I did this hunt back in 2017 and here are some of my notes.
There will be lots of elk-- but not as much as you think . I've seen more in other parts of NM. Its not like they will be off-roads waiting for you to shoot them, you still have to go in deep and away from vehicular traffic. Keep in...
I believe he is referring to the Pecos National Monument in the town of Pecos itself. I personally accessed the wilderness from Jack's Creek and made my way to Hamilton Mesa. Its a healthy hike but does hold all of the species. I know a lot of people also like to come in through the Rociada side
My kitten sacrifice was successful in my pagan luck ritual and I drew second archery hunt in 16D and a deer tag for all of 16.
Not looking for any specifics but for those that have hunted it... what were some lessons learned that you wish you had known/done before scouting/hunting?
Everything this.
The wind is not to be underestimated, I was damn near blown off the rock more than a couple of times. Everything on that rock is trying to poke a hole in you. I learned this the hard way when i set down my pack and sprung a leak in my water bladder making me lose a day. Caching...
I did the archery hunt last year. There is an OTC tag and a draw tag.
Apparently the harvest rate is 30% for the OTC tag... though, i'm not sure where one would find them at.
The draw tag they are almost exclusively found on the Floridas and in great numbers, which is BLM land.
Accessible...
I did! I really slacked off and didn't do much scouting or anything for the elk hunt because I devoted all my time resources into this sheep hunt. But it ended up well. Harvested on the second day in Valle Vidal with a 320 class bull.
You know, I actually wrote a whole story and thought it posted. I guess it didn't.
Well I spent about 20 some scouting days throughout the year looking for these things and I realized a few things.
1.) You can go days without seeing them. But when you do see them you see quite a few of them...
I hunted desert sheep on public land and i'd say the challenge is just different. Desert sheep are skittish but when animals are not pressured by humans they don't has as much fear of them. I made a few mistakes with my sheep hunt and still managed to harvest. The big challenge with sheep is...
I've put in about 4 scouting days in so far and i've managed to not see a single shred of sheep or much of any other wildlife.. but then again i've been getting there around 10am to a few hours before dusk and its been 90+ degrees out. Are desert sheep daytime active? Or more like elk where they...
I've hunted 15 which is still pretty awesome. In the off-season it seems like elk is EVERYWHERE. Driving between the road from Datil to Reserve I saw hundreds of them on the side of the highway. However, during my actual hunt I hardly saw any. Long story short, the hunting pressure is real and...
17 is a great unit. You have a lot of USFS land as well as BLM land to work with.
I personally have seen quite a bit around Magdelena Mountains. Hank4elk is on point though about the water. Go on google earth, use historical satellite photography to see where the water is on the month that...
Once you are drawn, you are done. However there is a separate OIL for mountain sheep vs desert sheep. So, there's that. However, I can count on never being drawn again... ever.