Just got back from hunting on a 12,000 acre private ranch near Pinon, New Mexico. I killed on opening morning and my bud waited for a nicer one and killed his on Monday. Both weighed live over 200# and both had nice racks. The one I killed was the 8th buck I saw that morning. Several others were also very shootable but this one was a bit heavier in the body.






Best hunt I've ever been on. Weather was great and the number of good to decent bucks was unbelieveable. If I can swing it cash wise next year I'll be back. He limits the number of bucks to 10 for what amounts to 20,000 acres. 12,000 is the ranch and 8,000 acres of BLM that are landlocked inside the ranch so they're safe there too. He still has 2 tags left for archery season in January when their rutt is open so if anyone is interested pm me and I can put you in touch with him. He's a licensed outfitter as well as manages a herd of cattle on this ranch as his 'full time' job. They acquired it 3 years ago and didn't take any deer the first year. Took 2 last year and a total of 10 this year. (10 including his own and a family member - 8 tags available otherwise)

I hunted a private ranch for two years in Pinon. 4milemuleys. Great area and alot of deer! Congrats.

Mongo

nice deer how much was the hunt and was there lodging on the property?

Great muley buck and story - thanks for sharing!

His regular price for a fully guided hunt, meals, lodging and other services is $3,500 per hunter for 2 hunters with one guide. Currently the lodging was at his place 30 miles away but he's working on getting a camp house up and running on the place for the future. Our hunts were essentially self guided but he was there to make sure we didn't get on BLM land or off the main ranch and we covered all our own expenses etc., for a 'first time hunt' at $1500 plus license cost. He instructed us where to hunt and then basically let us hunt. He wanted to get some deer harvested so he could show people next year what to expect. I didn't really expect to see the number of quality bucks that I did. I knew it had deer from another guide who has been on the ranch in the past just looking it over. I'm not sure what he'll do on prices next year nor what he'll get on the archery hunts. They are a different hunt with more days, etc. He is an archery hunter also and did kill his buck last January. Their deer are rutting then but the conditions can be brutal. Lots of snow and ice last January...

I have two more friends from the local area who'll be hunting the second season later this month and I'll post their pics when I get them. The only reason somebody wouldn't harvest a deer is because they simply wanted a monster and that don't always work out like you hope. We did see some bigger ones but couldn't get shots at them.

Once I know what he has in mind for next year I'll post it in the classifieds or if you want to, pm me and I'll send you the info when I get it. It will probably not be until after the 1st of the year when he decides what he's going to do next year. FWIW he used to work for me when he lived in San Antonio so we've been friends for 15+ years. He's good people and runs a first class 'legal' operation. He knew those of us that went this time around so he didn't have to hire guides or go through the hassle of running it like a regular paid hunt. We basically paid for the land owner tag and gave him the rights to use the pics for promos next year.

Until this year I hunted public land in New Mexico and struck out every year when it came to getting a decent buck. I did see some really good ones about 3 years back on public but they were right at 400 yards out and I didn't have a decent rest to make that kind of shot. I went back last year thinking I'd figured them out and didn't see a single deer in that public area. Really disgusting to spend the money for the license and trip only to come home empty handed. I didn't want to shoot a 2x2 or 1x2 and that was about all I saw on public that was close enough to shoot. So this was definitely a trip I'll never forget. Next year I'll know more what to expect and probably hunt longer to get a bigger one. This was a case where a good buck was there and I needed to break my New Mexico jinx!

The back pastures are in the mountains and they don't allow the cows and calves back there so that area literally becomes a game preserve for most of the year. He's added 40,000 feet of plastic pipe to the ranch already and has water in the back for the deer to drink. He's still going to add more pipe and more water troughs just for the deer herd. I really believe next year that we can get bigger ones if we're patient. Of course that's a hard thing to do.

congrats!

Here is the link to the story my hunting partner wrote on another site:

http://blaserbuds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2814

I met this gentleman on the blaserbuds website and when the invitation was made for these hunts he joined us for the hunt. Since I've known Steve for as long as I have this gives ya'll a look from someone else's standpoint.

Thanks! I haven't heard of that ranch but I'll ask Steve about it. I've been a whitetail hunter all my life and understand them fairly well. The Mule deer is a way different animal when it comes to 'hiding in plain sight'! I've glassed public land before and obviously didn't find much of anything, especially compared to this place. At one point we watched 8 does go under a tree and disappear from view. The tree wasn't very big and just driving by you'd never have believed that many deer were hidden under it.

Since you've been there the ranch headquarters is on Steven's Draw that runs into the south side of Pinon. Also 506 runs through the ranch.

Hey I'm glad your hunt went well, actualy from the story and pics, VERY WELL. I'm trying to get over passing up on this hunt. At least if you do it next year it will give me time to scheduel off and time to save up some extra cash.

Jesse
I'll be sure to send you the pics from the guys that are going out on the 17th! They're both in 'mountain' shape and should do really well too. Yeah would have been great to had you and Craig along on this one. Some day he'll get permission to do something...lol I need to send him the pics. Maybe he'll be inspired enough to come along next year.

You only live once and when you get to the end of the road you can't go back and do these things then. I'm getting there faster than I like to admit.

thechamp....PM sent! I'm like you were....a big 0 for 2 in NM on muzzle load hunts!

Good deal and some nice Muleys. Congrats!!

great looking Mulies, congrats

Very nice...I was just north of you near Capitan during muzzleloader season....shot a small buck...