77 year old father "I gotta start hunting easier country"

[2rocky]

My Father and Uncle (77 and 72) amaze their friends when they tell folks their ages. After their hunt this year in Montana, near Emigrant, Dad was grousing about seeing elk but he didn't feel like he could handle the hike to get to them. These two have been hunting deer and elk together since 2000 and nearly always on horseback. They have had enough Grizzly encounters and don't want to deal with the threat of an encounter anymore. So I've taken it upon my self to seek out a lower elevation DIY hunt in a Non Grizzly state, like New Mexico.

I hunted the Valle Vidal in 2016. Even in my trail running shape it chewed me up camping at 9900 feet and hunting from 10-12,000. I'm looking for a lower gentler unit I can put us in and still have some roadless country...It's a tall order. For those of you familiar with New Mexico Geography, Could you point me in the direction of parts of the state where I can get 'em on elk without scaling Wheeler peak?

 

[bobbydean]

The hardest part of hunting elk in NM is drawing the tag.

Unit 34 and 36 have lower elevations in the unit that hold elk. Most of the units are higher altitude. Look for the rolling hills versus mountain peaks.

The Guadalupe mountains on the Texas border have a small amount of elk. Only recently at levels that can be hunted. That said, saw pictures of a huge elk taken this year.

Good luck.

 

[hank4elk]

As BD said drawing a tag can be tough. But I have seen the odds in other states and that's a moot point these days.
I can name several good elk units that are 6-9k, mostly flat country compared to the Sangres. Most any unit in NM can hold big bulls.
Deer are different story.
PM me.

 

[lpcoutdoors]

Public land, I don't know. The lower elevation stuff I know of is all locked up in private, for your very reasons, applied more to running cattle though. The Mescalero reservation cow elk draw is an interesting option I've looked at, and applied for unsuccessfully unfortunately. Maybe DIY access on a ranch around Raton, Chama, etc...There used to be a ranch, the CS I think, in the northeast plains that was flat and had self guided elk hunts. Great luck to ya'll.

 

[Green Chile]

Units 12,13, 15, 17 is prob best units for what your wanting. Best to hunt 2nd archery or early muzzleloader/rifle to catch them a bit lower elevations. They do drop to rut.