Contributors to this thread:
Went down a memory lane last night. I started bowhunting in 1988 while still in college. Shot over the back of a doe in Texas on my only opportunity. Moved back to Albuquerque the next year and in 1989 I scouted, chased and flung horribly flying arrows at multiple elk on Mount Taylor in the "Checkerboard" area. I was clueless but hooked for life. I hunted three seasons in 9 before I moved to Roswell and transitioned to the south central mountains.
I also have childhood memories of my now deceased father hunting on Taylor. I remember us trying to find "Heller Tank" one night and when we found it, we were in it and stuck badly. (My dad hunted up there in the 60s when there were no rules about where you drove or at least that's what he always said as roads were optional for him.) My father killed several bulls up there in the late 60s and strangely enough, even though I wasn't with him, I can remember the canyons, tanks, etc. where he filled his tags.
Well, last night I had the crazy idea of possibly going back. As a NR, my chances of drawing any tag are pathetic and 9 is now one of the less pathetic chances. I have heard there are definite reasons for that as the land swap, over hunting and other factors have decimated the herds and/or sent them to the private.
With that said, I'm considering putting it as my 3rd choice for nostalgia sake and because something in my gut says I could find an elk there.
Feel free to reply about how horrible the unit is now and talk me out of this madness. However, if you have some intel and good news about it, please PM me or send me an email to [email protected] but don't post it here for obvious reasons. :)
I've hunted 9 a lot over the last 20-25 years, and it is very puzzling to me as to why the elk herd has gone so far downhill. Everyone has a theory, I have no idea what happened. So it's sad but true, hunting in 9 is just a shadow of what it used to be. Obviously there are still a few elk to be found, and if you have a history of the area and want to go there for "Nostalgia" then I'm not going to talk you out of it. Just be prepared to modify your plans on the ground, as you are very unlikely to find things like they were "in the good ol' days".
Good luck, JR
I dont know shit about the unit, but I agree with the nostalgic aspect. The last few years I put in a terrible deer unit just to be guaranteed a hunt that I could bring my dad on.
Going back down memory lane is sometimes a better trophy than a bull. Your dad would probably be pretty proud of you for choosing a bad unit just to walk those footsteps again.
Well, I won't talk you out of it either. I have moved on from Unit9 also, but went back for "nostalgic" reasons 3 years ago and killed a nice old depleting 5x5 in the thick stuff. I hunted that mountain for over 15 years, Killed 10 Bulls there and saw some of the biggest bulls I have ever seen in my life, running from across Floyd Lees ranch (oh, if I could have gotten an arrow in that white rump scratcher! Still dream of that Bull). But after the land swap, the years of spike hunting, the unlimited cow tags and the need to be in a more primitive setting, sent me North. The traffic, poaching and thievery has gotten worse...It's hard to get away anymore. With that being said,I love that mountain, go get one...He is waiting in the blowdown, North slope.
As he laid, the next morning...
That's a shooter in any unit, great bull!
Never hunted 9 for elk but the harvest report says a lot. Crazy how few elk are harvested on public vs the private. And theres a lot of public tags. Looks like this unit is one gnf doesn't really prioritize for public land elk management as the private land provides the $$$$$$ they need. I might be way off in my opinion as I've never hunted 9.
Are the Himalayan Tahr killed off in 9?
Barrera, Unfortunately, I think you are correct. Even back in the days that I hunted it, you could find elk easily during the summer but as soon as the camps started moving in, the elk bailed off into the private. Of course, the cattle drives, helicopters, planes and other tactics didn't exactly help a lot either. My second scouting trip up there, I found a herd of over 100 elk that let me ease right up into them. I didn't get to hunt until around the 5th and was shocked that there were no elk anywhere that I had found them in the summer. That was 1989.
Anyway, I did put it as my 3rd choice so if I hunt NM this year, that's where I will likely be. I'm real curious about the road situation on the North Rim as the MVUM now shows only one legal road through most of it. Did they actually close, burm and make it painstakingly obvious that they are closed or is it like most areas where they are "closed" but everyone uses them? I'm guessing the latter or the success rates would be higher.
Again, I would still love to visit with anyone who has spent any recent time up there.
Darrell: I don't know unit 9, but based on MVUM plans I've seen for other units they are treated as "pirate code guidelines" by the locals, and perhaps some NR too. The closed roads are NOT well marked in the field, often the "road closed" signs have been torn out and discarded and they look like major forest roads with plenty of traffic. I haven't seen much in the way of enforcement either.
My hunting partner ran amuck with ATVs using closed roads and messing up his hunt a couple of years ago. He visited the NF office to report/complain and received no support whatsoever.
Smarba,
Yes that is what I have seen in most national forests in NM. The Lincoln is the only one I've been in where there has been some enforcement/respect for legal versus illegal roads. I would be shocked if 9 is another area that actually honors the MVUM.
I hunted it back in 2017 on the 2nd season archery tag. Shoot me a PM.
Has this unit improved at all? Is it improving at all?
I genuinely wish they had the budget to enforce closed roads. My turkey season was a whole lot of walk far to get away from people. Then see a truck and find out they cleared closed roads.
Guys brag about conservation and caring about habitat. Then cut roads open to make it easier for themselves.
I have a cousin (NM right?) that worked for the NFS in northern NM. He said they are in for the long run and that the power of the NFS in this case is it's endurance. Sure the knuckleheads can unblock a closed road, but the NFS employees get paid to close it again, and it way easier to fell a bunch of trees across a roadway than it is to clear them out. Eventually the FS wins.
If eventually the FS wins I have yet to see it. I called Carson NF and complained about some "roads" that ATVs were driving over berms to access, had exact coordinates and photos. Response was "yeah, we have a lot of problematic roads like that". I truly believe it's getting worse. People are getting lazier, and more and more selfish and uncaring. Coupled with virtually zero enforcement off-road driving is about like speeding on the freeways "who cares".
Regarding Unit 9 getting better...um, no, from everything I've heard.
I ran into enough guys driving closed stuff this year that I am going to start reporting plates and names if I see people on them.
They say "oh there's no signs" But NM is a know where you stand state and that goes with knowing what roads are legal to drive.
People can't say they support conservation then open up closed habitat.
Having hunted Mt. Taylor for 20 years the elk population is in serious trouble up there. One of the main reasons is that the Forest Service is allowing the ranchers to pipe the water from many of the high mountain springs down to their private land so the elk follow. Another issue is the bear and cougar population has exploded. In the last three years I've seen 8 bears (took one last year) and one elk which is why I have moved on from hunting up there
Watch the Elk Shape, Jan. 2022, run off public land youtube video in this unit or go to the main elk forum. You will see what has been going on for years here.
