Elk hunting new mexico

[rajimenez73]

I have never hunted the gila

 

[FLAK]

For what its worth, as a NR I've been applying for Elk in NM for 12-15 years and have never drawn a tag.
All rifle or muzzy.

 

[Mdfowlman2]

Put in for it last year with an outfitter, I’ll put back in this year. If my dad and I don’t draw, I may take the money I was going to spend on the outfitter and buy him a landowner tag. I have many many more years to hunt

 

[rajimenez73]

For what its worth, as a NR I've been applying for Elk in NM for 12-15 years and have never drawn a tag.
All rifle or muzzy.

Its hard to draw for resdents to

 

[Gila]

There some great units, some good units and some really shitty units. It depends on what you are looking for. If you are after a trophy bull, the tags in those units are hard to come by. There are mature bull hunts but with fewer tags. Numerous any elk hunts in many units throughout NM. Late season cow tags are the easiest to draw. 10% of the tags go to outfitters, 6% to non-ressers. OTC are LO tags only and they will cost you up to 5 figures and then some. You will need to look at the NM F&G data, maps to figure out which units and hunts are for you.

 

[rajimenez73]

Its hard to draw for resdents to

I have gone for years not drawing a thing

 

[Gila]

I have gone for years not drawing a thing

Work on your draw strategy. You might have to lower your standards a bit if you want any elk. Burning up fuel and wearing out boot leather is the only sure fire way to find a decent unit that has favorable draw odds.

 

[trophyhill]

I have gone for years not drawing a thing

You may want to apply for a cow tag. It’s virtually a lock. Kill some cows over the next 5 years while doing your own homework on where to apply after you’ve had some experience killing cows. This will get you prepared for what it takes to kill bigger elk

 

[Huntingfarandwide]

Best hunt I was ever on was in 15B with a muzzleloader.....saw more big bulls that trip than I have in years elsewhere.

Went there for 14 days....scouted then hunted. Came close on the last day but just didn't happen. Stayed in a small town named Quemado in a flea bag motel that was full of elk hunters...great trip...I would do it again even with the same results.

 

[CAElkhunter]

applying with an outfitter increases your chances as 10 % of the licenses go to outfitted hunters.

 

[hunting1]

Best hunt I was ever on was in 15B with a muzzleloader.....saw more big bulls that trip than I have in years elsewhere.

Went there for 14 days....scouted then hunted. Came close on the last day but just didn't happen. Stayed in a small town named Quemado in a flea bag motel that was full of elk hunters...great trip...I would do it again even with the same results.

15 is one unit now and still good but not what she used to be! Too many LO tags given out.

 

[Gila]

Best hunt I was ever on was in 15B with a muzzleloader.....saw more big bulls that trip than I have in years elsewhere.

Went there for 14 days....scouted then hunted. Came close on the last day but just didn't happen. Stayed in a small town named Quemado in a flea bag motel that was full of elk hunters...great trip...I would do it again even with the same results.

15 is primitive weapon only like 17. The elk in the Cibola, Gila and Apache are HUGE! Some say the Merriams is not extinct. Whatever it is, the environment, food sources....there are gigantic bulls in those areas. The problem is being able to draw a tag to hunt them. Unit wide LO tags go for 15-20k but there only a few of those tags available to the wealthy. The state elk herd is around Chama. Only residents can hunt the WMAs up there. New Mexico breaks the hunts down to HQ (high quality) HD (high demand) and S (standard). HQ and HD tags cost more and have lower draw odds since those hunts/units are highly desired.

 

[Coues123]

The Gila is not what it was 10 years ago. This year was the worst year for rainfall in 40 years. The wolf population continues to grow. There is currently a 5 year study on the calf mortality caused by wolves being conducted from Magdalena, NM to Heber, AZ. The study is in year two. The estimation now is that over 50% of the calves are killed by wolves. Due to the drought this year more calves died of malnutrition. Bears and coyotes were the othe major killers. Thanks for some of the humor in this thread.

 

[BBob]

I'm a lucky man. We used to draw about 50% back in the day. Hunted the Gila a lot back then. Drew almost 50% in AZ at that time too. Many times we had double tags, one in AZ and one in NM. NM archery started first and if the rut was slow you ran over to AZ to see what was going on there when it opened. Back and forth you'd go some years and if you were lucky and hunted hard you'd double kill. Good old days

 

[sandhillhunter]

For what its worth, as a NR I've been applying for Elk in NM for 12-15 years and have never drawn a tag.
All rifle or muzzy.

(Insert sarcasm here) —-> The good news is next year you’ll start over and have about the same odds as the last 12-15 since there are no points or preference on number of years. (End of sarcasm).

It’s truly a long shot every year (but yes, I still apply because some chance is better than no chance at all).

And if you look at the odds in the outfitter pool, they really are no better since you compete with residents in that pool as well as nonresidents. In one unit I’ve looked at you might get a 3% chance instead of a 2% chance- definitely nothing to get excited about.


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[sandhillhunter]

You may want to apply for a cow tag. It’s virtually a lock. Kill some cows over the next 5 years while doing your own homework on where to apply after you’ve had some experience killing cows. This will get you prepared for what it takes to kill bigger elk

I agree with this. Hunting cows is a great way to get started if you’re new to elk hunting. You might turn up some good bull territory while you’re hunting to go back to when you do draw a bull tag.

And since only residents can draw cow tags, you’re odds of drawing are good if you play it right.


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[BBob]

I agree with this. Hunting cows is a great way to get started if you’re new to elk hunting. You might turn up some good bull territory while you’re hunting to go back to when you do draw a bull tag.

And since only residents can draw cow tags, you’re odds of drawing are good if you play it right.


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Yes go hunt some cows so my odds of drawing that bull tag stay just a little bit better. Bonus, cows are really good to eat. You don't want no stinky bull

 

[FLAK]

(Insert sarcasm here) —-> The good news is next year you’ll start over and have about the same odds as the last 12-15 since there are no points or preference on number of years. (End of sarcasm).

It’s truly a long shot every year (but yes, I still apply because some chance is better than no chance at all).

And if you look at the odds in the outfitter pool, they really are no better since you compete with residents in that pool as well as nonresidents. In one unit I’ve looked at you might get a 3% chance instead of a 2% chance- definitely nothing to get excited about.


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Thats cool. I'll have the same odds as all the other NR's.

 

[Gila]

The Gila is not what it was 10 years ago. This year was the worst year for rainfall in 40 years. The wolf population continues to grow. There is currently a 5 year study on the calf mortality caused by wolves being conducted from Magdalena, NM to Heber, AZ. The study is in year two. The estimation now is that over 50% of the calves are killed by wolves. Due to the drought this year more calves died of malnutrition. Bears and coyotes were the othe major killers. Thanks for some of the humor in this thread.

Ain't no mo elks in the Gila.

The wolves devour entire herds....bears all belching up elk veal. Ain't no water no how no where. Racks all brittle and broken. Kain't find a decent bull to save yur ass these days. Not worth the draw. Colorado is good....go hunt there.

 

[Coues123]

Ain't no mo elks in the Gila.

The wolves devour entire herds....bears all belching up elk veal. Ain't no water no how no where. Racks all brittle and broken. Kain't find a decent bull to save yur ass these days. Not worth the draw. Colorado is good....go hunt there.

You saw that too this year with the antlers. 60% of racks had broken tines. Everything above G4 stunted as a general observation. Saw 13 uncollared wolves in one group. Only saw 3 bulls over 360ish this year. Definitely not the quality of many past years.