Valle Vidal - Rifle

elkhunter21 · Jun 13, 2012

I am hoping for some help regarding elk hunting the Valle Vidal. A buddy and I drew the 2nd rifle hunt for the area and I am trying to get some info on where and how to hunt the area.. any info would be greatly appreciated. Plan on a couple of scouting trips this summer and early fall to get the lay of the land.

tega52 · Jun 13, 2012

Great hunt! Although don't underestimate the unit and think that there's elk behind every tree. I see SEVERAL hunters come up here to the Valle every year and go home empty handed because they were not prepared for this hunt, thought it would be a "slam dunk". If you have horses, you have a good advantage to get to stuff that other people don't. If you're able to come up to scout, id do it! You don't wanna be looking for a honey hole the day before the hunt. Lastly, have realistic expectations. The Valle DOES hold a few big bulls, but most of what you'll see will be in the 280"-320" range.

elkhunter21 · Sep 17, 2012

Made another trip this past weekend to the VV. A ton of elk, and some big ones (bowhunter took an 8x8) saw a nice bear too. Starting to get a little nervous about the time of year (Second rifle: Oct 20 - 24), it will be harder locating the bigger ones, wish I had some experience up there that time of year... any ideas or suggestions?

Last year 2nd rifle had a 70% success rate, anyone remember the weather?

As always any/all help is appreciated!

IChaseCoues · Sep 17, 2012

I hunted the second rifle hunt last year. Put some distance between you and the roads and the odds go up a lot. I passed on a 340 the first day and it bit me! Three of us were hunting and all killed 6x6's but not one was over 300. I was going to wait til the fourth day before I would kill anything less than 300, and thats what happened. A lot of bulls in there under 300, and not a lot over that. The weather was great. 60's high and 30's low. Day 5 we packed camp and left in the snow. It was white when we woke up and 3" deep by the time we left. Could be beautiful and could be butt deep in snow. My son drew the Nov.3-7 cow hunt this year and we are hoping its not too deep by the time we come home!

Oh yeah, horses help a LOT!

huntntiger · Sep 18, 2012

I have spent some time in the Valle in the past hunting as well as just for fun. I have learned a lot about the elk on the lower end around McCrystal campground.

If you have horses or are willing to hike in, that would be a huge advantage. I do not know much about up north in the higher country tho.

In my experiences the bigger bulls are on the lower and east end of the Valle.

During the bow hunts and the muzzleloader hunt is when you find the bigger bulls closer to the main roads. When I say closer it still is a hike back to where the elk are. 1/2 mile from the main rd. or more.

What we have found during the rifle hunts if you want a big bull is go as far south as you can, Beatty Lakes even more south than that, close to unit border! It's a ways in but if you are willing it may be worth to find that big boy.

Once the shooting begins the big bulls head south! We have contacts from the Vermejo and UU bar that verify this. Those are the ranches on the south end of the unit.

If I had that hunt I would go to Beatty Lakes area and hike or ride in as far south as I could on the closed road by Beatty Lakes. Some people take the Valle lightly and wont harvest an elk.

To get a nice bull get off the beaten path. Good Luck.

5yearcoueshunter · Sep 18, 2012

LAST EDITED ON Sep-18-12 AT 03:30PM (MST)[p]All what everyone has said makes sense to me. I've only been in the Valle a couple of times. Once was for my uncle's Rifle 2nd hunt, and the other was my muzzleloader hunt. There was a HUGE difference between the hunts. The muzzy hunt was bugling action everywhere with tons of elk not that far off the road. I got a little trigger happy and took a 300 class bull on the first day. lol On my uncles hunt, no bugling and we had to walk a lot farther to find elk. The rifle hunt was our first time in the valle and we really thought it was going to be a slam dunk. Big mistake! My uncle took a mid 200 inch bull on day 4 after 3 days of finding very few elk because we didn't expect it to be so hard. So like everyone has said, the farther back you get in, the better off you will probably be.

Travis