I have a small group of 4 guys that want to hunt Merriams in NM this year. We are thinking of hunting in the Cloudcraft area and wondered if we can get some local advice.
I'm not local, but I hunt turkeys there in the spring also. Really good south of Cloudcroft. The highway headed south out of town is surrounded by private property, but you'll see the forrest roads that cut through into the national forrest. There are plenty of turkeys to go around. Should be a good year saw a ton of jakes out last spring. So hopefully we'll see a bunch of mature toms this year.
I have hunted in the area for the last 22 years. It has the largest population of turkeys in the state. It also has the most hunters in the state. It is a very good place to hunt turkey if you know where to go. Unit has a lot of roads and lots of access. I would try to avoid hunting on the weekends, lots of people come up from Texas and it is much harder to hunt. There are places to hunt with fewer birds, but much more enjoyable without the crowds. The elevation may take a little bit of getting use to, we hunt at about 9500 feet and it is hard to climb the hills. Weather can be from snow to 80 degree weather. Last year we had over 6 inches of snow the first week of May. Good place to hunt and hope you have a great time.
