Unit 52 elk... Plannning for another epic NM adventure

colbam · Oct 7, 2024

Reaching out for a little bit of advice and guidance on my Unit 52 NM elk hunt which begins on 19 October.

This forum was critical to my Nov2023 off-range oryx hunt so I'm thankful for any help or input on this hunt.

Feel free to DM me with any info you might have or reply directly to this thread.

My two hunting-buddy options have now fallen through due to work-related conflicts, so at this time, I'm doing this solo.

I'm an Army Veteran and Alaskan with a lot of solo hunting experience for bears, goats, sheep, caribou, deer, etc.

I'm just looking for some basic info/advice on this hunt.

I'll be once again driving my Ram Promaster campervan down from Alaska and using that as my hunting platform. It is NOT a 4x4.

My chief concern is access on the roads/trails and their condition. One of my hunting partners who can't go now had side-by-sides but that's not an option for access for me anymore.

Are there certain areas of the hunt area that just are No-Go terrain that I shouldn't even risk trying with the campervan? How about certain areas that you might suggest that really are about my only chance of success based on my campervan?

I'm willing and fit enough to hike considerable distance daily and even spike camp hunt a couple of days if necessary.

I'm wondering about the type of weather to expect for the hunt duration (19-23OCT)--- I have all the gear for inclement weather. I just want to understand a bit more what to expect.

Is there decent cell coverage throughout the area, or should I be relying on an InReach device?

Will the elk still be bugling, and is that a solid tactic to hunt at this time of year?

I'm willing to cooperate with other hunters that have this tag as well... or for those who don't have the tag but want to get out in the woods and have good unit knowledge. Since I'm coming from Alaska, I'm also willing to share the meat with those helping me out.

crcountry · Oct 7, 2024

Bugling is hit or miss. It just depends on the weather really. If it seasonal, and not snowing/blowing, or very cold, you can def get into the last of the rut. 2 years ago during the 1st rifle hunt we killed 2 bulls that gave us their location, and we shot them at pretty close range. Camper: I wouldn't go any further than the lagunitas lakes campground. Hunt ulguin mesa, banco Julian, lagunitas, broke off, unit 4 boundary, the wilderness, toltec mesa, deep down FR93, deep down FR88, lower diablo, lower Escondido, really anywhere. They'll bed in north timber, and come out 20-30 min before last light. Sunrise is a quick hunt too. Better be in position before sunrise. Don't get too frustrated if Sat and Sun are a bust. The entire FR87 clears out by Sunday evening. My Mon/Tuesday it'll all feel like yours.

Slick8 · Oct 8, 2024

I'm hunting in south central NM that same week.

Temp are predicted to be mild for the hunt but that's a 10 day out forecast and you know better than most how quickly that can change. More so in the country you're hunting vs me.

I think your buddy needs to loan out his SxS since he bailed on the trip

.

Seriously, you'll be somewhat limited in your access, more so if it's wet but limited. You may want to look into an ATV or truck rental. I don't know anything about it but I read about some guys renting a personal truck for a hunt much like an AirBnB. It was not much money at all.

colbam · Oct 8, 2024

Slick8 said:
I'm hunting in south central NM that same week.

Temp are predicted to be mild for the hunt but that's a 10 day out forecast and you know better than most how quickly that can change. More so in the country you're hunting vs me.

I think your buddy needs to loan out his SxS since he bailed on the trip .

Seriously, you'll be somewhat limited in your access, more so if it's wet but limited. You may want to look into an ATV or truck rental. I don't know anything about it but I read about some guys renting a personal truck for a hunt much like an AirBnB. It was not much money at all.

My campervan doesn't have a trailer hitch.
The idea when I had a hunting partner was to utilize the campervan for Basecamp, etc. And have a second 4x4 vehicle to tow the ATVs... or even without ATVs having a second 4x4 vehicle to go further in and back on trails.

Hunting solo and with the campervan I'll just have to do the best I can.

Was also considering if I just can't get good enough access with the campervan in the first couple of days to run into the nearest city with a car rental agency and get a 4x4 capable SUV or pick up... ofc I'd have to crossload my gear since I'd be leaving the campervan behind at the rental location.
Having such a short season makes this plan even risky with the time needed away from the hunt area to secure the rental vehicle and get back into the woods.

RioHuntNutt! · Oct 9, 2024

Just got back fr 52 last night . I dont know how this PM stuff work , send me your phone# pm and I can help you some , your 2wd will be no problem..

colbam · Oct 9, 2024

RioHuntNutt! said:
Just got back fr 52 last night . I dont know how this PM stuff work , send me your phone# pm and I can help you some , your 2wd will be no problem..

