An Unsuccessful Archery Mule Deer Hunt in New Mexico – Hunt Recap

In 2024, I drew a buck-only, early archery Mule Deer tag in New Mexico. I lived and worked in the unit I drew, and the season was from September 1-24. The success rate in the unit for early archery the year prior was 14%, with, from what I could tell, mostly local hunters. Being new to the area, I knew I’d have my work cut out for me, so I got out scouting as much as I could prior to the season opener. Unfortunately, despite finding a few bucks during pre-season scouting and hunting hard once the season opened, I ran into a few different setbacks that I hadn’t foreseen, and came home a part of the unsuccessful 86%. Despite being unsuccessful, there are still some things that I learned from this experience that I believe will pay dividends down the line. That’s what I wanted to write about today.

A canyon, enveloped in fog as an unexpected monsoon storm rolled in.

This was the first time I’ve ever hunted Mule Deer. It’s also the first time I’ve gone spot-and-stalk hunting in a western state with a tag in my own pocket. The closest I’ve come to that prior to this hunt was tagging along on an elk hunt in Montana with a friend of mine. All of this is to say that this article is largely intended for people in my situation; the things I learned here will probably be things that are blatantly obvious to experienced hunters. That said, let’s get into it.

First of all, when selecting a unit, take seasonal weather patterns into account, and mentally prepare. One of the issues I ran into was that, in Southern New Mexico, it is fucking hot for most of the year - so hot that it makes scouting tough to do safely. If this was a January hunt, this wouldn’t be as big of an issue, as it cools off significantly by that time. For a September season, however, daily temperatures in the 90’s are pretty normal, and the 100’s are not uncommon. It was a pretty horrendous time to be out mid-day, but I powered through that as much as I could. Living in the area and having an outdoor job, I was at least somewhat used to the heat, and still covered quite a lot of ground. I saw several does while doing so, including one I bumped that was about 10 yards away when I saw her. I think the heat probably didn’t help my success rate out, as the bucks were likely bedded down like all those does, and I probably would have had to practically trip over them to find most of them. Obviously, I’m glad overall that I was able to get a tag in my pocket, but I really didn’t mentally prepare for the horrible weather, and it made it difficult to stay positive, especially for a cold weather dweller like me. We’ll touch a bit more on that last bit later.

The Chihuahuan Desert of Southern New Mexico on a hot, sunny day.

Second, don’t skimp on your optics. As a hunter on a bit of a budget, I don’t have much in terms of quality optics; a $150 pair of Vortex binos is all I had to my name at the time. The issue I ran into is probably pretty predictable, I spent a lot of time looking at blurry objects that “might be a deer”, but I wasn’t really sure until I had looked over 2-3 times. If I had spent a little more on better optics and a few bucks on a tripod, it might not have been as big a problem, and I might have found glassing a little less agonizingly tedious. Plus, without a tripod, it’s very difficult to glass longer distances, and I wish I’d invested in one at that time. Next season, expect me to have a much better selection of optics at my disposal, and hopefully, to spend more time glassing as a result.

Third, have more than a couple backup options. On day two of the season, I got flooded out of a good hunting spot by some pretty severe rains. I managed to get out of there, but since I wasn’t going to be able to get back in for a few days, I had to rely on the 2-3 other places I’d scouted (which I hadn’t prioritized during the season) and really didn’t have a ton of luck in those places for various unforeseen reasons. I decided to fall back on some other locations that I hadn’t spent much time in at all, and some were more productive than others, To summarize, I wish I’d spent more time checking out backup locations during pre-season scouting.

Fourth and finally, stay positive. It’s easy to get discouraged when you’re not finding deer in places you thought you’d find them, or for climate factors like a sudden rainstorm or brutal heat, or just because you’re tired. I will admit, I found myself struggling to stay positive at numerous times on this trip, and it probably didn’t help my odds much. Admittedly, other things in my life were contributing to that; a shitty day job and problems in my personal life among them. That aside, negativity gets you nowhere. You need to wake up every day operating under the assumption that this will be the day you’re successful against the odds. Next time I’m out there, you can expect I’ll be keeping a better attitude about bad weather, difficult terrain, and elusive quarry.

Despite my freezer remaining empty, I got a lot out of this hunt. For one, as the old unsuccessful hunter’s adage goes, it was just nice being out there. The Chihuahuan Desert is a subtly beautiful and indescribably rugged landscape, it’s difficult to even cover ground because of the limestone crumbling off the hills under your feet with every step. I slipped a fell several times. I saw beautiful birds, reptiles, and even amphibians. At one point, I fell and impaled my leg on a yucca and had to patch myself up. It was type 2 fun all the way, with enough type 1 mixed in to keep it interesting. I also learned a great deal about the unit for the future in case I hunt there again, and not just for deer; I’m going back to hunt Javelina this year as well. All-in-all, while not the most glamorous hunt I’ve ever been on, it was a neat learning experience, and I’m glad I went. I still feel like I have unfinished business there. Sooner than later, I’ll be back.

The sun setting over the Chihuahuan Desert. Brazilian Free-tailed Bats from a nearby cave flew over this draw as the sun set.