New Mexico 2B late rifle

[dan.kirkpatrick]

well ,,i pulled the late november 2-6 rifle tag this year,,,hope the weather rolls in for me,,,i feel lucky with only a 3.5% chance as a non res just to draw the tag,,hopefully ill do better than when i muzz hunted it in 2011

 

[Western Traveler1]

Wow, good luck Dan. Once was enough for me. I hope you get the snow in Colorado...

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

thanks,,,yes,,i hope a good storm rolls in to get the migration going by nov 1.if anybody has been on the late rifle hunt,feel free to p m me,,,ive been there once on the muzz season in 2011 and struck out,,hope for a score this time,,,1300 miles each way is alot of diesel for a deer,,hopefully i can work it into a combo trip if my other tag draws fall my way.already drew a wyoming cow tag that i can work in i think prier to the nm hunt..and yes,chains for all 4 is a must have on this one.

 

[Western Traveler1]

Sure, I was there 3 years ago. When you see the oil and gas trucks chaining up and the road still looks good, stop and chain up, yep, all four. When I talked to the warden beforehand he said it was a "beer can road hunt by the people coming out of Albacrakie for the first two days looking to kill the first forked horn they see." I scouted for 3 days before the season opened. Hardly saw any other hunters. The afternoon before the opener it looked like Glamis Sand dunes on a Holiday with all the rigs pulling in. The roads had been rained and snowed on, frozen and thawed and trucks and trailers were stuck or sliding off the road to Caracas Mesa and most couldn't pull the two hills. It was a full on comedy. By day 3 half were gone. I found a pinch point where 3 coulee's intersected and had hunters pushing deer by me each time I sat it. This was the best I saw. I passed up a taller wider one but he was just too spindly.
Here is an interesting article. It came out of one of the #2 units. https://www.wideopenspaces.com/new-mexican-hunter-bags-lifetime-mule-deer-buck/
PM on the way...

 

[pojoaque40]

A couple of things you may find useful from a guy who had this hunt a couple years ago...

1) Yes, this hunt is overrated. Sorry to dampen any excitement. As others have said you will see hundreds of does and few bucks. You are also at the mercy of the weather and if the snow (big snow) doesn't come you're looking for local deer.
2) If the purpose of the bike is to get away from other hunters, don't bother. Roads are everywhere in this unit; you can not get away from them. And if the mud is bad, two wheels is worse than four.
3) Again, you're not going to find a spot away from others. Look for small pockets; steep, difficult, overlooked and rocky places that others don't want to hike to or simply drive past. Don't expect distance to separate you from the hordes, find the nooks and crannies.
4) Don't spend the money on scouting months in advance. Your main concern is access and locked gates, not animals. You can figure that out in a couple days before the hunt.

Cheers, and good luck!