Unit 55 archery elk - Valle Vidal
New Mexico
Has anyone hunted this hunt recently? I would really appreciate any information concerning : good areas, camping, closest gas&groceries, hunting water, etc. Apparently this is a once-in-a-lifetime permit, and I want to give it my all. Thank you in advance.
Great hunt lots of bulls. A little over rated in the quality department, but you should be in for a treat .
I gotta disagree w/SplitLimb, re: "over rated". I'm a crappy hunter but I encountered more elk in three days in VV than the previous 10 years in other units. Over all the best hunt I've been on except maybe Valles Caldera. +1 for horses, or several strong-backed teenagers. C PM.
I can honestly say the biggest bull I've seen on the hoof was in VV.
: - )
Hunted it in Sept 2017
I don't disagree with there being lots of bulls and multiple encounters. I think the hunt is awesome. There's just MORE quality bulls in other units. I guess the experience of the hunt is what makes it OIL . Don't get me wrong there are some big guys walking around.
Great unit, awesome hunt, the ambiance in the VV and the campgrounds is like no other. We've hunted it 5 times within my family and my oldest daughter drew the muzzle hunt this year so we'll be there as well. Two of my girls hunted it as youth and respectfully took two bulls, 321" and 322". The wife's muzzle bull was 334 and busted up on one side. My archery bull was 341. It truly is a fun hunt and will be what you make of it. Good luck
About the only other thing that compares to VV is probably the Valles Caldera.
A 340 bull is a dandy by the way and a 320 bull is a a good 'in.
I agree that encounter frequency and the vocal experience is what makes it OIL.
Great Place for sure, you can go anywhere and find elk so if you are not hearing them just keep moving and don't get stuck hunting one spot.
So Mr. Strider JR the OP asked "I would really appreciate any information concerning : good areas, camping, closest gas & groceries, hunting water, etc. "
*Good areas to hunt elk include pretty much the whole unit. Like mrelite says, don't get hung up on one little spot. *There are two campgrounds: Cimarron and McCrystal. If you were going to concentrate on one side of the unit or the other you might use that preference to pick a campground but they aren't very far apart. I stayed high at Cimarron. There are corrals and water for your horses very close to both campgrounds.
*Closest gas and groceries will be in your truck. It is an hour west to the Costilla quickmart, and two hours the other way to the town of Cimarron.
* We're not hunting water here. We're hunting elk. It'd be easier hunting water though, because water doesn't stray far from the creek beds and ponds, and those are all over the place. If you hike Ponil Canyon, say a prayer for Alden Brock, the boy scout that drowned there a few years ago, when a night-time flood crested about 20 vertical feet above the creek bed and wiped out a long-establish back-country campsite.
It is indeed a hunt of a lifetime! Enjoy every aspect. There are great bulls there, a book elk is a very reasonable expectation. But realize this, the year I got mine, 80% of my fellow tag holders went home empty handed.
Reasons to go home without one: 1) many encounters that just don't pan out, 2) too picky, 3) inexperience.
If you halfway know what you're doing and have realistic expectations you will have horns in the back of your truck before it ends.
In a good fall (which we're supposed to have this year), It's not a matter of which ridge to hunt, but which bull is closer to go check out.
A book archery bull minimum is what 260? Hde , let us check out your bull from last year!
Fellow bowhunters, I really appreciate the tips. Thank you!
It was an awesome adventure, hunt, learning experience, etc. I guess my advice is to just enjoy the hunt and overall experience to the fullest. Use the hunt and the popluation to learn and hone your skills. Sounds crazy to hone your skills on a OIL, but do it. PM if you have questions. Many of these guys posting here helped me fill a tag, but more importantly get addicted to archery elk...MrElite, HDE, OhioHunter, and another who hasn't chimed in.
It's not my thred....but here is a question. Would rather draw VV as your first archery elk tag....or take the chance of never drawing it at all? This is what happened to me.....now I'm hooked.
The VV and Caldera are two places to get hooked.
It's a matter of which bull, not which ridge or draw you go after. Not uncommon on VV to hear a dozen bulls going at it at once "over there" and "over here"...
Loved every minute of my hunt in 2013. Nothing like it that’s for dang sure and saw some whoppers. I stayed at Cimarron campground and hunted high.
Thank you again for all the helpful information. It was an incredible week with lots of bugling bulls. I had seven encounters within 100yds and connected with the seventh.
Congrats, that’s a great bull. My son has the youth rifle hunt next week. Looking forward to it.
Smokes that's a big one! Way to go.
Very nice! Congratulations! The VV is an awesome experience isn't it?
Heck yeah! Congrats! Definetly better than any 16B bulls I’ve seen in the past decade!
Beautiful bull, congrats! Was this 1st or 2nd season? To those that have hunted VV, would you rather have the 1st or 2nd archery tag?
Not sure, I would need to try the 1st hunt next before I can tell you which one I preferred :^)
I had the 2nd hunt and had a bull down at 10 a.m. opening day, so...
Good point HDE! Guess you will never know.
I had my bull on the third day. 2nd hunt and it was only 7 days in 2013. I had chances everyday almost all day long. I talked to people from the firstnhunt and they told me how tough it was but I don’t think they were really getting out and hunting. We were still hiking in about 1 1/2 - 2 miles and had a ton of action. Great place and wish it wasn’t OIL
