New Mexico draw???

[ddavis_1313]

So, main question is when do you put in? I need to start sending in every year for New Mexico. I have private land I hunt in Colorado for elk and it holds some decent bulls but few and far in between like NM. So, would you recommend early archery or late archery? Also, is it better to put in with a guide and how exactly does that work? I know my units of interest 16a 16d 12 13 and 32. At least from a little research. If you draw without a guide, can you still hire a guide afterwards? New to NM elk. Cut my teeth on Colorado elk last year and interested in chasing a NM giant in a unit where satellites are as big as the herd bulls we hunt in Colorado.


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[Trial153]

So, main question is when do you put in? I need to start sending in every year for New Mexico. I have private land I hunt in Colorado for elk and it holds some decent bulls but few and far in between like NM. So, would you recommend early archery or late archery? Also, is it better to put in with a guide and how exactly does that work? I know my units of interest 16a 16d 12 13 and 32. At least from a little research. If you draw without a guide, can you still hire a guide afterwards? New to NM elk. Cut my teeth on Colorado elk last year.


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Date. 3/20
Early or late ....flip a coin . Late is more popular. You have two weeks, things can change in a day.
Guide = guide pool 10% of the tags.
No guide = 6% of the tags
Yea you can hire a guide after the draw. However in some cases the guide draw has way better odds, so you giving up % for indecision.

 

[ddavis_1313]

Date. 3/20
Early or late ....flip a coin . Late is more popular. You have two weeks, things can change in a day.
Guide = guide pool 10% of the tags.
No guide = 6% of the tags
Yea you can hire a guide after the draw. However in some cases the guide draw has way better odds, so you giving up % for indecision.

Any recommendations on the units I’ve listed? I’m very unfamiliar with NM. I have a place to hunt in Colorado so I’ll be giving up a private land hunt with a high success rate for I know territory. In that case, I’d like to make it worth my while and try to draw a unit where 380+ isn’t like catching a unicorn.


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[Trial153]

Any recommendations on the units I’ve listed? I’m very unfamiliar with NM. I have a place to hunt in Colorado so I’ll be giving up a private land hunt with a high success rate for I know territory. In that case, I’d like to make it worth my while and try to draw a unit where 380+ isn’t like catching a unicorn.


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380 is tall task even in the gila. 12 and 13 will have elk more spread out and little bit harder access. Been through those units a couple time. The 16s are good as you will find anywhere that said even there 380 plus......not easy. Better allocate the whole two weeks. And bring some bread for a tag sandwich.

Still Your hardest part though is drawing.

 

[Felix40]

You should think about putting a couple minutes into looking at the regs. Draw deadline is within the first few pages and one of the units you listed doesnt even have elk hunts.

 

[ddavis_1313]

You should think about putting a couple minutes into looking at the regs. Draw deadline is within the first few pages and one of the units you listed doesnt even have elk hunts.

Kinda why I’m asking online. NM is foreign to me.


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[dreamingbig]

Kinda why I’m asking online. NM is foreign to me.


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Most guys are just tired of folks expecting others to do the work. The regs are online and can be downloaded. I would lower your expectations. 325 + is a tall enough task of you have never been there.


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[ddavis_1313]

Most guys are just tired of folks expecting others to do the work. The regs are online and can be downloaded. I would lower your expectations. 325 + is a tall enough task of you have never been there.


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Not expecting anyone to do the work. Honestly, just looking for where to search for info. Eve that would be nice. Maybe some input from anyone that’s been in those units as far as terrain and what to expect.


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[dreamingbig]

http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/hunting/applications-and-draw-information/


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[WhiteOak]

The 2019 nm hunting proclamation/regs booklet is out on thier website as well. It covers all of the hunt codes for your apps. NM is really pretty simple when it comes to how to apply for the draw. Hunt codes correspond to species, weapons, and dates. That's all in the proclamation plus more.

