New Mexico Unit 31 deer

[RogerSanchez]

Hi there guys. I have a hunt next week in unit 31 in New Mexico. What are realistic expectations as far as antler size and deer numbers? I've heard mixed reviews regarding deer densities and I've been told that bucks are generally small in this unit. We drew this tag in the guided draw and hired an outfitter for the 2 day minimum. We have a plan of attack for the rest of the hunt if we don't succeed with our outfitter. Thanks for your input.

Roger

 

[RogerSanchez]

Hunted this unit last week. I've never encountered more hunting pressure anywhere out west than I did in 31. There were people all over the place. I'd hike a few miles off the road, setup on a ridge to glass and start glassing up hunters all over. Also, the deer are paranoid! I'd crawl up a hill, 800 yards from a small buck and he'd be staring back wide eyed, haha. I managed to scratch out a 100" buck on day 4 of the season, but I firmly believe G&F issues way too many tags for this unit. We didn't see any big bucks. Lots of small bucks and does. Definitely not a hunt I'd recommend to anyone

 

[aggie_2010]

I hunted unit 31 between Hobbs and Carlsbad 3 years ago. Hunting pressure wasn't too bad then, but we did see hunters in the field. You can see for miles in some places though. We saw a hand full of small bucks over 5 days, and caught a glimpse of one buck as he topped a ridge and disappeared. He looked like a good one, but we never got a good look. I ended up shooting a big forky towards the end of the hunt. He's far from being a "trophy" buck, but I was extremely happy to have him since it was my first mule deer tag to punch. This year I hunting in WY (unit 64) on a general tag, and thought there were more hunters than deer. In fact, I saw many does, but only one dinky buck after 5.5 days of hunting dawn to dusk.

 

[rmartin719]

Hi there guys. I have a hunt next week in unit 31 in New Mexico. What are realistic expectations as far as antler size and deer numbers? I've heard mixed reviews regarding deer densities and I've been told that bucks are generally small in this unit. We drew this tag in the guided draw and hired an outfitter for the 2 day minimum. We have a plan of attack for the rest of the hunt if we don't succeed with our outfitter. Thanks for your input.

Roger

How did the hunt go ?