Northern Mexico, particularly Sonora, Chihuahua and Coahuila, is, unfortunately, the destination for most international hunters, so travel warnings for that region should not be taken lightly. Still, we currently have 13 reports in our trip planning database on hunts taken in Mexico since November of 2009, and NONE of those reports mention any security concerns. What they do mention is quality hunting. For example, the two reports we featured in our March issue: Paul Dachton took four desert mule deer bucks in the 160- to 180-class in two weeks of hunting, and Rod Fogel passed on 75 Coues bucks before going home empty-handed because he was "looking for something special." Since then, we have received a flood of positive reports on hunts taken in northern Mexico in December 2010 and January 2011well after the State Department travel warning was issued. Most of these reports deal with hunting opportunities around Hermosillo, Sonora.
In early December, W. Laird Hamberlin hunted desert mule deer near Hermosillo with Martin Flores Huerta, booked though Wade Lemon Hunting in Holden, Utah (435-795-2299; www.wadelemonhunting.net). Hamberlin says that Huerta delivered a top-quality hunt, and he reports taking an SCI Gold desert mule deer. He also sought a Coues buck but ran out of time looking for his monster mulie.
The property he hunted is about 150,000 contiguous acres an hour and a half northwest of Hermosillo. According to Hamberlin, game on this group of ranches (including javelina and coyotes) was abundant: "They have year-round water, and they supplement feed as well. These ranches also have some huge desert sheep." According........(continued)
