Unit 32 Mule Deer Disappointment

Ltsheets

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On my way home to NC with my friend and oldest boy (his first trip west for a hunt at 8 yrs old). I put in for the 32 rifle hunt because I’ve hunted the unit back in 2015 or so and had a great time. We had 2 tags for this hunt and never had a round in a chamber. We got there early enough to glass the night before the opener and found a 3x3.

Once the hunt started, we never saw a legal buck. We saw 80 does and fawns over 3.5 days of hunting. We had to head home early due to Covid in both mine and buddy’s family.

I can not believe how different this unit is than it was even 5 yrs ago. It used to be a fun hunt where finding a big deer might be hard but you’d see lots of deer and have a high success rate.

Is this trend statewide due to poor management from the NMDGF? I’m blown away by how bad it was this hunt.
 
This is the norm now in NM. At least every 3-4 years I can draw a Colorado tag and chase deer and actually see bucks during my hunt.
 
Pretty much the same threw out the entire state. 2B is gonna be the next unit to go to chit if they continue to miss manage it.
 
2000 tags in some units that don’t have 2000 deer total. Simple math and it’s never gonna change either. They are set on opportunity hunting and no management or belief in functional biologist. It’s sad I didn’t draw elk this year and didn’t really care. I used to live for hunting but it’s not the same nor will it ever be the same again as when most of us were younger. You either pay for private, hunt other states or get lucky. Just do your homework before you pick the unit you go camping in... I mean hunting.
 
It is good that you come back and let others know about your experience. Many nonresidents have decided not to come back to NM for deer hunts because of experiences like yours. The draw odds don't reflect on the quality of the tag.

NM G&F gives out 625 tags for the 1st rifle hunt and then another 625 tags for the 2nd rifle hunt. Any buck in that unit that survives more than one or two hunting seasons has had to learn how to avoid hunters. (stay on private land, be more nocturnal, live in a place most hunters overlook or are not willing to hike to)
I'm going to try to help my nephew kill a buck on a youth hunt this weekend. It will be a tough hunt because it follows right behind all the adult hunts but at least there won't be many other people out there during the hunt.

Pretty much the same threw out the entire state. 2B is gonna be the next unit to go to chit if they continue to miss manage it.

2B isn't a bad hunt if you want to shoot a 2 point from the road. 2B isn't any better for increased age class of bucks than any other unit in the state. NM G&F issued 1300 rifle tags in 2B for 2021. We as hunters are too effective for many of the bucks to get old when that many tags are issued.
 
It is good that you come back and let others know about your experience. Many nonresidents have decided not to come back to NM for deer hunts because of experiences like yours. The draw odds don't reflect on the quality of the tag.

NM G&F gives out 625 tags for the 1st rifle hunt and then another 625 tags for the 2nd rifle hunt. Any buck in that unit that survives more than one or two hunting seasons has had to learn how to avoid hunters. (stay on private land, be more nocturnal, live in a place most hunters overlook or are not willing to hike to)
I'm going to try to help my nephew kill a buck on a youth hunt this weekend. It will be a tough hunt because it follows right behind all the adult hunts but at least there won't be many other people out there during the hunt.



2B isn't a bad hunt if you want to shoot a 2 point from the road. 2B isn't any better for increased age class of bucks than any other unit in the state. NM G&F issued 1300 rifle tags in 2B for 2021. We as hunters are too effective for many of the bucks to get old when that many tags are issued.

Agree 100%. Also, as someone who was a NM resident from 2013-2018, and who now is a NR, I’ve watched the decline and experienced hunting from both perspectives. It’s sad to see and I find myself questioning if applying for deer in most units of NM, considering it’s a 2 day drive away, is worth it anymore.
 
On my way home to NC with my friend and oldest boy (his first trip west for a hunt at 8 yrs old). I put in for the 32 rifle hunt because I’ve hunted the unit back in 2015 or so and had a great time. We had 2 tags for this hunt and never had a round in a chamber. We got there early enough to glass the night before the opener and found a 3x3.

Once the hunt started, we never saw a legal buck. We saw 80 does and fawns over 3.5 days of hunting. We had to head home early due to Covid in both mine and buddy’s family.

I can not believe how different this unit is than it was even 5 yrs ago. It used to be a fun hunt where finding a big deer might be hard but you’d see lots of deer and have a high success rate.

