2b Sept archery mule deer advice and stories

Norman13 · May 1, 2023

This year I'll be up in 2b for early mule deer archery. I'd love to read about your experiences and advice for this hunt.

Last hunt I had was 21b archery and I wasn't able to seal the deal. Had a couple good looks but I wasn't 100% confident that my shot would be a clean quick kill so I held off.

Hoping for different results this year. As far as I understand, this hunt will be for the resident deer population and not the migration group. I'm assuming this will make things a little more difficult. I'm currently looking at some spots near the North / Eastern border of the unit as well as south eastern below the highway.

Feel free to post here or send me a pm.

roadrunner · May 1, 2023

I'd focus your efforts south of the highway and east to toward the border.

Norman13 · May 2, 2023

roadrunner said:
I'd focus your efforts south of the highway and east to toward the border.

Have you had much success in 2b regardless of weapon type?

roadrunner · May 2, 2023

Norman13 said:
Have you had much success in 2b regardless of weapon type?

Yes. But I'm not picky either.

Norman13 · May 2, 2023

roadrunner said:
Yes. But I'm not picky either.

Heck yeah, dude.

Norman13 · May 9, 2023

roadrunner said:
Yes. But I'm not picky either.

So what do you do when you hunt as far as camp goes? I think I'm going to try to camp wherever I am at the event of the day instead of having a base camp or a cabin or something. Have any experience with that?

bobby · May 9, 2023

Plenty of room to camp in the NF . My advise would be as follows. Take tire chains and dont go in there with a camper if there is any chance of rain. The roads are nasty esp south of the highway off j 10 . Ive shot some deer in there off water. there is not natural watershed there so anything they have is dirt or trick tanks . and they use them .

roadrunner · May 9, 2023

Norman13 said:
So what do you do when you hunt as far as camp goes? I think I'm going to try to camp wherever I am at the event of the day instead of having a base camp or a cabin or something. Have any experience with that?

Water will be your biggest concern, I always hunted from the truck after driving from a base camp to where I'd hunt.

Norman13 · May 9, 2023

bobby said:
Plenty of room to camp in the NF . My advise would be as follows. Take tire chains and dont go in there with a camper if there is any chance of rain. The roads are nasty esp south of the highway off j 10 . Ive shot some deer in there off water. there is not natural watershed there so anything they have is dirt or trick tanks . and they use them .

roadrunner said:
Water will be your biggest concern, I always hunted from the truck after driving from a base camp to where I'd hunt.

Looks like I'll be checking out springs and watering holes. If I find some good water while scouting now will there be a good chance it'll be there in September or are they ever changing?

roadrunner · May 10, 2023

Norman13 said:
Looks like I'll be checking out springs and watering holes. If I find some good water while scouting now will there be a good chance it'll be there in September or are they ever changing?

By water, I mean bring plenty with you. There are no potable water sources in Unit 2B.

bobby · May 10, 2023

Norman13 said:
Looks like I'll be checking out springs and watering holes. If I find some good water while scouting now will there be a good chance it'll be there in September or are they ever changing?

The water situation is fluid in this state. GOod monsoon Tanks get full. Bad monsson = no water so you will have to cast a wider net . There is deer there and the resident herd isnt that small as many would lead you to belive. Start near the bottom of FR 315 in low pinion juniper country. Be prepared for rapid monsoon showers and have the equipment to get your ass unstuck should you run into rain. this area is far away from any convienences like gas and water so plan accordingly .