Unit 30 is the far southeast corner of New Mexico's mountains, the Guadalupe escarpment country southwest of Carlsbad and Artesia where Eddy, Otero and Chaves counties come together against the Texas line. It's a unit of two completely different worlds. Climb into the Guadalupes and you're in real relief—rocky arroyos, draws and canyons running up toward 7,500 feet, timbered with ponderosa, oak, even maple and Douglas fir in the protected pockets, mixed down low with ocotillo and prickly pear. Drop off the escarpment and it flattens into BLM badlands and private flats that fall away toward 3,300 feet near town. That mountain-and-desert split is the whole character of the place. This is a desert mule deer unit at heart—decent numbers, and it kicks out a mature buck most years—but it's also one of the few spots you can chase free-ranging oryx and barbary (aoudad) sheep, with a handful of elk and archery antelope tags in the mix. Land status is generous, around 78 to 93% public depending on whose map you trust, heavy on BLM with some Forest Service and state, so theres a lot of country open to you. The catch is everybody knows it. Mule deer tags come easy here and the unit takes real pressure—plan on glassing the same canyon rim as two other trucks on opening morning, and the mature bucks survive by living in the nastiest, steepest aoudad ground you can find. A network of roads gives good access across most of 30, but the best deer country in the high Guadalupes has thin road coverage on purpose, and you'll want four-wheel-drive and boots; ATVs are not allowed off established roads, so don't plan to motor up a draw. The rock out here eats tires and the canyon two-tracks get sketchy when a storm rolls through. One hard boundary to keep straight: Carlsbad Caverns National Park sits in the southeast part of the unit and is closed to hunting, so know where that line is before you set up. Carlsbad and Artesia are your fuel, food and motel, with the little wide spot at Queen up in the mountains if you want to be close. Cell service is fine in town and along the main highways and then it's gone once your back in the canyons—download the maps first.