Hunting near El Paso, TX

[SlownSteady7]

I hunt a lot and have always wanted to venture a little further East than the Pac NW. Well my best bud and his family are moving to El Paso and naturally it didn't take long for the lightbulb to click on. Anybody have info on hunting near El Paso? Any species, any weapon, public or private it don't matter I am game for game.

 

[kylemcintyre67]

Start looking into the New Mexico draw for next year, unless you have ridiculous piles of money, there is no hunting in west Texas.

 

[SlownSteady7]

I hunt a lot and have always wanted to venture a little further East than the Pac NW. Well my best bud and his family are moving to El Paso and naturally it didn't take long for the lightbulb to click on. Anybody have info on hunting near El Paso? Any species, any weapon, public or private it don't matter I am game for game.

Thanks for the info. I'll look into NM. I'm no stranger to backcountry and putting on some miles so I'll have to see if there are any OTC archery elk hunts nearby.

 

[Chama Grande]

NM is not a big OTC elk tag state. There's a leftover tag list that goes out after the draw and you might be able to take a crack at it as non resident (not sure). Also landowner tags. I'm not sure how to come across those though.

There is also an OTC javelina tag you can get that is pretty fun if you've never hunted those. I think that season is Feb or Mar, and it might overlap with dove/quail. Can't remember exactly but that's where I'd start asking questions. Good luck!

 

[mrcowboy]

OTC Barbary Sheep. And good boots.

 

[Westxhunter]

I'm in the El Paso area. Stay away from the Border. It's a mess right now. There's public Dove hunting in an area set aside in Vado, NM about 45 minutes from here. 33 bucks for a temp tag, or 80+ for other tags. You can hunt duck, dove, quail, and even Crane north of las cruces. Here's a hint.......There's Oryx in new mexico. White Sands and Fort bliss areas, they are there. Once they cross the Texas/New Mexico border, they are considered an invasive exotic. Do your due diligence.

There are mule deer east of Red Sands, but there's hunting pressure from locals (like myself). Over the mountain range in the grasslands, there are Antelope. You'll have to get in touch with a ranch owner for those. Javelina have moved into the area near hueco tanks and the mountains east.

I've had luck the last three years drawing New Mexico Mule Deer Tags. Try for the areas with low interest. Unit's 18 and 30 are some of the hardest to hunt, but there are trophies there if you're willing to put in the work. I mean.....hard. (guadalupe range and areas south of Albuquerque) There are even Himalayan Tahr if you can find them. The ones who know where they reside, keep it a secret. I've not seen one yet. Aoudad and Wild pig near Sierra Blanca. The area is good for hunting, but the desert does not forgive or give up it's secrets easily. There's also a wild herd of Elk near Van Horn. You'll need access to get to them, but if anything, it's one of the most challenging Elk Hunts you'll ever find.

Overall, hunting can be fruitful here. You have to work for it though and keep an eye out for rattlers. The season should be good, plenty of rain has made the desert as green as I've ever seen it. Tons of dove this year and I'm scouting for some big mulies.

 

[SlownSteady7]

I'm in the El Paso area. Stay away from the Border. It's a mess right now. There's public Dove hunting in an area set aside in Vado, NM about 45 minutes from here. 33 bucks for a temp tag, or 80+ for other tags. You can hunt duck, dove, quail, and even Crane north of las cruces. Here's a hint.......There's Oryx in new mexico. White Sands and Fort bliss areas, they are there. Once they cross the Texas/New Mexico border, they are considered an invasive exotic. Do your due diligence.

There are mule deer east of Red Sands, but there's hunting pressure from locals (like myself). Over the mountain range in the grasslands, there are Antelope. You'll have to get in touch with a ranch owner for those. Javelina have moved into the area near hueco tanks and the mountains east.

I've had luck the last three years drawing New Mexico Mule Deer Tags. Try for the areas with low interest. Unit's 18 and 30 are some of the hardest to hunt, but there are trophies there if you're willing to put in the work. I mean.....hard. (guadalupe range and areas south of Albuquerque) There are even Himalayan Tahr if you can find them. The ones who know where they reside, keep it a secret. I've not seen one yet. Aoudad and Wild pig near Sierra Blanca. The area is good for hunting, but the desert does not forgive or give up it's secrets easily. There's also a wild herd of Elk near Van Horn. You'll need access to get to them, but if anything, it's one of the most challenging Elk Hunts you'll ever find.

Overall, hunting can be fruitful here. You have to work for it though and keep an eye out for rattlers. The season should be good, plenty of rain has made the desert as green as I've ever seen it. Tons of dove this year and I'm scouting for some big mulies.

Thanks for the info. I know it’s a long shot to get down there and my friend doesn’t even hunt that is moving there even though he grew up on a few thousand acres but to each his own. I’m no stranger to the backcountry and would love nothing more than to explore. Love eating rattlers so that would be a delicacy in the backcountry as long as they don’t make crap my pants first. I work all over the PNW including AK so pretty comfortable in questionable situations with animals that might not be so friendly.

 

[bobbydean]

ORYX in Texas is a non native animal. They do stray across the border.


Otherwise, New Mexico/

 

[Jmoney77360]

I'm in the El Paso area. Stay away from the Border. It's a mess right now. There's public Dove hunting in an area set aside in Vado, NM about 45 minutes from here. 33 bucks for a temp tag, or 80+ for other tags. You can hunt duck, dove, quail, and even Crane north of las cruces. Here's a hint.......There's Oryx in new mexico. White Sands and Fort bliss areas, they are there. Once they cross the Texas/New Mexico border, they are considered an invasive exotic. Do your due diligence.

