First Time in NM.

[LazyKB]

Hello, just joined the forum. I am in need of some advice on an upcoming, August, antelope hunt around Socorro, NM. I have done a good bit of hunting out west, mostly in CO with one trip in WY, but never NM and never in August. My biggest concern is the heat and how to deal with it. I am 74 and have had some heat issues in the past, dizzy, nauseous after during exertion. Any tips on dealing with the heat? I hear it is a dry heat but to me hot is hot. I have been reading about some of the new fabrics but am having difficulty getting my mind around the idea that wearing long sleeves is going to be cooler than a cotton tee shirt.

I have been told the terrain will be rolling, shouldn't be as tough as an elk hunt. Altitude around 4500 feet, higher than here in VA but not CO high. There will be cactus: wear all leather boots, knee pads and gloves for crawling are a good Idea. Carry water and drink often. Sun screen is a good idea. There is a chance of rain in August., which for some reason I found surprising.

I will be using a .257 Roberts, with a 117 gr. Game King. We don't get many opportunities for long shots here in the eastern mountains, but I have killed an elk at 270 with a .338 and a white tail doe at 300 with the Roberts.. What zero do you recommend and how far should I be prepared to shoot? I am pretty comfortable sitting and shooting from short sticks. How tall might the vegetation be?

If I am successful I will want to bring the meat home. I am flying. Any thoughts on cooler size, dry ice vs wet, or other means to get it home?

I am pretty excited about this hunt. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[devildog.34]

Most antelope hunts in that area you will be glassing from the vehicle. So when you get hot turn the AC on and cool down. As far as clothing I wear a cheap sun hoody I found at REI on the sales rack. The Prana Zion pants are hard to beat. They have been my hunting pants for almost ten years now. Perfect for the hot weather.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Most antelope hunts in that area you will be glassing from the vehicle. So when you get hot turn the AC on and cool down. As far as clothing I wear a cheap sun hoody I found at REI on the sales rack. The Prana Zion pants are hard to beat. They have been my hunting pants for almost ten years now. Perfect for the hot weather.

This, you can cover majority of the public antelope grounds from truck around there. Glance back at the Ladrones or Mags every now and then and you might see some desert sheep

Heck of a Tag. Congrats

 

[YellCoAR]

Care of the meat and cape will be the major issue. Have an ice chest that is large enough for 3 or 4 bags of ice. Get it gutted and on ice as fast as possible. Cape and processed meat should be around 70 lbs. I do not think you can use dry ice on flight. Find a place to freeze solid and pack in chest. Make sure to pack with paper so there is no air space. you can use a couple jell packs if you can find them. Good luck!

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Outfitter should be able to answer the bulk of these questions.

The outfitter/guide should know if there is a local processor who can quarter/freeze it for you or even process/freeze it.

Depending on your flight(s), just being frozen can work or you may need to do dry ice (declare it during check in and is usually limited to 5-10 pounds depending on airline). Do early flights to reduce the risk of flight delays and/or cancellations.

Learn to breathe through your nose and not your mouth. See lots of hunters not used to the heat breathe like a panting dog. Breathing through your mouth robs you of water. Those same folks tend to be “well” prepared with their 1-2 bottles of water and are clueless why their piss is orange or brown.

Ask the outfitter/guide about it shot distances, types of shots (prone, sticks, etc) and then likelihood of each.

Cheap wide brim hat can be money.

 

[NMBigGame]

I prefer the dry west heat over humidity any day. Just drink lots of water. Your sweat evaporates before it soaks your shirt so you don't realize how much you're perspiring. Highly recommend a long sleeve shirt with a hood. I like the Kuiu Gila hooded shirts.

The summer in the southwest is when we get most of our precipitation but it comes in short, heavy storms called monsoons. Don't get caught in one and don't drive in a flooded Arroyo (dry river bed). If there's water in the arroyo just wait it out. It'll dry quickly.

You don't need leather boots. I only wear synthetics. Everything pokes you, even bare ground has thorns from prior plants so leather gloves are good.

Enjoy New Mexico! Hope you can handle spicy food.

 

[Mojave]

Send me a PM, I am very familiar with that area having grown up there.

Up until 2023 I worked on White Sands Missile Range and spent a ton of time near Socorro on our northern range.

 

[mflo]

Protecting yourself from the sun is how you're going to stay cool, and to do that you need long sleeves / pants, and either a wide brim hat or a hat with a hoodie. The synthetic fabrics in the sun shirts from just about every major brand will definitely be cooler to the touch than even a white cotton t-shirt. Having extra water you can pour over your head/neck, or one of those neck band things that soaks up water might be really helpful to help keep you cool as well. Look into that.

Lots of good advice in this thread already. I'd definitely recommend having your cooler pre-chilled and loaded with ice on hand to get that meat cooled as fast as possible.

As far as shot distances, I don't know that country down there as well as the north east side of the state, but I'd be prepared to make a 400+ yard shot. Sometimes the terrain just doesn't allow you to get any closer.

 

[WRO]

Sun shirt but bring a sweatshirt for the mornings. Over 40 or so goats in nm I’ve been a part of, average has been right around 200 yards, with over 700 and under 50 as the outliers.


