New Mexico 16B - DIY Only

trophyhill said:
That's the chance you take. But hunting that unit 4 times, I can tell you you'd be eliminating a bunch of competition from the guys hunting from their trucks, even if it meant walking in past elk that may, or may not be there ;)
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I like where your head is at! less pressured elk means more opportunities!
 
FlyGuy said:
5 miles in there were still plenty of competition. 10 miles back I saw no one, and no horse or human tracks.


You can’t cheat the mountain
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10 it is!! Are the trailheads fairly crowded? Are there any off the beaten path that you would recommend? I am one of those guys that gets anxious when I hunt around people. Hence the reason I have pack Llamas. Im sure it will be much better than my home state of Idaho either way. Are there trailheads that most of the hunters gravitate to?
 
emmagator said:
My buddy and i drew first season in 16B. Looking for info from guys that have done this hunt DIY, please don't respond telling me the only way to hunt it is with horses. We are experienced archery elk hunters from Western Oregon and have hunted rugged country and put meat care as a priority. With that said, i am working on a deal with a packer for getting meat out, but will be hunting on foot. We wont be going in beyond 3-4 miles. Currently focusing on the NW part of the unit as it looks more manageable on foot.

Looking for guys who have DIY experience in this unit. Thanks ahead of time for any responses or info.
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I may have a number for a packer in the area. I drew second season and we are working with him. I can ask if he is open for packing first season or pass along his number.
 
LonerangerID said:
10 it is!! Are the trailheads fairly crowded? Are there any off the beaten path that you would recommend? I am one of those guys that gets anxious when I hunt around people. Hence the reason I have pack Llamas. Im sure it will be much better than my home state of Idaho either way. Are there trailheads that most of the hunters gravitate to?
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I am headed down for second season. What part of ID are you in? Be interested in hearing what you see during your hunt.
 
elkster said:
DIY experience in 16B. Packed 2 bulls out on foot. No horses, no outside support. Hunted in n.w. and in central portion. A packer is better if available. We shot one bull mid afternoon didn't find him till the next day at noon. He was starting to spoil due to the heat. He bedded in the open sun. Terrain is user -friendly. One was about 2 miles in. Other was about 2.5 in there were 4 of us to pack it all out.
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New Mexico is a great elk state
 
We finally had some rain this past week. Not enough but anything helps. There was alot of lightening with some of the storms, had to stall the horses. But not much burning up there so far. The wilderness areas go up first because no one can take the fuel out.
 
LonerangerID said:
10 it is!! Are the trailheads fairly crowded? Are there any off the beaten path that you would recommend? I am one of those guys that gets anxious when I hunt around people. Hence the reason I have pack Llamas. Im sure it will be much better than my home state of Idaho either way. Are there trailheads that most of the hunters gravitate to?
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The ones on the north/northwest side with campgrounds are super crowded. Everything else only had a scattering of trucks.


You can’t cheat the mountain
 
FlyGuy said:
The ones on the north/northwest side with campgrounds are super crowded. Everything else only had a scattering of trucks.


You can’t cheat the mountain
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Are you referring to the trailheads out of Snow Lake, Aeroplane Mesa, and Willow Creek? These are the areas we have been focusing on for our hunt. We figured they would be less crowded??? We figured alot of guys would utilize Hwy 15 or N. Star road to access the unit. Is this not the case?
 
emmagator said:
Are you referring to the trailheads out of Snow Lake, Aeroplane Mesa, and Willow Creek? These are the areas we have been focusing on for our hunt. We figured they would be less crowded??? We figured alot of guys would utilize Hwy 15 or N. Star road to access the unit. Is this not the case?
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Nope. Most people access from the Reserve Rd. Right into where you are talking about. Not an issue if you are packing in, but may be if you are planning on day hunting.
 
emmagator said:
Are you referring to the trailheads out of Snow Lake, Aeroplane Mesa, and Willow Creek? These are the areas we have been focusing on for our hunt. We figured they would be less crowded??? We figured alot of guys would utilize Hwy 15 or N. Star road to access the unit. Is this not the case?
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Yes, those areas precisely. It was like someone was throwing a party.
 
Well Shoot! Our plan was to basecamp at one of the above mentioned and spike out in the unit for 2-4 days and return for resupply, relocate, etc..

Recommendations that maybe we focus our initial efforts elsewhere? Our fallback was going to be hiking out of Cooney Prairie into black and yellow mt areas? Thoughts on this area?
 
This my unit, hunted it many years now. It can be many different things, hot, dry, wet flooded just never really know. Some areas are really devoid of what I would call drinking water.... There are some stock tanks but they can dry up super fast. Some Areas I hunt one trip is just drinking water and horse feed. The elk move in circles, there for a few days then gone the next. I've killed bulls 15 miles in and Ive killed them a mile off the unit border. Please don't bite off more than you can chew, found more than one bull with antlers and backstraps removed, the rest of the bull left to rot because they couldn't get it out in one trip. I think you will be hard pressed to line up a packer as most people that have stock will be guiding, but if you do awesome. I would have a backup plan just in case they leave you high and dry. Some of the FS trails don't really exist anymore due to the burns and flooding FYI. Good luck and enjoy it its an amazing place.
 
codym said:
This my unit, hunted it many years now. It can be many different things, hot, dry, wet flooded just never really know. Some areas are really devoid of what I would call drinking water.... There are some stock tanks but they can dry up super fast. Some Areas I hunt one trip is just drinking water and horse feed. The elk move in circles, there for a few days then gone the next. I've killed bulls 15 miles in and Ive killed them a mile off the unit border. Please don't bite off more than you can chew, found more than one bull with antlers and backstraps removed, the rest of the bull left to rot because they couldn't get it out in one trip. I think you will be hard pressed to line up a packer as most people that have stock will be guiding, but if you do awesome. I would have a backup plan just in case they leave you high and dry. Some of the FS trails don't really exist anymore due to the burns and flooding FYI. Good luck and enjoy it its an amazing place.
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Great point! I totally forgot about that! Many of those trails on the north end do not exist. In fact, they are impossible due to an overgrowth of briars and/or quakies. There is a written description of the trails that are not open, but I think it’s only listed in a private website, something like “friends of the Gila” or close to that. Volunteer run group that supports trail maintenance. But, it’s not a map or picture of closed trails, just a written description that takes a while to work out what’s open and what isn’t. Make sure you set aside several hours of map time to work through all that part or your hunt plan might get wrecked before you set foot in the unit.


You can’t cheat the mountain
 
codym said:
This my unit, hunted it many years now. It can be many different things, hot, dry, wet flooded just never really know. Some areas are really devoid of what I would call drinking water.... There are some stock tanks but they can dry up super fast. Some Areas I hunt one trip is just drinking water and horse feed. The elk move in circles, there for a few days then gone the next. I've killed bulls 15 miles in and Ive killed them a mile off the unit border. Please don't bite off more than you can chew, found more than one bull with antlers and backstraps removed, the rest of the bull left to rot because they couldn't get it out in one trip. I think you will be hard pressed to line up a packer as most people that have stock will be guiding, but if you do awesome. I would have a backup plan just in case they leave you high and dry. Some of the FS trails don't really exist anymore due to the burns and flooding FYI. Good luck and enjoy it its an amazing place.
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We will have to agree to disagree. It's "my unit" ;) although I will add that if I were planning to hike in regardless, I'd plan on packing water in as well as a filter. Hiking in 5 gallons of water ain't no easy task in the Gila
 
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