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Unit 52 - Elk Scouting

Hello all, My first post here and I have a few questions. I am hunting unit 52 for archery elk starting on Sept 15 with two of my best friends. We are all new to archery elk in NM. We know what elk look like, but being midwest/southeast hunters our knowledge on the subject doesn't go a lot further.

To get to the main point of my post, when my dad found out we were going on the hunt he said he wanted to go out and scout w/ me and bring his horses. My dad is 68 and he loves his horses, probably more than me sometimes. I was able to get out of work for a few more days so I jumped at the chance to get a lay of the land on our unit and more importantly spend some time w/ my dad in the mountains.

I will be scouting in the unit the first week of August, next week. A main objective is finding what roads we can travel easily enough in a 4x4 truck. Other than that I obviously would like to locate elk or potential elk locations, but maybe some folks would give pointers on that. How can I make this scouting trip not only a fun time w/ my dad but also useful for me and my friends on our hunt? What types of things should I be looking for? Will the elk be in similar locations in mid-Sept? Higher/Lower? My understanding is that bulls will be wanting to chase cows then so go where the ladies are and they need feed and water.

I have heard that it was a dry summer but the rain is coming on now so should l be concerned w/ that affecting driving a 4x4 w/ horsetrailer back in there?

Should I bring a fly rod when in unit 52? Are bears common in the unit?

Maybe you can help w/ a comment on the situation or a PM if preferred. Thanks for your time and reading my ramblings. Cheers

I'll echo.. elk are where elk are. They will move, and when I say move I don't mean just over there; I mean OVER there. We think in feet and yards, elk think in 1/2mi-1mi increments. The good thing you have on your side is the rut, so you will be chasing vocal bulls primarily, any one can chase but not everyone can seal it.

I wouldn't mess w/ the fly rod.

I just returned from 52 today. Pm me with some specific area questions if u have any

The bulls weren't very vocal during my deer hunt the dates last year there, but the cows were.

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