New Mexico 16C Second Archery Elk Tag

[BartG]

Got lucky and drew a NM 16C second archery tag. I’m from Ohio so preseason scouting won’t be possible. I should be able to get there a few days before season starts to scout and hunt the entire season. With the quality of tag and lack of preseason scouting I am debating on hiring a guide.

I have hunted elk the last 7 seasons in CO, ID and NM with very limited success.... mostly OTC or 2nd choice tags. Would like to give It a go myself, but don’t want to waste a chance at a great bull.

Thoughts?

Any info on the unit would be appreciated. Thanks.

Bart G.

 

[Gila]

I would hire a guide If I were in your shoes. It may be a tougher hunt than with some of the other 16 units. Water is a big concern there. We had a good winter with plenty of snow pack. However this spring has been too dry. Hopefully they are able to do the scheduled prescribed burns. We have had more fire danger alerts than usual. Congrats on your draw!

 

[bignocks]

Couple things Id leave you with. It rains a bunch this time of year but not like you you wear rain gear all day. showers for an hour then moves on or at night. Just for planning. I would definitely have a atv or side by side. Not necessary but its way easier to get around from camp as some roads can get slow moving. I would also go in shape. You arent walking dirt roads like say idaho areas. It seems to be easy to get in a situation where you might need to hike through a couple big drainages to get to some bugles. The area seems big enough to mostly avoid people so if you see a truck id just drive couple miles and try again. Last year I was begging for a bugle after tons of miles. I heard that from a bunch of people other than some got lucky and found a pocket where they were going crazy. Id say get up early and just sit in the dark for a while and hope to hear something and haul ass. They kept going quiet as soon as the sun crested the trees. They will probably wake you up many times in the night just to tease you. Good luck

 

[Ucsdryder]

“Very limited success”. If that’s because you haven’t figured it out how to kill an elk yet then maybe hire a guide. Not sure the draw odds or how good 16c is, but if it’s that good you might figure out a long weekend to go scouting. There are some cheap flights right now. If you diy, I’d figure out a way to get boots on the ground.

 

[bignocks]

O and one more thing. Cell service sucks. So download ur onx maps if u use that. Well worth doing that and ur gps still works on downloaded maps even tho u don't have service. Maybe download some music and a phone game too for at night. I kept checking my phone for service on high points until I figured out a spot I can get a bar or 2. Look out tower roads tend to be a good spot in many areas to try.

 

[Gila]

In southern NM you should have an inReach and GPS in one form or another. I had to put up my own cell and 4G antenna to get any reception at all. I always carry a military compass and a map for a back-up.

 

[Packin_packout]

1. Find a weekend and fly in and hike the area or at least drive the road system and figure where stuff is. You can skirt the eastern edge of the unit on the CDT. It's absolutely worth 500 dollars to do it.
2. No AT&T cell service once you hit winston, winston store has showers, laundry and some canned goods and is an emergency stop for hunting gear if something goes wrong.
3. Lots of black bears and cats up there...saw two cats the week I was there and had one bear cub up a tree.
4. Lots of road hunting. Cameras on many of the tanks.
5. Most of the main roads are reasonable...no gas though...bring some extra if your rig likes to drink gas. Once you get on the more remote roads they can get pretty bad.
6. Flash flooding is a real issue out there..so watch for the monsoons in the afternoons.
7. There are mexican wolves in that area the release zone I think is on the western side so be aware of that.
8. Get the motor vehicle use map from the forest service and then get some topo maps and compare...there are a lot closed roads...those supposed closed roads will have traffic so plan that in.

Be in shape. There are some good elk in there.

 

[BartG]

Thanks for the info all!

 

[cedahm]

I had the 1st rifle tag there 4 years ago and my buddy drew 2nd rifle this year so headed back. ALL of the above advice is sound. I would concur greatly with the sentiment that it is well worth the investment for a long weekend trip to get the lay of the land. I did that when I had the tag and it was invaluable just to see the ground up close and identify camping spots, major roads, etc.

All I would add is - and I love to glass - but it's challenging to find places in C where you can glass an entire canyon or drainage. It's rugged and while you can see a long ways through the ponderosa at ground level, it's tough to see into the twists and turns. What worked for us was kind of a modified still-hunt where we covered a canyon or drainage rim very slowly, glassing and walking, rinse and repeat.

In 2nd archery you'll have the bonus of likely high bugling activity to help narrow down elk locations.

 

[Doghed]

Good advice above. Packin summed it up well. I've been in there numerous times for first and second archery. We were just in there last week looking for turkeys. Of course since we were turkey hunting all we saw were deer and elk.
Congrats on the draw, should be a great time.

