NM Unit 33 rifle mulie

[Adrianpops]

Hello All,
I was fortunate enough to draw a tag in Unit 33 in New Mexico for the 2nd rifle season. I've never hunting this unit before, nor have I hunted any sand dune terrain, so was looking to get some tips and tactics on where I might look for some mulies in this unit. I'm a little concerned about the oil field traffic and I'm used to hunting the mountains so it will be a new type of hunting for me. As a kid I grew up hunting the Guadalupe national forest. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[prhunter]

Hello! Would like to see a new member intro.

How's the hunting lately in the Guads? Any place in particular I can look for deer up in the Guadalupes?

 

[Adrianpops]

Hello! Would like to see a new member intro.

How's the hunting lately in the Guads? Any place in particular I can look for deer up in the Guadalupes?

Sorry I've never posted in a forum before and recently subscribed to eastman's. I'm originally from nm. My family all used to hunt the Guadalupe's. All over from brokeoff mountains to pinon. Elk hunted the sacramentos a couple of times in unit 34. I took about a 10 year break from hunting though for other obligations and got back into the hunting grove 3 years ago but now as a non resident. Odds are tough for a nonres now but I was fortunate to draw for unit 33, which I've heard a lot of good things about.

So back to your question about the Guadalupe's. Good deer can be had but finding public lands away from the crowd can be difficult. If you're looking for any legal deer and just meat in the freezer we always tend to get at least one buck out. Unit 30 is a fairly large unit with several different types of terrain. Last year while tagging along with my nephews I saw some hunters coming out with a nice 150 class buck. They came out of the Armstrong area but there was a truck or utv around just about every bend. They came out from way back west toward the thicker pinons of the rim. One thing to note in some areas that used to be public are now private but only right along the road meaning all the public land is blocked by the private land but you can find access to the public land in some spots but will be a lot of walking. A lot of people road hunt so if you don't mind walking to the areas where there's not public access near by that's your best bet. Not that you can't find deer of the road if that's your hunting style. Funny thing is the biggest deer I was able to harvest was seen from the road after walking miles earlier. Biggest deer I've seen was off the beaten path. Find areas with limited road access or hard to access roads, the rougher roads can sometimes be better. I've seen more utv's last year than ever, which helps to get to those harder to reach areas.

 

[D_Dubya]

I'll be hunting 1st rifle season south and east if you in unit 31, wish I could help but the only thing I've ever seen of either unit was through the windshield at 80mph

 

[Adrianpops]

Same here. Always heard of nice deer coming from there but guess we'll see what happens.

 

[Doe Nob]

Same here. Always heard of nice deer coming from there but guess we'll see what happens.

How'd the hunt go? I drew the same tag for this fall.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

Any reports back on scouting or hunting?

 

[D_Dubya]

How'd the hunt go? I drew the same tag for this fall.

Did you draw unit 33 or 31 - only asking about 31 because you quoted a reply to my reply about 31. I can tell you the one thing I learned about hunting the sand Hills is glass, glass, glass. That’s true everywhere but the deer in those units seem to bed and hide in stuff that looks like it would barely hold a jackrabbit, much less a deer. I had a fun hunt but never fired a shot. Saw lots of deer, just didn’t see any mature bucks. We had warm weather and a full moon, so that didn’t help any.

 

[Doe Nob]

I drew unit 33 for this fall, the late hunt. I have done some scouting in 31 before.

 

[Adrianpops]

Sorry guys been off the posts for a while. I did get a buck last year. 7 point. Not a monster but decent. Nephews all got deer to, 8 and 6 point. The unit I hunted was 33. Deer in this unit seem to be really big bodied/ fat. Guess maybe the shinery oak out there, dunno, but was surprised. Brother drew for the same tag this year so we've been scouting it again. My hunt last year was the best hunt I've ever been on. Saw multiple buck's every day. Glassed from the cap and tops of high dunes then pursued when we saw buck's we wanted to go after. Saw some good bucks last year. Biggest probably 160 - 170, class but never could get on them, so settled for something smaller to put meat in the fridge. This year scouting has not been any different. See plenty of bucks every day. Saw a couple of really big ones (one with double drop tines) so hoping to get on him but as luck would have it he'll probably be somewhere else once season starts. I'm no expert on the unit by any means but from my scouting efforts I would say that if you can draw a line from loco hills to the Roswell highway anything east of that line is where i've seen the biggest and most bucks. That's where the deep sand dunes are. There are some big ones out there for sure. I've seen pics from other hunters that had deer 28" wide. Actually glad one up last year while scouting that was approx 3-4" past his ears on each side but couldn't find him during the hunt, my luck I guess but they're out there if you can find them during the hunt. Good luck to all.