Price of Quality Private Land Hunt?
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: painless
12-Jan-17
Can someone give me an estimate of what a quality New Mexico private land ARCHERY hunt is going for these days? We've been hunting a ranch last several years and landowner has gone way up for 2017. Just want to know if he is in line with reality. By quality unit I mean a place where we called in 14 bulls in 1 1/2 hours without moving last year.
From: HDE
12-Jan-17
Being able to call in 14 bulls in 90 minutes without moving is prime area. You may have to pay that elsewhere...
From: Mossyhorn
12-Jan-17
Gees! 14 bulls in 90 minutes? I might consider giving my left nut for a place like that to hunt? How much were you paying and how much did it go up?
From: ohiohunter
12-Jan-17
Based on that I can't imagine he's asking too much, unless he's charging more than a Vermejo or Mescalero hunt... $12-15k.
Most private bull tags are gonna run you $4500 and up.
From: drycreek
12-Jan-17
Mossy, I'd give both of mine. I'm about through with them anyway.............
From: kentuckbowhnter
12-Jan-17
from what I can tell a place with that kind of quality will be $8,500 and up. Wagonhound in Wyoming for example.
From: r-man
12-Jan-17
is the mafia running hunting camps now and wow
From: David A.
12-Jan-17
What are some of the top trophy bull ranches in NM for 330 and better bulls?
From: Mule Power
12-Jan-17
Realistically I doubt you'll call in bulls like that on any given day so I don't think that should have a huge bearing on the price. You might want to keep things like that to yourself in the future instead of giving a report to whoever you lease from.
How much did you pay before and what do they want now?
From: Kdog
12-Jan-17
I don't know, from what I have seen guided hunts in good areas with land owner tags go for $7500 and up. Not sure if you are hunting DIY or what? Maybe more info would help. Give me the land owners phone number and I will feel him out. :).
Seriously, good luck. Hope you can come to some sort of arrangement. Sounds like he probably heard some of the other ranchers were getting more so he upped the ante.
From: jims
12-Jan-17
There may be a price gap between 14 x spike/raghorns called in or 14 x 330 to 360+ class bulls! What do you mean by "called in". Called inside 30 yards.....1/2 mile? Pretty vague on the details! How big of a ranch? How many hunters/season? What kind of lodging/food is included? Self-guided, 1x1 guided, 2 on 1 guided? Public vs private? The list of questions associated with price goes on!
From: HDE
13-Jan-17
If you're just buying the voucher in an average unit, you're looking at $2000 - $3000. Really good units you could expect $4000.
From: painless
13-Jan-17
Jims, all called in to shooting range. Closest bull 6yds. Largest bull 380, smallest a raghorn, the only raghorn of the 14. I realize this can't be done daily, I actually told my buddy that it's probably a once in a lifetime occurrence. However, we always see multiple bulls. Largest one in the area killed has been 400+.
From: ELKMAN
13-Jan-17
How much did he raise it?
From: painless
13-Jan-17
Tripled the price we were paying. Claims that's what the neighbors are getting. Also has rifle price equal to bow price. I always seen archery hunts for a little less than rifle.
From: Chris S
13-Jan-17
Pretty tight lipped on price. 3x depends on starting point. Going up from 500 to 1500 not a big deal. Going from 5k up to 15k a very big jump. Without a numeric price your question everyone is just guessing and giving opinions with any facts
From: jims
13-Jan-17
A lot of guys would be willing to pay a pretty penny for the opportunity for 380 to 400 class bulls. It sounds as good as any of the Indian Reservations in Arizona where hunters pay an incredible sum of $. Also, a lot of guys would give their left nut to hunt a private ranch for 350+ class bulls every year. Are you able to get landowner tags? I'm not sure why the price and other details are such a secret?
From: ELKMAN
13-Jan-17
I've never killed an Elk on private land, but it sounds like you guys had a good thing going, and now reality has caught up with you. Pay up, or move on.
From: LINK
13-Jan-17
Sounds to me like you've been getting a good deal and now it's time to annie up. Alot of guys would pay 7k+ to have a chance at a 380 every year. I know guys that spend 4500$ dollars in CO to shoot sub 270" bulls. I'd look at it this way if you've been getting it for 2000$ every year and now he wants six, every year you hunted it at 2k you were saving 3-4 thousand.
