2B New Mexico Archery Jan
Mule Deer
We met some new friends on our NM elk hunt in Sept and decided to go DIY for our Jan archery deer hunt. I've also networked with a guy who works in 2B who are willing to offer up some ideas, even get together with us while we are out there and help out. Gotta love the support! I've got expectations of a fun hunt with realistic expectations for the conditions and reality of the hunt. Another 20 hour drive back to NM!.... But seriously, nothing else I'd rather being doing. Going to phone skope lots of bucks and post as often as possible, especially for the guys that helped me out.
Sounds like a fun hunt HuntEasy, I really enjoyed that hunt, took it about 8 years ago. Those hills are tough on the legs, couldn't even imagine it being out of shape like I am today. Good luck and I will be looking out for your thread to follow your hunt.
2B can be. Fun hunt, and you'll see lots of deer, mostly does though. It's a tough hunt, and you won't see as many big bucks as you hope you'll see. Like I've told guys last year, don't pass up a decent buck, cause you might not get another chance. Expect to do a lot of walking, cause the roads will be closed off. A lot of the area below America Mesa won't be accessible because of the private land that won't allow through traffic. If you're on Cracus Mesa, spend as much time as you can on the sage flats and small hills boundrying the Jicarilla Reservation down low. Be prepared for bad weather and bad bad roads. We've hunted 2B since the early 80's, and now hunt on private land. After years of running hunters during the January season, expect some very long shots, most of which will come late in the evening. Good luck.
Its a tough hunt thats VERY weather dependant. Ride the roads for a few days until you find where the bucks are then set up a ground blind at a funnel near where you saw the deer. That will give you the best chance at tagging out. You can also walk into the refuge area and check it out, Game warden told us that was a good area but we never walked in. Goodluck, Mike
I hear you guys on the low success rates for good bucks (160+)... We got the tag so we will give it hell.
Buglmin, Thanks for the advice on Cracus Mesa. Any chance we could get on some private through your connections? We will have chains, shovels, etc and good tires on 4x4 dodge. Is any ATV an advatange for access?
FloridaMike, That's our plan, to ride the roads and use our contacts locally and target those areas. Can you hunt the refuage Mike? Arnt refuage usually off limits to hunting?
Tony
I don't know what refuge he is talking about.... You'll se a lot of guys road hunting, and your ATV could be used, but with the old mornings, you'd freeze your tail off. Most of the side roads will be closed, so you'll only be able to drive the main roads. Be sure to check above Navajo Lake, from the Sims Mesa area. Where re you guys going to stay at? If you stay in Farmingon or Aztec, you'll have a long drive every day. There ain't no gas stations out there, and the closet ones are in Bloomfied. At Navajo City, the station closes like at 6:00 in the evenings, so be ure to carry lots of extra gas. The F&G guys are jerks out there. Contact Larry or Jeremy at Xpert Archery in Farmington, they might help you some...
From what I hear, the closest hotel is about 45-60 min away so we will be commuting daily. We thought about pulling a trailer but it's so cold I hear the pipes will freeze/water will freeze.
I spoke to Jeremy already and he pointed me in the right direction.
Buglmin - We just decided to bring a trailer to stay in. We will carry lots of extra gas so we don't have to go to town every day, hopefully every 3 days or so, fill up supplies, shower etc. The trailer pipes could freeze but it will still be better than a wall tent. Any good recommendations on where to park the trailer for our hunt? Someone may have mentioned Najavo Lake? I can't remember if that's it...
Drain your trailer water pipes and don't use them.....they WILL freeze unless your trailer is fully winterized (most are not). Use traditional water jugs, etc., and heat your water up to shower....or better yet one of those portable ones. You can use it in your existing bathroom of the trailer. If you're towing a travel trailer in.....make sure you're chained up (all 4 tires) if there's snow/ice on the roads. They get nasty when frozen over and even worse when muddy and thawed a bit.
Plenty of places to camp.....generally try and centralize in the area(s) you plan on hunting. I agree with Buglmin, ATV's are not very good to use.....too darn cold to ride, IMO.
