Gila Wilderness

NMHUNTER · Jun 20, 2014

Any body been out to 16b lately? I'll be heading out there for some scouting in a few weeks. Was just wondering if the area has had any rain and how the elk are looking.

elkhunternm_13 · Jun 20, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Jun-20-14 AT 04:31PM (MST)[p]Cant speak for the gila but horn growth is looking real good I have been seeing really good looking bulls in 13 and 12. Here is one of the avg looking bulls I seen yesterday evening couldn't get a good pic of the big bull that was with him.

NMHUNTER · Jun 25, 2014

Nice bull!!! Man September cant come soon enough. Ill post some pics when I get back from the scouting trip. That is if I find any elk to get pics of.

kilowatt · Jun 25, 2014

I left Albq. on Sunday June 6th and went west from Socorro on Hwy 60 and turned off on SR 12 and drove down to SR 180. Went south along 180 to SR 78 and thru Mule Creek and entered into AZ.
That whole area along that route was as DRY as a Popcorn Fart, lots of dried up creek beds from what I could see while driving as I was on a trip to AZ and was running late and needed to get to Tucson before dark. ALong this route I saw ONLY 1 Antelope, a doe from a distant just before I got to Datil and the turn off. Down out of Glenwood town I spotted 2 doe Mulies laying in the sun about 125 yards from highway....that was it for game but then I never intended to really search them out either.

Brian
http://i44.tinypic.com/es7x8z.jpg[/IMG]

mozey · Jun 29, 2014

Was able to do a little scouting myself yesterday:

kilowatt speaks the truth about it currently being "DRY as a Popcorn Fart." However, if the pattern holds consistent with the last two years, you'll want to bring your Gore-Tex for your hunt. I had the 2nd hunt two years ago and the first last year, and pretty much got soaked everyday I was in the field on both hunts.

cmbbulldog · Jun 29, 2014

Nice looking bull, thanks for sharing.

NMHUNTER · Jun 29, 2014

Nice bull Mozey. I had the 2nd bow hunt last year and I have never seen so much water. We almost got stranded because the creeks and arroyos were flooded

cmbbulldog · Jun 29, 2014

Doesn't look like the dry conditions are affecting that bulls horn growth.

mozey · Jun 29, 2014

I don't know for sure, but I think that is the same bull I was stalking in the rain on the second to the last day of the hunt last year--short tines but really long main beams. He was bedded with about a dozen cows in the draw just to the left of where I snapped this pic, and I had crawled to within about 60 - 70 yards (50 yards is my max). I didn't have any cover to close the distance any further, so I was waiting him out hoping he'd get up and come visit one of his cows that was within 25 yards. Anyway, the rain was kind of noisy and I was so focused on the elk in front of me that I didn't even notice two muley does and their fawns that come up from behind and blew their nostrils out on the back of my neck after they nearly stepped on me. I think the shock of that probably took some years off my life, but it also spooked the cows that were close to me and the whole gig was over. I still wonder if I should have just let an arrow fly at 70 yards, but maybe I'll get another shot at him this year. If it really is the same bull, I can't tell yet if he's better than last year or not--but it looks to me like his fronts have a little more length, but his fifths and mains need to grow another five or six inches each to be on par with last year.

I'm also working on extending my range to 70 yards...

cmbbulldog · Jun 30, 2014

Sounds like a fun hunt. Please come back and report how you do this year. I have the first rifle hunt a couple weeks after yours.

Are the elk looking pretty good out that way?

264mag · Jun 30, 2014

Archery hunted 16b 3rd season last year, all that rain carried over to this year for good horn growth, I will be back this year archery elk 16c 3rd season. Good luck to you guys should be another fun hunt.

mozey · Jul 1, 2014

I think the elk are all looking healthy, but that will probably change if the last remaining tanks dry up before the rains come. I saw about 150 cows that day, but only six bulls: two spikes, three rags, and the one above. Pretty easy to locate right now--just go to a water source and start glassing. What I thought was odd was seeing several elk intermingling with bovines. Maybe it's just the season, but I haven't seen such behavior to this extent before. I wonder if the drought has something to do with it...

mozey · Jul 1, 2014

Forecasting rains this week--crossing fingers.

jamaro · Jul 1, 2014

I have been running around the wilderness fishing and it is crazy dry but everyday over the last week we have been getting some weather.. I am not sure if the rain is actually hitting the ground but it is starting.. Many of the tanks have water but they need to be refilled...

