We left Wisconsin on Dec 10th. The hunt started on the 12th but we had a long drive. The hunt was on a private ranch in north central New Mexico. I left with 3 other guys and we all had ranch tags for cows only.

This was the first time I have been elk hunting so I did not know what to expect. We stayed on the ranch in campers. I knew the weather could turn on a dime so I packed my good old Wisconsin ice fishing gear along with my bow hunting clothes. I brought my Tikka 300 WSM for my gun of choice.

Upon our arrival we saw elk on the way in to the ranch along with many mule deer.








The first day of the hunt was about 20 degrees and the sky was clear. I knew the day before the animals seemed to be on the moved. Perhaps the cold weather earlier in the week brought them down from the mountains into the meadows.

This is a picture from the 1st day of the hunt. We had to be patient as we had a lot of bulls, spikes, and club elk. The best thing I did before the trip was I bought a pair of Swarovski EL 8 x 32 binos. These binos are unreal!! Light and clear as a bell. I had to fight the other 3 guys from trying to take them from me. The $500 binos they bought will probably be posted for sale soon.

Back to the story. I saw over 100 elk opening day. I was so excited to see such a majestic animal in its element. We had a good chance to see what was big and what was BIGGER. All elk are huge compared to the whitetails I am use to seeing around Wisconsin. We each shot an elk opening day. We had our tags filled 1 hour and 20 minutes into the hunt. Here is a nice cow that was shot.

[img]http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s346/baker53555/photo2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s346/baker53555/photo5.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s346/baker53555/Elk%20Hunting/DSC_0327.jpg[/img]



It was probably a good thing that we all got on the 1st day. The next day we woke up to 8" of snow. The weather forecast that night it was a 0% chance of snow. The weather man was wrong!

[img]http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s346/baker53555/photo8.jpg[/img]


In conclusion, for those that are going out west for a hunt, I have some advice. Prepare for all types of weather. Optics are important. Elk are big but good optics out west are essential. Also, make sure you can shoot your gun 300 yards.

I hope you enjoyed.

Thanks,
Robert

congrats

Great hunt and pics. Does the rancher host mule deer hunts and are there any big deer, or do you know? Thanks, eye

Congrats.

Nice, thanks for sharing the story. What unit were you in? A buddy of mine has been on some ranch hunts east of Raton and I've hunted turkey there. Saw some nice elk and beautiful country.

Congratulations on a great hunt!

For those who are planning to come west to hunt elk for the first time on public land.

It's not as easy as this hunt.

Maybe it's just difficult for a tool like you....save your negative comments for your own meaningless threads.

Looks like gorgeous country, and a pile of good meat, thanks for the photos.

Nice. Hard to beat that!

Nothing negative about it. Just some advice to those new to elk hunting. They'd be disappointed if they expect to come here and get an elk in an hour.

The only useless post in this thread is yours assclown.

Mauser's post went to public land hunting and is spot on.

The NM private ranch hunts are a completely different animal. Been on several and agree with the OP's thoughts. Nothing better than having a ranch all to yourself with lots of critters around for company.

Nice elk and glad the OP had a great experience but Mauser's comment is spot on whereas yours is tasteless and crass.

Hunting elk on a private ranch is totally different to hunting public land here. The ranchers know exactly where to take you and you WILL tag out quickly. I went along with my buddy a few years ago on a private land cow hunt and exactly 11 minutes after leaving the ranch house he dumped his cow's nose in the dirt.

Conversely, on my own and with my buddy, we have hunted hard for many days thru different seasons, trying to get to grips with cow elk on public land. There is a VAST difference between the two experiences and Mauser was merely trying to illuminate and educate others and even the OP, not to expect to replicate the same experience on public land.

I understand where SS is coming from. This is not a thread about elk hunting for newbies and what to expect, it' an account of a successful hunt by this individual, who is obviously proud of his accomplishment. No need to rain on his parade.

PS, I doubt the tutorial is news to SS.

I wasn't raining on his parade. I simple followed up on his advice to those coming to hunt the west at the end of his post.

Congrats on the cows bakersboas, a lot of fine eating to be done on those.

Gunner

Certainly is! I lived/worked at Capulin Volcano for a season a few years ago. One problem for public land hunters is there is some confusion over which backroads are public and which aren't. I myself tried to travel south from Capulin to explore only to find no trespassing signs when the roads entered private lands.

