Unit 53 Question

okiehunter · Aug 28, 2007

I am kind of new to this mule deer hunting and need a little advice.

I have been hunting whitetails for years and know a good ?shooter? for my part of the country. I draw a mule deer tag in New Mexico GMU 53 (around the Red River, NM area) and would like some input on what is a fair, good and great buck for that area.

I don't want to take what appears to me to be a big buck, based on my whitetail experience, only to find out I should have waited for a better buck because of the area I am hunting.

Any input on how big they grow in the GMU and how do I ?judge? mule deer to determine if it's a good un or not.

mozey · Aug 30, 2007

LAST EDITED ON Aug-30-07 AT 08:25PM (MST)[p]Generally, a mule deer's ears measure about 22 to 24 inches from tip to tip.

Last month, while hiking Wheeler Peak (which is in GMU 53), I saw three different deer with spreads that exceeded their ears. All three were at least 4X4s, excluding brow tines. The biggest was probably about 26" wide and I think had couple of trash points on him. In my opinion, these would be "good" bucks.

I also saw another buck while glassing from the Peak's summit, at about a mile and a half distant. At first pass, I thought I was looking at a bull elk. When I pointed it out to my buddy, he corrected me and told me it couldn't be an elk, because the color was wrong. IMHO, this buck was a "great" buck. It's really all very subjective, but IMHO, a "great" buck starts around the 28" mark, is built like a cinderblock, has a scarred-up Roman nose and face, and carries buukoo mass (I've seen a number of 28" spindely horn bucks that don't qualify as "great").

By the way, in some 25 years of trying, I've never tagged a "great" buck. Maybe this year...

Good luck to you. Hope you have a chance to tag the beast that I was looking at.