 

[JPD350]

LOL IMO 380 bulls are few and far between and not far from being unicorns! I do feel that we have a few units that could produce the bull you want but you will have to be a very very lucky person to run across one, couple that with drawing as a non-resident and you will have to weigh the odds of how many times you will actually hunt NM which can't be very high, especially in the DIY pool.
I am not saying that you couldn't fulfill your want of killing a 380 bull but you may have to pay a high price to get that opportunity or you could just work at having an awesome experience trying to kill a solid bad ass 300 to 350" bull and realistically that opportunity isn't a given either.
I've been elk hunting NM since the 80's and have been on a lot of hunts and have seen a lot of bulls, in all those years the biggest bull I have taken is a 320ish, a lot of variables involved in killing big bulls of which I have not overcome after 35 years of running around NM.

 

[Papa_Goose]

32 is a pretty tough elk hunt, IMO.

 

[KHNC]

Just apply for 16D like everyone else and pick both seasons. Odds are less than 2% in archery as NR. You probably should concentrate on your CO area in all reality anwyay.

 

[Riplip]

You might want to consider looking at Go Hunt.com. Tons of info and I think you will find the answers you are looking for.

FYI - There are no elk hunts available in 32, so you can cross that off your list.

 

[upslope 50]

This year should be great in NM and your smart for getting into the game here. There are large elk in almost every unit in the primary elk units (used to be the COER). Due to bull to cow ratio's and limited tags its alot better hunt than CO OTC for similar price, some units are even cheaper. I wouldn't spend the money to contract with an outfitter just for a small percentage increase. If you have the cash, just buy a LO tag. Study the odds report and forget about the units that are 16 anything other than your first choice. second and third choice should be units that are significantly higher odds. As far as which hunts to put in for, your odds are higher on the first archery hunt. You may not call in elk during this hunt but its done all the time. You can hunt water or spot and stalk and have a chance at great bulls. My experience is NM elk are more aggressive and vocal. This isn't everyday but enough so that during your time in the field opportunities at locating elk and getting close are more often. Couple that with more open terrain, even if they aren't talking, there's ways to turn em up. Keep researching and get your app in before the deadline mentioned above. Don't hold your breath, you will likely be hunting CO again but the beauty about NM is you never know. FYI I've seen some slammer elk in CO OTC units too. Not very common but they exist. Those are held as close to my chest as my OTC barbary spots lol.

 

[ddavis_1313]

This year should be great in NM and your smart for getting into the game here. There are large elk in almost every unit in the primary elk units (used to be the COER). Due to bull to cow ratio's and limited tags its alot better hunt than CO OTC for similar price, some units are even cheaper. I wouldn't spend the money to contract with an outfitter just for a small percentage increase. If you have the cash, just buy a LO tag. Study the odds report and forget about the units that are 16 anything other than your first choice. second and third choice should be units that are significantly higher odds. As far as which hunts to put in for, your odds are higher on the first archery hunt. You may not call in elk during this hunt but its done all the time. You can hunt water or spot and stalk and have a chance at great bulls. My experience is NM elk are more aggressive and vocal. This isn't everyday but enough so that during your time in the field opportunities at locating elk and getting close are more often. Couple that with more open terrain, even if they aren't talking, there's ways to turn em up. Keep researching and get your app in before the deadline mentioned above. Don't hold your breath, you will likely be hunting CO again but the beauty about NM is you never know. FYI I've seen some slammer elk in CO OTC units too. Not very common but they exist. Those are held as close to my chest as my OTC barbary spots lol.

Thanks for the info. I’d be happy to experience more vocal elk and see bigger herds compared to what we get in Colorado where I hunt. We have awesome elk on the private we hunt. Average bulls are 280-320. Guy killed a 349 last year and another guy blew a shot at one bigger. I love the back country and I love having space. But in Colorado near where we hunt you can cover 50 miles in 5 days and not turn up a single elk. So for me it’s the experience PLUS having a chance at a big bull. Not saying it’s easier or anything like that but the odds are certainly better. If it wasn’t, then it wouldn’t be so hard to hunt there.


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[elkhuntrr75]

I like hunting New Mexico. It is the last state besides Idaho to not prescribe to a broken point system and I have had good luck drawing tags from the NR pool. Sometimes it seems like I draw more tags than a resident. It works out great it you put in for multiple species. I don’t think that you need to hire a guide even though it ups your odds for sure. The seasons are short so you need to have a good plan. I have hunted 13 before so If you ever do draw a tag I might be able to help you out. 330” bull is more realistic there than 380”.


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