Drew a ValleVidal 2ndWeek HuntHelpPlease
Elk
Hello Everyone I was lucky enough to draw a New Mexico Ville Vidal Archery Elk Hunt Second week. I have hired Griz Montoya as a guide. I'm a Kentucky boy and have never hunted New Mexico. I need advice on where to fly into and a local taxidermist that I can use to mount my kill (if I kill) and ship it back to Kentucky to me. Any other advice or story's of your hunt In Ville Vidal would be greatly appreciated. Thank You For Your Time
Grats on the tag.
It's a one day drive and you could take your meat and trophy home to your local butcher/taxidermist. I do the same length drive to Wyoming every year. It's not that bad and then you get to take whatever you want.
Agree with Idyll. Easy drive but if you don't want to drive ask your outfitter what he recommends! Good luck! C
Bobby, I am from KY also. Made many trips to western Colorado for elk. Always drove my pick up with an inexpensive deep freeze in back for bringing meat/cape home. If interested in more details, pm me. Tom
Congrats on drawing such a coveted hunt.
If memory serves me correctly, Griz Montoya was the name on the USO Outfitters & George Taulman lawsuit against the state of AZ back 10 or 12 years ago. If this is the case, as a matter of principle, I would look for another guide service.
I hope you have a memorable hunt.
You're going to have a tremendous hunt. I hunted with Griz in 2011 and had the hunt of a lifetime. Were in elk just about every day, and probably saw 300-400 over the six day hunt. The Valle has a reputation of tremendous quantity, but lags quality. That being said, they take elk in the 330-350" range every year out of the Valle. The biggest problem as a bowhunter was too many elk. Trying to kill a bull out of a herd of 20 elk is a challenge!! The terrain is rough in spots but all in all isn't too rugged compared to some other areas of elk country. You have a tremendous tag and a fantastic guide lined up.
As far as your questions, I would just drive as well. I live in Louisiana and the drive isn't that bad -- to me it's part of the experience. You get rid of a lot of the logistical headaches if you drive.
Thanks everyone for all your valuable advice still not sure about the drive MapQuest has it at a 20 hour drive and im pressed for time due to a Wyoming elk hunt im going on after my new Mexico hunt and only having 12 days off of work.
Albuquerque or Colorado Springs would be your commercial fly in points. Even pressed for time, I'd drive if I were you.
Don't screw off- get in GREAT shape!!! Take ear plugs for the first night- When I did this hunt the bulls kept us up all night with their screaming- it was spectacular!
I son't think flying is going to save you that much time truthfully. When we went in we met up early the morning before the hunt, which if you fly there's a good chance you wouldn't get in on time. Here's what I mean:
- you head in early on Friday for a hunt starting Saturday morning. If you fly, you'll likely need to fly in Thursday and given flying options more than likely you'll have to use a full day of vacation on Thursday with connections and flight schedules. - however if you drove, you could leave after work on a Wednesday, get anywhere between 5 and 8 hours in and then finish the drive off Thursday.
Nothing would be different in the amount of vacation time you used. It's a similar deal going back. With most commercial flight schedules that's what you'll be dealing with. Keep in mind if you fly you'll have to leave time on the back end to get meat processed and your elk to the taxidermist, etc. Also, it could likely get pretty pricey to fly home if you do tag out early (which is a very real possibility).
As long as you have a dependable vehicle I'd drive it all day, even more so if you have a partner to drive with. Also you don't have to worry about your luggage, nor shipping meat and head home which can be a real PIA.
Villa vidal is a premier hunt and once in a lifetime, I'd say its not if you kill, but how big.
It is definitely a premier tag but an archery hunt there is no guarantee. Looking at the harvest reports for the last three seasons, the archery harvest is between 25-60% success rate with an average of somewhere around 40%. I wouldn't go into the hunt thinking anything is a slam dunk cause you can get frustrated real quick -- a couple of blown chances, a day without seeing elk, etc -- and it can get to you. Like I said, a big problem is dealing with all of the elk around. Lots of eyes and ears to get past to put something on the wall that feels worthy of the OIL tag in your hand!
Awesome tag! Congratulations!
When you connect with mister big, take him up to Salida Colorado and leave him with Gary Bohochik. He's nothing short of the best.
It's a great area with lots of elk. I haven't drawn the VV yet but do some fly fishing there in the summer. A good friend of mine killed a 7x7 just a 15 minute walk from the highway a few years ago. Also get a bear tag if you have time. I always see bears in that area.
Success rates in VV are from high expectations and them going home empty handed (passing up too many "small " bulls). Try to capitalize ealier in your hunt, as it wears on it will be more difficult to call a big bull in. Every year is different though.
I did the muzzleloader thing and passed up a 320ish bull the first 15 minutes, and went home with a smaller bull the last morning.
NO regrets because I got to experience more bugling, calling, fighting, chasing than about any five other elk hunts combined.
Congrats. You have my envy!
Griz knows elk, and the VV very well.
