Borderland Bucks: In Search of the Carmen Mountain Whitetail

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Unless you have access to private aircraft, there is no fast and easy way to get to Cibolo Creek Ranch outside of Marfa, Texas. If you don’t live within driving distance of this isolated corner of the Lone Star State, your best bet is to fly to El Paso, rent a vehicle, drive east on I-10 to Van Horn, head south on Highway 90 to Marfa, then pick up Highway 67 south to the entrance to the ranch. All told, the drive from the airport will take about 4 hours.

If you arrive at the turnoff to the ranch after dark, it is advisable to turn on your high beams for the 4 1/2-mile drive to the 1800s-era fort that has been transformed into a magnificent hunting lodge. This is to avoid collisions with camels and other free-ranging exotic species that live on the ranch, which spans some 30,000 acres in the foothills of the Chinati Mountains.

As you’ve likely guessed, I am speaking from experience. Indeed, this is how my hunt for Carmen Mountain whitetails last December began. Due to the fact that my friends and I arrived after dark, we had to wait until daybreak to confirm our rifles’ zeroes before heading out after the diminutive deer.

LITTLE-KNOWN LITTLE DEER

When it comes to whitetail subspecies recognition, I would wager that most people have heard of Coues deer, some are familiar with the Columbian whitetail of the Pacific Northwest or the Keys deer of South Florida, and very few have heard of the Carmen Mountain whitetail (Odocoileus virginianus carminis). This stands to reason since the Carmen’s distribution range is incredibly small, comprising only a few mountain ranges, including the Chinati and the deer’s namesake Sierra del Carmen, in the Big Bend area of the U.S.-Mexico border.

In terms of size, the Carmen Mountain whitetail is only slightly smaller in both body size and antlers than its fellow desert-dwelling cousin, the Coues. This small stature is a product of the extremely hot and arid country in which both subspecies live.

But, as they say, size is relative, which was evident in ranch manager Tom Davis’s voice as he excitedly showed my friends and me photos of a buck his head guide, Trent Whitesell, had captured earlier in the day. The buck sported a chocolate-colored 5-by-5 rack and looked as if it hadn’t missed a meal in quite some time.

“That’s a toad,” Davis said in a slow Texas drawl between sips of his ranch water. “That’s a buck y’all need to go after tomorrow.”

AN EVENTFUL MORNING

After breakfast the next day, the ride from the lodge to the range in Whitesell’s 6-passenger side-by-side was quick, and I was sighting in my Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed under pink skies before the sun had crested the surrounding mountains.

Fortunately, the gods of air travel had had mercy on our rifles, and we were off to the mountains in search of Carmen whitetails without undue delay. No more than 10 minutes after leaving the range, Whitesell eased the Kawasaki Mule to a stop, took up his binocular and trained his gaze on a hillside some 400 yards distant. “There he is,” the guide said matter-of-factly as the rest of us, still taking in the surrounding beauty of the ranch, scrambled to grab our own binoculars.

Sure enough, the very buck Tom had showed us on his phone the night before, unmistakable in the moment even to the naked eye, was standing amongst the yucca and cholla and mesquite mere feet from a bedded doe (the rut was in full swing). Whitesell shifted the Mule into drive and eased up the road and out of sight of the deer. “We’ll go around this hill, park, then climb up and over and stalk as close as we can get,” said Whitesell. “As long as that doe stays bedded, he’s not going anywhere.”

Before we’d left the range, it had been decided that I would be the first on the gun. As much as I didn’t want my hunt to be over in the first half-hour, I fully understood that the buck we were going after was exceptional and not one to be passed on. Once the Mule was parked, I slid the detachable box magazine into the rifle, chambered a round and got in lockstep with Whitesell as he carefully picked his way to the top of the ridge. He hit the brakes as soon as he could see across the draw and raised his range-finding bino to his eyes.

“He’s straight across, 120 yards,” he told me as he extended the legs on his tripod shooting stick. When the stick was in place, I eased up behind Trent, set the forearm of my rifle in the shooting saddle, found the buck in my scope and squeezed off a round. The buck ran all of 20 yards downhill before piling up. Within minutes of leaving the range, my hunt was over. Fortunately, we had three more tags to punch.

After snapping a few photos, gutting the deer and loading it into the front basket of the side-by-side, we set off again in search of a buck for my buddy Colton. As luck would have it, within 45 minutes we encountered a deer that made mine look like a dink. After a careful stalk and a well-placed shot, our party was two-for-two before the coffee in our travel mugs had had a chance to cool.

STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND

Whitetail hunting is often thought of as a solitary experience in which the hunter sits alone amongst nature, cautiously observing his surroundings, taking great care not to let his presence be known to the other living things nearby—a true fly-on-the-wall experience.

Our hunt at Cibolo Creek Ranch stood in stark contrast to this idea. For starters, stealth was not a constant priority as we navigated the ranch roads in the Mule, venturing into various drainages to glass the surrounding bluffs and peaks in search of bucks to stalk, all the while freely conversing and making jokes at one another’s expense. It was easily the most convivial, and in turn laid-back, whitetail hunt I’d ever experienced.

