New Guy

RANGER690 · Oct 13, 2009

Hi, Im an avid whitetail hunter from Wisconsin and was lucky enouph to be invited to NM for the Mule deer rifle hunt on 11-7 through 11-11. We will be hunting on private land in unit 40. If you guys would be so kind as to answer some of my questions that the NMDNR ladies could not answer. Is there any whitetail in this area, if so are we allowed to harvest one with our deer tag? What can we expect for mule deer size? is this a trouphy area? What is the minimum caliber rifle you are allowed? Do we need to wear blaze orange? What type of hunting style, spot and stalk, water holes, fields if available?

We are going at this type of hunting blind, but we need to start somewhere. Any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Mike

nmtaxi · Oct 13, 2009

There should be whitetails and mulies in that country, and your tag should be good for both.
Blaze orange is not required in NM. As far as trophy quality, I have no idea.

leftturnabq · Oct 13, 2009

There is no seperate license required for whitetail or muleys in unit 40, so you your tag is good for either.

There are some very nice trophy muleys in unit 40.

As far as what the terrain is like, water sources, and the deer that are on the particular property you're hunting...I think your first step is to contact the land owner.

RANGER690 · Oct 13, 2009

Thanks guys. Im really getting excited for this hunt. I will be using a 300 mag.

NMHUNTER · Oct 13, 2009

Leftturn is right you need to contact the landowner, deer numbers and quality can be different in the private land..the LO will be able to tell you what the deer are like on their land...good luck to u

leftturnabq · Oct 13, 2009

Oh yeah,

Good luck, and be sure to let us know how it goes.

RANGER690 · Oct 15, 2009

Do you guys know where i can find a plat book or map for unit 40 over the web? Thanks for your help so far.

SweetBull · Oct 15, 2009

try this sight

http://plicmapcenter.org/view.php?typ=&ag=&st=NM

get some good BLM quad maps, in my humble opinion they are the best. Minimum caliber is .24 caliber, so a .243 rifle minimum essentially. the lady at NMGF should have known that, maybe they should consider some sort of entrance requirement to work there at the desk. like actually reading the proclamation perhaps? haha, well anyways there should be trophy bucks in there, both whitetails and muleys,and your tag is good for either one if it not specified for a certain deer species. The lady should have known that also. Dont sit one water tank all day, that unit is littered with water tanks. find fresh tracks, get on the higher hills and glass glass glass

leftturnabq · Oct 15, 2009

Agreed: BLM maps are great. Maybe a topo of the proprty you are hunting if you can figure out where you are going.

RANGER690 · Oct 15, 2009

Thanks guys, just ordered my maps now. I used mapquest and found the ranch but i dont know where his property boundries are. I will find that out when we get there on the 6th. I checked and it will be about a 1200 mi drive from Wisconsin.

lchcguide · Oct 15, 2009

I live in unit 40 and just wondering whose property you will be hunting on. My dad hunts unit 40 just about every year with his muzzleloader. I know there are some nice bucks out there you just need to be on a good ranch to see them. As far as whitetails, don't expect to see them but there has been a few around. I know several ranchers in the area and they see a few but not to many. You can PM me if you want I will let you know all I can. It should be a great hunt.

RANGER690 · Oct 16, 2009

Ichcguide PM sent

leftturnabq · Oct 16, 2009

1200 miles. That's a pretty good haul.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the whitetails...you can hunt them every year in your home state, right?

I know most Easterners think muleys are stupid compared to their beloved whitetails, but I beg to differ. An old muley is quite the hunting challenge.

When field judging keep in mind that, trophy for trophy, the average muley will carry at least 20" or more of antler. So, while a 160" whitetail is minimum for B&C, it takes 180" for a muley.

