Buddy of mine is in Iraq and has put in for a archery Mule deer hunt around Farmington in January. He's a wheel guy but I'm trying to convert him.
My question is, anyone have any experience with this area and time frame? He's invited me to go but I'm stictly traditional and I'm wondering about the average shot disitance, temps, snow, success rate etc..
I have no direct experience, but have talked to an outfitter about the late season hunt. Apparently there are ambush and tree stand opportunities as the mulies come into fields to feed. I wouldn't worry about shot distance. Just go.
Geeze, I just typed a long detailed response ... and lost it somehow before it posted. Here's the short version: The area immediately around Farmington is pounded with hunters and cut to shreds with gas wells and roads. I've done the winter hunt a couple of times and not seen a decent buck, or many deer at all. Not a good hunt and not worth the nonresident price for a tag. Going south and west, between Bloomfield and the Apache Reservation, there's a lot of promising looking land I've not explored, mostly BLM I think, with more woods cover and rolling hills. That's where I'd check out. More fun would be to go way south where you can hunt Coues whitetail, javalina and quail, either NM or AZ. Dave
ttt
Unit 2 is a tough hunt to draw. There are some good bucks in the area. Most of them come out of southern Colorado.
I grew up north of Aztec right on the Animas river and have killed some nice deer there - mainly before the BLM land was overrun with natural gas wells and all the roads that go with it.
If your buddy gets drawn, closer to the state line is typically better if there is snow in the hi country to the north. The deer will move down into the sage brush and get on to the farms at night. Another area to look at is La Plata which is NW of Farmington. Lots of farms, but there are patches of BLM land. The key will be the number of hunters on it.
The deer hunting in unit 2 can be phenomenal. Hard to tell you the average shot distance - 20 yards and under is definitely possible, 30 and out more likely. Temps are usually not too bad - in the 30's likely, but it can get much colder. Lots of clear sunny days with cold mornings and very comfortable mid days. December and January are great times to hunt if there has been weather in Co. Last year in Jan, driving from Aztec to my parents farm, I saw ~14 roadkill deer - all from crossing over from the sage to the farms on the river. I just dont have any recent experience to share and I know the drilling and other gas/oil work has had an impact on habitat.
good luck - it is a fun place to hunt!
zane
Thanks for the detailed info. I've been looking at the areas on Google and compared to the hunt maps available on the N.M. wildlife site. Can you hunt anywhere but private and indian land? It doesn't appear to be marked or fenced most of the time according to the aerial photos.
I was wondering about all those well pads and roads. It appears that you can drive into within a few 100 yards of any spot on the map! Do you have any pics of the local terrain? I'd like to see what it looks like from ground level.
How do ground blinds work out there, do mulies spook at the sight of them? I've found a few ponds with likely ambush corridors and thought a pop blind might do the trick.
It appears do-able if we can just get drawn.
I grew up in Bloomfield and have hunted unit 2 a lot. I would put in for unit 2B which is east of Bloomfield. The unit borders The Jicarilla Apache Reservation on the East and the Colorado border on the North. There are a lot of deer there in January that migrate down from Colorado along with some very good bucks. As Dave said there are lots of gas wells and lots of roads. But it is mostly public land and still has some pretty big areas that are roadless or are gated off to motor vehicles in the winter. If you draw the tag I would be glad to give you some pointers. Rick
Thank you guys for all the help. If I get drawn I'll be asking even more questions. I'd like to see some pics from hunts gone by in this area. Anyone have any?
Just put in for it. If I don't start trying for some hunts I'll never do it. It has been my life long dream to do this and if I do it now i never will.