Rio Costilla Park - The ranch only recently opened Mule Deer hunting to the public. After evidence indicative of an abundance of trophy class mule deer, management opened a few tags to hunt these elusive Timber Bucks or "Chivatos", Spanish for Top Dog! The Mule Deer hunts are conducted in early September during the archery season into October to early November for the firearm season.
This is a great time to hunt this majestic big game species as they adorn their velvet majestic crowns. They are usually less skittish and tend to gather in bachelor herds of 2 to 6 bucks. The bigger bucks will pair up for protection purposes. Decoys work rather well as do tree stands, and ground blinds strategically placed by our team in well worked trails and gathering areas. Deer can be found throughout the high country as well as the lower farmlands. This is a great spot and stalk hunt using archery equipment. There are a limited amount of tags available so only a few archery mule deer hunters will have the entire 85,000 ranch to themselves. Expect to see lots of deer and bucks in the 135-180 class range. Bigger bucks have been seen and recorded.
A nice mule deer buck taken while archery hunting in New Mexico
Our trophy archery elk hunters have the opportunity to add on a "trophy-fee basis" a mule deer buck combined with their primary trophy archery elk hunt. What does this mean? If you book a trophy archery elk hunt with Rio Adventures, you can add a mule deer archery hunt on a trophy fee basis which requires you purchase a non-resident private land deer license for hunting unit 55A. If during your primary elk hunt you have an opportunity to harvest a trophy buck (4x4 or better/ranch policy) you may harvest it and pay a $2,000 trophy fee. If during your primary archery elk hunt you don't harvest a trophy buck you're out only the cost of the non-resident deer license which is $290.00. Expect 135-180 class bucks on this hunt.
If you harvest a trophy elk early you may want to add a trophy mule deer or bear hunt to your itinerary. The cost of additional hunt days is $200 a day, plus the trophy fees which is $2,000 for mule deer and $800 for black bear. This is a great way to extend your trophy hunt and add other species to the adventure.
A New Mexico mule deer taken on a hunt with Rio Outdoor Adventures
This hunt is conducted right after the archery elk hunts in late September. Only two spots on the ranch are available each year for this great hunt. You and your buddy, son, daughter, wife, mother-in-law need I go further...will have the entire 85,000 acres as your hunting domain as you and your guide search for a big buck worthy of your trophy room. This is an excellent time to hunt mule deer bucks with black powder as they are still in a docile state and continue to reside in bachelor groups. Spot and stalk are great strategies, and the use of ground blinds and tree stands in high use areas have proven to be successful tactics as well. Expect to see buck in the 135-180 class range with bigger seen and recorded.
A trophy mule deer seen on a mountain side in New Mexico
Preferred methods of hunting this wiley trophy are to locate high vantage points, glass and then stalk. Long range shooting may be required to harvest the mature timber buck, which roam the high mountain country. Snow and cold weather may move the bucks down and offer the opportunity to track and stalk as well. A well-placed ground blind in active deer areas is also a good strategy. This is a 1x1 guide to hunter ratio hunt This hunt is an excellent opportunity to harvest a 160-200 class buck, in excess of 250 pounds in most cases. This is an exciting and truly adventurous hunt for the trophy-minded hunter.