Pm sent

Reuben_Soady · Oct 9, 2024

@RioHuntNutt!

or

hunting1 · Oct 10, 2024

There are elk everywhere in the unit so no worries on the 2 WD. Broke off or San Antonio even, elk everywhere. Good luck and enjoy!

colbam · 2024-11-06T13:19:27-0700

Just wanted to provide a hunt update and huge thanx for all those on this forum who provided information, advice, and encouragement for my first solo elk hunt in New Mexico this October.

In summary— I successfully harvested my first bull elk. So many lessons learned and a deep sense of fulfillment to have experienced the beauty of northern New Mexico and the Carson National Forest.

I drove down from Alaska for this hunt in my Ram Promaster campervan. I arrived in the general area on the Thursday before the hunt began and went to a rifle range to check my rifle for accuracy and grouping.

I scouted a few possible access points to hunt which I thought looked promising as night fell. There was a weird weather front that moved through which included freezing rain and thunder and lightning. Seemed a bit odd with the temps only a few degrees above freezing.

On Friday morning I continued scouting and familizing myself with the hunt area. I noticed that the roads were becoming slick even with only a bit of moisture and a thin layer of mud. The tread remaining on my all-terrain tires was just not sufficient to give me confidence on being able to check out certain access points which I wanted to before deciding on the place to settle in for the hunt. After a few close calls of almost getting stuck and sliding down short declines along the roadway I decided that I needed to quickly decide on my initial camping/hunting spot. I realized that if I didn’t make a decision quickly on where to hunt I might end up just playing in the mud or a ditch for the rest of the day and even possibly on opening day.

I set up camp and went over my gear list and packed my Barney’s ruck for opening morning. I then turned in to get some sleep in anticipation of an early morning start. During the night I could hear freezing rain pounding on the rooftop and wondered what the weather would be like come morning.

Saturday morning revealed an entirely new landscape with about 6 inches of fresh snow and temps below freezing. I got dressed and began the trek into the woods to some distant points I created on OnX which looked like good elk spots in my mind. The cloud cover was sparse and the moon was still almost full and stars filled the pre-dawn sky. This created an eerily quiet and peaceful setting to slowly walk through unfamiliar territory without the aid of my headlamp. A few terrain features into the woods I stopped to ventilate my clothing to prevent overheating and just soak in the setting. I knew that whether or not I harvested an elk this was going to be a memorable experience and I was exactly where I was meant to be on this hunt. The calm was interrupted by a coyote howling nearby and then across the valleys and meadows several others responded in kind.

I kept walking toward the distant waypoint in the moonlight and intermittent haze and fog. As I neared the area I had chosen to focus on for the first morning I heard an elk bugle off in the distance. Another great sign that I was going to fully enjoy the next few days of hiking and hunting.

I spent the rest of the day glassing while huddled under various pine trees overlooking draws and chutes and meadows while the weather constantly shifted and changed. The skies would brighten and the snow would begin to tumble off the pine boughs. 20 minutes later, light freezing rain or wind and snow would begin.

As the fog cleared on a distant hillside shortly after dawn broke, I saw a coyote traversing the side-slope and then quickly disappeared in the haze. I saw several mule deer that day including a little fork buck. Most of the day the haze and fog would create a visibility bubble of less than 300 meters around me.

All in all, the first day was productive because I was able to get back into an area which I wanted to hunt and familiarize myself. Among those valleys and draws I felt confident I would see elk in the coming days. I was able to identify a couple of new spots to sit and glass the following morning— hopefully with better visibility and weather.

Hiking back out close to nightfall I noticed that the snow on certain slopes had already begun to recede a bit. However, that was reversed by the overnight freezing temps and a few more inches of fresh snow.

I started back into the woods early Sunday morning. The snow was a bit more crunchy than Saturday morning. However, the moon was just as bright and enabled the pines to cast shadows across the meadows and hillsides as I headed back into the area I hunted on opening day. As clouds would shroud the moon occasionally, the darkness would grow… only for the moonlight to increase again and the shadows and contrast to return.

Within 300m of starting my hike a nearby bull screamed out. With my unfamiliarity hunting elk I wondered if this was an elk or just other hunters trying to get the elk to reveal their locations. Regardless if this call was a real elk or not, several bugles rang out across the various valleys— not all of these calls could be hunters! My wonderment and curiosity soared. I felt I was on the cusp of truly experiencing an elk hunt as I had dreamed of from my youth growing up only hunting white-tails in the Midwest.

