I saw a bunch of elk last late summer/early fall while deer scouting. They were rutted up pretty good. There was 4 or 5 bulls running around and about 40 cows, nothing bigger than 5x5 though. They were South and East of Whiterocks mountain. Also on Cradle Mesa there was elk sign at every dirt tank that had water, even down in the lower country that didn't look like good elk country. There was cactus around and oak and junipers, no pines or anything like that. This spring while hunting turkeys in the Northern part of the unit I saw a few elk but I have a feeling and have heard from folks who have hunted it that with the limited access and amount of tags that every one crowds in up in the North end near Luna and the elk get skittish quick. Visibility also sucks up there and you can not really glass for anything. I did find a nice heavy 6 point shed in there though so the bulls are in there. That Northern country has some seriously nasty overgrown thick bottomless canyons and I am sure the elk just bail off into them when the going gets tough. If I had that tag I would hunt them in the lower more open stuff and glass for them like they were deer, put them to bed and then stalk them. There might not be as many elk down low but I bet they will be easier to kill once you find them. Good luck
Bret M.
