New Mexico Landowner tags. ELK Hunters

well for one I'd never pay that to hunt anywhere period I take a chance like yourself and never draw, and the son drew, and he feels very lucky. the only ones that can afford it in most cases are rich guy who Know nothing about hunting anyway.
I know res that purchase LO tag if they are not drawn purchase those tags. I just have never wanted to pay someone to tell me how what and where to hunt. plus, the damn cost. I'm like yourself and take the chance of a draw. Out of all the states I have not drawn.
 
I spend more time Chinook Salmon fishing than elk hunting because I can't draw a damn tag either but this season I will be with the son and help him find a big bull if he is lucky to have the opportunity.
 
I spend more time Chinook Salmon fishing than elk hunting because I can't draw a damn tag either but this season I will be with the son and help him find a big bull if he is lucky to have the opportunity.
Good feedback. Are OTC CO tags worth taking a chance on?
 
3rd season tags Buck tags are well worth and I can tell you right where to go for a big Mulie.
 
I think it's always worth a tag. Utah over the counter spike tags if you're looking for just meat. pretty hard to come by a premium elk tag in every state due to the damn draw points everything else is go take your chances. CO has lots of Elk but also a lot of Hunters. all that do not draw a premium tag are in the woods.
 
As a resident I put in for almost every tag there was to put in for. Results came out and I got skunked, all red, no tags. I put a down payment down on a LO tag and will be hunting elk in a great unit this fall. Eplus is a great program.

In todays prices of everything the LO tags IMO are reasonably priced…they are worth the price you pay for something you love to do. A new diesel pickup is costing around $100,000 and they are everywhere. I’ll keep my 2012 F350 and buy a LO tag every ear.
 
The NM unit-wide landowner tag. Big mess. In some of those units there are over 1000 unit-wide landowner tags given out and then later sold. So, someone either draws a tag in the state's system, or buys a unit-wide tag, and they think they are going on a great hunt, with low hunting pressure, only to find there are more guys there elk hunting than in some OTC units.
 
The NM unit-wide landowner tag. Big mess. In some of those units there are over 1000 unit-wide landowner tags given out and then later sold. So, someone either draws a tag in the state's system, or buys a unit-wide tag, and they think they are going on a great hunt, with low hunting pressure, only to find there are more guys there elk hunting than in some OTC units.
Hunted elk in New Mexico since I was a kid and in some great units. Your statement is false.

Not everyone is dirt poor and can’t afford a few nice things.

So much private land is open for elk hunting thanks to the Eplus and gives us all a chance to hunt elk every year.

Very great full to get to hunt the great wapiti !
 
Hunted elk in New Mexico since I was a kid and in some great units. Your statement is false.

Not everyone is dirt poor and can’t afford a few nice things.

So much private land is open for elk hunting thanks to the Eplus and gives us all a chance to hunt elk every year.

Very great full to get to hunt the great wapiti !
It’s not about rich and poor. It’s about the state allowing something to be sold that doesn’t belong to the those selling it.
 
One of the reasons IMO that New Mexico elk hunting is so good and in such high demand is the contribution that the private landowners make to the elk herd. Just last year my neighbor put in a $40,000 well and ran poly pipe to two tanks over a mile apiece the elk use everyday. He also replaced over 5 miles of fence and put in smooth wire at wildlife friendly heights so the elk could just jump the fence and the calves could go under it and get to the water they need every day. That’s just one Eplus landowner who spent over $100,000 on his property and it all benefits New Mexicos elk. In AZ I have been applying for a elk tag for 19 years and have yet to draw, in NM I have had many elk tags.
 
And if your buddy was never on the landscape the elk would roam just like they did for hundreds of years before him
 
And if your buddy was never on the landscape the elk would roam just like they did for hundreds of years before him
Not when you take the cumulative look at all the habitat created by landowners. Examples like he shared are happening all over NM and the herds are getting bigger and more wide spread for it. Unit 12 became a primary zone just a few years ago because the elk have become so well established in that unit.

If it wasn't for those $40k+ wells in mass across the state, elk would be much more restricted on the landscape in NM. Those overall larger herds also bleed into the public draw too. A unit carries more elk now, tags numbers in the draw go up also...thank a landowner for this contributions. I bet it is much more than you have done to support elk in NM.
 
So how do I get into this Eplus system?
You can buy a tag from any landowner that receives them and a list of those landowners / ranches is published on the NMDGF site. You can pull down last years list right now if you like and start calling landowners for the tag release in June.

You can also buy land, try and get it to qualify and then each year potentially get a tag / tags based on several things like acreage need a base ranch, or a small contributing ranch draw. That is all for the primary zone. If you have elk on your land in the secondary zone, the tags are deeded land only, but unlimited OTC.
 
Not when you take the cumulative look at all the habitat created by landowners. Examples like he shared are happening all over NM and the herds are getting bigger and more wide spread for it. Unit 12 became a primary zone just a few years ago because the elk have become so well established in that unit.

If it wasn't for those $40k+ wells in mass across the state, elk would be much more restricted on the landscape in NM. Those overall larger herds also bleed into the public draw too. A unit carries more elk now, tags numbers in the draw go up also...thank a landowner for this contributions. I bet it is much more than you have done to support elk in NM.
Yes wells for their cattle which do more damage then a well will replace but yeah you’re right without the state giving ranchers tags to sell there would be no elk just like there aren’t in AZ, Utah, Nevada, or any other western stste
 
Yes wells for their cattle which do more damage then a well will replace but yeah you’re right without the state giving ranchers tags to sell there would be no elk just like there aren’t in AZ, Utah, Nevada, or any other western stste
There are far more elk in NM and NMDGF even has a habitat incentive to remove cattle from the landscape to reduce competition for elk (among other habitat incentives). Part of the reason there are significantly more elk in NM is the program incentivizes landowner to actually want them and not compete with them for the resources. Elk have value in NM to ranchers....so they are much more likely to be tolerated.

I would rather hunt a place where elk are wanted than hunt some place landowners do not want them, overall. I bet the ranch where a landowner sees value in having them, often is going to have better resources for them and likely better numbers of animals using that land.
 
Last edited:
Sitka Gear Turkey Tool Belt

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
111,210
Messages
1,951,287
Members
35,077
Latest member
Jaly24
Back
Top