Valle Vidal

B

brock

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Anybody hunting Unit 55 Valle Vidal (NM) this year? Anybody ever hunted it?
 
Last fall, October 4th, most awesome elk hunt I have ever been on and I've been on few. I was in there the year before and did not see any bulls that would top 330. Last year we saw 4 out of the 50 or so the first day that would top 350 and 2 that I thought were in the 375 range. Blew my mind on the quality and fun. Bugling all day..... We took 2 out of one herd Sat evening. The muzzle guns did not even spook the herd with several shots they were so rut crazed. You will have a blast. Get away from the main road!!!! Far Away!!!We hunted on horseback. I posted 1 of the bulls on my site at www.newmexicobiggamehunting.com. Good Luck!
 
JFWRC

Thanks for the info. I havent drawn yet but I will keep trying until i do. Sounds like you are pretty familiar with the terrain. Do you know Frank Casaus? He is from around Mora. I had arranged for him to take me in the Valle if I drew. Frank told me the bugle action was hot last year. My ex father-in-law drew an archery tag his first try in the mid 90's and wound up shooting over the bull and killing a cow.He was sick. He thought all night he had hit the herd bull. they let him lay up overnight then went back and hit the trail and stumbled up on the fat cow. She still had the arrow in her with his name and address on fletchings!
I hunted on the T.O. Ranch a few years ago and took a bull with my bow. No monster, but I was pretty happy. Hunting was tough! Hot and hardly any bugling. we hunted the second week in September. Saw some really good bulls (300 +) from the rim. just couldnt get in position to work them or get a steady response. they bugled the first morning for about 45 minutes and shut down. We had four hunters in camp. I was the only one who had a shot opp all week. Took a nice mule deer off the same ranch the following year.
 
Brock-No I don't know Frank but I do know some about the TO. Does Tri State still outfit the place? There are some huge antelope on that ranch that just drive me crazy when I cruz between Raton and Capulin. Hope you draw the VV sometime. You will love it. Jim
 
I think they (Tri) picked it up after Kirk Kennedy. That is who I hunted with. There are some good elk and antelope on the T.O. as you said. My T.O. m.deer scored 163 not bad for a slick 4x4. My buddy took one that pushed 180 gross on the same trip. I found a lion killed buck on my elk hunt. (We assumed it to be a lion kill from surveying the area.) we gross scored in the low 190's. 5X5 with some nice kickers. dont have a pic of it. I turned it over to the taxidermist and was planning on having him mounted with a cape I got from Kirk. The horn material had started to decay internally from the dryness. so it was a little bit past just painting up and mounting. so i gave him to the taxidermist to put on a bear mount. He was a beauty.
I have also lion hunted on that ranch and the adjacent one on the backside. Not sure of the adjoing ranch's name though. We cut a nice tom track and ran forever. the track was a little too old and he had a good jump on us. never caught up with him. only track we found all week so we just ran with what we had, you know? I hunted lion with Harvey Shannon and Rick Phillips. they did take a book lion w/ a smoke pole a few weeks before I got there. no lion yet. I will try again this year since I didnt draw V.V.
 

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