From: NorCalVineyards
13-Jan-17
There's a lot of public land where one can find 350" Bulls if you're willing to work hard. Figure 5k for the voucher for a trophy unit, maybe 6k. The pricing has gone up for vouchers 30-40 percent in the last 3 years from the sources I've been talking to.
From: jims
13-Jan-17
I know I'm likely missing out but I quit applying in NM after they took public draw tags and handed them over to landowners. It was a pretty sad day for those that wait years to draw quality tags to hunt public land in NM. It was obviously good for landowners and outfitters but the average Joe got stung! Draw odds became tougher and a chunk of public tags went to guys with $. It's not surprising that the price of NM hunts are escalating with all the TV shows broadcasting great bulls they harvest every year after purchasing landowner tags.
From: HDE
13-Jan-17
Are the adjacent landowners willing to sell to you? Real easy to find out if the price increase is worth it to you.
At the end of the day, it only matters if it's worth it to you to pay that much.
From: elkmtngear
13-Jan-17
Personally, I'm lucky to call in 4 or 5 bulls in ten days on Public Land, after putting 30 or 40 miles on my legs.
If you adjust the price using that as a baseline, it could be quite high.
Best of Luck, Jeff
From: tradmt
13-Jan-17
I don't blame ya jims. If everyone just quit NM for a year or two they would change their tune in short order but such is life and it ain't changing until money's only value is for wiping asses and people are killed for a slice of whole wheat.
From: Sage Buffalo
13-Jan-17
What are you paying?
This is easily a min of $7,500+ (per person) but most guys who are in this market would pay $10,000+ for this opportunity.
From: Mule Power
13-Jan-17
Chris S: "Pretty tight lipped on price. 3x depends on starting point. Going up from 500 to 1500 not a big deal. Going from 5k up to 15k a very big jump. Without a numeric price your question everyone is just guessing and giving opinions with any facts "
Exactly! But judging by what he has to say about size the sky is the limit. I once had a guy ask if I could guarantee him a crack at a 350 to 400 inch bull. I sent him across the hall in Harrisburg to talk to the folks from the Indian res in Arizona. He came back and told me they were idiots and so was I for sending him there. Diamonds aren't cheap and you are hunting in a diamond mine my friend. Pay to play. I wish I got to hunt it with you before this year. Sounds like you have been really fortunate up to this point.... and maybe you still are. If someone else comes along that has the money and wants big bulls you will likely never get the opportunity to hunt there again.
If you are happy with 300 to 330 bulls you can certainly get those for a lower lease rate than a place that has monsters like that and lots of them.
From: painless
14-Jan-17
Thanks for the input and comments. Sad thing is some of our very compatible group simply can't afford the new price.
From: Sean D.
14-Jan-17
I will join that group if your looking for anyone!
From: GaryB@Home
15-Jan-17
Sad reality is buyers actually set the price not the seller. As long as buyers see value and are willing to absorb higher and higher costs the prices will continue to climb.
From: painless
15-Jan-17
Gary, you're correct. I just got my Hunt'n Fool Jan issue. It list Indian reservation hunts. Some of those prices are 20K. I can't imagine paying that for an elk hunt. Years back my sheep hunts were a fraction of that.
From: jims
15-Jan-17
Painless, cut to the chase. What is the old and new prices?
From: Surfbow
15-Jan-17
Yeah, post the price before you rag on the landowner. It's his land after all, and it's nice of him to let others hunt there...
From: HDE
15-Jan-17
Price is the amount seller's are willing to sell and buyer's willing to buy.
If you don't buy or sell, someone else will.
From: GaryB@Home
15-Jan-17
"It list Indian reservation hunts. Some of those prices are 20K. I can't imagine paying that for an elk hunt" Around here the 20K gets you the hunt, if successful you can add outrageous trophy fees on top of that.
From: painless
15-Jan-17
Eddie, I do not believe I have ever "ragged on the landowner". He is a friend of mine and I don't "rag" on my friends. I also don't believe I ever said I would divulge what I was paying. It's simply no ones business unless I ask you to hunt with me. I simply asked this question, "Can someone give me an estimate of what a quality New Mexico private land ARCHERY hunt is going for these days?" No more- no less.