As I continued deeper into the woods and crossed several small streams and valleys the bugling continued and intensified. I stopped inside the wood line along an open hillside to try and more closely direction-find the bugles. When I began hiking again a group of about 10 elk hustled across the opening ahead of me. I realized I had forgotten my binos in my haste that morning so I tried to locate them in my scope to see if there were any bulls in the group. A bull loudly screamed to my right. Based on the volume I figured he might be within 150 meters and probably trying to organize his cows as they hurried across the opening. It was still well before legal shooting time so I figured it was best to continue on toward my planned glassing spot rather than try and focus on this bull.

As dawn broke and I neared the mesa/meadow where I wanted to sit and glass the bugling continued from multiple directions. I thought it was almost comical and fake at times because of how many bulls were sounding off and how agitated the one bull in the distance sounded. This slowed me down considerably as I would halt several times and marvel at this scenario unfolding all around me. I kept focusing on the noisiest “crazy bull” assuming he must be the biggest—- he also was aligned with my hiking pathway.

As I came upon the more open terrain I began to wonder how I would be able to traverse it while staying hidden from detection. It also was light out now and within shooting hours. I began to hurry toward the big bull in the distance, trying to keep the few scattered pines in between me and the sound of the bull. I figured he was still almost a kilometer off.

I looked over to my right and saw a few elk in the meadow in between the pines about 150 meters away. Even before I got my rifle set up on my shooting sticks I saw antlers on at least two of the elk. They were milling around and knew I was there. I didn’t know how long they would stick around so I quickly picked out the bull which I thought had the largest antlers and shot him. He dropped immediately as the other 3 bulls scattered a bit. But then they just stood there in an opening looking back at their fallen comrade.

Wow—what had I just accomplished!?! My first elk—a bull elk. I could see his antlers sticking up above the snow and grass. The big bull continued to scream in the distance off to the left… sounding even more agitated. I swung the shooting sticks around to try and find him in the scope based on his near constant bugling. I really wanted to see just how big he was even though I had my first bull down. I picked up movement about 700 meters away through some scattered aspens and stumps. I could see large antlers but without my binos and the trees he was behind I couldn’t accurately judge his size. I saw another elk off to his side as well. They began moving away from me into deeper timber while still bugling.

I shouldered my rifle and looked back at my downed bull. The other bulls were now moving off across the meadow and heading into a draw out of sight. As they disappeared from view I followed toward the edge of the draw to try and regain sight of them and just utilize this opportunity to study elk in the wild since I was and remain such a novice elk hunter. As I did this other elk continued to bugle in the distance from several directions.

I spotted a small herd of elk— multiple cows mixed in with a few spike bulls and what looked like a well-balanced 5 x 5 in the lead. This herd appeared to have been paralleling me and I surmised it might have been the band of elk I spooked in the dark a few kilometers earlier.

I took several photos and videos and just took in the sight of seeing elk grazing and moving across the terrain. It was quite the experience and sight to behold.

After about 15 minutes I turned back to go claim my bull and begin the long and arduous task of quartering the elk. I spent the next few hours completing the field dressing tasks. While working on the bull several bands of mule deer moved though the meadow but they all appeared to be does and fawns from this year.

I moved the meat and head of my bull away from the kill site and secured it in some trees except for my first load to haul out of the woods. I spent the rest of the day moving the meat closer to my camping spot. I got out of the woods with the first load around 3pm and sat down to rest and reflect on the day’s adventure.

I completed hauling the elk out on Monday in two more loads. I even stumbled on a sleepy badger along the trail. I spoke with several hunters both in the woods and near my campervan over the course of the day and a half of working on hauling the meat. I also met the local Game Warden and spoke to him about my experience and let him check my license and the meat I had already removed from the field.

I was worried about the drive out with the snow and mud. I decided my best option would be to begin my drive out along the hunting trails on Tuesday morning before sunrise when the roads would be the most frozen. This was a smart decision and I was able to get back out onto the highway system before the sun melted the snow and mud and gave me troubles.

Overall—-this was such an epic solo adventure!!!

So grateful for how it all came together. I believe the snowstorm was instrumental in getting the elk moving around and so vocal. And the advice and assistance from others who reached out to me was truly appreciated and critical in getting me into a spot where I could capitalize on the opportunity I had in drawing this tag.

New Mexico continues to be so generous to me with hunting tags and really is the Land of Enchantment!!!