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Curious if anyone could give me some insight on this unit for archery elk. . I have heard good and bad both about unit 10. Best I can tell, lots of work and scouting like everything else in life. You get out what ya put into it. I am not asking for anyone secret spots or anything like that. I just curious to hear some other opinions. I have hunted NM twice once five years ago in 6c on a DYI and once two years ago in 16c with outfitter. Needless to say I still haven't had a bull in bow range and I am trying to go the extra mile on a little homework this time around.
Thanks and any info is appreciated.
I know an outfitter who considers 10 to be a sleeper unit... Kills some great bulls in there every year.
Thanks pastringking. It's been really tough to find much info. I have called the biologist and local game warden. They have been somewhat helpful. But not real helpful. I am trying to find the best source for detailed maps now. Thanks again
Does that outfitter kill them on public? I know of guys that shoot monsters in there there but they're not hunting with us scrubs.
Maps shouldn't be a problem, just load up an online topo in arcgis or ge or cal topo. I've researched it a bunch and haven't pulled the trigger yet. My best data says it's about like an Oregon OTC hunt and I can drive 60 minutes for that vs 24 hours. Sorry to hear about your 16c experience. There isn't any reason not to be within bow range in that unit.
Yes... mostly all public. Some scattered private here and there.
Let's just say in 16 c our guide was lazy and we didn't get started at daylight most of the time. Majority of the time we didn't leave camp til it was breaking day.
Thanks guys for the help. I have a Oregon GPS touchscreen. So my next step is to work on getting info downloaded into it
Thanks again.
Do not disregard areas in Unit10 that are within 1 mile of the freeway. 2 years ago, I was on the other side of a juniper tree in an open park meadow with a 350ish bull as the sun was going down.
He bolted outta there as the wind swirled, but I couldn't believe where this bull was in relation to the freeway (I-40). Maybe 1/4 mile. He was one step from being dead.
I've talked with guys who have hunted up there for 30 years, tag out nearly every year it seems and they all had 6x6's that year. Not sure where they were hunting, but there is some checkerboard in there and they "may" have been skirting some private land.
I've turkey hunted unit 10. I almost applied for elk there a couple of times, then they combined the two hunts into one with 250 tags which seemed crowded to me, plus the odds of drawing have gone down recently (higher demand).
Take a look close to the steep areas near the continental divide. That's where I'd be concentrating for a place to start anyway.
BTW, some of the biggest oak trees you'll ever see out west in that area. Like 4-6 foot diameter.
Good luck!
Thanks for all the help. 9 er I will definitely keep that in mind. I have already been thinking out of box. I live close to LBL in tn/ky and i turkey hunt it regular. Sometimes lots of folks park or walk right past some of the best places. Then other pockets you have to walk 2 miles off the road. So it will be like a puzzle. And that's the part I enjoy. Putting all the pieces together. Thanks again
First oder of business would be to get the National Forest map and BLM maps. But there is an even better map that you can get near Fort Wingate. As you approach the unit and get to Fort Wingate you drive perhaps 1/4 mile past all of the buildings and there is a road to the right going west. You go down that road a couple hundred yards and there is a guard station. You can usually get the map there during regular hours. It is a forestry map I think and it is a lot more detailed than the National Forest map and will have many more of the small roads marked.
I hunted deer and turkey in this unit and never saw an elk although I did see tracks. There seems to be a lot of traffic, wood cutting and such. I'd be very contrarian and look for remote water areas and blocks of country with poor access. The aforementioned map might be very helpful in this regard.
I did deer hunt all around Ft Wingate trying to be contrarian and I saw very little elk sign there. Also very little elk sign close to the interstate on the north side of the unit within a few miles of Ft. Wingate although it certainly deserves another look as most people overlook that area.
The south side has a lot of cabins and homes maybe more to the west would have more potential. Perhaps working something out with an outfitter to help you pack out an elk would lead to more info. on where the elk are. I covered a lot of country and never saw an elk although I was primarily up there later in the season when they wouldn't be bugling.
Good luck!
"The south side has a lot of cabins and homes maybe more to the west would have more potential." Sorry, I meant more to the east, the far east side. I checked out areas from the road that cuts across the unit from Ft. Wingate to the south side. You'll go down a winding road to the lower elevation and in that area on the south side, there are cabins scattered around and eventually you get into more cabins as you continue south. I saw no elk sign there even going into the more remote areas. So I'm suggesting far to the east . And perhaps somewhere on the far north side of the unit a few miles from the highway.
Thanks for the info David A.
