Deer Populations in the Gila

[BrokenArrow]

Just curious about what is going on down there?
I do have a 2019 2nd rifle season tag for unit 16. So, there is a slightly selfish motive for this thread. But, I have read so many articles, posts and watched youtube videos saying that the deer pops are down across the board and have been since 2010????
In each of these media inserts is just as many theories as to why this actually exists. In other words, everyone has a different opinion.
I'd like to hear from some local folks.

So, from other peoples experiences, what is the main cause?
- Do deer live in elk habitat and are way back in humans-on-horseback territory?
- Are the deer all around private land and can those lands foster the population recovery in the wilderness?
- Do deer thrive in the transition zone between elk habitat and private land?
- Is feed stock suffering across the unit?
- Is water as a gigantic issue as it seems?
- What can normal people like us do to help? - The biggest question of all
- Or, is the deer population stable and we don't need to do anything?

I know that Unit 16 is very large with extremely varied terrian, so if you choose to chime in about unit 16 maybe it would be best to break it into the elk unit boundaries (16a, 16b,...) to be more specific about your experiences and opinions.
Thanks for your opinions, JW

 

[hank4elk]

I was going to talk to SW biologist today,if he calls back...lol. They have been busy.
Interested in his take,from the record.
My take is NM used to have the best mulies in country,not anymore,anywhere near. Elk are great tho.
16 is huge & varied. I have seen the most mule deer to the south in recent years with a resurgance in a few places.

 

[lastlight]

I scouted and hunted 16A for elk this past season and I am always on the lookout for deer and deer sign. Early September there were a couple of mature mule deer bucks seen from the main dirt road going into 16A, but very low deer numbers in general. Fast forward to hunting the second rifle season in Oct. and out of 8 days of scouting/hunting I only saw 5-7 mule deer does and one young forked horn buck. I would only put in the time to hunt it if I were a local. I would be guessing here, but my opinion is that the elk just out compete them because the Gila is so loaded with elk. According to some, deer just dont thrive in densely populated elk regions.

 

[BrokenArrow]

Thanks for the info. I am concerned about what it will take to turn things around. Maybe it will just be an elk zone from now on and is that a policy that NM adopts for the future.

 

[BrianID]

Compared to SW Colorado, you will be disappointed by the mule deer numbers and genetics in the Gila. Just look at the B&C record books and you will see how few B&C bucks have been killed in the Gila. You also didn't draw a rut tag. In SW Colorado you would be seeing rut activity around that time. I've hunted deer in Southern NM the last 4 years during the 2nd week of November and have seen zero rutting activity. They won't start rutting until mid December. You may also see a few coues deer which your tag may be good for as well. If I had your tag, I would have a hard time passing on a 150" muley. Overall, I think the mule deer numbers in the Gila are doing slightly better than they were 5 years ago but that doesn't say much. Since NM does a reasonable job of limiting tags, there are a reasonable % of bucks that will reach 5+ years of age. In unit 16 I would expect to average seeing less than 10 deer per day. There might be some good days that I would see 20 or 30 deer but I also might have a bad day or two that I didn't see any deer. In other states I see a lot more deer. For example, last year in Wyoming I was looking over and average of 50 bucks per day. However, buck to doe ratios and age class are reasonable in Southern NM, so you won't have to look over 100+ deer before you see a buck that is 4+ years old. I've killed 4 bucks in NM in the last 4 years. 2 muleys and 2 coues. One year, I didn't see a single deer while scouting 2 different days a week before the hunt opened and then didn't see a single deer the first two hours of opening morning. I finally spotted a buck about 2 hours after the sun came up and put a stalk on him and killed him about 3 hours later. That was the only deer I saw while scouting or hunting in my unit in Southern NM that year. However he was 32" wide, so I couldn't complain much.
Attached are pictures of couple of my Southern NM mule deer. These are much better than the average buck in Southern NM and I could hunt Southern NM the next 10 years without killing a buck as good as either of these. Fortunately I drew a muley tag in Northern NM this year and should get a good tag in Colorado this year. Send me a PM if you want more information.

 

[TexanSam]

I hunted 16C in 2017 and saw more mule deer than elk. I'm sure once people start shooting them they are harder to find, but I walked right up on one that I would be very confident saying he was over 180 inches.

 

[BrokenArrow]

Dang Brian! Those are some damn good looking deer. If I get half that lucky I will be happy.
I really just want to experience what Sam saw too and hopefully get a shot.

Maybe its not as bad as people are making unit 16 out to be? Thanks for some encouragement.
I just read so many posts and articles that railed on the place.

Now I'll get my ass down there and put in the scouting time to get my own version of the story. Hopefully it ends somewhere near the deer you guys saw.
Appreciate you guys chiming in

 

[Coloradoshedhead]

I hunted 16 in January of ‘18. From my experiences the deer densities are on the low side. It seemed like the deer were very pocketed. When you get there and start putting boots on the ground I am sure you wont have any trouble finding deer sign as we did.
I can only speak for the late archery hunt and not the rifle hunt but most of the deer we found were in the dark timber and glassing was very ineffective.

 

[hank4elk]

..well, if there are no tracks & NO scat then there are NO deer. I have found many places in 16 in recent years with this.
Not saying there aren't any, just not many.
Good luck & good hunting.

 

[mariano742]

So the January rut hunt they’re in timber? But they’re moving presumably. Are they interested in for calls? grunting?

 

[Valley1320]

I elk hunted unit 15 this last fall and saw a few mule deer but not alot. Not enough I would want to deer hunt there. We have better deer hunting in east Central nm where I'm from but we are losing our age class on some of our state land due to be over hunted is my opinion.

 

[Mtm_Mtz]

I hunted 16 in January of ‘18. From my experiences the deer densities are on the low side. It seemed like the deer were very pocketed. When you get there and start putting boots on the ground I am sure you wont have any trouble finding deer sign as we did.
I can only speak for the late archery hunt and not the rifle hunt but most of the deer we found were in the dark timber and glassing was very ineffective.

Got a January hunt here this coming January got any advice? What were the road conditions like at thats time?

 

[The_Jim]

Got a January hunt here this coming January got any advice? What were the road conditions like at thats time?

I have the same tag too. hank4elk may be able to answer this one.

Are the roads decent or is it worth the extra gas money to drag a Side X Side down there?