NM application info.

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sschultz

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I am going to start applying for a New Mexico archery elk tag in the Gila. This is going to be DIY hunt. Looking at the game unit map it looks like 16a 16b and 16c are all in the Gila any info from someone who has knowledge of the area or has hunted there would be very helpful.
Thanks
 
Lot's of info on the web about the Gila. I would add 16D to your list. The hardest part will be drawing the tag. Most of the Gila units will be in the single digits, if not low single digits for odds to draw a tag. Not trying to discourage you. Just want you to know the odds are long. I apply there too, but don't have any first hand knowledge of the area. Pretty sure if you draw a tag (and are polite) you could find a couple folks on here that might give some pointers on the area. Good luck.
 
Yelp. Just pick up to three choices on y app. All the 16’s have single digit draw odds. So just a couple and go w it! A and D are considered the best but have lowest draw odds too
 
A-D would all be awesome hunts. Just draw the tag. The draw odds tell you everything you need to know about them. The only one to be wary of is B, which is all wilderness. It's rugged, awesome country, but is physically demanding.

I was hunting down there a few years back and met a guy who was flabbergasted that 16B was all wilderness and complained that he had no idea until he got down there and couldn't find a road into the unit. He was headed home because he couldn't find an easy way to hunt the unit and didn't want to miss the Broncos game. He then handed me a business card for his outfitting business and encouraged me to apply for a guided elk hunt with him the next year. Ha!!
 
Depending on whether you are doing the 1st or 2nd bull hunt, your odds will range from 0.3% to almost 2% to draw in 16A & D. If you go to 16C it is 2% & 7% respectively, according to my numbers I downloaded from NM G&F. It is 3% & 6% for the 16B wilderness unit.

Give it a try, NM is a true lottery system and while it's unlikely to even draw this year, you could draw back to back years, too! (at about .0005% chance, though!)
 
NoWiser said:
A-D would all be awesome hunts. Just draw the tag. The draw odds tell you everything you need to know about them. The only one to be wary of is B, which is all wilderness. It's rugged, awesome country, but is physically demanding.

I was hunting down there a few years back and met a guy who was flabbergasted that 16B was all wilderness and complained that he had no idea until he got down there and couldn't find a road into the unit. He was headed home because he couldn't find an easy way to hunt the unit and didn't want to miss the Broncos game. He then handed me a business card for his outfitting business and encouraged me to apply for a guided elk hunt with him the next year. Ha!!
Click to expand...
That is too funny!!�� some ppl are beyond belief!
 
Thomas11 said:
Just the opposite
Click to expand...

Flip a coin. That far south, you cannot predict when the elk will be talking (can you really anywhere?). I've hunted the first season and had them screaming. I've had them screaming the second season. I've also been frustrated by silence during the second season. It seems to be weather related. If it's hot and miserable, they won't give a peep. The rainiest weather can have them going crazy all day.
 
NoWiser said:
A-D would all be awesome hunts. Just draw the tag. The draw odds tell you everything you need to know about them. The only one to be wary of is B, which is all wilderness. It's rugged, awesome country, but is physically demanding.

I was hunting down there a few years back and met a guy who was flabbergasted that 16B was all wilderness and complained that he had no idea until he got down there and couldn't find a road into the unit. He was headed home because he couldn't find an easy way to hunt the unit and didn't want to miss the Broncos game. He then handed me a business card for his outfitting business and encouraged me to apply for a guided elk hunt with him the next year. Ha!!
Click to expand...

This is hilarious!
 
..and I wonder why I have not drawn a tag in a,b,c or d,and I'm constantly asked where all the elk are by folks with tags...lol
In my dreams I say.
 
What are the draw odds for the "your dreams" unit and when does that season open??
 
4-10% ,Oct. sometime...
I have drawn many NM elk tags over the years. I know the off radar units well.LOL
Drew some of my best units before I moved here.
Poor me.
 
hank4elk said:
..and I wonder why I have not drawn a tag in a,b,c or d,and I'm constantly asked where all the elk are by folks with tags...lol
In my dreams I say.
Click to expand...


Those odds are for non-residents. Ours jump all the way to 2.5-4% (1st season) and 5%-12% (2nd season), depending on which unit. 16B (wilderness for those who forgot to read above) is a whopping 12 and 24%.
 
Steelhead said:
What are the draw odds for the "your dreams" unit and when does that season open??
Click to expand...

My dream unit (which Randy keeps going to and increasing demand, lol) is 9% for residents on the ML hunt (early Oct). I then target my local units for 2nd Bull (later Oct) and last cow (mid-Dec) at 20% and 45%, respectively. These are also all Muzzleloader. Even though I play the odds well, in my opinion, I still haven't drawn bull in NM since I started hunting 5 season ago. But I've been blessed with an oryx tag (1-4%), so I can't complain too much...

I'm hoping the draw Gods smile upon me this year as a 40th birthday present.
 
Last edited:
I should add, WHATEVER you do, make sure you order your application choices roughly by percentage draw odds - with 1st choice being least likely. Otherwise, you are defeating the purpose of having 1st, 2nd, and third choice in your application. A very smart professor friend always put his favorite cow hunt first (decent odds) and wondered why he never drew the bull tags he put in 2nd or third. It was because the drawing system always awarded his cow tag and never even got to look at those bull tags if there was a chance he could draw them.

If that doesn't make sense, let me know, but this system should be well explained out on the web by Randy and others.

Eph
 
hank4elk said:
4-10% ,Oct. sometime...
I have drawn many NM elk tags over the years. I know the off radar units well.LOL
Drew some of my best units before I moved here.
Poor me.
Click to expand...

I've been very lucky in this aspect.
I don't put in for the dream units. Mine are more along the line of "off the radar" and I've been fortunate enough to draw the same tag for the past 4 years in a row! Here is to hoping I hit a 5th!
 
I said 4-10%,or they were last year...LOL
My 3rd is always a 50-100%er. Funny how you can also not draw a 100% chance...you just never know who & how many apply THIS year.
You deserve that BF tag this year NE!
Good Luck & Good Hunting to all!
 
Lostinthewoods said:
I've been very lucky in this aspect.
I don't put in for the dream units. Mine are more along the line of "off the radar" and I've been fortunate enough to draw the same tag for the past 4 years in a row! Here is to hoping I hit a 5th!
Click to expand...

I started putting in my 1st two for the good ones & one of my off radars got found....4 of 5 yrs I got a MB MZ tag.
I have a plan B every year now tho. Poor Me.
 
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