New Mexico Mule Deer Hunt
Thought I'd tell about the hunt here at the ranch over the past 3 days.
GMoney, as many of you know him from here... came up from Texas, along with his dad & a couple of other friends of mine for their first mule deer hunt. The weather started out COLD...& snowy. Then it gave way to highs in the 60's & lows in the 20's...So, it was cold.
The ranch backs up to Natl. Forset on 2 sides here, so there was plenty of areas to hunt. High ridges, deep, brushy draws.....Not real rough terrain, but it can wear you out after a day of climbing those.
I got all the guys lined out, & went out with the guys to get them kinda familiar with the hunting area, & so the first day went...with everyone seeing deer, but nothing that afforded a shot.
On the second day, AzKiote & myself got on horses to reach the top of a remote long canyon a couple of ridges over. Our idea was to ride down the in the bottom of the canyon, to see what we would run to the other hunters in our group.
Although it is Natl Forest, the area cant be accessed by other hunters, unless they have horses, or want a long pack into here.
Az & myself started coming down the canyon after a lengthy ride up to the crest where we saw several hunting parties at the head of the canyon. They were for the most part, nice guys.
As we headed down the canyon we were riding into the deep draws along the sides of the main canyon, hoping to flush out a nice buck.....
On one of the ridges to the draw along the canyon, we saw GMoney & his dad....
We went over to the on the high ridge & saw that GMoney's dad, Olin, had downed a nice 9 point mulie....(I'll let GMoney tell that story & the mountain lion story along with it...LOL)
We loaded the deer, slung over the saddle like a lawman would do an outlaw he killed in the Old West, & started towards headquarters.......
Upon getting home, one of the other hunters, Jim had had a long shot at a nice 8 point buck that day, but, not having a good rest, had shot under the buck....
It seemed like the day's hunting had produced a sighting of at least 3-4 shooter bucks, & another 20-25 deer that were does, or not identifiable.
Not a bad day at all....
Day 3,....... (today) turned out windy. The deer were all kinda holding to the draws to escape the wind, (& hunters...LOL). There were several deer seen, but nobody connected....Late afternoon came & the wind died down some, but was still kicking pretty good....The hunters loaded up & started the 9 hour drive home.
One thing I might mention is the effort that GMoney & his dad spent today trying to help flush deer for the remaining hunters that had not killed a deer. They walked their tails off....It was really nice to see the frendships develop, & at no time did I see an ounce of selfishness....not 1 argument.....Everybody that was here was a real pleasure to hunt with. The type you "Ride the river" with.
Nice hunt guys....I enjoyed having you. I hope we can do the hunt again next year.....
Congrats to Olin, on his nice buck! It was one of the better bucks I'd seen in here all year...... I'm sure GMoney will post pics & his story as well.
Gee, Bush won the election, had good friends here at the ranch....Including our own AzKiote......Whom is, I might mention, a genuine, true blue type of guy....He is very knowledgable about all phases of hunting & outdoor adventures.....Az, I enjoyed it, Amigo....Can't wait til next time...
Great hunt....
Rockinbbar
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