Valle Vidal Elk Hunt

Pilot048

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I was lucky enough this year to draw the only non-resident tag for the Valle Vidal hunt in NM for 1st season rifle, no guide. It's a once in a lifetime hunt. Being from WI, I won't be able to scout the area ahead of time. I plan to take 2 weeks off and arrive 5 days ahead of the hunt to scout the area and get acclimated. I've hunted NM 3 times before, but it's been over 15 years ago since my last hunt.

Has anyone hunted the Valle Vidal for elk before? Just wondering what to expect. They say it's the best public elk hunt on earth. Not known for big trophy elk, but many elk over 300". Being so, will this be a piece of cake hunt or will I really need to work at it still? I plan to go by myself as none of my friends want to take off 2 weeks. I tried to hire a guide, but he said I don't need one there and I'd have no problem on my own getting one as there are so many elk in the Valle. He was booked up too, so not sure if he was just trying to make me feel better.

If you hunted the Valle Vidal before, please share your experience. Not sure what to expect there, but it sounds like it will be the hunt of a lifetime! I'll do a post after my hunt on my results and take on the area, and hopefully some nice pictures of a 6x6!
 
If you can picture Elk Heaven Valle Vidal is it. Huge Elk herd lots of Bulls in the 280" / 300" range, if your patient and a little lucky you can take a 350" Bull. No off road motorized travel so the best way is with horses,its a BIG place. If not get away from the roads via shanks mare. You will have no problem finding Elk. Show us the pics and GL
CC
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-13-17 AT 10:18PM (MST)[p]Thanks for the info CC. I'm on my own with no horse, so shanks mare for me.
 
I'll let you know sometime around the end of September. I drew a NR second archery tag. Really looking forward to this hunt......ALOT.
 
I'll be there the week before you helping a friend with a muzzy. Would be glad to give you advice on what we see.
 
>Already have a few good bulls
>lined out. Just look for
>a black 2017 raptor i'll
>point you in a good
>direction

I'm headed up on Thursday for the second archery if you want to give me your honey holes! LOL
 
Stomper and RdRdr, let me know how your hunt went. I'm headed there Oct 8 for the Oct 14th first rifle season. Plan to scout for 5 days as I never been there before. Good luck.
 
This Cheesehead will help another cheesehead. You sure don't need a guide in that place, unless you are set on it. PM me and I will fill you in.
 
My hunt in the Valle Vidal was a success. I arrived several days early to scout around and surprisingly did not see many elk. I think they were spooked from the MZ season going on. The day before opening day, member schmalts contacted me with a tip on a spot to try. Turned out that's where the elk were. I took a nice 300 class 6x6 maybe 30min after first light. I had several bulls around me, including a nice 330-350" herd bull with 30 cows, but he was at 850 yards and I couldn't get close enough. Packing my elk out, I ran into 3 more bulls at close range. All were bugling too. It's a beautiful area, although it was a bit rough in a tent with temps in the 20's overnight and crazy winds. The wind actually bent my poles on my Timberline Outfitter tent! The Valle Vidal is probably one of the best public land hunts around, but still it's not easy or guaranteed. I think only about 25% of the muzzle loaders got elk and when I left on Sunday, only 2 others in the camp of maybe 20 hunters got elk during the first 2 days of rifle. You need to know where they are. Several guys I talked to didn't see anything. Thanks to all who helped me out here, mainly members schmalts, 338winmag, Mulchatna, and STOMPER. I may have not gotten one without their help!

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Nice work! Looks like a nice old bull there

I'm heading up tomorrow for the second rifle tag my wife drew. I was able to help out on a hunt last year and am familiar with the area but of course will not pass up any current knowledge.
Thanks
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-23-17 AT 02:03PM (MST)[p]Hey Eric, glad we helped you pack out because we bagged ours around 400 yards away. Me and Annie were setup over the lake and then we started hearing the bugling in multiple directions about an hour before dusk the closest about a mile north. I started following the bugling and saw it was probably the 330 herd bull you were talking about. He was around 1000-1200 yds from me past where you dropped yours.

He had about 30 cows with him so I was very worried about the number of eyes and noses on me so I had Annie stay back while I worked in. Around 600 yds away I spooked up a fox that made a beeline right for the herd. I thought I was screwed because I figured they would all book it. I was wrong, the fox actually made the herd group up around the bull but right behind some trees which helped me approach closer. I got to about 450 yds but the stuff on the ground was too tall for me to use my bipod and there were no branches to really prop my rifle on to have a stable shot so I made a standing shot hugging a dead stump since I was quickly running out of shooting light.

I hit a little further back than I wanted but he was done. He was barely moving and confunded, the herd moved a few hundred yards away and had left him. I moved in to about 250 and was able to make a follow up shot that dropped him where he stood. We packed him out, 2.75 miles from where the truck was parked and we now have a full freezer and a neat euro mount. He would have scored very well (~330) but he did a lot of fighting and has a number of broken tines and only scored 280 after deductions. I personally don't care about score anyway, his busted tips and tine told a story of their own.

Hope we can do some hunting together soon!

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-Lam
 
Congrats on the nice Bulls!

Joe

"Sometimes you do things wrong for so long you
think their right" - 2001
"I can't argue with honesty" - 2005
-Joe E Sikora
 
Hey pilot?

The Bull looks Bigger than 300"?









Back Me Off to 1,700 Yards,650 is a Little Close & I'm Not Comfortable with it!

A GUT SHOT at 1,700 Yards will Still Make Some Good BRAGGIN Rights so I Can Say I At Least Hit Him!


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> Hey pilot?
>
>The Bull looks Bigger than 300"?
>
>
>
>


That's what I thought. I'll have to recheck my measurements and calcs.
 
>Great Bull, lots of character, congrats.
>Love the Browning.


Thanks. My dad bought it for me in the 80's when I was 13 years old. I insisted on the 7mm Rem Mag over the traditional 30-06 for Wisconsin deer hunting. Told him I'd take an elk with it someday. Finally did 36 years later.
 
Great bulls guys! The bulls down there this year just were not as vocal as years past. To come away with a great bull is quite an accomplishment. I had my 8 year old daughter there this year on a youth tag and she came away with a 303" bull. I love how New Mexico designates a certain number of tags to youth hunters. We have a small window of time in their lives to get them hooked and these tags allow it to happen. Congrats again fellas!

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Ivorytips,

Congrats to your daughter! That's awesome! Great bull.

I love to see that you are also teaching her to just sit and hold the bull's rack rather than sit behind the elk in the next county just to make the bull look bigger like the OP.
 

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