Monday, October 20, 2014

Trophy Mule Deer Hunt Offers The Ultimate Adrenaline Kick

By Patty Goff


The age old survival instinct to hunt for food has never really disappeared from mankind's psyche. The excitement of the hunt, tracking down a wild animal and the final ambush still enthrall mankind. Today, trophy hunting is one of the most popular outdoor sports. The outstretched mountainous regions of Northwest and Southwest New Mexico offer some of the best locations for trophy mule deer hunt.

These infinite mountainous fields are home to some of the largest, huge-horned mule deer. Finding the big males with antlers topping 190 inches require more than camouflage dress, enthusiasm and luck. That's why most New Mexico ranches offering 5 day hunts have skilled guides to accompany and assist the hunters to ensure they find their coveted prey.

During season, most ranches accept only a limited number of hunters to make the experience exclusive and to offer them privacy and the free run of the ranch. Two hunters per guide is the general ratio, but one can also get your own private guide at an additional cost. Your changes of scoring that coveted trophy in this areas are a whopping 70% if you know what you are doing.

Five day hunts are the most popular and generally cost between $5,500 and &6,500. Meals, accommodation and other necessities such as landowner tags, state tax, guides, transport on the ranch and state licenses are included in the price. Other luxuries such as gratuities, game processing and taxidermy are charged separately.

The mule deer was named for its large donkey-like ears and is indigenous to the west side of North America. Apart from their bigger ears, they are generally also bigger in size than the ancient white-tailed deer from which they are believed to have evolved. Adult males can weigh anything from 92 kg - 210 kg, while the females can weigh from 43 kg to 90 kg. The mule deer also has a typical black-tipped tail that differentiates it from the white-tailed species.

After shedding its antlers around mid-February, it starts to regrow almost immediately. A typical characteristic of the mule deer is the way it moves with all four feet coming down together - called pronking. Adult males weigh on average around 92 kg but trophy specimen can push the scale up to 210 kg. Females are smaller and average between 43 to 90 kg. They are herd animals and especially the does travel in herds of around five.

To lure the big males that tip the scales at 200 kg and more, one can also effectively use equipment such as the deer bleat or grunt that imitate their sound. Both work equally effective with males and females. Specimen whose antlers reach a whopping 190 plus inches, are the most coveted trophies.

The main natural enemies of these buck are the coyote, the gray wolf and the mountain lion. Smaller, opportunistic predators like bobcats, bears and wolverines generally only prey on young or vulnerable deer or carcasses. Humans remain one of their most dangerous enemies and therefore it is reassuring that the joint efforts of state departments and conservation groups have succeeded in restoring the population of these beautiful animals.




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