In January 2014 I slept on a cot in the back of my truck and walked everywhere I wanted to go. Why do you need a shower? Its really not very cold except getting out of the bag in the morning, that was a little cold. Nothing compared to Bison or Muskox hunting, rather mild compared to those hunts.
Not very many mature bucks around (none), but lots of women and children type deer.
I will look at my maps when I have time to tell you the exact road that boarders the "winter grounds" refuge. You can hunt it but you have to walk or ride a bicycle because no motorized traffic is allowed. The game warden told me if the weather conditions were right it would be very good in the winter grounds area. I think if you're driving west past American Mesa that road runs into another road that is the boundary of the winter grounds but I will check my maps to be sure. The guy at xpert archery helped me a lot.
In my opinion you really need to ride the roads for 2 or 3 days and find an area that has shooters in it then try to set up a ground blind to ambush them. Mike
bob when I was there Jan 1st minus 18 without wind second day minus 24 That's cold !!!
Oh the horror of having to walk....
Nick, are you sarcastic or just a road hunter? This could be a good unit for you if the 2nd.
Bob, I hear it can get sub 30 on this one. Sounds like you got a tropical heat wave but not norm for that unit that time of year.
Buglmin - good idea about the winterization. Every 3-4 days we need to go refuel and a good time eat a steak grab a shower.
It looks like we will stay at Navajo Lake. Winterize the trailer and base from there. Hard to predict this hunt being so weather dependant. I'll have a few spots in mind and evolve depending on what the conditions throws our way.
Hunteasy best of luck keep us posted ! I wouldn't be 2 picky . This unit a few years back was a top choice. I hope you aren't disappointed !!!
PS Nick sarcastic never;>
City thanks. Not the hunt to get greedy on I hear what everyone is saying. Sometimes it's better to be lucky.....I'm going to be holding out for a 170"+. After the first day, that min standard could change. Haha
When we ran hunters for the Espinosa's, seeing 170" bucks was an good buck, but that was from 2000 to 2007. Now, a 140" is a good buck. You can't drive everywhere, most of the off roads are locked up now, and you'll need to walk 3 to 5 miles to get in. The Espinosa ranch road is now gated and locked, cutting off access to a lot of great hunting. You can't come off the top of America Mesa or Middle Mesa now cause the road is gated. Going n from Navajo Lake will limit the ares to hunt off of Rosa Road. Last week, the roads were a muddy, rough mess. Expect temps to be below zero in the mornings, warming up to the 30's. Winds suck out there. Good luck, and like already said, don't be expecting to see lots of big bucks. No snow here in sw Colorado, and he deer are still in Arboles, no having migrated into unit 2.
I've heard about the access being limited due to the gss/oil rigs. Sounds like if a guy is willing to walk then he wont have a lot of company to compete with. I've been seeing pics of 160-180" deer already in the unit right off the road. They are in there buglmin, maybe not as many as before but they are there. And if we get some good snow, 5 weeks left to get it, It could be better than advertised.
had the tag last year pm me for some info
Jason. Thanks for the invitation to help. Pm sent.
It's a great unit to hunt. Last time I had a tag in 2b was a rifle hunt 14 years ago! Haven't been able to draw it since. Rifle or archery. The deer herd is down everywhere in NM not just 2b. Does it help if the snow is deep in CO? Sure it helps but not totally dependent on that. The big bucks are still in there if you know where and how to look for them. They don't get big by being stupid. I know of some big ones that were killed on the muzzie hunt and some really nice ones on some of the rifle hunts.
It can be freezing cold or really nice. I had the 2a archery hunt about 3 maybe 4 years ago and it was -20 opening day. Warmed up to about 5 degrees. Other years it was in the low to mid 40's during the day. Good luck!
buterboy how was 2a I hunted it few years ago Fla mike had a tag also I thought it SUCKED !! 2b 14 years ago is a long time , I heard the deer from colo aren't coming into 2b due to a fence installed on hiway to many deer were getting mauled on roads
city, 2a wasn't a bad hunt that year. Saw a lot of deer and actually quite a few bucks. We hunted mostly around the Barker Dome area in La Plata. It's only about a 20 minute drive from my house so I could hunt evenings really easily. The deer still migrate in from CO if there is enough snow. there needs to be a lot of snow just not in the high country but around Pagosa Springs and Ignacio as well or the migration will stop there. They can migrate down from the chama side too but they won't come all the way if there isn't much snow on the Jicarrilla.
