2C archery hunt

[lonewolf75]

Hey Guy's, my first time posting here. I've been checking out the forum since hunting season began and have noticed a lot of guys offering suggestions whenever possible to fellow hunters. Well now I'm kinda looking for the same. I have the 2C January hunt and of course from what I hear, its NM's top spot for deer. I'm just asking to see if anyone has any suggestions on what areas to hit. I haven't really had a lot of time to scout it out since being in the military and not a lot of time to do so but I am planning on staying the whole hunt. I'm willing to do the leg work. Just asking for a bit of help from anyone who's been there and has some good experience. Thanks

 

[coryb]

My Dad just did the rifle hunt. Give me a call and I can tell you what I know.

Cory
505.304.2363

 

[505sniper]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-19-13 AT 09:15AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Dec-19-13 AT 09:14?AM (MST)

You won't have trouble finding deer.The hard part will be trying to get into bow range.Good luck and post some pics I will pm you some spots to check out.

 

[sportsman01]

Contrary to what most people believe, there aren't tons of deer in 2c. There is a decent resident herd, but the true draw to this unit is the trophy potential. You have a good chance of finding several bucks over 160" and may even stumble into a few 180"+ brutes. Use the road network and benches to your advantage and glass, glass, glass. You'll be able to pick up multiple groups this way and will help in locating a good animal. Snow was pretty crunchy (was up there over Christmas)so stalking to bow range will be tough. In the past I've found good deer working the south benches in largo canyon near 5 mile bridge, and also heading North into 2C from Lybrook off of Highway 550.

Good Luck on Your hunt!

 

[Sierra]

I agree with Sportsman01. My friend and i had that tag last year. On average, we only saw about one buck per day. You can go a couple of days and not see a single buck and then there are days when you can see 2 or 3 bucks. The quality is certainly there, but it takes a lot of skill/luck for it to all come together. I saw one smoker buck (190ish), one around 160-170, and the rest were dinks. The closest i got was 90 yards and he was one f the dinks. I would guess that only 1 in 20 hunters shoots a really nice buck on that hunt.

The toughest part of the hunt is to stay mentally tough. It's hard not too give up when you glass for 15 hours and don't see a single buck. I'll be honest and admit that it took its toll on my buddy and I. It's fair to say that we were a little disappointed with the hunt, given that it's supposed to be the best unit in NM.


As Sportsman01 said, glass, glass, glass. And cover a lot of ground, especially the benches and fingers.

I hope you smoke a good one! I would love to see a photo of one of those monsters on the ground.

 

[lonewolf75]

Thanks Cory for some info you gave me. Good luck on your Sandia hunt as well. Some monsters are going down... I'll be back to post pics when season is done. Good luck to everyone else.

 

[lonewolf75]

Back from hunting 2C!!! It turned out to be successful. Thanks Cory for some helpful info. My cousin and I tagged out in my eyes some pretty amazing bucks. Despite the elements ie: the few windy days and crunchy snow patches, it was managable to stalk these brusiers. After I blew a shot on a nice 4?4 on opening morning due to the crunchy snow. We sat back and changed up our game plan. We started glassing herds that had the bucks and patterned their everyday routine. From where they fed into the mornings, where they bedded and browsed in the mid day to where they fed out from in the evenings. This, we did for a few days. They really didn't change up much and didn't leave the areas. Next as we put together our plan. We decided to wait well after mid morning for the frost to melt and the ground to soften up making the stalk much more manageable. Avoiding the the crunchy snow took more time to maneuver around but being patient was the key to being successful. It also took getting off the roads and into some bluffs and canyons. After all the deer aren't gonna run up to you so you can shoot right off the roads. Though we've seen some bucks hanging with does, I think we caught the tail end of the rut. Bucks were already getting into bachelor groups. From what I noticed any way... the pics I'll post show a nice heavy horned 3?3 with nice eye guards and a nice 4?3 who was not too heavy but is 30 3/4" wide. Both great bucks in their own characteristics.

 

[lonewolf75]

 

[lonewolf75]

http://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos/731img950464.jp

 

[lonewolf75]

 

[muley505]

Well done! Congratulations!! That is not an easy hunt despite the high demand for it. There are big deer in the unit, but it is not a gimmie hunt, and being able to fill two archery tags is very impressive. I hunted 2C in the muzzleloader and rifle seasons in (2010 and 2011 respectively) and filled my tag with a 173 incher in the rifle season. It is not an easy hunt by any means, and I am impressed by anyone who can fill a tag with two such bucks in that unit. Great job!!

 

[Sierra]

Very nice! Way to get it done. Looks like there wasn't very much snow on the ground this year.

 

[coryb]

Those are awesome bucks. I would take that first one over just about any I have ever seen on here. Way to make it happen.

Cory

 

[elkmuzzleloader]

Congrats on the great bucks. Glad it all worked out for you.

 

[teamhoyt]

very nice! congrats

 

[RioHuntNutt]

SMOKER BUCKS!Those are 2 great bucks , way to get it done!Congrats to both hunters on a great hunt for sure!

 

[lonewolf75]

Thanks for all the comments. It was a good hunt. Nice to see all the other pics posted on the forum too. Though the numbers are down on deer, NM still had some pretty decent bucks from what I've seen posted. From units down south to up north. Good luck to all on the up and coming season...