Congrats on a great tag! I would love to have that tag again, especially since I came home empty handed! With that said, it was still a great hunt and an awesome place. We just didn't have the experience hunting elk that we needed to have that tag in our pocket.
Good luck!!
Matt
I've never drawn VV, but I'm pretty excited to be taking my daughter there in November as she drew a cow/rifle tag. It will be "my" first hunt on the VV. My daughter and I are both super stoked. Good luck on your hunt!
2013 Valle Vidal Great Hunt biggest problem is knowing which bull to chase.
2013 Valle Vidal, my sons unique club antler elk. If you have any questions call or PM me, Have been on three different elk hunts there.
2013 Valle Vidal, my sons unique club antler elk. If you have any questions call or PM me, Have been on three different elk hunts there.
Thanks for all the info and tips everyone I especially love the pics of the bulls taken on Valle Vidal has anyone else out there killed on Valle Vidal and if so please post pics of your bulls. Also what kind of terrain am I looking at ? i was told you can drive to certain spots and get out then hike in further how accurate is that? does anyone know of any great hot spots i should try? Thanks Again Guys
First off, congrats on the tag.
As far as locations, I would start by buying this map. For $10, it is a great investment and will give you a high level view of the unit.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/carson/maps-pubs
Thanks Z Barebow's buying it right now ! ! !
Thanks Z Barebow's buying it right now ! ! !
Some more pics of the Valle Vidal
congrats! I loved it when I was there as you can see from the picture of my club bull. He wasn't huge by any means but very unique. I was going to pass on him until I saw that club. Called him in while we were working a huge bull. I saw so many elk it was unreal. We hunted the higher country instead of the low. Both are easy to get around in, I just prefer the higher country. We hunted a lot south of commanche creek and west of the creek. Mostly at the end of the huge Valle Vidal valley. There is a nice gravel road you can walk in on for a few miles and then pick where you want to go. West of the creek you will have to walk a few miles to get to the treeline as well. It's mostly uphill but it's a gradual climb. If you hunt these areas be sure to be out way early to give you time to cover the ground and be in the trees before it starts to get light.
There are a lot of really old logging roads to cover country fast and will make it easy to bring in a game cart. We wished we would have packed into these areas and stayed a few days once we "discovered" them. By then it was too late in the hunt with one bull down. They were hard to call in because the bulls just didn't want to leave their cows. we started to ambush them as they came in or out of their bedding areas. Worked great for my dad!
Another side note. Research the history of the area, it's pretty cool to find out that there were once towns in there with a working railroad! Just look up Maxwell Land Grant. Congratulations again.
Thanks for all the info and back ground stories butcherboy that's was awesome and I will look more into the history of the area for sure. The pics everyone has posted has been great and it really helps to me to visualize what kind of terrain I'll be up against.
Hunts- I have the Carson NF Valle Vidal map. When you look at the terrain in that unit, most is pretty easy. Compared to most of my hunts, VV is handicapped accessible!
I know what your saying Barebow all my elk hunts have been in the extreme back country as far away from any paths as possible. I had rather spend a day packing into as a remote of place as possible then to spend a week bumping into other hunters and not seeing any quality elk. Sounds like this Valle Vidal hunts not going to be very difficult as far as the terrain and hike goes. I just hope im able to connect with a good bull. thanks again everyone for all the great advice and tips.
Congrats on your draw. Keep us posted on your hunt. I don't apply there yet cause I'm waiting for the day my three sons now 3,8, and 11 yrs old and I can draw the once in a lifetime together. I bet you can't stay focused on anything else. Go get your bull.
I sent you a PM describing the hunt, but you typically won't have to walk far from the roads to get into elk. We would park and usually it was no more than 15-30 minutes of hiking before we were in elk. Given the number of tags and size of the unit, you're not likely going to see any other hunters. Griz has his spots and in my six days we never ran into another hunter in the field.
Your right Barrera I do nothing but think about, Dream about, Fantasize about this hunt non stop. I'm From Kentucky and we have a wild elk herd of about 10,000 and they do a 1200 a year draw but in 16 years I've never been drawn. (there's no point system) I've been to Colorado on a few elk hunts and heading to Wyoming this year. those are all do it your self back country hike in camp for a few weeks hunts. Granted their amazing and I love them but this Valle Vidal hunt is going to be amazing.
There are areas than get can get really rugged and really steep. The elk weren't in there but some we saw were just passing thru. I went down a ridge one night that just about killed me it was so steep and full of rocks and deadfalls. I remembered to go around that ridge after that! I would have liked to pack in to the north of the road because that is a long ways from the road and it does have a few trails going in.
One hunter that camped near us walked out from his truck about a 15 minute walk and only saw a handful of elk every day. Most of them were way off in the big valley. We walked in about 1 1/2 to 3 miles and fell into Elk Heaven! The road in there is a very busy road and most of the elk keep their distance like normal. You will find elk close but why stay close when there is so much great country to see and hunt? I found that only the diehard hunters would venture very far, or they had horses.