There are mule deer east of Red Sands, but there's hunting pressure from locals (like myself). Over the mountain range in the grasslands, there are Antelope. You'll have to get in touch with a ranch owner for those. Javelina have moved into the area near hueco tanks and the mountains east.

I've had luck the last three years drawing New Mexico Mule Deer Tags. Try for the areas with low interest. Unit's 18 and 30 are some of the hardest to hunt, but there are trophies there if you're willing to put in the work. I mean.....hard. (guadalupe range and areas south of Albuquerque) There are even Himalayan Tahr if you can find them. The ones who know where they reside, keep it a secret. I've not seen one yet. Aoudad and Wild pig near Sierra Blanca. The area is good for hunting, but the desert does not forgive or give up it's secrets easily. There's also a wild herd of Elk near Van Horn. You'll need access to get to them, but if anything, it's one of the most challenging Elk Hunts you'll ever find.

Overall, hunting can be fruitful here. You have to work for it though and keep an eye out for rattlers. The season should be good, plenty of rain has made the desert as green as I've ever seen it. Tons of dove this year and I'm scouting for some big mulies.

I would greatly appreciate some help or info on where to legally hunt in the area. can i hunt out at red sands? there is very little info online for the el paso area and onX is useless here

 

[Jmarnold24]

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum. I grew up hunting the irrigation ditches in clint for duck and various crops for dove. I have recently moved back from amarillo tx and I am looking for public hunting land east of red sands and hueco tanks. Any directions or help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Westxhunter]

All the mountains east of hueco are state land. Get some paper maps and use something like OnX or Western Hunting maps. Public land is sprinkled through the area. Stay off military land and private and you should be fine. Dove and rabbit are mostly what you'll see. Mulies are around during years of good rain, but I stopped hunting them here. I'd like for the local herds to survive. There is some pressure out here. East of the mountain range is all private ranch. Tons of antelope out there. You'll need to get private access, which is not easy. Further east is some Archery only blm land for mulies and white tail, that's worth a look. Nothing out here is easy to hunt. Some of the ranches near hueco offer some great dove hunts during the season as well. Look up the diablo lakes.....kind of a hidden secret out in the desert. Alot of that is BLM.

 

[Jmarnold24]

All the mountains east of hueco are state land. Get some paper maps and use something like OnX or Western Hunting maps. Public land is sprinkled through the area. Stay off military land and private and you should be fine. Dove and rabbit are mostly what you'll see. Mulies are around during years of good rain, but I stopped hunting them here. I'd like for the local herds to survive. There is some pressure out here. East of the mountain range is all private ranch. Tons of antelope out there. You'll need to get private access, which is not easy. Further east is some Archery only blm land for mulies and white tail, that's worth a look. Nothing out here is easy to hunt. Some of the ranches near hueco offer some great dove hunts during the season as well. Look up the diablo lakes.....kind of a hidden secret out in the desert. Alot of that is BLM.

Thank you very much for this information. It is greatly appreciated

 

[Jmarnold24]

Thank you very much for this information. It is greatly appreciated

All the mountains east of hueco are state land. Get some paper maps and use something like OnX or Western Hunting maps. Public land is sprinkled through the area. Stay off military land and private and you should be fine. Dove and rabbit are mostly what you'll see. Mulies are around during years of good rain, but I stopped hunting them here. I'd like for the local herds to survive. There is some pressure out here. East of the mountain range is all private ranch. Tons of antelope out there. You'll need to get private access, which is not easy. Further east is some Archery only blm land for mulies and white tail, that's worth a look. Nothing out here is easy to hunt. Some of the ranches near hueco offer some great dove hunts during the season as well. Look up the diablo lakes.....kind of a hidden secret out in the desert. Alot of that is BLM.

You have mentioned BLM land to the East for bow hunting. I have looked and looked but can not find. Is there any way to get mor detail on this? Also are you still in El Paso?

 

[Westxhunter]

There's a Texas Public Hunting booklet that lays out all the Texas blm land you can hunt. Should be a map there.

 

[Jmarnold24]

Thnka you, much appreciated.

 

[josephfleming]

New to the el paso area and new to hunting, reaching out to you guys to see if anyone would like to teach someone the ropes

 

[Westxhunter]

What kind of hunting do you do. I think the best you can do right now barbary sheep in new mexico. OTC

 

[josephfleming]

nothing right now, never been but want to get started

 

[Westxhunter]

Small game is always a good way to get started, rabbits and hares should be ready soon. Once the first freeze hits, just head out into the desert north of red sands. Javelina are out there as well. Learn the habitat and go from there. The best way is to get out there and explore. If there are people out there shooting, go the opposite direction. Some real dumbshits out there at times. There' a road that goes from the red sands area all the way out to horizon. Some decent roads and a couple that go into the canyons. Always take a sidearm, be aware, sometimes people abandon dogs out there and some are mean.....further away from people you go, the better. Learn the javelina's favorite food and find it. They'll be there. You can also practice calling them. Mule deer are out there from time to time, I don't like shooting them because they are a bit rare in that area and i'd like for the herd to continue. It's not been the best years for them with all this drought. If you see an oryx, count yourself lucky. They do wander this far south from time to time.