I and my hunting partners have hit the age where our bodies are telling us it’s time to consider selling our cabin located in New Mexico’s GMU 13, one of the state’s Quality/High Demand elk units. Unit 13 is an archery/muzzleloader only elk unit. Our cabin sits on a 30 acre parcel that borders Cibola National Forest lands, about 15 miles north of the small town of Magdalena. There is a solar battery system for lights and small appliances, rainwater collection system for non-potable water, propane stove, fridge, heater, grill, and shower. Very quiet and out of the way, lots of wildlife and solitude, and out-the-back door hunting for elk as well as hiking, biking, atv-ing, star gazing, great sunsets and no cell coverage! Cabin is 24’ x 14’ with a covered front porch 24’ x 6’, and a 24’ x 12’ back deck for over 750 sq ft of living surface, plus a 14’ x10’ inside loft. Very tight and well insulated, which means no problems with bugs, mice or rats!
One or more of us have hunted in this area during the October muzzleloader season every year since 2013. Over that period we’ve had 17 individual hunts (some years 3 hunters, other times fewer) and have shot a total of 8 bulls; we’ve also passed on decent bulls while holding out for a real monster. All of the bulls harvested have been in the 250”-310” range, though we’ve seen much larger bulls we just couldn’t connect with. Drawing odds for non-residents aren’t great but on several occasions one of us has drawn a tag in the random drawing process, and we’ve purchased available landowner tags when that didn’t happen. For us the chance to really learn a hunting area and hunt that same area every year (in this era of point systems and one-time hunting opportunities in most western states) made it very worthwhile to buy landowner tags when that became necessary.
We’ve listed the property at an asking price of $75,000, but will consider reasonable offers. We live in northern Utah, which limits our ability to be on-site to meet with interested parties and show the cabin. However, our photos should provide a good sense of what the cabin and setting are like, and we can provide detailed directions to those who might want to take an initial look at the cabin site and surrounding lands on their own. We can then discuss an on-site meeting to show the cabin more fully to those who are prepared to make a legitimate offer.
While I’ll be happy to answer questions (send me a PM with your phone number and/or email address and I’ll be in touch), those who are potentially interested can also contact my hunting partner (Paul Holden, 435-757-1647) for more information. You can also search Facebook Marketplace for Magdalena (87825) Paul Holden off-grid cabin for more pictures.

Unit 13 is an awesome hunt area . I have hunted elk there a few times . Killed two bulls in the 350-360 range . Chased a few in the 380-400. Class range , seem to always get busted by 30-50 cows Good luck with the sell

Thanks Bella1 -- it is indeed a special place to hunt elk, and just to get away from it all. I just wish we had stumbled onto it when we were all in our 30s or 40s rather than in our 60s... this aging stuff is tough on elk hunters!

RSK

Tag

That is a nice cabin. What is the road access like? Four wheel drive only, easements across private property, etc.

Access is about 10 miles of paved highway going north from Magdalena, then 5 or 6 miles of graded county road, then a couple of miles of graded private road into the former ranch that back in the 2000s was subdivided into 30-acre parcels. The private road is closed to general public use (which keeps elk hunting competition down!) but open for use by property owners in what is now called the Abbe Springs area. Very few of the 30 acre lots have had a cabin placed on them, so with a handful of exceptions the area remains quiet and largely undeveloped. Most times access with 2 wheel drive is not a problem, though after major rains a 4x4 can be helpful in places where the county road tends to get soft.

While I am not a co-owner of the cabin, the owners are friends of mine and I have successfully hunted bull elk out of this cabin. They are reliable and trustworthy and the description of the cabin is accurate.

I

Do you receive any SCR authorizations?

Good luck with the sale. Looks like an terrific place. Wish it was a practical option for me.

SLM -- When the NM game and fish department revised the landowner authorization program last year we along with most smaller-acreage landowners were dropped from the program. We were within one point of being included under the newly-revised rules, so going forward it could perhaps be possible to be included again if some habitat improvements were to be put into place on the property.

Tag! I can dream can't I ???

Whats the annual ownership cost?

Tag.

Alwaysoutdoors -- the annual ownership costs include property taxes that are currenty running about $350 and annual Homeowners Association fees for the Abbe Springs ranches area that are about $200.

UP for the start of the work week. Also my hunting partner is off on a fishing trip for the next few days and hard to reach by phone, so feel free to give me a call (Rick Krannich, 435-770-5298) if you have questions and would prefer to discuss directly.