Unit 2a is definitely not what it used to be either. when I was a kid there where deer everywhere and big bucks. We could go up after school and have 3-4 chances at nice bucks every time. If we had our act together we would have shot some nice deer!
2B, weather unit's are a roll of the dice. But since the tag is a once in every 10 years or so, when your card is pulled try and make the best of it. Appreciate everyones comments. I'll take pics with the phone skope, even some video and post it here.
Snow in Arboles or even Ignacio has nothing to do with deer going another 3 or 4 miles into north western NM (aka 2B). It has everything to do with big snow up Wolf Creek Pass etc. A lot of deer in Arboles is a function of a lot of snow further north.
All gates in the Jic Ranger District in the Carson are closed all year, nothing to do with oil and gas drilling. Gates closed elsewhere on BLM is due to the Big Game Wintering areas, not oil and gas drilling. In fact, drilling is off limits during winter closures.
I would focus on resident deer along Ridge Road from Manzaneros to Gobernador. If that does not pan out, begin to focus on some areas around the lake in Cabresto, La Jara, and Bancos. Bancos ties into Carracas Mesa and eventually the forest.
HDE- thanks for your take on the unit. I'll be sure to send that over to my buddy who knows the unit well.
Lol.... HDE, snow in Arboles means everything for the deer to get pushed out and to migrate across the river to unit 2. Snow on Wolf Creek only forces the deer to come down into Pagosa Springs and just south of there. I've been hunting unit 2 way to long to not know where to look for deer if they haven't moved in yet. It's simple, if no deep snow down south, then the deer don't migrate. Right now, with no snow here around Pagosa, there isn't a lot of deer down around Arboles. The big bucks are hanging up just south of here, around Burns Canyon and the sage flats south of Montezuma Road, on the King and Redding Ranches. We're down there in unit 2 now private land elk hunts, and we're not seeing the big bucks we should be seeing. Even on private land, we know better then to pass up a 150" buck.
Guess what Bubba, I've been hunting Unit 2 for a super long time too, I'm not even LOLing, just shaking my head in amazement... What really brings the deer down south in large numbers is when big snow is in the Red Mesa and Durango areas for Unit 2A and as you so eloquently pointed out Pagosa for 2B, aka further north for both areas...
Deer migrate as far south as Eul from South Fork (other side of Wolf Creek). I know of some research done by a collaborative effort from NMGF and the USFS Jicarilla Ranger District where does (a deer, a female deer) were captured and fitted with radio collars to monitor migration. They ended up in the South Fork drainage area by early summer. The collars were placed on them in the Eul area around the lake. I also get to drive behind those locked gates this time of the year because of my job - you get to see things most everyone else, including yourself, do not get to see. Yes - the deer are there.
Arboles is Unit 2B as far as deer are concerned. Same area to them.
I also suppose you'd better check out the Daily Times and the picture of the big buck killed recently in the area where deer above 180 just do not exist, but with everyone out looking for the big'un all the time and shooting them, what do you think would happen to all the big bucks? Duh...
Quite a tank on the front page on the Farmington paper! Had to be the gov tag?!? Looking at the b & c record book the county that 2B is in has the vast majority of the entry's. No other County even comes close
Here is what I witnessed on my scout trip yesterday a lot of these bucks! Only a few pics taking due to my lack of digiscoping experience! Lol
Thanks for the pics Trojan. Looks like the rut is in gear.
Season kick off in less than a week! Good luck to the ladies and gents that have the tag. I'm looking forward to glassing up some mule deer bucks and laying down some stalks... I'll be in a new white Ram diesel short bed with CA plates, if you see me say hello. Tony
Be safe and plug that ram in !Brrrrrr
Another storm system heading this way for opening day.
HDE I see what you see! Forecast looks nasty. Just what you need to move the big boys :)
will your diesel start if its minus 15?
I don't know that's pretty cold!
