As you can see above, 2023 was a pretty good year! This outfitter/guide has hunted our clients for about 10 years, before starting up his own operation in 2023, and the consistent yearly results prove he has the goods. He hunts New Mexico and also Arizona and, in addition to elk, he also hunts mule deer, lions, black bears, Coues deer, javelina and more. As an avid houndsman with excellent dry ground hounds that he personally trains himself, he naturally gets into a lot of wild country, thus ensuring you have a knowledgeable, fit and capable outfitter. If you are hunting elk in New Mexico, he hunts mainly private ground. By purchasing landowner vouchers, he can supply you with a bull tag — which means you avoid the long odds of trying to draw a tag!! Equally important is the fact that there is no public competition for the bulls on these private ranch lands. So bulls can get some age, which is critical for trophy sizes. Add to that the further fact that his area (primarily Unit 12 in NM), is generally modestly rolling ground, meaning you do not need to be an athlete to get around on these hunting grounds.
Over our 25 years of booking hunters into New Mexico for elk, we have noticed a gradual decline in the average size of bulls harvested, particularly in some heavily hunted areas with a lot of public land. In those areas, bulls get killed at younger ages and may only average 230” to 270” B&C. Still nice, but a long way from the pictures shown above. Now we are not nuts enough to promise you that everyone going to this operation will kill a monster, but your odds are better here in Unit 12 than in many other areas. NOW LET’S BE REALISTIC – NOT EVERYONE WILL TAG A GIANT, AND NOT EVERYONE WILL EVEN KILL A BULL, but your odds are good here.
LODGING: This operation does not furnish lodging, but various hotels and motels are not far away. The outfitter can make suggestions. He does furnish food, guiding and hunt transport.
AREA: Hunts take place at elevations between 7,000 and 9,000 feet. Cover is pinion and juniper with good visibility. Most of the terrain allows for reasonable walking and the use of a four wheeler and 4WD drive pickups. All hunts are fair chase.
LICENSES: Instead of waiting years to draw, most of our clients opt to purchase a landowner voucher, which is of course more expensive. The landowners sell the outfitter these private land vouchers for thousands of dollars per voucher, and you use the voucher to get your elk tag. You still must pay the State for the actual elk tag (either $548 or $773), but you avoid waiting years for the draw and you instead immediately get onto good private land elk hunting. DO BE AWARE THAT ONCE THE VOUCHER IS PURCHASED, THERE CANNOT BE ANY REFUNDS! Buy trip insurance to protect yourself. Just ask us at Hunt Nation for info and we can help! By law hunts are 5 days long.
More info: As we mentioned earlier this operation also hunt bear and lion with hounds, and does Coues and mule deer as well.
PRICING: By way of explanation, there are basically two types of land owner elk vouchers: one is a Unit-Wide Voucher, meaning you can hunt public grounds in addition to the ranch. These tags are considered more valuable due to the ability to leave the ranch if hunting is slow. The other type of voucher is Private Land only, meaning you are only allowed to hunt that particular ranch. But all the land is private, so no public competition. You must pay an initial deposit to reserve a voucher and it is non-refundable. Prices below include the voucher cost.
2024 PRICES (subject to change without notice until deposit received):
Elk
• Rifle or Archery: NM 5-day hunt (private land only voucher): $12,000; ($8,000 deposit to reserve a voucher)
• Rifle or Archery: NM 5-day hunt (unit-wide voucher): $14,000; ($8,000 deposit to reserve a voucher)
• No voucher: You apply thru outfitter for the New Mexico or Arizona draws. Hunt is $7,000 if drawn, with deposit of $3,500. Not easy to draw and it can take many attempts.
Mountain Lion or Black Bear
This is a hound hunt in New Mexico or Arizona. Licenses usually over the counter. Hunt cost is $4,500 with a $2,000 deposit.
