Home Forums Gear Free Classifieds FS Mule Deer hunts, Pinon, New Mexico

Friend of mine is an outfitter and he also manages this ranch for cattle. His main deal is elk (different area) but did commit to buy the 10 mule deer tags off the ranch. The ranch is near Pinon, 12,000 acres of private, plus about 6,000 acres of public that can't be accessed without trespassing the ranch. The owner bought the ranch 3 years ago. First year they killed no deer, 2nd year 2, this year they're going to harvest 10 bucks and keep that number constant in the future to continue to build the herd.

I will be hunting the first season, Oct 30 thru Nov 3rd with one other person. We have room for 2 or more hunters on this hunt and also for the one later in November. In addition the second bow season is in January and that is during their rutt. The price I have is for the rifle seasons, bow hunters will have to contact him regarding the fee for them since it's a lot longer season, etc.

The deal he's offering is the landowner tag and you get the use of his lodge for $1500 plus taxes and your license. Out of state license is $306. (Sent my $$ in yesterday) The lodge is about 30-40 miles from the ranch. The lodge is approximately 12-15 miles south of Cloudcroft in the Lincoln National Forest. He will normally be out on the ranch while we hunt, depending on other obligations, and will help hunters as much as possible but this is an UNguided hunt. The hunters are responsible for their own food, cooking, hunting equipment, transportation, etc. Just as if you drew a tag on public land and went hunting other than the fact you have a furnished lodge to stay in. Also a walk in chiller for the deer. The lodge has all the amenities of home including a washer and dryer, DSL, satellite tv, etc.

The only thing he's wanting is promotional pictures of the harvested bucks so he can properly market the hunt next year. As he told me he wants good bucks on the ground. A fulled guided mule deer hunt is priced at $4,000 which includes one guide per hunter and meals, lodging, transportation, etc. Personally those are out of my price range... So this is an opportunity to harvest a good New Mexico mulie at a good price. He says there are nice bucks on the property ranging well over 100 and up to some 170-180 class deer. Obviously those aren't common but they are out there. The terrain is high desert, 5500-6300 feet above sea level.

I've done the public land hunts several times and found them to be pretty much a joke. The public lands are so over hunted that it is pure luck to find a decent buck. The locals kill everything the first year it's legal so I'm really looking forward to hunting private where the herds are managed and not shot to death!

If you're interested shoot me a pm. Time is running short and he made this offer so he doesn't get stuck eating the landowner tags. So far I believe 5 tags are spoken for, possibly 6, leaving 4....

The lodge is just south of Cloudcroft and the Private Ranch where the hunting will be occurring is near Pinion?

When is the later season in November? What dates?

sent pm

Sorry to respond so late, been a long day at doctor's offices...

I'll get all the PMs answered and the info sent to Steve so he can respond to some because honestly I don't have all the info that some folks are looking for.

GregW, yes that's right. Lodge is south of Cloudcroft, Ranch is near Pinon off on Highway 24.

The November season is Nov 13th thru Nov 17th. So far there are two hunters from here (San Antonio) booked for that hunt.

I just spoke to Steve and he said that the hunts will be classified as unguided but that either he or one of his guides will accompany pairs of hunters to make sure they don't stray off the ranch onto other private land or have any problems, get hurt, (rattlesnakes), etc. So you will not be given a tag and 'turned loose' on the ranch. My mistake this morning for putting it out like I did but he clarified it. He is a licensed outfitter/guide and if anyone wants to visit his website it is: www.stcoutfitting.com

Also as of tonight he has 4 tags left. He is guiding for archery elk currently so he's out early and back in after dark sometime. If you wish to visit with him send me the info and I'll get it to him so when he has a chance to catch up he'll be in touch.

Most hunting will be done via walking, spotting, stalking, etc. All motorized vehicles are restricted to ranch roads. Even though we have 4 wheelers they are mostly used to get from one place to the other and then we hunt on foot.

It's been pointed out by one of the members here that the private land tag doesn't allow for hunting on the public land. I personally have no clue but am quite sure that Steve will clarify what is legal and what is not... Probably one of the reasons why he wants to make sure somebody from his outfit accompanies the hunters so mistakes aren't made. Either way having 6,000 acres of unhunted land next to your place isn't a bad thing...
Now if they'd only iron some of those hills a little flatter for us old folks!

It would be a good idea to clarify that the hunters are not issued tags by the landowner. The landowner must provide written permission to obtain a license. As you also mentioned, the license is only good for private land unless you drew a permit in the draw.

Correct, except in this case the outfitter takes care of all the paper work. He sends the hunter a packet containing all the legal docs including a power of attorney. The hunter completes the paperwork, encloses a check made payable to fish and game and the outfitter gets the license and he has the landowner tag since he bought them plus whatever other stupid paperwork the government requires. I already sent him my packet and check so it'll get done. He prefers to do it this way so the hunter doesn't screw up when he gets the license. I have to say nobody can screw up wet dreams as bad as the idiots that run the various game and fish agencies in each state. It's becoming a nightmare of dos and don'ts.

