New Mexico 16B - DIY Only

[codym]

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

I've backpacked it before too. It's def possible just be smart. It's easy to start chasing bugles and end up 10 miles from a road with a bull down. Ask me and my two herniated disks how I know! lol Now I enjoy a cigar on the back of a nice walking horse will a couple mules doing the heavy lifting!

 

[David Kaden]

and 17.

 

[Hunt-n-ski-ID]

I am in eagle maybe we could get together and shoot and talk NM elk.

How is your planning coming along? I am headed down the 12th and would be great to get some fresh intel.

 

[LonerangerID]

How is your planning coming along? I am headed down the 12th and would be great to get some fresh intel.

PM'ed you.

 

[Flelk]

PM'ed you.

LonerangerID did you have any luck in 1st Season? I’m pretty sure you and your buddy (with Llamas) came thru our camp with only a few days left to hunt. Just wanted to know if you guys did any good.

 

[LonerangerID]

LonerangerID did you have any luck in 1st Season? I’m pretty sure you and your buddy (with Llamas) came thru our camp with only a few days left to hunt. Just wanted to know if you guys did any good.

I am assuming you are the Florida guy. We ended up getting into a lot of bulls up there as that weather was rolling through. We only had about 30 minutes of daylight left but found a bull that was in the 380'+ range. Spent the remainder of the trip in there but it was tough. That bull, along with every other bull, would only bugle at night and the first 15 minutes of daylight. I threw the kitchen sink at them and nothing worked. They would run from decoys, bugles, and cow calls. I was able to get the big bull to fire up occasionally by raking but he never talked consistent enough to sneak in on him. We needed a break in the weather and some moisture. I ended up eating a tag but it was a great hunt regardless. I will be back, but maybe i will put in for the later hunt next year.

How did you guys end up?

 

[Flelk]

I am assuming you are the Florida guy. We ended up getting into a lot of bulls up there as that weather was rolling through. We only had about 30 minutes of daylight left but found a bull that was in the 380'+ range. Spent the remainder of the trip in there but it was tough. That bull, along with every other bull, would only bugle at night and the first 15 minutes of daylight. I threw the kitchen sink at them and nothing worked. They would run from decoys, bugles, and cow calls. I was able to get the big bull to fire up occasionally by raking but he never talked consistent enough to sneak in on him. We needed a break in the weather and some moisture. I ended up eating a tag but it was a great hunt regardless. I will be back, but maybe i will put in for the later hunt next year.

How did you guys end up?

Thats me! We had a similar experience -they weren’t doing much of anything after sunrise. We worked a 330 plus bull the morning after seeing you guys then packed out to hunt another area. It was more of the same. Worked a nice bull the last couple days of season but he had plenty of cows by the time I caught up with him.

We’ll be applying for later season also but the odds for us out of staters aren’t very good.

Will let you know if I I draw again. Happy Hunting!

 

[Pajarito]

Just finished up rifle hunt in 16B. Got there and set up camp Wednesday night before the Saturday opener, got up to our glassing knob and spotted elk immediately. Got up the next morning and went back to the glassing knob and saw 4 different groups of elk including a 6x7 beast heading up the nearby valley to bed down. Same results on Friday morning and evening until about 5pm. That Friday we were glassing and planning our next morning approach and suddenly heard a stampede of cows that a nearby rancher decided to release the night before the season opened. The cows came storming up the valley bumping all of the elk out of the area. Checking our game cameras and talking to other hunters it seems the outfitters were out there pushing the elk deeper into the unit before and during the hunt as well. We hiked an average of 8-12 miles a day, spotted several lone cow elk and bumped a rag horn we never got a shot at. Also saw numerous people driving their jeeps/trucks down roads that were clearly marked CLOSED. When I confronted them about it they claimed they "didn't see it". Tell it to the game warden because I got their license plates.

 

[BBob]

Sounds like some typical NM outfitter shenanigans going on. They've been pulling crap for decades and it's old hat for them. They keep doing it because they get away with it and no one ever stops them.

 

[reaper10]

I am assuming you are the Florida guy. We ended up getting into a lot of bulls up there as that weather was rolling through. We only had about 30 minutes of daylight left but found a bull that was in the 380'+ range. Spent the remainder of the trip in there but it was tough. That bull, along with every other bull, would only bugle at night and the first 15 minutes of daylight. I threw the kitchen sink at them and nothing worked. They would run from decoys, bugles, and cow calls. I was able to get the big bull to fire up occasionally by raking but he never talked consistent enough to sneak in on him. We needed a break in the weather and some moisture. I ended up eating a tag but it was a great hunt regardless. I will be back, but maybe i will put in for the later hunt next year.