We are hunting elk in 5A right now, just down the way from you. Lots of deer around. Buck we saw yesterday was getting a nose full of doe tail. No monsters yet but a lot like the pics above. Every decent sized group of does (5+) has a buck in tow. Good luck.
keep us posted best of luck !!!
Good luck to anyone who is hunting today! I'll be on the road tomorrow. It looks like some snow is coming down... Happy new year!
How is everyone doing in 2b? I thought it was tough these first couple days bc the deer seemed to be bedded for most of the day!
Shoot, one of those bucks would work for me. I'll pass on -15 deg through. I admit it. I'm a wuss when it comes to temps like that.
lots of deer any shooters?? hows the weather .
This is the only deer in 2B...
After last weekend weather has turned warm. Most of the snow in the south has melted. We haven't found any shooters up north. The only good deer we have found have been in the south, resident deer. The only problem is the road hunters pushing the deer into the thick cover at first light and don't let them come out in the evenings. It's a joke.
We found these two good bucks one evening by glassing the sage flats. I was fortunate to have one stalk opportunity the first night. The next 2 days road hunters have been in and out of this sage flat a half of dozen times in the morning and evening. The deer no longer come out til after dark and are back in the trees before light. We have given up after two wasted days and going to try and locate new bucks these last two days.
I wish I could find bucks like that now, the pressure is getting to the deer and I have not seen anything decent Since late December when I was scouting, hopefully things change! Those bucks are awesome you all found!!!!!!! Hopefully one of you guys connects!!
We bedded this buck this am a mile off.
Couldn't believe it, head up the tail of a doe
No news is usually bad news...Mike
I did tag out and I will post pictures soon but I was a little disappointed in the quality of bucks , however this was my first time hunting 2b and obviously I need to spend a lot more time knowing this country!
Congrats trojan242002!
Knowing the terrain is 90% of success, the other 10% is combined dumb luck and skill.
Another thing is the rut. It fell in mid Dec. A lot of big bucks were done and out of the pic by the time this hunt started. Most of what was left were a handful of big ones and "raghorn" or "satellite" bucks.
Lol I like that sattelite bucks, hopefully their will be another chance at it soon, it's frustrating bc you know they are their but with so much land can be overwhelming!
Lol.... Talked to several guys out there, and not very many big bucks were seen. Even the guys on the private ranches weren't seeing 170" bucks. Say what you will, but unit 2 doesn't have the quality of bucks it once did. Been hunting it since the late 80's, and you just don't see or find the big bucks like you used too... Sorry, but a lot better units in New Mexico then unit 2b. The bucks don't migrate in like they once did.
Congrats on your buck, and Tony, we'll talk a lil more. Glad I was able to give you areas to look into and you were able to find some bucks...
I would have to agree with you but i am going to give it another shot hopefully next year! Lol and hopefully you can help me.... ? I was curious though if the rut has a lot to do with it or are they just not migrating into 2b like they use too?
The big bucks just don't migrate like they used to. If they did, then you would see the huge bucks from the Jicarilla there. Plus the fact that the Southern Utes start to hunt these bucks in November through December, and without the snow, these bucks don't migrate down for them to hunt them. Yessir, a lot of the bucks from the Jic migrate down by the Teepees, just north of Cuba, but a lot used to come over from Archuleta Mesa, cross the San Juan, and come down Cracus to the sage flats out behind the lake. With snow in Arboles, these deer cross the river and they are right there in Bancos, Eul, or Crebresto. Without the snow, the deer will be around the huge fields right below Middle Mesa....
We used to run hunters on the private ranches out there, and started locking the gates across the roads in 2004, which we legally could do cause the roads weren't access roads to the BLM or national forests. We did this to stop the road hunters, and seen immediate results in the deer patterns. Killed lots of bucks from tree stands over trails just inside the tree line on the sage flats or in saddles.
You're a fine, fine storyteller!
I think I'll take my chances with 2B as well...
And just what am I being a story teller bout Nathan? Are you the one telling guys about the huge 200" buck you were seeing, or the one offering to take guys behind the locked gates in your oil field work truck? Seems like the only bucks in the area that the huge 200" buck was seen was lil 140" bucks. Even the guys out there running lions aint see a lot of big bucks, and the lion hunters from the Jic ain't seeing a lot of big bucks. Been at this unit 2 game a long time, and know the area extremely well. Better find out who I am and who I'm related to before you start telling stories...spend more time out there then you'll think is possible.
