New mexico 2B advice

Utahkid39

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I hate to beat a dead horse but I figured id better cover as many bases as I could. I drew my first new Mexico deer tag this year for 2B its the late rifle from nov 6-10, I drove 8 hours one way this weekend and put 1000 miles on the truck trying to learn the area so I don't go in completely blind, I didn't see a ton of deer which i didn't expect to from the things I've read. I mainly covered ground north of highway 64 and didn't spend any time south of 64 really. Just wanted to ask some advice from people who know the area or have hunted it before if there was anywhere I should focus on or spend some extra attention on, places to stay away from. I know its a "migration" hunt so maybe there is some certain canyons I should watch or keep an eye on that they migrate through. I spent time on both the west and east side of Navajo reservoir and don't know which side is better. I've never hunted mesa country like this so its totally new to me! Would it be worth it for me to hunt south of 64? just looking for advice from someone with more knowledge of the area than i do, gonna hunt my guts out regardless!
 
Good luck you should see some good ones.
Post him up after you get him.
I have heard not seeing many big big ones ? Big meaning 170 and up , but hey its all good i drew a hard to get tag and with one of the best guides in the area
 
I have heard not seeing many big big ones ? Big meaning 170 and up , but hey its all good i drew a hard to get tag and with one of the best guides in the area

Haven't had the tag since 2001, can't draw it again.

Who'd you book with?
 
Just got home from 2b , ya i killed a nice 4x4 but i promise i couldnt have got it done without Anthony either there isnt many bucks in 2b or there not moving or something is up , when one of the top guides in the area says toughest hunt hes been on in a while you know its tough!! He knew a guy that reported back to him saying an outfitter with 10 to 15 guys in it and hasnt seen a buck its bad!! The country is so big roads going every direction , no way imo guy can diy and kill a big one he might get lucky but after 4 days hunting sun up to sun down and i mean hunting hard no going back to camp di$$ dogging , on the 4th night Anthony and he had 2 other guides looking , glassing driving trying to cut a track one of his other guides cut a track they know its a good track so we drive 30 minutes to get where they are and Anthony glasses him up 330 yard shot end of story good luck my man you will need it!! I will post a pic later if you wanna see a pic its on FB Bryan Scruggs
 
The country is so big roads going every direction , no way imo guy can diy and kill a big one he might get lucky but after 4 days hunting sun up to sun down and i mean hunting hard no going back to camp di$$ dogging ,

Unless you live 45 minutes away from 2B. ;)

I've known Anthony for a few years, his dad also.

But yes, 2B has changed a lot from what it is now to what it was 20 years ago...
 
Unless you live 45 minutes away from 2B. ;)

I've known Anthony for a few years, his dad also.

But yes, 2B has changed a lot from what it is now to what it was 20 years ago...
Yes i should have said as a non resident your in trouble!! And RR i seriously dont think the average hunter that lives there can get it done ?? We will see in the next few hunts what happens , buti am very curious of whats going on there
 
Yep nobody who doesn't use a guide can't kill a good buck in there. SMH. H8brick next time your in Farmington go into xpert archery and check out some of the bucks in there. Lots of locals and non-locals do good in there. Has it dropped off in the last 10 years, yes but what unit hasn't?
 
Yep nobody who doesn't use a guide can't kill a good buck in there. SMH. H8brick next time your in Farmington go into xpert archery and check out some of the bucks in there. Lots of locals and non-locals do good in there. Has it dropped off in the last 10 years, yes but what unit hasn't?
Good luck i wouldnt want any part of it because i can guarantee im eating tag soup without a top guide in that 2b section have at it!!
 
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When i called in my harvest report yesterday and they asked rate your hunt 1 to 5 1 being worst i said a 1, new mexico game and fish said ya they havent moved down yet, i said i am worried about the mule deer population and whats going on with them
 
Am in 100% total agreement with H8brick’s assessment!
There is a resident herd in 2B but nowhere any where near historical numbers as has been experienced everywhere within the West as well.
I am confident everyone agrees, Resident mature bucks can still be found in 2B but obviously not in large numbers and you obviously have to put in the time, miles and all out effort and even then, that is no guarantee!
 
Am in 100% total agreement with H8brick’s assessment!
There is a resident herd in 2B but nowhere any where near historical numbers as has been experienced everywhere within the West as well.
I am confident everyone agrees, Resident mature bucks can still be found in 2B but obviously not in large numbers and you obviously have to put in the time, miles and all out effort and even then, that is no guarantee!
Mostly because the hunt was way early.

But yes. Deer are fewer in numbers.
 
