Thought I'd tell about the hunt here at the ranch over the past 3 days.

GMoney, as many of you know him from here... came up from Texas, along with his dad & a couple of other friends of mine for their first mule deer hunt. The weather started out COLD...& snowy. Then it gave way to highs in the 60's & lows in the 20's...So, it was cold.

The ranch backs up to Natl. Forset on 2 sides here, so there was plenty of areas to hunt. High ridges, deep, brushy draws.....Not real rough terrain, but it can wear you out after a day of climbing those.

I got all the guys lined out, & went out with the guys to get them kinda familiar with the hunting area, & so the first day went...with everyone seeing deer, but nothing that afforded a shot.

On the second day, AzKiote & myself got on horses to reach the top of a remote long canyon a couple of ridges over. Our idea was to ride down the in the bottom of the canyon, to see what we would run to the other hunters in our group.

Although it is Natl Forest, the area cant be accessed by other hunters, unless they have horses, or want a long pack into here.  
Az & myself started coming down the canyon after a lengthy ride up to the crest where we saw several hunting parties at the head of the canyon. They were for the most part, nice guys.

As we headed down the canyon we were riding into the deep draws along the sides of the main canyon, hoping to flush out a nice buck.....
On one of the ridges to the draw along the canyon, we saw GMoney & his dad....
We went over to the on the high ridge & saw that GMoney's dad, Olin, had downed a nice 9 point mulie....(I'll let GMoney tell that story & the mountain lion story along with it...LOL)

We loaded the deer, slung over the saddle like a lawman would do an outlaw he killed in the Old West, & started towards headquarters.......

Upon getting home, one of the other hunters, Jim had had a long shot at a nice 8 point buck that day, but, not having a good rest, had shot under the buck....

It seemed like the day's hunting had produced a sighting of at least 3-4 shooter bucks, & another 20-25 deer that were does, or not identifiable.
Not a bad day at all....

Day 3,....... (today) turned out windy. The deer were all kinda holding to the draws to escape the wind, (& hunters...LOL). There were several deer seen, but nobody connected....Late afternoon came & the wind died down some, but was still kicking pretty good....The hunters loaded up & started the 9 hour drive home.


One thing I might mention is the effort that GMoney & his dad spent today trying to help flush deer for the remaining hunters that had not killed a deer. They walked their tails off....It was really nice to see the frendships develop, & at no time did I see an ounce of selfishness....not 1 argument.....Everybody that was here was a real pleasure to hunt with. The type you "Ride the river" with.

Nice hunt guys....I enjoyed having you. I hope we can do the hunt again next year.....

Congrats to Olin, on his nice buck! It was one of the better bucks I'd seen in here all year......  I'm sure GMoney will post pics & his story as well.

Gee, Bush won the election, had good friends here at the ranch....Including our own AzKiote......Whom is, I might mention, a genuine, true blue type of guy....He is very knowledgable about all phases of hunting & outdoor adventures.....Az, I enjoyed it, Amigo....Can't wait til next time...

Great hunt....

Rockinbbar

Sounds like a great time and it was a good story.  Hope to see those pics and the rest of the stories soon.  RockinBBar, I am surprised that I didn't read about Azkiote depleting the entire coyote population of New Mexico.  Perhaps that is to come later.  I bet everyone was real pleased seeing so many deer and sounds like pretty country too, especially to GMoney and Olin I bet, after coming out of the plains and desert of West Texas.  Closest thing to a ravine we have around here is the arroyo out back which is only 5 feet deep or so.

Glenn,

AZ & myself were doing some practicing on the deck one evening....Man! we had them stirred up!....There were 'yotes all over the place challenging & howling.....they just KNOW better than to get within 300 yards of my deck...

Actually, we were goimg to do more calling, but some of the better calling spot in the natl. forest were over run by lots of deer hunters....We didn't feel like getting shot at....LOL.

Different story when I hold the coyote event in Feb. though.....I know you are coming for that aren't you?

Rockinbbar

I suppose that wouldn't have went over to well, calling and shooting coyotes in the middle of folks' deer hunt. I'm sure they appreciated your restraint. I had some guys hunting dove behind my bow stand, and I am having mixed feelings. It's public land, and dove were still in season. BUT, they know people bowhunt and gun hunt later in that area, and there are better places to dove hunt. They also pushed some deer towards me, but how many did they push away? At any rate, the ones I saw were pretty nervous. Noticed something though. When they were shooting the deer weren't to bothered, but the second they heard voices.....I thought Sea Biscuit was in front of me.
 
 I'm making plans for February, you bet.  Maybe I'll bring another fellow with me, he's done some pest control down around San Antonio for the ranchers there.  Don't think he has any experiance calling either though.

Cool,

Check the post in Varmint/Predator section.

Rockinbbar

Hey Rockin',
 
Just thought I'd let you know I made it home ok.  Got sorta lost in 'Cruces, but finally found my way west again!  Made it home in just over 5 hours.
 
Rockin', I doubt that words can express the appreciation I feel toward you and your wife!  I only hope that I can one day re-pay your kindness in inviting myself and the others to your home.
 
I had a great time, and I'm looking forward to shooting a few of those coyotes we had worked up the other night when I return in February!  There's sure a bunch of them around there; who knows, maybe we'll nail that cat if you haven't done him in by then.
 
Mucho gracias, mi amigo!
 
Daryl

Gmoney,

Here's what pic's I have.  Sure thought I took more than this, but this is what came out of the camera.  The last one is rockin' pushing out a side draw.
 
Daryl

Cool Pics Az!

Thanks.

Rockin'

Hey Az, thanks for posting those..All I've got to do is go pick mine up from Wally-World and I'll get them on..,,plus my internet is acting up... but thanks buddy...

You're welcome amigo.
 
Daryl

That's some pretty country. Looks like you guys had a great time. I can't wait to get down there for coyotes.