I have had a large group of bow Elk hunters cancel at the last minute. At this late date, we are only concerned with filling the spaces now. I have talked to the outfitter and we have come up with a price that is about as low as possible on a privateland Bow Elk hunt. All of these prices include the private landowner tag. You will need to purchase a New Mexico Elk license to validate the tag. A non-resident Elk license is $490 a Resident Elk license is $78.

These hunts are in the middle of the Elk rut, the action should be excellent at this time. The Bow Elk season in this unit is from Aug 30 - September 22. You can pick any 5 day time period between these two dates to hunt. These will all be 5-day hunts.

This hunt is in unit 48 in New Mexico. This is north of Ocate, NM. It is about 20-30 miles south of Cimarron, NM and East-Southeast of Taos, NM. This outfitter has all the private landowner tags in this unit, so we can hunt anywhere in the entire unit. This unit is mostly private land with some scattered BLM or State land mixed in. Best I can tell, the unit is about 80-85% private, deeded land. Typical Bull in this area will be about 300. Expect a range of 280-320. A few will be bigger and of course a few will shoot smaller Elk, but 300 is about average.

In order to sell all of these hunts, I will offer a few different options. Fully guided 1x1 or 2x1, semi-guided or unguided. All prices include the privateland tag and the New Mexico tax. These are some exceptional prices for a private land hunt during the rut!

Details and pictures of accommodations here - http://www.huntersquest.com/Elk.html

1x1 guided - $2257 - This hunt includes the private landowner tag, New Mexico tax, all meals and accommodations in a very nice lodge, 1x1 guiding for the full 5 days. You will need to purchase a New Mexico Elk license to validate the landowner tag. A non-resident Elk license is $490 a Resident Elk license is $78

2x1 guided - $1859 - This hunt includes the private landowner tag, New Mexico tax, all meals and accommodations in a very nice lodge, 2x1 guiding for the full 5 days. You will need to purchase a New Mexico Elk license to validate the landowner tag. A non-resident Elk license is $490 a Resident Elk license is $78.

Semi-guided - $1620 - This hunt includes the private landowner permit, New Mexico tax, all accommodations in a very nice lodge and all your meals. The first day of your hunt you will be guided 1x1, we will have a guide show you around and get you familiar with the area. He will show you where the best areas are to hunt, best methods and so on. If you have questions during the hunt, there will be someone around to help answer them for you. You will need to purchase a New Mexico Elk license to validate the landowner tag. A non-resident Elk license is $490 a Resident Elk license is $78.

Unguided hunt - $850 - This includes the private landowner tag and the New Mexico tax. All accommodations and meals are up to you. You will need to purchase a New Mexico Elk license to validate the landowner tag. A non-resident Elk license is $490 a Resident Elk license is $78. If you would like to hire a guide on the unguided hunt, you can pay $160/day for the guide. (It is ok for two people to split this and pay $80/day/person for a guide as well.)

Build your own Elk hunt - Buy a tag and tell us what services you want. The tag will cost you $850. If you want a guide for 2 or 3 days to split between two or three people, no problem, you want to camp out no problem, want food and accommodations, no problem. The outfitter is passing on these services at his cost. If you want something different than what is listed above, I will make up a package for you based on the same prices as what we have above.

Details and pictures of accommodations here - http://www.huntersquest.com/Elk.html

Please send me an e-mail if you have any questions.

[ 08-20-2003, 03:44: Message edited by: Wendell Reich ]

I have received quite a few e-mails on this notice, so here are some answers to a few commonly asked questions.

This is a darn good hunt. The country is pretty easy to negotiate, not too hilly. This is probably one of the easiest areas that you can find a [wild] Elk hunt in. Difficulty is anywhere from a 3-5 depending on how hard you push it. Base camp is at 7500 ft, most peaks in the area are from 8000 - 8500, the tallest peak is at about 10,000. There are a lot of roads that run through this unit, so access is not a problem.

It is best to use a truck or jeep to get around. There are plenty of good roads, horses are not used or even necessary, a four wheeler is ok, but it tends to scare the Elk so we would rather you not use one. If you do, just use it to access different areas then shut it down and walk. If you were going self guided, you should bring a 4-wheel drive. Truck or Jeep is best. If you were considering a guided hunt, the guide will provide the vehicle.

We took three guys unguided last year. I believe all three were in Elk in the morning and afternoon of each day of the hunt, except for one guy who had trouble finding Elk the first day.

The Hunting is done by Cow calling around the farmers fiends and in the meadows. There are a bunch of Elk here. It is just a matter of calling them in and making the shot. Since this is during the rut, the best method is locating a Bull by his bugle and calling him in. Stand hunting is an option if you were considering an unguided hunt.

Temperatures range from about 50 in the morning to 70-75 in the day. Of course it is weather, so it can change.

It is in the middle of the rut, the price is right ... what more can I say.