RANGER690 · Oct 16, 2009

Ya, i hear ya. None of the four of us going out west are meat hunters, we have plenty of whitetail at home to eat. We are looking for wall hangers or just a nice change of pace from our hum drum whitetail hunting.

firemedic56 · Oct 17, 2009

Hey ranger, I'm from AL myself and I've been to NM 6 times over the last several years, 2 for elk, 4 for deer....I'll tell you this, you are in for a treat my friend, NM is a wonderful place to hunt......you can SEE....for miles....and you're going to be amazed at that fact. I know what it's like to hunt the think stuff, and I know we get used to not being able to see very far at all, so get your binos ready because you're gonna love this place. On our last trip to NM we were on I-40 somewhere East of Tucumcari and a really nice whitetail ran across in front of us at about 2 in the morning, so they are there, but you should see some great muleys. Be aware that they look huge to us whitetail hunters from back East. Good luck and let us knwo how it goes,...I'm going to be in unit 17 during the same time...I can't wait. Oh yeah,...you've got it made on me.....it's over 1,500 miles from Bama to unit 17!

RANGER690 · Oct 20, 2009

What is the spread of a mature mule deers ears, for judging purposes?. Im guessing 20"

leftturnabq · Oct 20, 2009

Yep, 20" to 22" tip-to-tip.

JJPRO · Oct 20, 2009

PM sent

RANGER690 · Oct 21, 2009

ichguide PMsent

RANGER690 · Oct 21, 2009

JJPRO PM sent

RANGER690 · Nov 15, 2009

Hey guys i scored a 5x4 with kicker off the long G2, he is 23" inside and the G2 is 15". I dont know how to post picture, it says i have to many kbytes, can someone help? I seen him bed at about 800-1000 yds and put on a sneak attack to within 50-75 yards. he stood up and i drilled him through the lungs with a .243. He is at the taxidermist, Yahoooooooooo!

firemedic56 · Nov 16, 2009

Good deal ranger....congrats on your first muley....hope you shoot many more. How do you like hunting the West? I love it myself....been out there several times and enjoy it every time. I was in unit 17 at the same time and didn't see a shooter.....my buddy took a small buck, the deer numbers weren't what they used to be where we were, don't know just why, but I didn't see a tenth of the deer that I used to. Post us a pic of this buck....it's not all that hard....there's instructions on here to do that......let's have a look at him.

kilowatt · Nov 16, 2009

RANGER Mike,

I just sent you an e-mail so attach the pictures to it and send back, I will post the pics for you.

Brian

RANGER690 · Nov 16, 2009

Brian,

Thanks for your help. Just replied with a picture to your e-mail to post for me.

Thanks again,

Mike

leftturnabq · Nov 16, 2009

Congrats!!

Looking forward to seeing the pic.

kilowatt · Nov 16, 2009

Here are the two pictures that Ranger sent to me to post for him, congrats Mike on a nice Buck. Love them gnarly bases.
Brian

leftturnabq · Nov 16, 2009

That's a very nice buck.

Again, congrats.

RANGER690 · Nov 16, 2009

Thanks guys, im really proud of this deer because it was my first mule deer and first mule deer hunt. My taxidermist aged it at 8-9 years old, kinda hard to believe, but he said it was an old boy. With a 23" inside spread and the left G2 at 15" tall and mass all the way through, what would you guys guess it would score? i have no idea.

Thanks

Mike

leftturnabq · Nov 17, 2009

Pictures can be quite deceiving, but if I had to guess a score I'd say he's in the neighborhood of a 150"+ class deer.

Regardless of score, he's a cool looking, big bodied, mature buck. A pretty good representation of the species.

A lot of whitetail hunters come out here and knock down an immature deer, because it looks comparable to a mature whitetail. You did very well.

Omegasniper23 · Nov 17, 2009

wesome Buck man. he does look quite old but looks can be decieving. Were his teeth minimal? What part of Unit 40 were you in? I hunt in unit 40 and never seen anything like that. Shoot me a message if you don't wanna say here. Thanks. What is the name of the ranch?

RANGER690 · Dec 14, 2009

Put a tape to him over the weekend, and came up with 165+ some change, this is gross score green. He had just over 5" bases and just over 24" main beams, almost 23" inside spread. He will look good on my wall facing my largest whitetail. The score will be easy to remember because it is the same score as my whitetail. I hope to get back out to NM next year and many years after. I would like to go after some of those huge antelope some time.