 

[Nick13]

Like mentioned above there is a ton of road hunting and people driving “closed” roads.

 

[mavinwa2]

had this tag a few years back. With your limited elk experience, limited time, hire a guide/outfitter or it will be tough for you.

definitely get away from road hunters, go deep, down-in and be in shape.
I took 2 RT flights, three day weekends a month prior, to scout for my 16C archery hunt. Total cost; RT flights, rental 4x4, supplies= $1500 to scout. Glad I did and money well spent.
Atv or sxs would be nice but my Xterra lifted/outfitted did fine. If you want to contact home, bring an Inreach. I kept a mobile camp, moved until locating elk. And the earlier tip about listening for bugling at night is a good one, helped me fill my tag on the 7th day of 10.

This was my 2nd NM DIY non-res elk hunt, the first in 16A, years ago. Yet I have spent time & $$$, scouting 16a, c and 15 over the last 12 years just to get to know the country better. 3 of those years spent in mid September, no tag, just to observe, listen and learn.
At my age, hoping to draw one more time...oneday. Wish I'd have drawn 16c or 16A this year. I know just where to put a big bull down. Odds for NR draw just are ridiculous anymore.

This Gila area to me is elk hunting nirvana, so enjoy.

 

[Shaun2390]

Got lucky and drew a NM 16C second archery tag. I’m from Ohio so preseason scouting won’t be possible. I should be able to get there a few days before season starts to scout and hunt the entire season. With the quality of tag and lack of preseason scouting I am debating on hiring a guide.

I have hunted elk the last 7 seasons in CO, ID and NM with very limited success.... mostly OTC or 2nd choice tags. Would like to give It a go myself, but don’t want to waste a chance at a great bull.

Thoughts?

Any info on the unit would be appreciated. Thanks.

Bart G.

BartG how did your hunt go? I drew the 2nd archery tag in 16C this year! Hoping for a fun hunt! Any info your willing to share would be greatly appreciated. Will be my first elk hunt in New Mexico

 

[BartG]

@Shaun2390 Sending you a PM

 

[bergie]

I will be putting in for my first out of state elk hunt this spring. 16C is on the short list of units to apply. I am used to rugged, big, roadless country and the lack of people that comes with that. It sounds like there is plenty of roads in this unit but are there pockets that would fit the above description?

 

[Gila]

I will be putting in for my first out of state elk hunt this spring. 16C is on the short list of units to apply. I am used to rugged, big, roadless country and the lack of people that comes with that. It sounds like there is plenty of roads in this unit but are there pockets that would fit the above description?

The wilderness areas are about as rugged and remote as you are going to get. The further in the most likely you will be hunting by yourself.

 

[bergie]

@Gila any thoughts on why the success rate is so low? Tough country leads to folks not filling tags? Near as I can tell elk numbers are similar to adjacent units with much better success rates.

 

[Shaun2390]

To many roads through the unit. Most elk stay on the edges of the unit and everyone will be chasin the same herd. Too many ppl not playinthe wind and too many utvs. Not many places to get away from ppl

 

[Gila]

@Gila any thoughts on why the success rate is so low? Tough country leads to folks not filling tags? Near as I can tell elk numbers are similar to adjacent units with much better success rates.

The youth hunt is the only hunt left that is actually limited access. The youth hunts are ES so that increases the success rate as well. There are huge ranches in that unit that went unit wide landowner tags. The UW tags have doubled the number of hunters in the field for some hunts. The ranches have their own outfitters or contract out those UW tags to other outfitters. The outfitters book hunts with the UW tags and hunt the public lands. If they don’t book hunts with all of the tags they have, they will resell the UW tags to other outfitters or DIYers. Sometimes those UW tags are resold 3 or 4 times. Most of the other nearby Gila units have very few UW tags so the success rates, especially for mature bulls, are much higher.

 

[bergie]

The youth hunt is the only hunt left that is actually limited access. The youth hunts are ES so that increases the success rate as well. There are huge ranches in that unit that went unit wide landowner tags. The UW tags have doubled the number of hunters in the field for some hunts. The ranches have their own outfitters or contract out those UW tags to other outfitters. The outfitters book hunts with the UW tags and hunt the public lands. If they don’t book hunts with all of the tags they have, they will resell the UW tags to other outfitters or DIYers. Sometimes those UW tags are resold 3 or 4 times. Most of the other nearby Gila units have very few UW tags so the success rates, especially for mature bulls, are much higher.

Interesting. Do you have a list of how many UW tags are issued in each unit? I have narrowed my list of unit to apply down to 8, but whittling that list down to 3 has proven to be a task.