K
kysersosay
Guest
I got into this conversation in another post, and realized that too many NM elk hunters are not aware of the hundreds of thousands of acres of great elk hunting that is available to them with nothing more than a little leg work. So I decided to condense our discussion and repost it here.
Under the NM landowner (ELK) system, most of the very large ranches choose for their landowner authorizations (tags) to be RO (ranch only) and thus they are only valid on their deeded acres, and they do not have to allow public hunters on their property to hunt. A greater number of landowners decide to receive UW (unit wide) tags that are valid anywhere in the GMU, and in doing so, sign an agreement opening their deeded acres to public hunters during all of the elk hunts for the license year. Many of these ranches are between 500 and 5,000 acres and often have some fantastic elk hunting on them.
To find the list of private ranches that are signed up UW (unit wide) go to the NMDGF website
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/
go to HUNTING (picture of a mule deer buck) and then under "private land hunting" go to
"2008-09 E-plus landowner list"
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/recreation/hunting/documents/ELK_RANCH_LIST.pdf
Apart from making public the list of landowners, their acreage, GMU, and contact information, the NM Game and Fish does not do a great job of letting public hunters know about this opportunity. In contrast, an antelope hunter who draws a NM tag and is assigned to a ranch can go to the same page and find actual maps of the ranch he'll be hunting. I've been told the Maim and Squish is working on getting maps built and posted for UW elk ranches, but I've heard that for a couple of years already so, I'm not holding my breath.
Right now, it takes some leg work to find these places. I recommend printing out the E-plus list for your unit when you come to scout, and bringing a BLM 1:100,000 LAND STATUS MAP that shows well the private land versus the USFS or BLM or State land. I first find a bull or a spot that should hold one, and then find out if the ranch is UW. I think the agreement requires landowners to allow hunters to scout the property 48 hours prior to their hunt, but it may be more or less, I'd ask the Game and Fish on that one.
Most people that look at the E-plus list are simply interested in acquiring the landowner tags that are given to the landowner, but I guess one could also call the landowners and ask them about their ranches, and where they are at. Very many of these landowners that sell their tags have one provision, that the hunters (who buy their tags) use them anywhere BUT their property. Often times the landowner sells his tags to an outfitter who hunts the ranch and public land. I wouldn't expect a landowner to be too entirely cooperative in ENCOURAGING hunters to come and hunt their property, but if they are signed up UW unit wide, neither they nor their outfitter can keep you from hunting there, and if anyone tries in any way to keep you from it, call the Game Warden right away and let them know.
Some units have better private land opportunities than others. Just glancing at the list- GMU 15 and 34 are two of the major elk units that come to mind as units I'd really try to use this information while I was scouting pre-season. I've hunted GMU15 and hunted BLM and Private ranches in the periphery of the US Forest and was into some gigantic bulls with few other hunters to hassle me or the bulls. NM requires landowners to include their name and contact information in order for a "No Trespassing" sign to be considered a legal posting, and it's usually not that hard to find the name of the ranch or the owner of a ranch from the front gate or mailbox. If all else fails, ask around. For those guys who put the time in pre-season to scout, if they had the list of landowners and a good BLM map that outlines well the private land versus the USFS or BLM or State land, opportunities can be found.
As for me and my motives for putting this out?. I think the better hunters distribute themselves throughout the unit, the better hunting experience we all will have. Plus, the reason these landowner's tags are valid for the whole unit is because of the trade off the public hunters are supposed to get back in the hundreds of thousands of acres that are opened up to them to hunt. I just think we public hunters ought to be utilizing what is supposed to be our end of the bargain.
I hope there are some of you that did not know about this and who use this information to find some incredible bulls this fall. I'd like to hear any feedback if this was helpful to anyone, or at least bump the post so others will see it.
Under the NM landowner (ELK) system, most of the very large ranches choose for their landowner authorizations (tags) to be RO (ranch only) and thus they are only valid on their deeded acres, and they do not have to allow public hunters on their property to hunt. A greater number of landowners decide to receive UW (unit wide) tags that are valid anywhere in the GMU, and in doing so, sign an agreement opening their deeded acres to public hunters during all of the elk hunts for the license year. Many of these ranches are between 500 and 5,000 acres and often have some fantastic elk hunting on them.
To find the list of private ranches that are signed up UW (unit wide) go to the NMDGF website
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/
go to HUNTING (picture of a mule deer buck) and then under "private land hunting" go to
"2008-09 E-plus landowner list"
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/recreation/hunting/documents/ELK_RANCH_LIST.pdf
Apart from making public the list of landowners, their acreage, GMU, and contact information, the NM Game and Fish does not do a great job of letting public hunters know about this opportunity. In contrast, an antelope hunter who draws a NM tag and is assigned to a ranch can go to the same page and find actual maps of the ranch he'll be hunting. I've been told the Maim and Squish is working on getting maps built and posted for UW elk ranches, but I've heard that for a couple of years already so, I'm not holding my breath.
Right now, it takes some leg work to find these places. I recommend printing out the E-plus list for your unit when you come to scout, and bringing a BLM 1:100,000 LAND STATUS MAP that shows well the private land versus the USFS or BLM or State land. I first find a bull or a spot that should hold one, and then find out if the ranch is UW. I think the agreement requires landowners to allow hunters to scout the property 48 hours prior to their hunt, but it may be more or less, I'd ask the Game and Fish on that one.
Most people that look at the E-plus list are simply interested in acquiring the landowner tags that are given to the landowner, but I guess one could also call the landowners and ask them about their ranches, and where they are at. Very many of these landowners that sell their tags have one provision, that the hunters (who buy their tags) use them anywhere BUT their property. Often times the landowner sells his tags to an outfitter who hunts the ranch and public land. I wouldn't expect a landowner to be too entirely cooperative in ENCOURAGING hunters to come and hunt their property, but if they are signed up UW unit wide, neither they nor their outfitter can keep you from hunting there, and if anyone tries in any way to keep you from it, call the Game Warden right away and let them know.
Some units have better private land opportunities than others. Just glancing at the list- GMU 15 and 34 are two of the major elk units that come to mind as units I'd really try to use this information while I was scouting pre-season. I've hunted GMU15 and hunted BLM and Private ranches in the periphery of the US Forest and was into some gigantic bulls with few other hunters to hassle me or the bulls. NM requires landowners to include their name and contact information in order for a "No Trespassing" sign to be considered a legal posting, and it's usually not that hard to find the name of the ranch or the owner of a ranch from the front gate or mailbox. If all else fails, ask around. For those guys who put the time in pre-season to scout, if they had the list of landowners and a good BLM map that outlines well the private land versus the USFS or BLM or State land, opportunities can be found.
As for me and my motives for putting this out?. I think the better hunters distribute themselves throughout the unit, the better hunting experience we all will have. Plus, the reason these landowner's tags are valid for the whole unit is because of the trade off the public hunters are supposed to get back in the hundreds of thousands of acres that are opened up to them to hunt. I just think we public hunters ought to be utilizing what is supposed to be our end of the bargain.
I hope there are some of you that did not know about this and who use this information to find some incredible bulls this fall. I'd like to hear any feedback if this was helpful to anyone, or at least bump the post so others will see it.
