late season hunt

[rowdycwby1]

I'm going on a late season archery hunt in unit 34 in NM and I'm looking on some tips. Has anyone hunted this and if so what worked for you? Any advise would be great... Thanks in advance!!

[ElkNut1]

Is this late season hunt for cows/bulls?

ElkNut1

[rowdycwby1]

bulls sorry I forgot to add that Lol

[ElkNut1]

Sounds as if you're hunting a migration type of hunt? If so elk should be bunched up! Call local Fish & Game & talk to the Game Biologist there, find out where the elk in that unit winter! Be prepared to do tons of glassing with both binos & especially a Spotting Scope to cover distances over a 1/2 + -- Once elk are found
I'd then watch them carefully & get a sense of their travels/direction, once you've got them pinned moving in an obvious direction I would plan a stalk from right there. Get the wind in your favor & keep it that way, don't let them see you or get a whiff of you at all.

You should be able to use the terrain to your advantage to plan your moves to get ahead of them or whatever it takes to get into range. In many States radios are OK for use where one or two guys stay back as the one shooter moves forward to get into position/range, the radio guy is the eyes for the shooter, he too has a radio can be led to the right spot & be told what the herd is doing & how they're moving. This means if there's multiple legal animals found 2 of you can get on this herd & take care of business once in range. I'd suggest in real open areas to stay together so one doesn't spook elk accidentally before both are ready.

If elk are heading for timber/cover of sort, plan your ambush there or once they are in the cover so you can get into range if need be, especially bowhunting them?

If you're looking for any bull, you'll do well once elk are located. The bigger bulls are most likely not with the larger herds at that time but pulled away & generally hanging way back or even at a higher elevation, they can stay in snows as deep as 4' & survive, they will feed in protected areas or on southern wind blown slopes.
No calling should be needed for your hunt this time of year except for possibly stopping an elk for the shot. If needed for that, the "nervous grunt" is your best bet!!! It can stop them out to a couple hundred yards.

Depending on the length of your hunt & if more than one hunter you should be able to get back onto the herd, don't overlook the possibility of getting 2 bulls out of the herd on your 1st stalk. If only one bull is taken, be very calm, don't holler & hooray of your success, be very quiet, let your elk die & those elk will be less spooked by far! They probably won't go far, let them settle down & get out of sight before approaching your downed elk!

If you're having difficulty locating herds & there's 2 or more of you, you may want to split up & get on the best "lookout" or elevated areas & glass very early & late from separate locations until a herd is spotted! Don't overlook midday glassing either especially in very cold weather, elk must feed a lot to keep body temps up at this time! I can't emphasis enough how important glassing can be, it's your # 1 tool for locating elk!!!! Good Luck!

ElkNut1
______

[hornart]

Use Cloudcroft as your starting point, take sunspot hwy south to sacramento river road, south of sacramento lake is westside road. This unit is a good unit with lots of bulls, I would concentrate on the westside hills above westside road, the area is extremely rugged but the elk hunting is good there

[rowdycwby1]

thanks guys for the imput... I forgot about sunspot I'll have to check that area out. My buddy just sent a pick of 3 bulls he took pics of last Friday so I'm gonna go check his spot. Any other tips would be great!

[pointysticks]

i used to ride the trail (la luz trail) that runs from cloudcroft down to the town of la luz. at the higher elevations there were alot of elk. crazy how they were not scared of a person on a mountain bike. you get off the bike and walk..gone!

i used to see them off the Rim trail, up near cloudcroft. maybe too close to town for any real elk population.

[buglmin]

If Im not mistaken, isnt this a six point or better hunt? I helped find the governers tag bull in this area in 2009...Spend some quality time behind a pair of binoculars and spotting scope. The trick is to find them, them get on them. At this time of the year, the bulls dont move around and travel much. I would chech with the Forest Service down there, somebody might tell you were they are seeing the bulls. Also, I would of asked this question over on bowsite in the state forums, under new mexico. The guys there can be very helpful..good luck, and have fun