6b Valles Caldera Cow hunt. Anything I need to know before going?

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My wife drew a 6b Valles Caldera cow elk tag for late November. I don't want to know any spots as a good buddy of mine is going to help with that since he has hunted the unit for bulls before. He just hasn't ever hunted the unit that late and can't tell me much as far as what to expect.

All I am wondering is have any of you done this hunt and do you have any pointers or things I need to be prepared for? I plan on visiting the area a couple of times prior to the hunt and will do all the necessary work. I more am asking just to see what you guys have experienced on this hunt in the past. I assume there will be loads of elk and that the temps will be pretty cold with plenty of snow as a possibility. Other than that, I don't know what to expect or prepare for. My goal is to make this a good experience for my wife as she is getting excited about hunting and this could be a neat opportunity for her.
 
Tough to draw, fabulous hunt. Congrats and have fun.

Random thoughts...I've had bone dry and 18" of fresh powpow on opening day different years. Tshirts to frozen feet. Altitude is for real - I live at 7000' and still got headaches up high. Cow elk in the Caldera are harder than bulls (look at the success rates), because each cow has 700 eyes. Last fall, at one point, we were trying to pick a cow out of a herd and the kid said "All I see are bulls and spikes." Success for me has always depended on a morning ambush. I've always stayed in Los Alamos. The Motel 6 is nasty, Comfort Inn is good, Holiday Inn is extra drive time. The new tap room has good beer and food, but the wait was painful. Blue Window Bistro (I think that's the name) has great food, but you should shower first. Sneaking your firearms through the National Lab is frowned upon. Paul's got a good story about taking his wife elk hunting in VCNP.
 
If you're staying in Los Alamos, you need to take the ice skating rink road (West Road) to avoid taking your firearm onto LANL property. I would recommend not trying to drive through any Vehicle Access Points (guard stations) with a firearm in your vehicle--that could be a good way to mess up your hunting plans.
 
Thanks guys. It will be cold, but I think we will be camping just so we can stay close and avoid all the extra driving. I don't mind cold weather camping and either does my wife so I think that is the plan for now. I think i'll get some chains for my truck just in case and prepare for nasty roads/weather. but it's good to know about the Guard stations and getting guns through, i'll be sure to stear clear. I appreciate your responses as they will help me prepare for what is to come. I am certain we'll find elk and we know how to hunt well enough that i'm not worried about that aspect too much, I just wasn't sure what to expect as far as everything else goes. I am actually pretty excited to experience it though for some reason.
 
If you're planning on camping, and the FR 289 gate is still open, I would recommend camping in the Graduation Flats area: 35.825492, -106.444752. If that gate is not open, then I would recommend the American Springs area: 35.834344, -106.376036. Any closer and you'll end up on the Bandelier, which doesn't allow camping in that area.

There are also some developed campgrounds if you're coming from the west side, but I've never stayed in any of those, so I can't really comment about them either way.
 
I live in Farmington so yeah i'll be coming from the West. A buddy of Mine said he used a good camping spot on his bull hunt two years ago that should work. luckily i live close enough that i can go check it out a couple of times and try to put a plan together. my goal is to find a little spot we can sneak into in the dark and wait for shooting light that isn't a hug meadow that everyone can see. it's only a meat hunt, but I know my wife is excited to get to hunt again for the first time since she was a sophomore in high school, which was about 10 years ago. but she's never been on a real hunt, mainly just road hunting is all she's ever done.
 
The Valles Caldera allows camping thru their Blanco gate in a designated area but no camp fires allowed or it did three years ago. For things to know, they only allow vehicle travel per two main roads, one that takes you north too the one which can take you East and West of the top of property. All the sub unit logging roads are by foot, horse or mountain bike. My advice is to glass the first evening and see where the herds are exiting the timber and come in the dark the next morning and set up on the timbers edge dependent on the wind and cut them off when there heading back into the timber which is right after first light. They have maps of the Valles Caldera available from their web sight so get one ask about the roads you can use. I’ve hunted a lot of different sub units of the Valles Caldera and the Elk can be any where in there so you’ll have to locate and cut them off in the evening or morning. Glass and glass some more and you should be successful. The Valles Caldera is a spectacular place too see, enjoy , and harvest an Elk.
 
The Valles Caldera allows camping thru their Blanco gate in a designated area but no camp fires allowed or it did three years ago. For things to know, they only allow vehicle travel per two main roads, one that takes you north too the one which can take you East and West of the top of property. All the sub unit logging roads are by foot, horse or mountain bike. My advice is to glass the first evening and see where the herds are exiting the timber and come in the dark the next morning and set up on the timbers edge dependent on the wind and cut them off when there heading back into the timber which is right after first light. They have maps of the Valles Caldera available from their web sight so get one ask about the roads you can use. I’ve hunted a lot of different sub units of the Valles Caldera and the Elk can be any where in there so you’ll have to locate and cut them off in the evening or morning. Glass and glass some more and you should be successful. The Valles Caldera is a spectacular place too see, enjoy , and harvest an Elk.
perfect! I appreciate the info. And they style of hunting you describe is exactly what I had planned. Should be a good time. I just hope it's not horribly cold and minimal snow. I'll hunt in whatever, but i'd rather be somewhat comfortable on a cow hunt....just being lazy probably.
 