Beyond that, we frequently encountered animals not commonly associated with whitetail country, including giant desert mule deer, elk and enormous herds of aoudad. The Chinati Mountains, the product of a massive, violent volcanic eruption more than 35 million years ago, are characterized by rugged peaks, including 7,728-foot Chinati Peak, and steep canyons. Evidence of human presence on the ranch—in the form of pictographs, or rock paintings—dates back 8,000 years. It’s not hard to let the mind wander as you cruise around Cibolo Creek Ranch.

That was my excuse, anyway, on the afternoon of day two when I spilled water all over my lap as Whitesell brought the Mule to a skidding stop shortly after we had left the lodge. Several deer, including a good buck, had sprinted across the road a couple hundred yards in front of us and disappeared into an oak-choked creek bottom. Shawn, sitting up front with Trent, was up next and quickly grabbed his rifle. The two of them looped around to the opposite site of the creek bottom in hopes of spotting the buck among the trees. It wasn’t long before the crack of Shawn’s rifle confirmed that the buck had not escaped through the oaks.

CLEANUP HITTER

Our third and final day of hunting dawned cool and clear, and Shaundi was up to bat. Whitesell had been tasked with guiding some aoudad hunters that morning, so Davis served as our chauffeur.

Our first stop was the northeast corner of the ranch, where we had seen a couple good bucks earlier in the week. Once the side-by-side was parked, the optics were unsheathed and we methodically picked apart a nearby drainage.

Before long, Colton spotted a buck moving up the right side of the drainage that was bigger than any of the three we had taken to that point. Shaundi hurriedly got set up behind her rifle, prone on the ground, but the buck was moving with purpose, weaving through cover and increasing its distance from our location with every step.

It was decided that Shaundi, Tom and Colton would set off on foot and try to close the distance before the buck got to the fence line and crossed over to the neighboring ranch. Adding to the pressure of the moment, the buck was heading straight for a herd of elk cows and calves. If it reached them before Shaundi could get within range, she likely wouldn’t be able to get close enough to attempt a shot. Catching up to a buck moving away is hard enough. Trying to do so with a nosy audience would be nearly impossible.

Shawn and I stayed back and monitored our trio’s progress, as well as the movements of the buck and the elk. After a while, we lost sight of both the hunters and the hunted. Our crew had dropped into a brushy draw, while the buck veered off course and into a stand of trees. On one hand, the buck was no longer moving toward the property line and the elk; on the other, Shawn and I had no way of knowing where it was going. Resigned to our fate, we simply sat, watched and listened. Many agonizing minutes ticked by before the sound of a rifle shot echoed out of the canyon.

Shaundi had made a 400-yard uphill shot to drop the buck among enormous boulders high up on a steep slope. The effort required to reach the buck was significant, and field-dressing it on the side of the mountain was precarious. But it was fitting that our hunt ended where it did, offering an incredible view of a special place and the opportunity to celebrate a hunt none of us will soon forget.

NEXT-GEN GLASS

A pair of rangefinding optics loaded with techy features.

Optics play a big role in hunting small deer that blend in exceptionally well with their surroundings. On this hunt, we used Leupold’s new BX-4 Range HD TBR/W binocular ($1,599.99) and its innovative RX-5000 TBR/W rangefinder ($699.99).

The 10x42 bino features excellent resolution, edge-to-edge clarity, vibrant color fidelity and great low-light transmission, qualities often lacking in rangefinding binoculars. The stippled armor and over-sized control buttons atop the palm-filling barrels combine to provide a great in-hand feel and user experience.

At the heart of the bino is Leupold’s lightning-fast DNA rangefinding engine and ballistics software. The TBR/W in the product’s name stands for True Ballistic Range/Wind. This technology produces ranges based on easily programable ballistic sets and generates a hold point for a 10-mph wind at 90 degrees out to 800 yards.

As its name suggests, the RX-5000 TBR/W rangefinder is capable of producing range readings out to a staggering 5,000 yards, or 2.8 miles. The handheld unit also comes with a tripod saddle for more precise ranging at long distances. The guts of this LRF are similar to those found in the BX-4 Range HD, including the TBR/W technology, but what really sets the RX-5000 apart from other rangefinders is its ability to drop pins on your favorite mapping app via the Leupold Control app. This is especially handy when navigating big country or when retrieving animals shot at long ranges.

CREATURE COMFORTS

Cibolo Creek Ranch is not your average hunting camp.

Tucked away in a remote corner of West Texas, Cibolo Creek Ranch (cibolocreek
ranch.com) effortlessly marries modern luxury and 19th-century history. The ranch’s buildings were originally erected as forts that served as the headquarters of ranch settler Milton Faver’s cattle operation, as well as strongholds against local bandits and Native American raiders. Much of the history of the place has been preserved, and museums on the premises are dedicated to artifacts and works of art from the region.

Comfortable, well-appointed guest rooms offer respite after a long day of hunting, and the flavorful southwestern and Mexican food, prepared on-site by chef Metzli Rodriguez and her team, is exceptional.

In addition to Carmen Mountain whitetails, Cibolo Creek is home to mule deer, elk, aoudad and numerous exotic species, including axis deer, blackbuck, black wildebeest, springbok and Transcaspian urial, all of which may be hunted. Quail hunts are another popular activity on the ranch.

In between hunts, enjoy a massage, wet a line in the pond or simply walk the meticulously maintained grounds and appreciate the stunning natural beauty in every direction.

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• This article was featured in the December/January 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

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