Am in 100% total agreement with H8brick’s assessment!
There is a resident herd in 2B but nowhere any where near historical numbers as has been experienced everywhere within the West as well.
I am confident everyone agrees, Resident mature bucks can still be found in 2B but obviously not in large numbers and you obviously have to put in the time, miles and all out effort and even then, that is no guarantee!
But for a out of state hunter doing on his own i just dont see it happening and especially first time out!! I could have 2 weeks scouting and dont think could get it done, now i did see tons of does i dont know if that matters and a few forkys and one of them got shot by a group of indians which made me sick but whatever , like i said im worried about the big mature bucks , hopefully im wrong
 
Road Runner, I was specifically talking about “resident” deer herd numbers having nothing to do with migratory deer that yes typically don’t show up during the first “early hunt” and definitely factors in success ratios.
 
toklat, I was stating that because even resident deer can be difficult to find because the hunt was much earlier than during rut conditions.

An example of this is the Humphries/Rio Chama resident deer. During Sept and throughout most of Oct they can be difficult to find. Once mid to late Nov comes around, you can see large mule deer bucks.

We experienced this a couple of years ago on the special youth hunt that has 5 tags. My youth hunter shot a 173" 4x5 on the evening of the first day. That buck was there earlier, just not actively visible. This hunt is not a migratory hunt the way most people think.
 
RR, point well taken. Resident deer are more active during the rut and are also more susceptible but not easy to locate during the early hunts where the rut plays no factor.
 
I'm not against youth hunts but its foolish what they did when they changed those dates to peak rut a couple years ago. Those kids have been hammering the top end and the results are showing themselves
 
I'm not against youth hunts but its foolish what they did when they changed those dates to peak rut a couple years ago. Those kids have been hammering the top end and the results are showing themselves

What it did was really backfired. The idea was to increase the opportunity to fill a tag because the mid Oct hunt was the exact opposite of a disaster.

It's the mocho ego's of dad's and uncle's that have really been hammering the top end and not the kiddos...
 
Bc i didnt see many bucks in 2b and now there is one less to grow and be big

Increased efforts on predator control will have a larger impact on small bucks growing up to be big than a hunter shooting one.

NM now, in it's unlimited capacities of stupidity in the state legislature, has banned trapping on public lands. So, there will be an increase in coyote and bobcat predation on the fawn crop and increased winter kill. It has also banned coyote hunting the way it is most effective, coyote contests, with the same results that no trapping will have.

Consider yourself lucky to have drawn this tag this year and took a respectable deer.
 
Increased efforts on predator control will have a larger impact on small bucks growing up to be big than a hunter shooting one.

NM now, in it's unlimited capacities of stupidity in the state legislature, has banned trapping on public lands. So, there will be an increase in coyote and bobcat predation on the fawn crop and increased winter kill. It has also banned coyote hunting the way it is most effective, coyote contests, with the same results that no trapping will have.

Consider yourself lucky to have drawn this tag this year and took a respectable deer.
I absolutely do consider myself lucky! And fortunate to hire someone to help me!! Its a hunt that to be honest i dont want to ever put in for again you know RR when we took a drive north i couldnt believe the hunters that were up there, Anthony said this isnt anything compared to the later hunts im like wow!!
 
I hunted it in 2006, admittedly before I really much about mule deer hunting, it was night and day from scouting mid oct to the late rifle hunt not sure of dates but around nov 10 start I think. Could not believe the difference. I have been putting in for the Jan archery tag lately. Maybe I will draw it someday, and yes it is down like everywhere else. The late hunt still issues like 450 tags. Cut that to 200 for a few years I bet it would get pretty good again. That’s not good about trapping, tag cuts have no chance to compete against no Or a lot less predator control.
 
Well wanted to jump on here and give a report, first off thank you to everyone who gave me pointers and advice for my hunt, I can’t thank you guys enough. I hunted 4 and a half days and saw deer every day but ended up eating my tag. I did see several small bucks that I could have shot but Wasn’t what I came for so I passed on them. The weather was still very warm and I think definitely was keeping the big bucks in the thick stuff. Colorado had zero snow which I believe was also slowing down the migration on that end of things. I actually only saw 2 dead deer the whole time I was there, neither were very big at all. From everyone I talked to they said it seemed like a different year and they weren’t finding the bucks where they had found them in years past. I think the unit has every potential to hold some nice bucks and I know it does, but your gonna work for them and better have some luck on your side too! Overall I’m happy with my hunt and don’t regret it one bit, it was my first out of state solo hunt and a great experience for me. Thanks again everyone for your advice, off for my third season deer tag Saturday now!
 

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