KayakMacGyver
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2018
- Messages
- 353
Sorry for the long intro, if you’re not interested in my backstory and are able to contribute, please take a look at the general questions I’ve asked at the bottom.
I’ve been applying for points/tags in several states for the last 3 years and just went on my first elk hunt last season. I had tried for many years to get buddies to go on an elk hunt, but every year was a repeat. In January, everyone says “YES, I’m IN!”. By summer, when planning commitments come due, the enthusiasm fades. I really got into Randy’s show, along with Born and Raised Outdoors, in late 2017. Their Elk hunting experienced pushed me over the edge and I've since consumed about every bit of media these guys have put out. Last year I finally said, “screw it”, I’m going to do this even if that means I have to go solo. I committed in January and executed the plan. A long summer of training, planning and investing in the equipment followed.
I decided against an outfitter because I want to make Elk hunting a part of my life every year and knew that before I had ever been on an elk hunt. As a firm believer in “you get what you pay for”, I spent the money I would have paid an outfitter for a single season to completely outfit myself with top grade equipment that should last me the better part of 15 years. As a DIYer public land hunter through and through, I now have everything I need to go anytime I want with a very limited required budget needed for for future hunts.
My hunt last year was spectacular. I spent 9 days solo hunting Colorado on an OTC archery tag. After hiking into the wilderness for 2 hours pre-dawn, while walking up a game trail right at first light I stumbled into a herd of Elk at 50 yards. There was a decent legal bull in the group, but I just couldn’t get a clean shot. After some time, they filtered off never to be seen again…but I was HOOKED.
The rest of my trip was spent basically hiking with my Bow. I explored and explored, mostly trying to evade other hunters, learning VERY quickly that Colorado OTC is super crowded. Hunting solo, and during an unseasonably warm couple of weeks, my distance from trail head self-imposed limit was short. I ran into a lot of other hunters and unfortunately didn’t find many elk. I had just two bugling encounters and in hindsight should have stuck with the first area I found/hunted days 1-4. It was where I got into the small herd of elk and the whole area was just loaded with sign. After running into other hunters and figuring I could find that kind of action in other places, I ended up leaving to find less pressured elk. My preference when in the woods is solitude, so I ended up spending a lot of time trying to find “honey holes” off the beaten path. I certainly found some holes, but they ended up not being game rich environments.
Long story, short….It was an excellent learning experience with the most important lesson being that if you want to go Elk hunting, you can go Elk hunting!
Now, I find myself in a position where I hope I didn’t exceed my level of elk hunting competence! My application strategy for the last three years has included New Mexico as a home run opportunity while I build points. I was totally surprised to see GREEN on my application for my second choice in unit thirty six. Based on the information I’ve looked up, it appears to be a really good tag that I’ve drawn with 5% or less odds.
Some general questions I have:
For those that have hunted this unit, how was your experience? Is it glassable or is it mostly heavily timbered? I’d really love to do some spot/stalking. In Colorado I didn’t really get an opportunity to do this due to areas I hunted.
How should I expect my hunting experience to differ when compared to an OTC unit? I think the answers to this are, but I’d love to get confirmation. With a very good Bull/Cow Ration (58:100), I surmise that there should some really great rut action.
Is the rut period the same in NM as it is, in say, Colorado or Wyoming? I live in Florida and our deer rut is incredibly unpredictable. For example, near my house peak rut is mid-November. Drive 50 miles west and the peak rut is mid-January. Drive to south Florida and the rut is in July! I will be taking full advantage of my entire tag period, September 1-14th…should I expect good rutting action?
Is water hole hunting something I should strongly consider in this area? As a treestand hunter for deer, I’m not foreign to this style and willing to try it if it’s an effective tactic.
I’m sure I’ll be bouncing thoughts/questions off this board from now until September as I work out my game plan and appreciate any insight you all are willing to share! If I can be of any help, my specialties include Alligator/Deer/Turkey/Pigs and Offshore/Inshore fishing in Florida.
