Planning New Mexico mule deer hunt unit 30

[HRstretch]

I am trying to convince some hunting buddies we should try for mule deer tags in New Mexico in unit 30. I was looking for anyone that has had experience hunting New Mexico in unit 30. I have hunted private land in unit 37 on one of Sam Donaldson's ranches out of Hondo, but have no experience on public lands.

Any advice from recent hunters would be greatly appreciated.

 

[desertbull]

I have hunted for Barbary Sheep there several times. Seen a handful of mule deer in the foothills but I saw nothing that would make me want to apply there. I only hunted the rim area though, maybe better for deer up top.

 

[Red Sparky]

I can't tell you anything about Unit 30 as I hunt west of I-25. What weapon choice are you thinking of? I have seen tons of deer in Unit 34 driving from Las Cruces to Roswell but I have never hunted there. Seems like you would want to find water sources and limited access. When I was hunting between I-25 and Elephant Butte lake, which is high desert like around Las Cruces, the deer liked to bed right under the rimrock. That was years ago during rifle season and even in November it was hot. 75-80 for the highs but with NM weather there was a time or two in winter white our conditions.

 

[HRstretch]

I was thinking of my 7mm STW as my first choice. It is what I used on my last mule deer. My second choice is my 257 Weatherby.
I'm good to 850 yards with my STW and 500 yards with the Weatherby. Will stretch out the Weatherby load this summer to see if I can extend it's range? Both guns have varmint taper barrels and laminate stocks so weight might come into play on long walks.

Was thinking of backpacking in to a spike camp for a couple of days then if not seeing anything move out to another location for the remainder of the season.

 

[Red Sparky]

Rifle does have advantages in the desert country. Get up high to glass and see if you can find the deer. Then you can either stalk closer or have a long shot. What I would do when hunting the high desert is glass big canyons to the west as the sun rose. This served numerous purposes...1) The sun was not in my eyes 2) The deer liked to bed on east facing slopes as they would be in the shade in the afternoon 3) If I had to move the deer would be looking into the rising sun 4) Usually the wind was blowing in my face. The other nice thing is I always had my 12 gauge and could fit in quail hunting when the seasons overlapped where most would not drive just to hunt quail. There use to be huge coveys of 30-50 birds due to low hunting pressure. Like I said I have never hunted that unit but that is some of the tips I can give you for hunting public high desert here in NM.

 

[HRstretch]

Thank you Red.

 

[HRstretch]

In looking at the nmfg unit map the Carlsbad National Forest is colored different th@n the Lincoln National Forest. Is there different restrictions there?

 

[HRstretch]

In looking at the nmfg unit map the Carlsbad National Forest is colored different th@n the Lincoln National Forest. Is there different restrictions there?

Found out it is the Carlsbad National Park so is off limits to hunting.

 

[Korhil78]

Found out it is the Carlsbad National Park so is off limits to hunting.

Well at least you now know where all the big ones will be in that area when the hunting starts.

 

[AKBman]

I have seen some big antlers come out of unit 30, I hunt unit 34 due to the proximity to the house, but I have hunted unit 29 right next door, and I have to say good glass is paramount, they are very tough to pick out in the desert. Wish you the best of luck.

 

[HRstretch]

Yes i have good bino's. Debating if I need to include one of my spotting scopes in my back pack. I think once I start putting all my items together for the pack, I will let weight rule out what is truly needed.

 

[Korhil78]

I would bring the spotting scope with you. If you spot a group a ways off, it would be nice to set up the spotting scope real fast to see if the buck is worth chasing or not. Could save you a lot of leg work. I have never hunted Unit 30 but I think that it is a lot of open area. I have hunted a lot of open areas in Unit 25 and 26. I have never had a spotting scope so I only used my binos. I have spotted a lot of deer that are a ways off with my binos but couldn't tell how big the buck was. I spend all that time chasing it and then when I get into range to glass it good, I find out that the buck wasn't as big as I thought it was. A spotting scope will fix that for you.

Just bring it along and if you find out that you don't need it then leave it out of your pack.