First Elk hunt....Advice needed! NM unit 34

Ltsheets · Nov 30, 2013

Hey guys. So I was fortunate enough to be able to snag one of the late season bull elk tags for unit 34 in NM 14-18 Dec. The tag is for a bull with 6 points on one side or better so I know it will probably be a tough hunt but I don't care! I know I will learn a lot this year that I can put to use next year if I draw. I'm looking for any general information anyone has about the unit and any elk hunting advice you're willing to give a rookie who's eager to learn! Thanks in advance and no I'm not expecting anyone to give up a honey hole. I fully understand the time and effort it takes to find those. Thanks in advance.

Also if anyone else on here has one of these tags too let me know!

CAelknuts · Nov 30, 2013

LAST EDITED ON Nov-30-13 AT 09:29PM (MST)[p]The best advice I can offer you is to have your maps in hand and call the biologist AND the game warden for the unit. Tell them you're a first time elk hunter and ask them for advice on where to start looking. Have your maps spread out with a pen and note pad so that you can take down notes as they talk.

Show up at least a couple days before the season opens and learn your way around the unit, where roads go and how to get to spots where you've been told to start looking. Don't bump elk by getting too close if you find any before the season, view them from a long way off and leave them alone.

Then, when the season opens, get your butt out where you need to be while it is still dark and get set up to start glassing as soon as you can. Spend more time searching with your eyes than with your legs. And....

Give us all a report with pictures after you return. Good luck!

Ltsheets · Nov 30, 2013

Thx elknuts. Calling those guys is one of the things I haven't done yet. I have my maps though and have made notes as other locals and hunters have passed on tips for the unit.

Anaconda · Dec 1, 2013

CAelknut has great advice.
Once the season is going, get up high and use your binoculars. Expect to cover lots of ground before you find them. Finding elk and hunting elk are two different things. Before you hunt them, you need to find them. You may look at a hundred square miles with no elk, don't get discouraged, the next square mile could have five hundred of them, all in one group.

Ltsheets · Dec 1, 2013

Anaconda,

The glassing thing is actually one of my biggest worries. We found a few elk while scouting a few weeks ago but it's so thick in a lot of that unit that even when you get high, you can see anything. I'm hoping to find an area where I can glass successfully in Unit 34.

Anaconda · Dec 1, 2013

Patience and persistence.
It is possible to find animals looking down in to thick timber.
If it's too thick to see anything, it's probably too thick for elk. The only other option I know of is to hike the timber, looking for tracks and other sign.
Once you find it, slow down and hunt.

Another point, if you hunt hard for a day or two and don't find any elk, move to another location. The hunt is too short to waste time in areas with no elk.

Ltsheets · Dec 1, 2013

I found areas in the thick timber while scouting that had elk sign everywhere. It seemed like no matter where we scouted that day we found tracks and poop. The only difference was the amount of rubs found in certain areas. One area where a road ran up a valley with a fair amount of grass, we saw prob 4 doz rubs in a 1-2 mile stretch...they were everywhere. Finding the sign wasn't a problem but finding somewhere to see them from further than 50 yds to make a stalk I think is going to be tricky if I go back and hunt where we scouted.