Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting anyone hunt new mexico unit 52 last year?

thinking of putting in for it as my 2nd choice.
some guys at the pipe yard went there last season on the late hunt and said elk were everywhere.

anyone else have info or been there done that ?

of couse seargant's is my first choice !
been trying for 14 years now.....

Wasn't up there last year but was the year before. If you feel like hiking, San Antonio mtn is a great place. You could spend a week on it and still not cover it all.
Another good place is to enter from the the mtn, and go west till you hit the big ranch (Chama land & Cattle) Backtrack about a mile and find some meadows.

It is my favorite unit and there are lots of elk. It is getting harder to draw, but I prefer it. I usually bow hunt and go in the wilderness, but if rifle San Antonio is a great place to be!

these guys were saying there's lots of road access.
i'll make sure in the am if they are correct on it being unit 52.

and i found about 7 or 8 rounds of those blue bullets the 338 wm loves.

how we gonna hook up, so i can get em to you ?

Well, there is access and there isn't. If you know someone who has a cabin on the east face of the mtn. then getting to the top is easy. If you don't, be prepared for a couple hour straight up (felt vertical, lol) hike. The basin to the north is spectacular, and has plenty of elk, but it's as deep as San Antonio is high. There are still many other options, and the rest of the unit has plenty of road access.

There is good access, but you may have to hike.

Lets go shoot some coyotes some weekend! I have 2-new AR's I have not had time to shoot yet.I personally like 52, great country, lots of elk, etc....

Some 52 pics for you!







It has meadows, mountains, black timber, rock slides, awsome area! There are a few 300 size bulls, but expect rag horns.

I used to hunt it when they had the October E/S tag and then the November cow hunt. It's a great area, but I agree on the quality of bulls. SA mtn is a very good place to find the biggest of the bulls. We had a great time scouting during August and September. Boat loads of turkey, too.

I'd love to back again, soon.

there looks to be plenty of what i'm after.
if i can't draw a seargents bull tag, then it's cow's for the other 2 choices.

all the big daddys are in southern nm. well theres a few left

Yeah, big ones down south, but lots of people wanting to go there as well. You can have it. I try to stick with the wilderness these days. I wish I could draw the Seargants! I know 36 and 16B, but I can never draw there, so that is why I started hunting 52. It is gettin hard to draw there as well though!

theres a new area thats growing a good resident herd and thats unit 38. if you find them you will find a great bull!

I hear and read an article that few numbers, but even 18 has elk now. I just need to draw a tag now! Good luck!

i know the gila holds big bulls, but unit 4 is just right there for me.
no need to travel too far.

i really deep down inside don't care which one i pull, just as long as i can get a tag and go hunting.
the 14 years i've lived here, i've never drawn a bull tag or an oryx, and it's been 7 years since i've drawn for deer.

don't know what i'm doing wrong ??

i have a buddy down here that is selling access for off the range private land oryx think he charges around a grand. they have killed a few decent oryx

i'll pass.
there's no way i'll pay that kind of money to hunt.

i'll wait til the year i draw.

"don't know what i'm doing wrong ??"

I love my rifles, but this is why I put in archery for elk. Even cow is tough to draw. Good luck and hopefully this is your year! I am the same, any elk makes me happy!

the guys at the pipe yard said to go to a road right behind the dump, and it takes up you up the mtn.
they also said there were a lot of gut piles right there at the dump, in a large field, and at various campsites in the area.

?????

guess we'll see.

seargeants is first choice still, as always.