me a PM if you would. Thanks in advance.

hunttx · Apr 20, 2004

muleez,
we hunted all over that unit, we saw more deer and more people on the north end, but saw the most bucks on the south end. we saw several 140"-160" bucks down south, was stalking a 180" buck and somebody else beat me to it. I spotted this buck below a rim in a sagebrush flat just after daylight about 800 yards away - backed off and was circling around to get in position for a shot - had about 30 yards back to the rim to get a shot when a war started right below me (6 rifle shots) - 2 other guys from below had also seen the buck and had beaten me to it. One guy hit it on the last shot. He was a 4 pt with eyeguards about 29" wide,17" g2's, and good forks front and back. Not real heavy and no trash but still a very nice buck. If you get off the roads and do some hiking you should find some bucks - most of the hunters we saw were either driving around or walking around in groups of four with 30-30's. We spent most of our time working the little shelves just under the rims - seems like that's where most of the bucks would be hanging

nmtaxi · Apr 22, 2004

This is a 5a mule deer that I mounted for a customer. He just picked it up today. It scores about 185.

vinihunt · Apr 22, 2004

NMTAXI

check in ur private msg

Aaron · Apr 27, 2004

I hunted 5a for deer 3 years in a row from 97-99.
I killed 1 180 inch buck with a bow and saw a couple
bigger. It has gone down hill very fast. The 1st year
I saw 20to40 bucks a day and by the last year I would
be lucky to see 5 bucks a day. The quality could still
be there but the numbers sure a not. The ranch that I
hunted has cranked out 2 200 class deer that I know
of. I would still be hunting there if the guy had not
doubled his price in 1 year. For me it just did not
make sense to pay more for hunting that just got worse
every year. By the way the last couple of days of the
hunt you will catch the rut.

hunttx · Apr 27, 2004

Aaron, just curious which ranch you hunted. The ranch we got tags for supposedly had a 202" typical and 214" non-typical taken off of it 4 years ago - the next year they took 2 180's and 2 160's and then it has not been hunted since to let the numbers build up. It sounds like it may be the same ranch you hunted. Please email if you don't want to post the ranch name - [email protected] I would appreciate any info if this is the same ranch. Thanks Ted

Aaron · Apr 29, 2004

The ranch is the Leasson Ranch. It did border the Jic. and
had several wheat fields on it. I know many of the ranches
around there to. Some are pretty good and some are a complete
scam. I dont think it is the same ranch becuase I thought they
were still hunting the ranch every year. If it is you should
talk to me so I can worn you about some shady stuff that goes on
down there.

hunttx · Apr 29, 2004

Thanx for the reply Aaron - not the same ranch though. The ranch we're hunting is the Nelson ranch. I hope it's not one of the scams you've heard of. I actually came across it thru Garth Carter's - supposedly its legit - but we'll find out this fall. Do any of the 5B deer migrate into 5A with early snows? I cougar hunted last year in 5B and saw some nice bucks - also got a 190lb cat. Also, thanks for the mounted buck pic - not a bad rack considering the drought last year. I've got a safari in Tanzania this fall - but all I can think about is the muley hunts afterward. We haven't had this kind of rain in West Texas in years - so hopefully some of those bucks we left last year will grow something special this year.

Aaron · Apr 30, 2004

There is some migration that comes off the Jic. but dont
look for that to change the hunt most of the deer just plain
live in the rimrock and thick trees. I think the ranch you are
hunting is just a couple of miles away. Back in 97 you could
see 200-250deer a day and now you should see 20-40 deer a day.
Those wheat fields realy help bring the deer out of the thick
stuff but trying to catch a big ole buck with them will be tuff.
If the hunting is pretty good hold out for the last 2 days because the hunt will get better each day as the rut gets closer.
If you see the start of a little rutting then hang out on the fields as they some how will show up out of no where. The last times I hunted there it started out very slow. Just out of the ranch house there was about 10 does hanging out with no bucks. On the 5th night one of the guys shot 200 inch T. off of the does and the very next night I watched the same herd and shot a mid 170 buck off of them. My ole man checked on them the very next morning and saw another 170 buck running with them but passed.
As you can see there is some rutting going on but every year I
was there it did not happen until the last couple of days. I love
that place but I dont like the fly by the night outfitters and
and lies by supposed Church going land owners.Just my 2 cents.