Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting NM unit 50 newbie looking for advice

Hello Folks, I've been lurking awhile, soaking up the wisdom, and now I need a little help. I've drawn an elk hunt on NM unit 50, and I don't know the area. From looking at the map, I think the BLM land is the most promising. Has anyone here hunted the unit, ...any advice? Thanks!

I've never hunted there, but FWIW, about a year and half ago, February/March time frame, I saw a couple hundred head of elk (two separate herds of about 100 each) just east of San Antonio Mountain, out in the flats, between 285 and the Gorge. No trees around for miles in any direction, just ankle-high grass and brush. They were in a depression about two miles from 285 and weren't actually visible from the road. Mostly cows, but probably about 15 or so smallish bulls in each group (five point being the biggest), that hadn't yet shed their antlers. I don't know if they're just there for the winter or not. On the same trip, I saw another group of about 50 head, again with some smallish bulls mixed in, in the gap between Cerro de la Olla and Cerro Chiflo, and then several smaller groups of fives and tens on the south, west, and north sides of Cerro de la Olla. I didn't actually do any hiking on Cerro de la Olla, I was just doing a site seeing drive around it. There were a bunch of signs of a well-established elk camp in the gap. Some of the elk in the fives and tens looked to me like bulls that had already dropped.

I have a co-worker that regularly bow-hunts there. He's always into animals but has yet to tag out.

Hope I'm not giving anyone's big secret away...

Good luck to you.

Thanks Mozey, I put unit 50 down as a choice because of the elk I've seen driving on 285 to and from Colorado. I'll have to camp up there a few weekends and scout it out.

I was actually scouting for deer at the time, as we were trying to figure out a less pressured area to apply. I found a two-point skull and saw some tracks, but didn't actually see any deer, so we never put in for it.

What sort of blew me away was the countless elk cruising the speed goat terrain. A buddy and I have our own established elk area that is fairly easy to draw, so we've never given unit 50 much thought. But I have considered heading right back into that same area to do some shed hunting. I'm just somewhat hesitant at the prospect of harassing stressed animals on a winter range.