Private Ranch Size

[Bucks_N_Bulls]

Hey guys! Looking at a potential private ranch hunt for next year. Ranch I'm looking at is 10k acres. Is that large enough for 2 guys to hunt during archery? From what I'm told there would be 2 other archery hunters hunting before us with a week to "cool off" before we get there.

This would be my first private land hunt so I want to make sure I'm not walking into a bad situation. Any feedback or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[stonewall]

I have heard of people hunting smaller. never done it myself though

i would think either the elk are there or they aren't if the habitat looks good, you're probably good to go and 10k would be plenty. i personally would be more at ease if tag is unit wide and good for public, just in case

i know someone in new mexico who bought 350 acres last year. part of the deal was that he would have to honor the elk and deer hunts that were already sold on the place. and those hunters were successful.

 

[bmrfish]

All depends on the local elk herd. Could be a honey hole. Could be a dry well. We have seen it go both ways.

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[Lee_R]

I've hunted a 5000 acre ranch for 15 yrs with 3-5 other guys, never had a problem (during muzzleloader/archery season). But the ranch was well maintained and not over hunted as were the others in the area, so game was always decent to plentiful.

 

[Traveler]

No where near enough, look elsewhere…

All depends on timing, where and herd size. I personally don’t use guides but I Know people that had access to 50,000+ acres private and didn’t harvest and others that successfully hunted 1,200 acres public, both guided. What is the access like for the 10,000 acres (=~3mi x 5mi), can drive, all walking, can glass, all timber?

I would recommend you look at more than acres when deciding if it is a good hunt.

 

[Airborne1]

I have hunted a 10k private ranch and it was more then enough. Elk were all over. But like others said not all properties are equal. Is there water? Food? Cows? Timber?
I would think if it has those things they should be there. I've hunted the week following a group of other guys, didn't effect the hunting. But it might also be because of their own limitations to not hiking enough and using the roads. If there's a weeks rest it's a nice bonus.

 

[5MilesBack]

I would never commit to something like that without having checked out the ranch in person........preferably in September. Also, some ranches are set up for tree stand/water hole type hunting rather than what I would typically consider elk hunting. I've heard of others that got bit by that on a guided hunt, that were expecting the typical rutting elk bowhunting experience. Just depends on what kind of experience you're looking for. There's a reason why I always have several spots as options on a hunt even with 100's of 1000's of acres available. If the elk aren't on that 10k acres or get blown out.......what other options do you have?

 

[Billy Goat]

Does it have alfalfa fields?

 

[nrhardin]

Totally depends. Have hunted 10k+ and it was dead because of overgrazing and had a warm fall. Have access to 2.5k acres this year but it’s packed with animals bc it’s managed for game retention. Alfalfa fields, minimal grazing, plentiful water, etc. I wouldn’t commit without having good intel.

 

[ruttedup]

There are a lot of factors. I hunt a private 3k acre ranch with 5 other guys during rifle season, we never have any issues with crowding or seeing elk. The whole place is huntable and excellent habitat with a good pop of elk. All the surrounding ranches are the same, excellent habitat. One very large neighbor, the rest are about the same size. Elk travel btwn all the ranches regularly so there's always an influx of animals. We hunt it smart, very low pressure and don't drive around and most important we don't push animals, if the conditions aren't right, we wait. We are very successful yearly.