Take Care
J-

stoney · Jul 3, 2014

16B is set for some record book bulls to come out this year. Along with the 2012 Whitewater/Baldy fire and the excellent year we had last year with an overflow of moisture and decent snowpack we are seeing the start of a barnburner of a great hunt this year. I have been in there albeit cross country as many trails are gone and impassible and I've never seen the likes of elk sign and excellent antler growth. Can't wait for Sept. 1.

I took photo's of our unit 23/16A bulls this morning with 20 bulls and 3 already pushing 350-375+. One big boy is a huge 6x8. We don't know if he is a 16A or 23 bull as they go both ways across Hwy. 180 north of Alma.

jamaro · Jul 3, 2014

Stoney... that is great news.. We have been getting pounded in Silver the last couple of days with good solid rains..

I thought they were going to close some of the forest because of the drought but they just closed the forks due to flooding concerns... aahhahah

cmbbulldog · Jul 5, 2014

Tom - thanks for the update, post up some pics please.

October 10th cant get here soon enough. Save 1 for me!

264mag · Jul 5, 2014

16c is that unit pretty much Wilderness?

stoney · Jul 5, 2014

16C is not wilderness, it is a roaded unit.

mozey · Jul 13, 2014

I was able to get out a little bit yesterday. According to the weather station near where I hunt, the area has received 2.5" of rains in the last couple weeks. There were still some puddles around, and there is new green grass shoots just barely starting to poke up through the ground. However, the tanks that were dry a couple weeks ago are still dry, and the elk are still concentrated around the remaining few that have water. I saw five bulls including one 6X6 that I would estimate to be 330" - 340" now. What he lacked in mass he made up for in tine length, especially his G3s and G4s. He is the best one I've seen so far this year and would definitely be a first day shooter for me. The rest were 5x5s and a spike.

mozey · Aug 3, 2014

It's been a good week for rain. Making my usual rounds yesterday the tanks that were dry three weeks ago are starting to accumulate some water. I did see 14 bulls yesterday, but none that would exceed 300. I did see a really big-bodied buck that I estimate will be 170 to 180 come November when I'll be going after him with a rifle...

genedmoya · Aug 3, 2014

Pretty messed up in certain areas..... almost impassable in some places with a pack string. .

stoney · Aug 5, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Aug-05-14 AT 06:24AM (MST)[p]The Gila Wilderness has been truly blessed with good rains and with the fire and floods the trails are truly a mess and will be 2-4 years before anything much is done.

Week before last we spent three days in the heart of the Wilderness and saw a ton of elk, mostly cows, calves and spikes but did see a good group of five bulls, but didn't get a real good look at them.

I am attaching a photo of 18 bull visiting my field most every night here on the border of 16A/23 and three of the bull in the photo are 340-370. The big 6x8 disappeared mid July and I think went east into 16A. He is going to be a 375+ bull.

My new 18.2 megapixel camera won't upload. I will try to paste it but I think it is too much to upload.

mozey · Aug 5, 2014

stoney--you get me salivating over the description of those bulls and then you say never mind--too many megapixels!?

That would be really cool to see those pictures. I've found that if you import those high-res pics into PowerPoint, and then right click and resize and save as, you get them down to a size that's easily uploaded here. I'm sure there are easier ways to do it, but that is how I've managed to make 'em work.

cfreak · Aug 5, 2014

Gene and Stoney both said it... TRAILS ARE IN THE WORST SHAPE THEY'VE BEEN IN IN A LONG TIME. The better access and cleaner trails will be found in the northern and eastern regions of the unit. Elk numbers look good. Gonna be a rough one getting in and out.

mozey · Aug 18, 2014

Most tanks are full now with some even spilling over. The elk look healthy and are starting to disperse. I saw 15 bulls on Friday--the smaller ones are still in full velvet, but the larger ones that I saw are partially to completely rubbed. Going to be a fun hunt.

Reuben_Soady · Aug 18, 2014

I spent the weekend in the north end of GMU 24 and the mosquitos were almost as bad as they are in Wisconsin (the elk were better than Wisconsin, by a long shot).