PMs replied to, and up to the top.

RSK

That’s cheap enough for a whole year.

This seems like a good deal especially for a group that has lots of hunting years in front of them.

Now that the holidays are behind us I'm bringing this back to the top for another look. We've received numerous inquiries and several expressions of serious interest, but so far no legitimate offer is on the table.

The New Mexico elk application deadline is in mid-March, so there's still plenty of time to get a deal worked out and then get applications in for your hunt next fall. We're prepared to help a buyer out by sharing our knowledge of hunting areas that surround the cabin, spring locations, access routes, detailed maps, etc. We can also steer you toward options for buying unit-wide landowner tags if not successful in the drawing.

We've now listing the cabin/30 acre parcel at $72,500 (down from the initial listing of $75,000), and still willing to consider legitimate and reasonable offers. PM me with questions, or feel free to call either me (Rick, 435-770-5298) or my hunting partner (Paul, 435-757-1647).

My god I'd give my right nut! Spent time in Reserve, Gila Forrest area, absolutely beautiful.

My god I'd give my right nut! Spent time in Reserve, Gila Forrest area, absolutely beautiful.

You can say that again.

JIm

Rsk: How many Hunters (people!) can sleep in your cool cabin?
BTT
TIA
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I have seen some tremendous bulls in the P-J country between Reserve and Datil. How close are you to Carbon Springs?

Is there any surface water on the property? Do the other 30 ac landowners hunt too? Can you hunt other parcels?

Sorry for the delay in responding to the several recent questions:

For VarmintGuy -- we' set up sleeping space on the ground floor for three people (cots). The upper loft area could easily accommodate 2-3 more on cots, pads, or even regular beds if they were brought in.

For kid0917 -- I don't know exactly where Carbon Springs is but think I've found it on the National Forest map. Magdalena is about 36 miles east from Datil, and we're about 12 miles as the crow flies north from Magdalena. If this is the Carbon Springs located north and slightly east from Magdalena off of Forest Road 354, we're about 8 miles to the west.

For SDHNTR -- there is no surface water on our 30 acre parcel, other than a supplemental wildlife watering system that we installed to make use of excess water that previously was spilling out of our rainwater collection barrels. However there are several year-round springs located nearby on adjoining National Forest lands. The two nearest springs are about 1/4-1/2 mile to the east, There are multiple other springs located within roughly 1 to 3 miles both east and north and east and south from the cabin on FS land, and those are the areas where we've done most of our hunting. We've not encountered another landowner from the Abbe Springs Ranches properties who is hunting in this area; with one exception (a non-hunter) none of the parcels within a mile of our place has had a cabin built on it. Because the Abbe Springs roads are posted as private and not for public access, and because the 30 acre parcels along those roads further limit access to the Cibola Forest lands (eastern border of our parcel), we've seen very few other hunters in the areas where we hunt from the cabin either by departing on foot or via ATV. In the years that we've hunted from the cabin we've encountered just 2 or 3 other hunters when we were on the ground in that area, though we have encountered others more often on the rare occasions when we've driven off to locations farther from the cabin within Unit 13.

I just realized that I failed to respond to SDHUNTRs last question. Unit 13 has extensive public land access (large tracts of Forest Service, and also BLM and State lands). In addition, all private ranch properties that are enrolled in the state's landowner tag system and that receive unit-wide landowner tags are required to leave their gates open and allow hunters to access their properties. We've never taken advantage of this opportunity to access private lands in the unit, since we've had access to good hunting opportunities on Cibola National Forest lands that are immediately adjacent to our parcel.

I think I pegged it on google maps, long straight driveway, as you get to the cabin a big pushed out area to the left (west side) of cabin?

kid0917 -- that wouldn't be our place, as the drive is not long and straight and there's not a large excavated area anywhere on the property. The Google Earth location coordinates are 34'20'41"N 107'22'09W.

Hopefully this will bring my original post on this New Mexico hunting cabin back to the top --with photos still in place -- so I can avoid the task of starting everything over again from scratch!

When I first posted the ad for this cabin back in December of 2019 none of us had any idea what was about to happen with regard to the COVID pandemic and its effects. By mid- spring travel to New Mexico was essentially shut down and we decided to put our plans to sell the property on hold for the immediate future. Now that the vaccine is rolling out and things seem likely to return to something closer to normal in the coming months, we're putting the cabin back on the market.

