Hunting mule deer for the first time...advice needed!

Be out there ready to shoot as soon as legal hunting hours began!

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Ha I hear that. I know there's more to being successful than just that though haha.

I am fairly knew to mule deer hunting myself, two unsuccessful seasons under my belt. Unsuccessful as far as harvesting goes, but I did learn a lot/am still learning a lot! Another good thing to do is on the first day kill a buck you would take on the last day. Don't pass up a buck with the hopes of finding something bigger cause it may not happen. This doesn't apply as much to the seasoned hunters who are just in search of trophy bucks, but as far as us newbies, we shouldn't be too picky! I had a chance at a massive 4x4 last year in southern utah, however I let buck fever get the best of me and so I misjudged the distance to the buck. Causing me to over shoot the deer, from that experience I learned to keep your wits about you, and get really good at judging distances and or buy a rangefinder. haha Sit still and glass, If you hike around too much you can often scare the deer away before you see them. Not always true, but something to think about! The farther you can shoot and get a hit, the better. IMO. Be determined and dont get discouraged! If you dont fill your tag this year, then try next year! Aside from that I can't help much more, It is up to the amazing hunters on this forum to decide to help you or not now. The longer you stick around and the more you contribute the more help you get I have found! I wish you the best of luck on your hunt!

Thanks Scott for all the advice. I plan on being a much more normal member on this site as I just moved to NM. I'm not the kind of member to just want help and offer nothing! I'm going to learn from the locals here in clovis as much as I can and will be happy to pass along what I learn. Thanks again.

No problem! And thanks! I hope you're successful!!

Anyone else?

Beuller?

before the season begins, do as much scouting as u can. obviously it depends how close u are to ur hunting location, but scouting is huge. as far as the hunt goes, do lots of glassing. my a.d.d. always gets the best of me, and i never sit and glass like i should. so make sure u have good optics. make sure u are capable of making long shots, whether its rifle or bow, out here ur shots are most likely gonna be long. mule deer dont respond well, if at all, to calls, scents, or whatever, so dont bother, (yes there are exceptions). ive never hunted in new mexico so im not 100% sure but the deer should be in the rut when ur hunting, so if u find the does u will find the bucks. if u have any other questions just ask.

Glass, glass, and glass some more. Your hunt will be in/approaching the rut, so it might not apply as much to you as it does earlier in the seaon, but if I see one buck, I always scour the brush and usually turn up more than one.

Bump...

That time of year, the bucks will be rutting. So if you find groups of does, you should see some good bucks with them. I would talk to some of the locals about where the deer hang out that time of year.

Welcome. I agree with what has been said already, that time of the year the bucks are either in full blown rut mode are really close, I'm not sure how far south your unit is but they should be pretty rutty. I also like to glass if possible, and since the it will be the rut if you find a group of does look closer, there should be a buck in the same general area. Get to know your unit too, if it's been dry find the water holes, and you'll find the deer. Have fun it should be a pretty sweet hunt.