I’ve been applying for points/tags in several states for the last 3 years and just went on my first elk hunt last season. I had tried for many years to get buddies to go on an elk hunt, but every year was a repeat. In January, everyone says “YES, I’m IN!”. By summer, when planning commitments come due, the enthusiasm fades. I really got into Randy’s show, along with Born and Raised Outdoors, in late 2017. Their Elk hunting experienced pushed me over the edge and I've since consumed about every bit of media these guys have put out. Last year I finally said, “screw it”, I’m going to do this even if that means I have to go solo. I committed in January and executed the plan. A long summer of training, planning and investing in the equipment followed.
I decided against an outfitter because I want to make Elk hunting a part of my life every year and knew that before I had ever been on an elk hunt. As a firm believer in “you get what you pay for”, I spent the money I would have paid an outfitter for a single season to completely outfit myself with top grade equipment that should last me the better part of 15 years. As a DIYer public land hunter through and through, I now have everything I need to go anytime I want with a very limited required budget needed for for future hunts.
My hunt last year was spectacular. I spent 9 days solo hunting Colorado on an OTC archery tag. After hiking into the wilderness for 2 hours pre-dawn, while walking up a game trail right at first light I stumbled into a herd of Elk at 50 yards. There was a decent legal bull in the group, but I just couldn’t get a clean shot. After some time, they filtered off never to be seen again…but I was HOOKED.
The rest of my trip was spent basically hiking with my Bow. I explored and explored, mostly trying to evade other hunters, learning VERY quickly that Colorado OTC is super crowded. Hunting solo, and during an unseasonably warm couple of weeks, my distance from trail head self-imposed limit was short. I ran into a lot of other hunters and unfortunately didn’t find many elk. I had just two bugling encounters and in hindsight should have stuck with the first area I found/hunted days 1-4. It was where I got into the small herd of elk and the whole area was just loaded with sign. After running into other hunters and figuring I could find that kind of action in other places, I ended up leaving to find less pressured elk. My preference when in the woods is solitude, so I ended up spending a lot of time trying to find “honey holes” off the beaten path. I certainly found some holes, but they ended up not being game rich environments.
Long story, short….It was an excellent learning experience with the most important lesson being that if you want to go Elk hunting, you can go Elk hunting!
Now, I find myself in a position where I hope I didn’t exceed my level of elk hunting competence! My application strategy for the last three years has included New Mexico as a home run opportunity while I build points. I was totally surprised to see GREEN on my application for my second choice in unit thirty six. Based on the information I’ve looked up, it appears to be a really good tag that I’ve drawn with 5% or less odds.
Some general questions I have:
For those that have hunted this unit, how was your experience? Is it glassable or is it mostly heavily timbered? I’d really love to do some spot/stalking. In Colorado I didn’t really get an opportunity to do this due to areas I hunted.
How should I expect my hunting experience to differ when compared to an OTC unit? I think the answers to this are, but I’d love to get confirmation. With a very good Bull/Cow Ration (58:100), I surmise that there should some really great rut action.
Is the rut period the same in NM as it is, in say, Colorado or Wyoming? I live in Florida and our deer rut is incredibly unpredictable. For example, near my house peak rut is mid-November. Drive 50 miles west and the peak rut is mid-January. Drive to south Florida and the rut is in July! I will be taking full advantage of my entire tag period, September 1-14th…should I expect good rutting action?
Is water hole hunting something I should strongly consider in this area? As a treestand hunter for deer, I’m not foreign to this style and willing to try it if it’s an effective tactic.
I’m sure I’ll be bouncing thoughts/questions off this board from now until September as I work out my game plan and appreciate any insight you all are willing to share! If I can be of any help, my specialties include Alligator/Deer/Turkey/Pigs and Offshore/Inshore fishing in Florida.
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