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[LazyKB]

Send me a PM, I am very familiar with that area having grown up there.

Up until 2023 I worked on White Sands Missile Range and spent a ton of time near Socorro on our northern range.

Thanks for the offer, but I am not allowed to PM anyone for the first 10 days. Maybe in a couple of days.

 

[OTCLIFE]

Get some instant cold packs and put them in your backpack. They stay cold for about 20 minutes. I have gotten dangerously overheated before and I do not hunt in hot weather without them. If you get in trouble with the heat you can put a pack on your neck for a few minutes and it will cool you down quickly.

 

[Weldor]

Make sure to bring electrolytes, powder or liquid. Tweezers for sure. I use Rynoskins to keep the no see em's at bay.

 

[TheYukiYama]

Outfitter should be able to answer the bulk of these questions.

Did I miss where he said he had a guide? Or is it required for NR here or something?

Lots of good preventative recommendations above. Other thing I'd say is just don't overdo it. For whatever reason, for me, heat doesn't seem as serious as the cold and I feel like I should be fine dealing with some discomfort. But that can go bad pretty fast. You can feel cold coming on but heat stress can something hit seemingly out of nowhere.

 

[dtrkyman]

Over the years mostly guiding fisherman but of course hunters as well I made my clients down as much water as they could stand in the morning, starting off hydrated goes a long way!

 

[Mojave]

There was a guy that died of water toxicity in Lordsburg a couple of seasons ago hunting ibex.

You need to be careful not to over water yourself.

We lived in New Mexico in 2023, and took the kids to Florida in September to Disneyworld. It was hotter than they had ever experienced before and we spent about $70 on water a day. We also spent about $150 on salty foods. This was for 5 people. We started out with two bottles of water each big 1 liter Aquafinas that everyone carried. By 10:00 everyone was out of water. Sanitation wise it wasn't worth refilling them as you didn't dare get anyone else's germs on your mouth after 3 years. of Covid training.

Must have eaten a pound of pretzels and jerky daily for 7 days.

New Mexico's dry heat isn't quite the same.

 

[Mojave]

Thanks for the offer, but I am not allowed to PM anyone for the first 10 days. Maybe in a couple of days.

I would just tell you where to go in the forums, but we don't allow it.

You must have drawn a 1 in 1000 or 1 in 500 odds tag. Not very many non-resident tags for antelope in New Mexico near Suck-OR-Oh! As we call it.

 

[LazyKB]

Did I miss where he said he had a guide? Or is it required for NR here or something?

Lots of good preventative recommendations above. Other thing I'd say is just don't overdo it. For whatever reason, for me, heat doesn't seem as serious as the cold anys sayd I feel like I should be fine dealing with some discomfort. But that can go bad pretty fast. You can feel cold coming on butMy heat stress can something hit seemingly out of nowhere.

I have a guide, three of them for two hunters in fact. Two guys I have hunted elk in CO for years have a contact in NM. They are coming down to help out their buddy and hang out with me and my hunting partner. I have picked their brains pretty good but wanted first hand advice from you guys that hunt NM a lot. In the past the heat thing has come on really fast regardless of season or location, once in the mountains in the snow, another time in Oct. in the grouse woods. Blood pressure med might have something to do with it. My guys say there will be a good deal of glassing from the truck and short stalks. I guess short can be relatively speaking. Thanks for the good comments.

 

[cuerro viejo]

I have a guide, three of them for two hunters in fact. Two guys I have hunted elk in CO for years have a contact in NM. They are coming down to help out their buddy and hang out with me and my hunting partner. I have picked their brains pretty good but wanted first hand advice from you guys that hunt NM a lot. In the past the heat thing has come on really fast regardless of season or location, once in the mountains in the snow, another time in Oct. in the grouse woods. Blood pressure med might have something to do with it. My guys say there will be a good deal of glassing from the truck and short stalks. I guess short can be relatively speaking. Thanks for the good comments.

What guide did you use?

 

[butcherboy]

Wear long sleeve sun shirts with a hood. Full
brimmed hat. Lots of water in the morning and drink water all day. Pick up a cheap camp chair and an umbrella that attaches to it when you fly into Albuquerque. If you are out of the truck glassing then sitting under that will help a lot. Shots will be 100 yds and much further. Terrain is definitely rolling and the brush will always be at least knee high in most places. Some areas will be taller with Mesquite and tall yucca. Be sure and have a shooting tripod that you can adjust from prone to standing or one on your rifle and a separate taller one. You will likely see some Oryx as well. Be mindful of rattlesnakes.

 

[LazyKB]

Wear long sleeve sun shirts with a hood. Full
brimmed hat. Lots of water in the morning and drink water all day. Pick up a cheap camp chair and an umbrella that attaches to it when you fly into Albuquerque. If you are out of the truck glassing then sitting under that will help a lot. Shots will be 100 yds and much further. Terrain is definitely rolling and the brush will always be at least knee high in most places. Some areas will be taller with Mesquite and tall yucca. Be sure and have a shooting tripod that you can adjust from prone to standing or one on your rifle and a separate taller one. You will likely see some Oryx as well. Be mindful of rattlesnakes.

That covers a lot, I really appreciate the advice.