From: jdee
15-Jan-17
Not everyone is against NM landowner tags ! We start getting calls from guys a month before we know what we will be getting that year and the tags will all be sold in the first few days....the bull tags that is. My neighbor has been selling his bull unut wide tags to the same 3 guys for 10 years...that's a lot of big bull hunting. Some guys got a ton of cash and some guys don't. The state is getting their tag money weather its from a guy drawing a tag or buying it from a LO he still has to buy a elk tag.
From: HDE
15-Jan-17
Painless, to answer your question would be an ambiguous answer at best. For me, a quality PL archery NM elk hunt would only be worth the license fee and drawing a tag in Valle Vidal or Valles Caldera. However, I would only be willing to pay as high as $3000. The guy down the road may pay as much as $12,500.
From: jims
15-Jan-17
What's sad is the landowner/outfitter tags were taken away from the public draw. Those that draw public tags have always had the option to go on a guided hunt or hunt public land! Obviously as the demand for quality elk tags rises the price of those landowner/outfitter tags are going to rise. Pretty soon the only guys that can afford to hunt are those that save for many years or the wealthy!
This is exactly what Painless and others in NM are likely finding out. It's likely stabbing him and his buddies in the back? Painless I really feel for your predicament. It was certainly a sad day when additional tags were taken away from the public draw and handed over to landowners/outfitters in NM! I certainly hope other states learn from NM's mistake!
From: ELKMAN
16-Jan-17
New Mexico is a JOKE
From: Surfbow
16-Jan-17
Ha, Steve, you sure sound like you're ragging on your 'friend'! Seeing "if he is in line with reality," that he "claims that's what the neighbors are getting," and asking the internet instead of having an honest conversation with him. Post the price so we have something to quantify, Bowsite hasn't seen the place or the animals you're hunting. You could get off your rear and go check with the neighbors to see what they're getting, then you'd actually have real info to work with.
From: XMan
16-Jan-17
painless, a buddy of mine just shared with me that he is paying $4500 for a private ranch hunt in NM. Guaranteed tag and access to a private ranch near Gila National Forest. Hope this helps.
From: ben h
16-Jan-17
I'd love to chime in on this, but it's way too big of a secret to divulge what I paid and those landowner/hunter confidentiality agreements are pretty much iron clad, so I can't. I will say I paid slightly less than you did, but we didn't call in as many bulls either, so it's a wash and I think we got about the same value.
From: jims
16-Jan-17
It's obviously tough to put a price on different ranches. Some may have more acres than others. Some may have more elk, some may have more hunting pressure. The price usually reflects number of acres, hunting pressure, and quality of animals. One ranch may charge $3,000 and have 0 decent bulls on it due to hunting pressure. Another ranch next door may be 100,000 acres with 3 hunters the entire hunting season and 360 class bulls. If you have a good thing going it may be worth it to anti up the cash! Obviously it's impossible to know Painless's situation because he isn't willing to share the price.
From: Whip
16-Jan-17
I am not an expert on NM landowner tag prices, but there are some variables that would need to be known to give anything like am accurate answer. Some of the better units can easily hit $6,000. Some cheaper units might be $2,000. Unit wide tags that are good on public land are preferred by most diy hunters. Some ranches offer ranch only tags that are valid only on that particular ranch. Some ranches might not even hold elk during archery season while others, like the one you've hunted apparently, can be gold mines. That is going to be a real case by case deal and the sky is the limit.
If I could afford it I'd spend $10 or 20,000 a year to have hunting l like you have had. But I can't, so to be honest, I agree with jims and really wish those tags were just available in the public draws.
From: Mule Power
16-Jan-17
I'm confused. Why in the world would you not want to state what the price is when you want opinions on whether or not it's worth it?
According to the size of the bazillion bulls you called in I'd say 10 grand per man is fair.
From: WapitiBob
16-Jan-17
NM has never pulled LO tags (tag from a LO voucher) from the public draw. They are a totally separate pool; E-PLUS vs public draw.
Painless, private land Elk hunts will run 6K plus but understand those are outfitted hunts. 34/36 LO vouchers (DIY) are running $4,500, Gila vouchers are 5k to upper 6's.
From: Mule Power
18-Jan-17
Insane. And I thought a Wyoming license in the special draw was high priced. I shell it out in a heartbeat if I have to but I can hunt a bazillion square miles of country and some with damn nice bulls. I'll pass on the rat race down there thanks.