As indicated in the original post, the cabin sits on 30 deeded acres adjoining Cibola National Forest lands in New Mexico's GMU 13, one of the state's premier (archery and muzzleloader only) elk units. We've experienced considerable success in terms of both shooting opportunities and harvest of mature bulls over multiple years, but I along with my two partners have reached the point where our bodies are no longer up to the demands of a serious elk hunt. We did not hunt there at all in 2020 -- my two partners both had knee replacement surgery this past November, and I'm scheduled to have a knee replaced in April. At that point there will be a total of 9 joint replacement surgeries among the three of us -- the time to pass this place on to someone who has more hunting years ahead of them has clearly arrived!

We originally listed the property at an asking price of $75,000 but have since decided that was a bit on the high side, so the asking price for the property is now set at $65,000. We will give careful consideration to reasonable offers for a cash purchase, but are not in a position to deal with a land contract sale involving payments over an extended time period.

If interested feel free to contact me by pm, or you can text me (Rick Krannich, 435-770-5298) or my hunting partner (Paul Holden, 435-757-1647) and we'll respond to set up a time to chat on the phone.

Tag

Is a well possible?

Any power?

Tag

Damn, just asked my wife if she wanted to move to New Mexico and go off the grid. She said no. I hope she doesn't miss me too much. Looks like a great place, wish it was closer.

David,

Power lines do not extend into this area, so access to public electric power is not a possibility. A well was drilled successfully several years ago on another parcel located about 1/2 mile to the north from our property, with a solar-powered pump installed. A well could be a possibility on our property, with either solar or generator power used to run the pump.

Rick

The family and I checked it out last March when we came through. We didn’t go in to the cabin site, but the area is way cool and pretty remote. Saw some antelope and not many other people. We’ve since decided to stay in AK, but this area was high on our list if we ever decide to relocate..

GLWS...

Rick,

Any idea on depth to water?

David,

I don't know exactly but from the last conversation I had with that landowner several years ago I believe they hit a good water layer at just under 100'. The key in this otherwise fairly dry landscape would be to drill in an area that feeds into one of the springs located at lower elevation to the east of the property. There is a spring within about 1/4 mile from our southeast corner so I would guess the prospect of getting a productive well should be reasonably good. They other property owner used a well witcher and I'd certainly go that route.

What is cost of land owners tag for the area?
Darryl

Landowner tags have increased in price in recent years. When we started out they were going for something like $4,500... but over the last couple of years they've been as high as $7,000-$7,500. Our strategy has been to have all of those planning to hunt in a particular year apply in the random drawing, and then if someone does draw we buy landowner tags for the others and split that cost across all of those hunting. While random drawing odds for non-residents are awful, we have been successful a couple of times in making this strategy work and spreading the cost for landowner tags across two or three of us. Since in other western states with preference point systems it can take 20 years or longer to have a good chance of drawing a tag in a premium unit, we decided that the cost of landowner tags if needed was something we needed to be prepared to deal with if we wanted to hunt every year. And, by hunting year after year in the same areas we've learned a great deal about where we need to be (and how to get there) -- information we'll be ready to share in full detail with whoever ends up buying the property.

So, if there are 4 of you, it might be that you draw 1 tag if lucky and buy 3 for @ $20k? Sounds like a fabulous cabin except for that. Cow tags?

JRK -- Well, we never had 4 hunters -- but yes, even if two hunters ended up splitting the cost of a $7,000 landowner tag it was without question not a low-cost elk hunt. But it took me 20 years as an in-state resident to draw a premium-unit bull tag in Utah, so at that point it became essentially once-in-a-lifetime. The cost of hunting elk in premium units in pretty much all of the western states is high, and the cost of having the opportunity to hunt in one of those units every year is higher still. We wanted to know that we could plan to hunt every year, and to get to know a hunting area very well rather than seeing it just once and then probably never drawing a tag for that area again. Because of this we were willing to deal with those costs --but that is understandably not something everyone would want to do.

There are cow tags allocated for Unit 13, but we never bothered to look into those or make applications, so I can't tell you anything about drawing odds, etc.

Ttt,

I have hunted that area and seen some great bulls... beautiful country...

Back up for the weekend. The application deadline for New Mexico elk tags is March 17.

Tag

Tag.

Great looking spot.

TTT for mid-week

tag

Up for the weekend lookers.