As much as New Mexico has done to try and produce decent bucks on public land it's a miserable failure. Nobody is happy and there still aren't any deer worth shooting in most areas. They need to raise the points to a minimum of 4 or 6 and in a short time you'll have quality deer on public land. As long as the meat hunters can shoot forkhorns they will.

Oh, there are plenty of decent bucks on public land in New Mexico, you just actually have to get out of the truck and walk more than a 1/4 mile from it to find them.

I don't mean anything towards you thechamp, just making a general statement about why most people don't think decent bucks exist on public land. I do agree with you I'd like to see NM go to a 3pt. per side minimum like Co has.

Hope you get a good buck on your hunt!

Well I would agree that there are some but the areas we've been hunting don't allow for a half cripple to climb 1000-1500' mountains and walk 2-5 miles back to get them. I used to see some very nice bucks and deer in Curtis canyon, off of 130 southeast of Cloudcroft. There are some big mountains in there as well as some areas that are walkable. 3 years ago I saw 5 bucks in there at one time. 3 were nice but too far off. Other 2 were too small. Last year I scouted the same canyon for several days without seeing a buck period. Also saw one doe where we used to see quite a few deer. That is a huge public area and didn't even appear to be over hunted this time. I guess the natives already knew there wasn't much to hunt. The bucks we did see last year were all on private and acted as if they knew they were safe. Getting up on one of those mountains and then walking miles to kill and pack out a mule deer isn't quite my idea of a good time. I for one can't do that any more and making other people do it for me sucks too. A ruptured disk and a couple of bad knees make things look way different than they used to.

I understand, my dad has a bad hip now and can't make it way back in on foot either.

You should be able to get a good buck on that ranch.

Good Luck,

Bill

Follow up on the mule deer hunt. Killed a very nice 4x4 opening morning. Gross body weight over 200#s. Rack is a nice tall rack. This was the 8th buck that I saw that morning with all the others also being legal, most 4x4s and 3x3s. On Saturday evening when we were leaving the ranch we passed a water tank that had 6 bucks standing by it. 2 of those were outside the ears and nice deer also. My buddy that accompanied me said Saturday ranked as one of his top 10 hunting days ever. He saw a bunch of bucks with several bedded down not far from him for most of the day. He saw one that he said was a 'boomer' but wasn't sure if it was on this ranch or not. Turned out it was. He's enjoying his vacation and said last night that he'll probably take a deer but he wants a good rack whether a monster or not is immaterial. Something that is a 'prototype' mule deer rack so I'm hoping he finds the one he wants. He's out hunting today with the guide/manager.

All the rifle hunts are booked but Steve does have 2 for bow season in January. If anybody is interested they'll need to contact him to see what kind of package they want to put together. He killed a nice buck there last January with a bow so it's definitely doable.

If I can afford it next year I'll be back. I would estimate that including Friday, which was a quick morning scouting trip to the ranch that I've seen 30-40 bucks on the ranch. All sizes, some super nice, some that would be great deer on any land and a lot of younger ones that are looking good for the future.




My personal 12 year jinx on a good mule deer finally was broken! Had seen some on public in the past but they were too far to make a good shot. Then saw nothing decent on public in 09 at all. This one was overdue but worth the wait.

Very nice buck. Would you call this an average or above-average buck for the area?

I would say above average mainly because of his body size. There are some bigger racks for sure but in a few years if Steve can continue managing the ranch and not over hunt it this should be 'average'. He's planning on taking 10 bucks per year and that's it. He's piped water to remote areas where there was no water when he got there. The entire ranch is 20,000 acres with 8,000 being BLM. After hunting it I know now why he's as particular as he is to make sure people don't get on the BLM land as there are pieces mixed into the ranch. I was under the impression originally that the BLM was adjacent and could only be gotten to via trespassing the ranch. Quite a bit is landlocked so this allows the deer to be protected from being overhunted by the public tag folks. He said that a couple weeks back he saw one that was body wise this big if not bigger and had a 28-30" rack. I didn't see him but we drove through that area after I'd killed and saw the rump of a deer as it took off that was huge. There are a lot of younger 4x4 that don't have the size this one did but most should be around next year when they'll be bigger. This one had over a 1/2" of fat under the skin on his frame. Plus fat in the back by the rumps, etc. There are no cattle run on the rear part of the ranch due to the mountains being what they are. So essentially this is all for the deer and nobody bothers them making it virtually a game preserve. Not sure how many acres but we drove several miles through it.

That's a very nice buck for the South Eastern mountains area.

Here is a pic of the one my partner got on Monday. Horns are almost perfect, a little taller and a bit wider than the one I got. Another good deer.