New Mexico Audad

[cgasner1]

Do you guys want me to try and do a live/semi live hunt for my trip to New Mexico. Full disclosure upfront we beat the odds and drew these tags in the general drawing. The odds were around 2% after drawing and looking into logistics of travel costs and time away from home I started talking with outfitters. In the end we decided to go that route and hired an outfitter. The hunt will be done on public ground on free ranging animals. So the question is do you care to hear about all the stuff leading up to the trip and how it turns out? Or just hopefully see a couple as the lay pics later

 

[Dave N]

May as well go for it!

 

[Valley1320]

Wanna hear about it all. Lol

 

[vanish]

Sure, but make sure you don't distract yourself from the hunt.

 

[Corn king 60]

I’ve been thinking of trying to draw this tag. So yeah all you can manage to write up. Thanks

 

[prhunter]

good luck! let us know how the hunt goes beginning to end.

 

[cgasner1]

Seems like enough people are interested. I just didn’t know how well it would be taken since the hunt was booked after the draw with an outfitter. Soooo let’s go back to the beginning of all of this. I apply for about every state I have a chance at a tag in. This year after our Montana elk tags came out one of my buddies didn’t draw his archery tag so I asked if he wanted to throw in with me for New Mexico elk. So later that day I send him a screen shot of my application and he jumps in and we are in the draw. A few days later I was taking with another buddy and he was telling me I should really be applying for Audad also. So I take a gander at Gohunt find some days that the season would work and ask the guy again hey since we did elk you wanna throw in on this tag. Draw odds are horrible I doubt we get it but what’s the worst that can happen we draw a tag? He agrees and now our name is in for 2 tags. We both work for a utility here and on the day the results come out a nasty spring storm has hit and he had been out of cell service and working all night so I send him a screen shot and tell him sorry your gonna have to tell your wife what we did.

 

[cgasner1]

So things just got very real. I hunt a lot I’m very fortunate to have a wife that is semi understanding. But one of the rules is no hunting around Christmas anymore and this hunt is pushing the limits of that. After the sticker shock wore off of the fact we just pulled a tag with a 5% draw odd for a animal that neither of us have ever hunted in a state I drove thru once about 18 years ago I went to the internet. Did a lot of looking for information/scouting and learning for a couple weeks trying to figure out how we were gonna pull this off. I once again talked the the guy that talked me into all this and he said just hire an outfitter. Honestly the thought had never even crossed my mind so back to the web to check out some outfitters. I emailed about all of them that I could find. From there I had phone conversations with 3-4 of them. The one guy was just such a sleaze ball I almost cancelled the outfitter idea completely. I ended up finding a guy that seems to be very honest. What sold me was he told me his clients don’t shoot under 28” rams he prides himself on that. He grew up in the area and has killed a pile of them over the years. He also told me the only reason im hiring him is his knowledge of the area. Which was apparent due to some laws New Mexico has for closing roads. At the end of the conversation he told me if I can put down 10 miles a day and shoot to 500 he can get me a honest shake at a ram. We got lucky and none of his clients had drawn the tag this year. So he had openings and could get us in.

 

[WNC2500]

Auodad has always been a hunt I would like to do. Good luck @cgasner1

 

[cgasner1]

I’d also like to say this is just gonna be my story and how I see it. Im going to do my best to keep the outfitter we use out of this story. Mainly because I honestly don’t know how the experience will be with and good or bad I don’t care to blast them on the net I’ve made the choice to go this way with this hunt. So they sent us a email with a couple different packages and some grip and grins. We talked it over and decided to go all in and have them cook the food and supply the sleeping quarters from my house to the unit is 1100 miles one way across mt-wy-co-nm with price of fuel and bad weather it seemed like such a better option. The price estimate I figured from a diy to this route was about a 500 dollar difference. It also saved both of us a wee of vacation and an easy 40 hours in my truck.

 

[cgasner1]

So with the basic hint plans in place now we had to figure out the travel. We fly out of Billings land in Albuquerque and then one of us will Uber over to uhaul where I have rented a cargo van for our travel down to Roswell once we arrive in Roswell plan is to get a air bnb for the night. Somewhere along the way we need to find a place to check zeros on the rifles and get some gas for my jet boil. Here are a few more pictures because all stories need some more pictures the antelope I slugged at 600 the buck at 485 in his bed. I packed that entire deer out last weekend with all my gear for 2.5 miles my rifle is dialed I hope it travels well on this trip

 

[Chingon]

I'd buy everything in ABQ - slim pickings for outdoor gear down south. REI, Cabelas, Sportsmans, etc. here.

Also, if you have any car rental status (via credit card or whatever) with National, they often have 4x4 SUVs/Trucks in the Emerald aisles for the same price as the standard mid-size rate. If they don't have something you'd want, just don't pick up the rental and they've never charged me. Plan B can be the Uhaul.

 

[fishing4sanity]

Good luck! I went on a very similar hunt several years ago in the Roswell area and loved it. Very interesting animals and area. Looking forward to your report.

 

[cgasner1]

I'd buy everything in ABQ - slim pickings for outdoor gear down south. REI, Cabelas, Sportsmans, etc. here.

Also, if you have any car rental status (via credit card or whatever) with National, they often have 4x4 SUVs/Trucks in the Emerald aisles for the same price as the standard mid-size rate. If they don't have something you'd want, just don't pick up the rental and they've never charged me. Plan B can be the Uhaul.

I just need transportation. I can be a pavement princess due to using the guides vehicle once we read h Roswell for the price of a uhaul and keeping all of our gear inside a cargo van it’s hard to beat. My last trip with a uhaul van it worked great we had 2 moose shoved into it

 

[TheGreek]

Following along. Got a similar tag in Feb. I gotta start doing some more research on how to make it happen.

Good luck!

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

You should get some "Free Candy" Magnets for the side of the van and kick this thing up a notch.
Looks like this will be a fun trip.

 

[cgasner1]

With the departure date basically a week away now I’m trying to kinda space out things that need done for the trip/ be super dad. My morning started at 630 went to the rifle range to confirm the zero on the gun last weekend packing my buck out I kinda fell. By kinda I went from sitting on a log to heels up in the air and couldn’t move. Gun was money no issues there. Then I took the kids to my gym so they can play in the play area got in a light lift and some good cardio. Couple months back I started getting heavy into the cardio or at least heavy for me to get read for this. Later towards the afternoon I cut up about 80% of that buck which then freed up my argali game bags to go in the washing machine. Planning trips during hunting season is a lot of work to do more work. Later towards the evening there was a parade here in town my company put a float together so we all went out for that. I dressed in a Xmas tree costume. Tomorrow is another day to continue the battle of getting ready for New Mexico and trying to leave my house ready for Xmas to keep peace on the home front. She can tell I’m already getting anxious and commented on it earlier today.

 

[cgasner1]

Parade picture

 

[fishing4sanity]

..... I dressed in a Xmas tree costume.....

When I hunted aoudad in NM there were very few trees, but that costume might be pretty good camo anyway. Just leave the lights turned off!

 

[cgasner1]

This year has been good to me with the little time I spent in the field. The freezer is full to what the wife wants so the buck will be turned into meat treats for me. Most of him will be turned into jerky meat