rbljack
WKR
ok....here is the story. We will be making the trip to NM to hunt mule deer for the rifle season in mountain terrain. Being a non resident with limited time, I want to maximize our chances for success, and we only have 3 days to get in there and find a decent buck. Spent lots of time on google earth already, and had one scout trip.
The terrain is very steep, climbing up to about 9900 feet at the high spots. MOST of the terrain is thick with trees and cover this year due to more rain than usual. Combine that with lots of heavy undergrowth will make for some tough spotting. My thoughts are to get high and glass each morning and afternoon, and try to move down onto a deer if we find a decent buck. Im guessing in November, they should be starting to rut, so they may have other things on their mind. We scouted once already but it rained and there wasn't much to see with the glass. Found a handful of does and a few forks, but nothing decent. So...our next trip will be the hunt, and im looking for some general ideas on how a person would go about hunting a new area similar to the one described above. The area seems to actually hold more elk than deer judging from our scout trip. My guess is that the bigger bucks weren't moving much yet, and were at the peaks. With plenty of rain this year, the water and food are readily available, so they don't have to move much it seems.
lets hear your tactics for a hunt like this.
The terrain is very steep, climbing up to about 9900 feet at the high spots. MOST of the terrain is thick with trees and cover this year due to more rain than usual. Combine that with lots of heavy undergrowth will make for some tough spotting. My thoughts are to get high and glass each morning and afternoon, and try to move down onto a deer if we find a decent buck. Im guessing in November, they should be starting to rut, so they may have other things on their mind. We scouted once already but it rained and there wasn't much to see with the glass. Found a handful of does and a few forks, but nothing decent. So...our next trip will be the hunt, and im looking for some general ideas on how a person would go about hunting a new area similar to the one described above. The area seems to actually hold more elk than deer judging from our scout trip. My guess is that the bigger bucks weren't moving much yet, and were at the peaks. With plenty of rain this year, the water and food are readily available, so they don't have to move much it seems.
lets hear your tactics for a hunt like this.
lol the deer around Ruidoso seem to hang around town.
