Guys,

I need all the help I can get. Never been on a elk hunt.... What can I expect for weather conditions, animal sitings, terrain. Any tips or information would be greatly appreciated.

Ken

What unit will you be hunting? Although the Gila is a big forest, the terrain can be varied and also depends upon the hunt unit you will be hunting. The majority is heavily forested, with deep gulleys and mountains around 9-12000 ft. However, the weather is totally unpredicatble during your hunt period, and I would come prepared for just about anything! Most of the elk will be in herds, although you may also still find single bulls by themselves. Most likely bulls will respond only to cow calls if they respond at all, since the rut is usually over by then. There should be lots of forest roads you can travel, and I would buy a GILA NATIONAL FOREST MAP as your main aid. Have a good GPS and don't expect your cell phone to work at all!

The ranch is 50,000 acres 1 hour west of T&C. Ranch Manager has said that roads are all vehicle accessible. Will a .270 suffice or should I expect to be making shot from 250 plus?

I's sight my gun in with some good premium 140 or 150 grain bullets if I were using my .270. Good bullet placement, and it will do the job. Use what you shoot well. an unfamiliar gun can cost you an elk. Just use well constructed bullets. Like TSX,a-frames, or a bonded bullet of some sort.

If you are an hour west of TorC, you will be on the eastern edge of the Gila. Allthough I have never hunted that area, and judging from what I have seen, I'd say you will need a good spotting scope for that area, lots of plains and flats.

You can use the .270 and my recommendation would be Hornady 140gr Light Magnum. It will give you good penetration and makes a huge wound hole. But I would certainly look at the new Hornady SuperPerformance bullets; their ballistics are quite awesome.

Incidentally, I did shoot an elk off the Flat Top Ranch near Walnut Springs, TX a few years ago using the Federal 130gr GameKing bullet. I had used that bullet only because I was told that was the bullet we had to use for the TV show we were shooting for Academy Outdoors. I took a high shot to make sure I penetrated both lungs. The elk went about 30 yards and collapsed. You should be good out to 300 yards with the .270.

10-4 thanks guys

Guy I work with just got back from the Gila for muzzleloader season. They got 2 MONSTERS.

any pics?

I'll try to get them, he just had the print outs and they were big, not just your typical 6x6 good bulls.

I live for elk hunting. Hunt an elk like you hunt turkeys (call, spot, and stalk). But, if your going in December, the rut should be over by then. You'll definately have a tougher time hunting them...mostly going to have to spot/stalk them at that point. You may get a bugle response. I've never hunted the Gila, so I'm not familiar with that terrain. But good luck...and post pics.

Ranch has a 6x6 or better clause... 4 bull tags and 1 cow, hopefully we will have tons of pics

Just got back from my first elk hunt in Colorado and the only thing I can say is I hope you asked all the RIGHT questions. This was a fully guided rifle hunt and I saved and planned for 3 years to go...NOT CHEAP. Anyway, this outfitter "specializes" in bow-hunters, so it would be pretty safe to assume that they're awesome in the rifle hunting department. Right? WRONG!!!

For starters, about the farthest shot you could hope for was maybe 100 yards, and places where you could even see an elk at over 50 yards were very few and far between. Perfect for archery, not so much for rifle. Next, the guides did a whole lot of calling. Why? I have no idea. Only heard one elk bugle on the second day of the hunt and it sounded a long ways off and definatley wasn't answering our calls.

So, basically the whole hunt consisted of riding horses out of camp about 2 hours before daylight each day, ariving in our hunting area just before first light, climbing 2000 feet, and then just ambling through the woods hoping to bump one and maybe get a shot off before it ran off. Hate to say it, but any idiot could have done that on their own and saved themselves 5 grand.

Out of 6 hunters, there was one bull shot. Respectable but no monster by anyone's standards. Out of 6 hunters there were a grand total of 2 elk even seen during the 5 day hunt. I saw both of them...one of which was the one the other guy killed (he was 50 yards away from us, we were about 10 yards apart, and I couldn't get a shot. It was that thick.).

Next time, I'm going for New Mexico and probably a do-it-yourself drop-camp type hunt. Just doesn't make sense to me to pay that much money and come back totally empty handed. Let me amend that. Coming back empty handed isn't the bad part...that's just hunting. But 6 guys and one opportunity that happened totally by accident??? No way that's how it usually works on elk hunts or else no one would ever go.

Good luck. Hope your hunt goes better than mine did.

verne
what part/unit were you in ?

That's the problem. Anyone can call themselves a guide/outfitter!!! Obviously the didn't know much about elk hunting outside of the rut!! Sorry you had to learn it the expensive way!! You are right to just do it yourself and learn as you go!! Lots of good info out there to help.

Good luck!!

Be careful of any mountain lions that might try to jump into your photo after you make your kill. Seems to be an epidemic of that right now......


In all seriousness, good luck on your hunt. An elk hunt is something that's on my bucket list. Have fun!

We hunted in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area, now unit 6. You know, I can't say that it was a total bust. The guides were all very nice and worked their tails off for us, the food was great, the livestock didn't try and kill any of us, and camp was very comfortable. Truth is, if we'd at least had some decent opportunities on elk (or seen a few for that matter), we'd have all come back talking about what a great hunt it was instead of wondering why we paid so much to basically follow someone all over the mountains for 5 days.

I think all guides would recommend the 300 mag for your hunt. If there is one available I would take it. Your shot maybe 100 yards but it could be 350-400 yards just as easy. Your are talking about 800-1000 pounds for a mature elk. Also, make sure you have some good optics to hunt with. I know that everyone can't afford the best but if your going to invest the time and money for a big hunt you should give yourself the best tools to make a successful hunt.
Your going to have to be prepared for any kind of weather. Make sure you have some good waterproof boots to keep your feet warm. The last year that I hunted in Chama it was 50 degrees on Sunday morning when I got there but turned cold and snowed 24 inches over the next 1 1/2 days. Rain is the worst condition of all. Just have to be prepared.

reedkj I sent you a PM

just got back from unit 15. it is wilderness lots of pine and high mountains. Great bulls but they will be hard to find. the guides thatrun thier hunts in that unit run those bulls around quite a bit, no tomention the local hunters .If your on private land i would say you have a great chance and you should have a great hunt. It has been warm of late down here (ruidoso area 36), my wife hunted at 10,700 ft this sat and sun and it was 50 degrees by 8am. the weather changes very rapidly there though so be prepared. i can send you a couple pics of the bulls killed in that area, just leave your #. i believe both were muzzleloader onpublic land. one went 386 and the other went 403.

P.S. i would definately use a 30 cal weapon, not that a 270 wont due the trick but if you have a bigger round i would use it. i also called a buddy and he said that the rut up there is over and that the bulls are starting to seperate from the cows.good thing is that they are not migrating any where yet.

thanks for all the great info guys, think I will be taking a 7mm mag just in case. darrack, pm sent with phone number.

14 days and counting