^^This^^

Congrats again.

The best investment I've bought is a GPS and a chip of the nm state lands

Do you really think it was necessary to point out that a hunt where all four guys tag out in the first 80 minutes was atypical?

Some rookies might think so. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?

I called an easy hunt easy. Sue me.

Some rookies might think so? I doubt it. With all the information available, I seriously doubt it.

I'm not making a big deal out of what you said about the hunt, but I do object to the part where you called Scenarshooter an assclown.

He's one of the most (if not the most) experienced western hunters on this site, and it takes a lot for him to call someone out. Only an assclown would call him an assclown.

On these kinds of threads, the only good response to the OP is normally "congratulations." Some people never learn to just zip it, I guess.

We had some hunters come in to the visitor center who told us they couldn't access Laughlin Peak, have you been up there?

I don't accept being called a tool. Not from anybody. As usual. You just like to start shi-t.

This forum is going on my delete list of too many jerks on it.

Cya....

Good. There are a handful of guys on here who really know their stuff and are worth paying attention to. Scenar is one of them.

And if the toolbox fits, wear it.

A few random pics...






[img]http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s346/baker53555/Elk%20Hunting/DSC_0211.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s346/baker53555/DSC_0528.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s346/baker53555/DSC_0534.jpg[/img]

agreed, public land hunting is a hell of a lot harder when you are on your own and have no clue where the elk are. I personally have only shot 2 elk in colorado on public land. I've been hunting for 18 years.

New Mexico I favor a lot higher up on the better states to hunt.

Congrats on the harvests! I dont believe anyone meant to be little your hunt, some just were making the point that hunting pubic is a hell of a lot harder, especially when you have 200-600 more hunters in the same area with you! LOL

I agree hunting on public land is harder. I could not imagine quartering those elk and hiking them for miles. I would probably still be in the hospital hooked up to the iv.

Either way, hunting is about timing, luck and skill all into one. The EASY way is going to the grocery store and not go on private or public land and using the money from the tags to buy beef

I appreciate all of your comments. I am a rookie here on the forum I often come out here to read up on certain topics. This forum is loaded with a lot of tips, knowledge, and skilled hunters. Thanks for those that contribute.

Robert

A good class act response to the extra activity in this thread.

Congrats to you and the rest of the group.

Wayne

Sagebrusher, I've never tried to access Laughlin peak but I'll take by GPS with me on the route on Monday to see if I can get access to it. I deliver that area for UPS...I know the ranch owners try to keep everyone off of it...:or near it
Greenie peaks borders it, I'll check on that too....if I have time....kinda busy for Xmas...

Congratulations on a great hunt.

Congrats.

Haha, don't go off route on my account, it's just an unanswered question that has stuck in my mind (park rangers hate not been able to answer a question). We had a land use map that showed public land on part of the mountain. This group of hunters said they had been hunting there for years and that year (2009) was the first time the access roads had no trespassing signs.

OP: sorry for sidetracking your thread and congrats on the hunt. Some of your landscapes seem familiar, is it Raton Mesa area?

Lovely pics and great story. Love to hear a first timer's pie respective as I hope to try it myself in the next few years.

Thanks a lot for sharing!

Hey do you know that short little cop valdez that thinks hes hot [bleep]?

The DOT one?......yes

Great pics of the hunt buddy. Hope you will get to come back and do it again....

Wow, I was way off!

Thanks. Closest town was Cuba. Close to the Santa Fe National Forest.

yeah the little one lol

Congrats on your successful hunt and thanks for sharing the story and pics.

Congrats on your successful hunt. You have many excellent meals just waiting for you!

Congrats on your cow...and nice pics, thanks for sharing!

We pass through the Cuba area every year to go fly fishing at the San Juan river. It has some beautiful country. And it looks like it would be a coyote hunters dream.

Great pics Robert. Hope you can come back and enjoy our state again.

attaboy on an effective hunt.

I'm getting hungry just looking at the pictures.

From the view of Cabezon, it looks like you were just a bit south of Cuba (NM). Part of Unit 6a maybe?

Glad you had a great trip and filled your tags! You will have some nice dining on those cows and if you got what you expected out of the guided hunt then it was a great success! Congrats!!

Good Job!! Thanks for sharing.

Good to be skeptical of forecasts out here. Glad you guys stacked them up.