# Thanksgiving Deer - Youth Hunt



## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

Happy Thanksgiving! Just got back from my daughters late season youth deer hunt in New Mexico. This is the second tag Heidi drew this season, the first was the antelope last month.

The hunt started yesterday (Wed the 21st) and we headed out on Tuesday morning for a 2-1/2 drive to her hunt unit. This tag is a premium hunt with only 4 other tag holders for a 5 day hunt.

After we spotted the travel trailer at a nearby RV park (full hookups - very important, especially when it's cold), we went for a drive to see what was out and about. We spotted this buck (that we named the "sign buck" because we watched him until dark as he was feeding with his does by a big sign that described the Wildlife Management Area we were hunting) bedded about 70 yds from the highway that leads to El Vado Lake state park with about 8 of his does. After looking around for the rest of the afternoon, and spotting a very large 3x4 and a decent 4x4, and several average 3 points and big fork-horns, we figured if this guy gave us an opportunity, we'd take him the next morning.

The next morning found us waking up to 4 deg temps and clear with a storm moving in later that night and into today (Thanksgiving). We didn't spot the "sign buck", but did almost have a chance at the very large 3x4 but pulled a Houdini on us and disappeared. We chased a deer similar to this one, a mainframe 3X4 with a kicker on each side, but to no avail and did what deer do best and put the slip on us as well. Later that day as the deer started to move, the "sign buck" showed up with his does at the exact same place as the 3x4 earlier in the morning and moving the same way out to the sage flats. 

All of a sudden, it was like the other 4 hunters showed up at the same spot when we were trying to get set up for a shot. After they realized what we were doing they moved on, but not before the deer got a little antsy and quickly moved into the trees. We gave them about 5 minutes then eased up and they were feeding out in the open with the "sign buck" in the middle of the does. A quick and clean 100 yd shot put him down with a double lung hit.

Needless to say, the grin says it all and there was no ground shrinkage of any kind. He is a mainframe 4X4 with a 2" kicker on his left side. Heidi was using a 7mm WSM with a 140 gr Accubond - way deadly combo on deer.

Now that this hunt is in the books, next weekend we head down south for the start of her December off-range oryx hunt.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

Wow!! Thats awesome. Congrats!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

So awesome - congrats!


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

Thanks. Finally had a chance to put a tape to the horns, 172-7/8.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

Great buck. I like the sticker on the left side. Congrats.


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

congrats! what part of New Mexico? my grandma lives in Ramah. I love that part of the country


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

NW corner of the state.


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Nice job
Always good to see the kids involved


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## pollo70 (Aug 15, 2016)

Nice Buck..congrats !


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