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new mexico elk choices?draw is getting close.

dan.kirkpatrick

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mulino oregon
I was wondering if anybody had any info on a few nm units?am considering unit 12,13,6a,6c,and 37.was wondering about public access in 12 and 13,is there a decent amount of public?13 late,are the elk still there? unit 37 public access?any info on any would be great!!don't need honey hole,just some on the ground access experience if possible? thanks
 
I live in 12 near 13. 12 is tough to draw & access is tough,much tougher than 13. Limited places to camp really. Resident elk in both.
13 late hunts have proven to be very tough the last few years from the few I know that hunted it.
That said an HTer drew my unit last year. I met up with him 2 days before his hunt. I poked a couple spots on the map to check as he headed to motel to get out of the monsoon. He filled his tag opening morning 1/2 mi from his truck.lol
6a is a great place to hunt elk,IMHO one of my favorites in NM. Have not drawn in yrs. Borders the Valle Caldera, the Jurassic Park of elk. 6c is other side of Caldera with more private . Overlooked unit.
Have seen some great bucks in 37 but never hunted it. Any unit in NM that has elk can have a whopper.
 
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When I lived in Alb, I did all of my hiking and fishing in 6a. It is beautiful country, never saw another person. The elk are there. 37 was very cool, unique county. Not typical elk habitat, I have hiked on Capitan, but never saw any elk. No exp with the other units, good luck.
 
Did he buy you a case of beer? Very cool on your end to help out a fellow HTer
 
I live in Los Alamos (6C), and I can tell you there are elk here. I was driving up the truck route from white rock to los alamos coming home from reserve duty one sunday at about 2 AM (so really Monday) and ran into a herd of about two dozen. I agree with the others that the closer to the Caldera the better. I recommend getting the USGS topo maps because the terrain is rugged. You will be anywhere from 7500 to 10000 feet in alititude, so conditioning is a must.
 
6C is fragmented. There is some right near the town of Los Alamos, but most of the unit is north of Santa Clara Indian Reservation. The best hunting is often close to a boundary - Valles Caldera, Bandelier, Los Alamos National Lab, or Santa Clara Indian Reservation.
 
Have not hunted 10 in years either & just for bucks. Good access,but not what it once was. Still lots of elk & small bucks.
9 is same deal with bad access to the elk.Most of the elk head to the lower ranches from what I hear.I had hunted them 3/4 of the way up Mt.Taylor before.
 
Unit 10 was my first elk hunt. I've had guides tell me they refuse to guide there. Going back 7 or 8 years and we had pretty good success for not really having a clue. All these years later I've been told that while the odds are pretty good, the bull to cow ratio really isn't that great.

Some other New Mexico guys may be able to help me out. But I remember something on the game and fish site that would tell you herd size and bull to cow ratio for that herd. Herd wasn't unit specific rather they grouped a few units for a herd. Can't seem to find that information. Maybe it's just me.
 
Unit 10 was my first elk hunt. I've had guides tell me they refuse to guide there. Going back 7 or 8 years and we had pretty good success for not really having a clue. All these years later I've been told that while the odds are pretty good, the bull to cow ratio really isn't that great.

Some other New Mexico guys may be able to help me out. But I remember something on the game and fish site that would tell you herd size and bull to cow ratio for that herd. Herd wasn't unit specific rather they grouped a few units for a herd. Can't seem to find that information. Maybe it's just me.
I too remember that list.Greater Jemez herd size estimate & ratio,etc. Can't remember where. I'll be talking to the head elk biologist later in the week & ask. I'm curious as our local herds seemed to triple in size after the big fires a few years ago,then last year dropped when we were dry.
It was20 yrs ago I last hunted 10.I did see lots of rubs & sign today heading up to Gallup .Stopped in south Zuni to check out 6 bucks standing by the road.Elk tracks everywhere.
 
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I know unit 15 is good,as well as all the 16 s and 17,,,,just looking for some units with decent public access and a decent{5%+}chance of non-res draw odds,,,all the 16 s are not even a 1% chance for the most part.muzz oct 7th-11th is what im aimin for.thanks guys,will keep researching this week to figure what will work best for me.
 
Is it still possible for a nonresident to draw a late season muzzle loader cow tag in the Gila area ?
 
I too remember that list.Greater Jemez herd size estimate & ratio,etc. Can't remember where. I'll be talking to the head elk biologist later in the week & ask. I'm curious as our local herds seemed to triple in size after the big fires a few years ago,then last year dropped when we were dry.
It was20 yrs ago I last hunted 10.I did see lots of rubs & sign today heading up to Gallup .Stopped in south Zuni to check out 6 bucks standing by the road.Elk tracks everywhere.

Glad it wasnt just me not being able to find that. Was valuable information. Had read that in 2007 they sent helicopters out to measure herd size. So maybe that's where that info came from and they haven't done that study since. And are reluctant to post 10 year old information.
 
Well I went ahead and submitted today. Application fee dropped from $20 per species to $13 so that saved me nearly $50 which was nice.

My credit card cycle ends after the due date so it wasn't going to do me any good to wait.

I already have a Wyoming elk tag in my pocket and I should be able to draw the Colorado elk tag I had been planning on this year so I swung for the fences in New Mexico.

If I draw a tag it is going to be a good one!
 
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