Is this trend statewide due to poor management from the NMDGF? I’m blown away by how bad it was this hunt.
Not a lot will agree with me on this, and that is fine. This is my opinion based on my personal data collection and experiences. Personally, the biggest problem is predators. The past two years I've set out a good lot of game cams in the Gila, and there are A LOT of cats roaming the mesas and hills. Much more than I expected. The prey to predator ratio is really bad in the areas I've stepped foot in. During my hunt in 2020, I watched through my binos a pack of coyotes attempt to take down a doe. It was like watching the Nature channel. I saw the whole thing from start to finish: the stalk, the attack, etc. The deer didn't even attempt to run. It fought, as it knew if it ran it was toast. There are some MONSTER coyotes in that place that travel in packs of 4 or 5 or more animals. I've talked to ranchers who have had to shoot cats that have taken down their livestock. I've been up in GMU 52 and caught cow elk up there with their throats completely ripped out, flesh hanging. I've seen all this, and I don't get out all that much - 3-4 scouting trips per year and the hunt itself. I can't imagine the devastation I'd see if I was out there all the time.

With that said, the state has completely failed at properly controlling predators. I tell people and the "wolves belong" lot that as soon as humans stepped foot here, we threw the balance out of wack. On top of that, the landscape here in New Mexico is extremely fragile and with ranching is unable to sustain large herds of big game to support a healthy population of predators.

Now we are faced with an ammo shortage and all predator hunting is toast, they are talking about introducing jaguars, and the wolves are at an all time high in population. Let me tell you, I've read the scientific studies of mountain lion diet in the Davis Mountains in Texas. They eat a lot of meat. Now they removed the population cap here. Definitely not a good look.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the problem is solely wolves. The problem is a high density of cats, the added pressure from wolves, and pressure from large packs of coyotes. If they want more wolves, they need to reduce the population of cats plain and simple.

This girl hunts the Diamond Creek area in the Gila. I can tell you where about 5 other cats hunt regularly. This girl been eating good.

SUNP0008.JPG
 
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Way to many cats! I too have many pics as well. One is a female with three kits that are at least 40 to 50 lbs each. She not feeding them mice or bunnies.
 
This year I am making it a point to hunt some coyotes and get mountain lion tag I think if you hunt you should shoot so many coyotes every year was in 16d ran into some hunters I was in a canyon said there was two wolfs eating a deer 200 yards above me.
 
I have been hunting Unit 32 for the last five years between me and family. This was by far the worst I had seen it. In the past we were able to find deer and some bucks. This year it was even tough to find the does much less the bucks. It was sad to see how bad 32 was. I really don't know what to contribute it to but I really hope they find a solution and get the deer population back around the state. I have an uncle that lives in 31 and hunts it and said the same thing in that unit. Scary to think it has went down hill that bad.
 
The state just can’t sustain the pressure from predators and thousands of tags in nearly all areas. I’m in Colorado hunting right now and there is deer and people all over.

That being said almost all other states I apply for at one time or another I have received and email from that state saying reducing tags due to a harsh winter or low population. Here it doesn’t ever change good or bad year still handing them tags out for opportunity.... how can every other state reduce tags on soo many factors but we just sail down a lonely in managed path. Frustrating and I personally don’t ever see it changing. The money isn’t in mule deer so it’s not a priority.
 
Not many cats in unit 32, so I don't think that is the problem. A lot more coyotes than there were in the old days when many of the ranches ran sheep.
I would not apply to hunt deer in NM as a nonresident.
 
It’s called drought. No recruitment into the population thus less deer. Last 3 years fawn crops have been low.Predator populations haven’t changed in last 10 years
When has NM not been a drought? I laugh when I hear this because that’s NM. And AZ has same issues if not worse and have better population and management imo.
 
All the does we saw had fawns. Just not many does to have the fawns this year. So there had to be some bucks to breed the does just way down from last year and the previous five years.
 
No argument here that’s the management is pathetic! Timing is also one of the biggest factors in mule deer hunting! The rifle hunts are now pre rut bucks are nocturnal and weather is in the 70’s! Drive through there in December n January and you’ll be surprised! By no means is it quality like the good ol days! There’s definitely a lot more bucks than you’re gonna see on a bright moon and hot days! Northern NM hunt on November 6 had to pack in over 10k ft to get into bucks! The brothers gf killed a 31” deer but years ago by that time there was 2/3’ of snow that high.
 
Pretty much the same threw out the entire state. 2B is gonna be the next unit to go to chit if they continue to miss manage it.
already is i had a great guide whoknows the area well and we had a tough time but i got lucky i guarantee that, he knew an outfitter that had 10 to 15 guys in it and know one even saw a buck as of the 4th day of my hunt , you couldnt get me to put in for that unit ever again i was on the first rifle in 2b
 

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