mmxchamp
New member
Hi All -
newbie here with some questions! I'm a New Mexico resident and was lucky enough to get drawn for the second rifle hunt in 16A (Gila wilderness, Oct 21-25). I'm pretty new to hunting in general - didn't hunt growing up, and have hunted 16A 3 years ago but knew pretty much nothing about elk hunting! On that hunt I did a bunch of scouting before my season, but the places I was finding bulls in Sept/early Oct were completely empty after the first rifle season in mid-October, and I could never find any bulls during my actual hunt. I learned a bit about what not to do (I think!) but am trying to learn more about what I should be doing before my hunt this year.
I've got the 2 days right before my hunt to really scout - I know the unit better than I did a few years ago, and have a few areas I've picked out based on Google Earth that look "good" to me.
I'm trying to decide what my strategy is going to be for the 2 days before the hunt - I'm guessing I need to find elk without pushing them around too much, so what's the best way to go about that?
Thanks for any advice/tips!
Matt
newbie here with some questions! I'm a New Mexico resident and was lucky enough to get drawn for the second rifle hunt in 16A (Gila wilderness, Oct 21-25). I'm pretty new to hunting in general - didn't hunt growing up, and have hunted 16A 3 years ago but knew pretty much nothing about elk hunting! On that hunt I did a bunch of scouting before my season, but the places I was finding bulls in Sept/early Oct were completely empty after the first rifle season in mid-October, and I could never find any bulls during my actual hunt. I learned a bit about what not to do (I think!) but am trying to learn more about what I should be doing before my hunt this year.
I've got the 2 days right before my hunt to really scout - I know the unit better than I did a few years ago, and have a few areas I've picked out based on Google Earth that look "good" to me.
I'm trying to decide what my strategy is going to be for the 2 days before the hunt - I'm guessing I need to find elk without pushing them around too much, so what's the best way to go about that?
Thanks for any advice/tips!
Matt