How did you guys end up?

Any experience in unit 16D? My daughter has a cow tag there at the end of November and I have never hunted the unit. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[trophyhill]

Any experience in unit 16D? My daughter has a cow tag there at the end of November and I have never hunted the unit. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

How old is your daughter? How much experience does she have?

 

[reaper10]

How old is your daughter? How much experience does she have?

she is 14 and this is her second year elk hunting we normally hunt unit 34 but neither of us drew 34 so i bought her the tag in 16d when the encouragement hunts came out.

 

[trophyhill]

she is 14 and this is her second year elk hunting we normally hunt unit 34 but neither of us drew 34 so i bought her the tag in 16d when the encouragement hunts came out.

Nice. We called a bull into bow range 2 weekends ago in 34 and my buddy killed him with his muzzleloader. He was impatient. They were screaming hard! I’ve considered applying for that hunt and hunting with my bow.

The reason I was asking was I saw a podcast where they talked about getting the kids into hunting and making it all about them and not necessarily about the killing part. Guys like us can and do put many miles on during our hunts where kids may not necessarily enjoy that just yet. There are some monsters in D for sure. If I were taking a kid. I’d do a lot of short hikes from the truck or UTV. Long strenuous hikes would be out of the question. The Gila is very rugged compared to 34. I would tailor the hunt to your daughters conditioning. Good luck and post some pics

 

[reaper10]

How old is your daughter? How much experience does she have?

she is 14 this is her second year elk hunting. We usually hunt unit 34 but no luck on the draw so i bought her a tag in 16D

Nice. We called a bull into bow range 2 weekends ago in 34 and my buddy killed him with his muzzleloader. He was impatient. They were screaming hard! I’ve considered applying for that hunt and hunting with my bow.

The reason I was asking was I saw a podcast where they talked about getting the kids into hunting and making it all about them and not necessarily about the killing part. Guys like us can and do put many miles on during our hunts where kids may not necessarily enjoy that just yet. There are some monsters in D for sure. If I were taking a kid. I’d do a lot of short hikes from the truck or UTV. Long strenuous hikes would be out of the question. The Gila is very rugged compared to 34. I would tailor the hunt to your daughters conditioning. Good luck and post some pics

Congrats to you guys on the bull in 34. She can hang on the hikes she had a cow tag last year in 34 and we put down some miles. Got her on the elk she had a 30 yard shot and froze up lol. Then on her last day she had a group of cow about 100 yards away and she thought it was too far even though she was using a 308. Long story short we came home empty handed. This years tag in 16D is also a cow tag so we will head out that way prob mid Nov to do a little scouting before the start of the tag on the 27th. Thats why i was asking for areas to check out.

 

[BBob]

16D is a fantastic unit and has a lot of moderate country that potentially can be hunted so you should be fine. It's not as backcounty oriented as some units.

 

[reaper10]

16D is a fantastic unit and has a lot of moderate country that potentially can be hunted so you should be fine. It's not as backcounty oriented as some units.

Thats def good to know. She can hang in back country too but its always good to know the area isnt so rough in some parts. Any areas you would be willing to share?

 

[Gila]

16B is about as "back country oriented" as one can get since most of the unit is wilderness.

 

[BBob]

16B is about as "back country oriented" as one can get since most of the unit is wilderness.

He switched it up and asked about D because his daughter has a tag there.

 

[Gila]

He switched it up and asked about D because his daughter has a tag there.

I was just making a general statement about 16B. Most people who put in for a 16B tag are looking for a wilderness elk hunt experience on horseback. There are a couple of outfitters in the area that cater to that experience.

16D has just about any terrain you care to hunt. The elk will be pushed back from the easy access areas because of the pressure from being hunted since the 1st of Sept.

 

[reaper10]

I was just making a general statement about 16B. Most people who put in for a 16B tag are looking for a wilderness elk hunt experience on horseback. There are a couple of outfitters in the area that cater to that experience.

16D has just about any terrain you care to hunt. The elk will be pushed back from the easy access areas because of the pressure from being hunted since the 1st of Sept.

Yeh i was expecting that due to being hunted all season we had to put in the miles last year to get on them in 34. just trying to find decent areas to scout prior to her tag to try to narrow things down a little.