Just know you can't hunt most of the places that actually hold cows. And the outfitters will already be into the spots that do immediately. They usually kill their cows opening morning then very few others harvest. Try to enjoy the experience.
 
i'm not worried about outfitters or other hunters. A good buddy of mine has a couple spots he gonna show me and I can promise you there won't be an outfitter in the world that will beat me in there. I have learned to get to spots way way early even if it's a pain. I may not know the area like they do but i'm not at all worried about them. plus my plan is to be there a couple times throughout the summer and fall as well as the weekend before the hunt if possible for a test run. Outfitters are something I face no matter where I hunt, but typically I watch them drive or hike in after i've already been there for an hour or more. Good news is that hunting is hunting and if plans fall through you can still turn up animals if you know where and how to look for them.
 
The only real obstacle is if cold weather moves in before your hunt and drives a bunch of them to low country.

Outfitters are a non issue. Consider who their clientele normally is...
 
Just saying that they tend to stay in the places they can't be hunted because of the pressure prior. Gotta catch them as they cross into legal spots sometimes. They'll give you a map with restricted areas. Then you will be watching 100 of them in a field you can't shoot them out of everyday as you drive out if you didn't already punch your tag.

Good luck. It's a wonderful place. Good sleeping bag, and a puffy jacket should be good. Be prepared for bad wind if it's like last year. Wind breaker can save you from the wind burn through your clothing.
 
Just saying that they tend to stay in the places they can't be hunted because of the pressure prior. Gotta catch them as they cross into legal spots sometimes. They'll give you a map with restricted areas. Then you will be watching 100 of them in a field you can't shoot them out of everyday as you drive out if you didn't already punch your tag.

Good luck. It's a wonderful place. Good sleeping bag, and a puffy jacket should be good. Be prepared for bad wind if it's like last year. Wind breaker can save you from the wind burn through your clothing.
Yeah I completely understand what you mean and I can imagine it's frustrating to see a bunch of cows that you can't kill. I'm not looking forward to buying my wife a bunch of hunting gear though... haha. i've spent years getting my gear all fixed up, but never hers.... oops.
 
The Caldera would be the last place I would hunt COW elk. You will see 100 Bulls in the area you can hunt and you will see 1000 cows in the restricted area. ???
 
The Caldera would be the last place I would hunt COW elk. You will see 100 Bulls in the area you can hunt and you will see 1000 cows in the restricted area. ???
something tells me that there are elk all over that unit. I may not have been there before but i'm willing to bet that there are elk to be had even if they aren't out in the open stuff. You don't have that many elk in an area but only have them in one big meadow. I see loads of bucks on private land river bottoms in unit 2 but that doesn't mean they all live on private land river bottoms. there are a lot more animals in the woods than we think, especially in a place like the Caldera. It'll be interesting to experience for the first time, but I am confident that we'll find elk.
 
Oh you will find them but just be prepared to pack out a cow. I've just never been to excited about packing out a cow elk more than 500 yards . Been bow hunting elk since 1988 and passed on numerous cows in nasty canyons or miles away from the truck. They get to live another day. The Caldera is a beautiful place I just don't see myself packing out an elk using a pedal bike .
 
Oh you will find them but just be prepared to pack out a cow. I've just never been to excited about packing out a cow elk more than 500 yards . Been bow hunting elk since 1988 and passed on numerous cows in nasty canyons or miles away from the truck. They get to live another day. The Caldera is a beautiful place I just don't see myself packing out an elk using a pedal bike .
i can't disagree with that logic. I don't know that I'm too excited about packing a cow out either but we'll see how it turns out. i'm sure my wife will love it when i tell her she's gotta carry it out on her back. then again she's pretty tough so she will probably love it while i hate it.
 
i can't disagree with that logic. I don't know that I'm too excited about packing a cow out either but we'll see how it turns out. i'm sure my wife will love it when i tell her she's gotta carry it out on her back. then again she's pretty tough so she will probably love it while i hate it.

Bring a game cart as their are lots of roads you can pack it out to, maybe 200 yds at the most to your cart.
 
Bring a game cart as their are lots of roads you can pack it out to, maybe 200 yds at the most to your cart.
This was my plan exactly. only thing that should mess that up is loads of snow. but hopefully i can use the cart and say all the packing for another day.
 
Oh you will find them but just be prepared to pack out a cow. I've just never been to excited about packing out a cow elk more than 500 yards . Been bow hunting elk since 1988 and passed on numerous cows in nasty canyons or miles away from the truck. They get to live another day. The Caldera is a beautiful place I just don't see myself packing out an elk using a pedal bike .

I have used my mtn bike with a small single wheel cart attached ( bob ibex ) behind it a couple times. It holds like 80 pounds easy. Bar gates that stop trucks and area that don’t allow motorized travel, trails and gravel roads, you can really cover some ground fast that way and get in away from people fast, really nice in the morning to get into an area and then ditch the bike, You can get two mule deer or cow elk quarters out at a time on one easy, one big bull rear quarter on reasonably flat ground if your in decent shape. Better than walking if there is a trail hands down.
 
This hunt is not a slam dunk. Those cows are spooky and get out of town quick.. Good Luck. I would still like to look at your 22-250 if its still available. I'll be in Farmington Saturday.
 
I saw an earlier comment about camping at Banco Bonito on the Caldera. Currently, the Caldera is NOT allowing camping at Banco Bonito. If the National Forest closes the Jemez Falls Campground before your hunt, there is another camping spot close by on National Forest that is not too far from either the main entrance or the Sulfur Springs gate. If you decide to go that route, let me know and I will send coordinates.
 

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