New Mexico Mule Deer

For lifelong hunters there is always a thrill in seeing a big bull elk raise his head in a high mountain meadow, a big boar bear crossing a creek, or a big gobbler strutting his stuff at a hidden little pocket of water. There is, however, for some reason, nothing that compares to the jump in your gut you get when a big mule deer buck steps into the light on the edge of that big sage flat. There is something about that image that speaks to most of us in a way more ancient and basic. I suppose it goes back to our hunting ancestry and eons of associating that image with the ultimate in success.

Rarity is a factor as well. While we have seen elk hunting stay good or improve in many states, sadly mule deer hunting opportunity has declined and in many western states. New Mexico has not been immune in the struggle to maintain mule deer populations and hunt quality. There are as many reasons as there are coffee drinkers as to why mule deer populations have declined. Habitat destruction, drought, lack of predator control, and over-hunting are among many reasons given. Suffice it to say that your odds of even seeing, much less drawing a tag and killing a trophy mule deer buck have become very slim across the west. A big muley remains one of the most elusive of North American trophies.

We at San Juan River Outfitters are blessed to live and hunt in one of the few areas which has reversed this trend. Our headquarters and home is in the northwest corner of New Mexico, in the area known as the “Four Corners” This is where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado all come together in a common point. These are legendary mule deer states and our little corner of New Mexico plays a big part in that legend. Wherever trophy mule deer hunters gather, talk will eventually turn to the storied canyons of Rio Arriba and San Juan Counties. You will find the record books well represented, if not dominated, by bucks taken here over the years. This is New Mexico Game Management Unit 2.

Mature mule deer bucks are a very reclusive nocturnal creature. For most of the year they are lounging away in the thickest darkest cover available and come out only after dark to feed and water. You'll not likely see them. Hunting success on a big muley in Unit 2 is deeply tied to the rut and and the return of the migratory deer. Normally early snows in Colorado occur around the end of October and trigger southward deer movement to their wintering areas in the sage country. The rut begins in early / mid November. As deer populations rise with the returning herds, the rut starts to engage as well. Then is when the bucks start to venture out a little and you start to see these phantoms. Large herds of does meander the flats and soon there is a war on for their affections. Smaller bucks will optimistically squire the does around as their estrus approaches and then are promptly booted off the prize as she comes into heat. There is no shortage of bigger badder bucks to spoil the dance.