NM September Mule Deer

[KRYPTICENGINEER]

Hello,

I drew my first Archery Buck tag this year for Northern NM. I'm curious what to expect from them in September. I have spent a lot of time on elk hunts so I'm am rather familiar with the unit and what to expect as far as managing expectations.

I just don't know what kind of activity to expect from the bucks that time of year. It's going ot be hot and as those you from here know we hard up for moisture in NM.

I'm afraid I might have to sit at a water hole all month until one gets thirsty lol

Any insight on the buck activity this time of year is greatly appreciated.

I will be going on my second scouting/camping trip for fathers day and will be setting up some game cams. Not sure if its way too early or not but I guess it can't hurt.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bluffgruff]

If you're in desert/low elevation area, water will work. If in the "mountains" then you'll have summer feeding/bedding patterns until the end of the first week of September. After that, things start changing, especially after they shed velvet. Scouting now will help if you have a tag for the first half of September, but it will only be somewhat helpful for 2nd half.

 

[KRYPTICENGINEER]

If you're in desert/low elevation area, water will work. If in the "mountains" then you'll have summer feeding/bedding patterns until the end of the first week of September. After that, things start changing, especially after they shed velvet. Scouting now will help if you have a tag for the first half of September, but it will only be somewhat helpful for 2nd half.

Thanks for the response.

I will be in the 8600 elv range. And there are a couple reliable water sources in the area so if I have to sit at water I know a couple spots. But it will mostly be mountians. I'm guessing the heat will keep them bedded most of the day then.

My tag is for Sept 1st-24th so I am planing first week and half and then long weekends due to work schedule. But maybe the second half of the month could be more fruitful.

 

[swhunt21]

With all the rain we have been getting this summer, water probably wont be key to your strategy. Patterning mule deer in September at that elevation should not be much different from the summer time.
You are absolutely correct about the deer wanting to bed most of the day. I had a muzzleloader hunt last year at the end of September (within similar elevation) and found the bucks did not move at all from their established patterns from the hot summer months.
My key to success was getting out well before daybreak and catching the bucks on their way back to bed. In my particular situation the bucks would feed at the bottoms of the canyons throughout the dark hours of the morning and start making their way up the rims as the sun started to rise, without fail I would catch them traveling from feed to bed right as the sun started to peak.