Anthony,
#1 - never, ever, ever said I would take ANYONE behind locked gates in a work truck.
#2 - plenty of us see 170" + bucks throughout all of unit 2. Unit 2 is a big unit. Even the three subunits are big in their own right. 200" bucks are as common as 400" bulls. They do exist, they are smart, and even smarter today than yesterday because of all the trophy crazy guys out there. You live in a dream world to think if a 200" buck is not behind every tree there are no more deer. Law of averages dude...the plague of federally protected "wild horses" has done more to decrease deer numbers than most anything else. Increased predation does not help either. You can't hunt deer (big bucks) the same way today as before.
#3 - big bucks will cruise looking for does, or will lay up the way big bulls do when the rut is over or winding down.
#4 - the "teepees" is a looong way from 2B. Why would deer migrate north/northwest if big snow is what makes them move? The "teepees" is close the continental divide and about 20 miles west of Cuba.
#5 - hunted unit 2 since the 80's? A lot of us have and 1 year repeated 30 times does not give you 30 years of experience. "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
Have a nice day Bugl.
I had quite a few deer come in for processing. From all three units. everyone reported seeing a lot of deer and quite a few nice bucks. Not as many nice ones in 2A but still not bad. Talked to someone just the other day that found at least 5 deer that would go 180-200 but he wasn't hunting.
Please keep telling others that there are no deer in unit 2! Thanks for your efforts and you need to work harder at it Buglmin so I can draw a tag. It's been 14 years with no 2b tag.
Utes are putting a hurting on the big bucks that once made it into the unit.Yes there are some good ones but nothing like it used to be.It could snow 4' in CO.Then when you see no big bucks what will be the excuse?
We didn't see many good bucks on our 8 day hunt. We did see a 4-5 bucks that would go 170"-180". We hunted Bancos, Eul, Sims Mesa, south of 64 and Yes, even Rosa Rd. The challenge to the hunt is all the road hunters in my opinion. There are roads practically everywhere and two times we got on a good buck, only to have other hunters drive up on the scene... It's a fun hunt because you see a lot of deer (I guess). I think the success rate on quality bucks is much lower than other trophy mule deer hunts. For a chance at a 130-150" deer, there is plenty of opportunity to go around. I would hunt AZ OTC over 2b for trophy mule deer.
we saw a few bucks in the 160 to 190 class and all i need is one so i keep after them until i harvested a 150-160 class buck. the toughest thing is the road hunters passing by and push your deer out while you are stalking them. I had one really nice 175 class buck feeding out and we were set up in both directions while he was coming out. Right at prime time a hunter shows up stops on the road in front of him with the truck running and ws waiting to see what he was going to do. I tried to wave him off but it was to late the buck headed back to the hills and never showed up again during daylight hours. so Tony is right tough because of the road hunters. I thing the big bucks are still there. I personally know 2 bucks over 200" that were taken. I have seen the pics.
So how far are you guys that are complaining about the road hunters ruining your hunt if you're also close enough to a road to have that happen? I've been in the unit in early November with a friend that had that tag 2 of the last 4 years and we were way in behind any gate where the only way you could hunt was to walk. Even doing that all we saw was does and little bucks that weren't as decent as whitetails back here in MI. We did see one real nice buck that made my heart go pitter patter over toward the Jicarilla when we scouted it one evening on our way to another hunt in September. However, we never saw anything near him on the November hunt that year. The second time we hiked way back in behind the gates off Rosa Rd toward the lake. We saw more deer there, but nothing to get excited about and John ended up shooting the best buck we saw that wouldn't go 130".
i have been 2 mile back and I have been 400 yrds in some times I thought i was way back just to find another road. I found the best bucks about 1/2 mile in. Never had to go deep. I had some guys run out of their truck up the hill 1/2 mile to try and get on a buck while I was under a tree waiting on a nice 160 buck to feed my way. they never got to the buck i was after they never saw him and he was only 120 from them. Of course he did not stick around.
