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Hunt trophy elk on Northeastern Ranch, New Mexico |
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If you're looking for a high-success hunt for mature bull elk, this 20,000-acre private ranch in northeastern New Mexico fills the bill. Virtually every customer on this hunt in the past 16 years has killed a 6x6 bull. Typically their racks average about 300 Boone and Crockett points, and there are a few bigger ones. The largest two bulls killed on this ranch so far scored 356 and 386, but anything over 320 is exceptional. Most hunters will see bulls in the 260 to 320 range.
The ranch gets 30 landowner elk permits each year from the state, but it uses only about half of them to maintain high trophy quality. There is a healthy elk herd with a good percentage of mature bulls. Of the 20,000 deeded acres, 16,000 to 18,000 acres are excellent elk habitat. Most hunting is by spotting and stalking. The ranch is northwest of Raton and includes 15 miles of the Canadian River in Unit 55. There is 300 acres of farmland alfalfa on the river, and the rancher allows elk to feed on the alfalfa in the summer, which means the ranch is excellent even during drought years. The property is long and narrow. Elevation runs from about 7,200 feet at the ranch house to 8,500 feet at the top. "We're really improved the lodge since you were here," the rancher said. "We've added two bedrooms plus another 1,000 square feet of common living space with a fireplace. Our transportation now is almost always by four-door four-wheel-drive three-quarter-ton pickup. The lodge is by our home, so if you like a family atmosphere with kids around, this hunt is for you."
"I normally hunt the south portion of the ranch by truck and glass off points. The north section has a road, but not good for glassing. I normally do the north area by horseback. By the late hunts the big bulls are usually up in the breaks and canyons, about 2 to 4 miles off the river. The ranch borders Ted Turner's Vermejo Park ranch and the NRA's Whittington Center.
Hunts.Net customer Jeff Hill of Kansas with his bull. He saw a much bigger bull earlier in the hunt.
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Here's the rancher/outfitter with a mount of a trophy bull shot on the ranch. He's holding one of the antlers this bull shed the previous year. He also found both sheds from one year earlier, and they're equally impressive.
"A 340 bull is a really good bull around here. Guys who hold out usually kill over 300, and we usually average right at 300. It seems like when we get an ultra-selective hunter, it's hard to find a bull big enough for him. If guys come with realistic standards and they're shooting for the 300 mark, they'll be fine. Typically during the bugling season we go to an area we call Clifton Hills, which is several thousands acres of good cover where you can't see the elk but you can hear them, and there's water, and they have a good time. What we do is still-hunt with the wind in your face toward the bugling, and you sit down and start calling, and sometimes you get into satellite bulls, and sometimes you call the bigger bulls in.We've called in a lot of bulls but typically when we hear them, we just move in and listen and set up and call. If they don't come in pretty quick, we go ahead and move in. We used to have to wait until mid-October to start rifle hunting, but when the state changed the rules for private land two or three years ago we went to the earlier season, and it's a lot of fun." |
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