So I have booked my first guilded hunt with compass west in new mexico unit 34 late rifle in January. After much research I figured it was time to pull the trigger on a once in a lifetime elk hunt with my dad. My question is how is the weather during that time, how to dress, any specific gear you would recommend. Any odds of waking up with a desert tarantula in my bed, that would be worst case scenario. Any tips in general, never hunted elk before, will be bringing and rum .300 ultra mag.

practice walking up lot's of stairs.

weather and temperatures are kind of relative.
I'd probably be wearing a tee shirt or a flannel shirt at most.

some one from another part of the country would more likely be wearing a parka.

I have been doing a lot of cardiovascular training, I will be climbing wheeler peak soon, highest point in new mexico 13,161 via bull of the woods trail, so 15 mile round trip. Also going to practice shooting out to 500 yards. Trying to make sure I do my part.

Most of 34 is just a big flat plateau.

I live about 50 miles from there.

January was really cold compared to December. But not cold compared to Montana. I'd have gear from 20F-60F.

Bring boots you can walk around in well, altitude is pretty high 8000 plus.

Lots of timber up there. I'd have a scope that I could turn to down 3 or 4 and up to 18 tops. A 2-10 or 3-12 or 4-16 would be pretty ideal.

Oh, here in the White Sands Desert, we have more scorpions than tarantulas. Lots more.

They are rarely in the bed.

We usually wake up to find them hanging in a corner of the ceiling, under furniture or something like that.

They love bathrooms and laundry rooms.

I don't know about NM, but it is rare to see tarantulas except the month of October - that is when they mate and I see them all the time when bird hunting.

I did find one hugging the bottom of a Nerf football in our pool - I picked up the football and saw the tarantula gripping the bottom - and then he started to walk.

In October when you see them you see 100.

We were gone for a week, and came home to find one in the middle of the kitchen floor.

My wife turned into goo unintentionally as she opened the kitchen/garage door.

That was the week of Christmas.

I know they are harmless but they freak me out for some reason. I hear the tarantula wasp really puts a hurting on people with its sting.

I bow hunted unit 34 a lot 30-years ago. No real remote areas but there are steep areas. Expect to be hunting above 8,000 feet. I’m guessing a landowner tag hunt so might want to find out if it’s ranch only or unit wide, unless it’s on the Mescalero res—they’ve got some nice Elk, but so does most of the unit.

Steel, I live in Alamogordo. Unit 34 starts a few blocks east of me at the top of my street. I had an early December cow tag and hunted a couple of days in the Agua Chiquita drainage west of Weed, but post-surgery back issues kept me from hitting it hard enough to harvest.
In January, you will not see a tarantula, a tarantula hawk or a rattlesnake. You could very well see some snow at the highest elevations.
As Seth notes, most of the unit is a plateau that tilts gradually downward toward the Oil Patch country east of the Pecos. Your guide will very likley have options besides the high forested areas of Unit 34. Many elk are taken in the juniper chapparal below 8,000 feet. You will do your share of up/down hiking as the plateau is cut by drainages and arroyos, but you won't be climbing the Matterhorn. January is often one of the driest months here. But the higher the elevation, the colder it can get -- talking the possibilty of single digits at night when a front has moved in. Just pay attention to layering and the highest quality gloves and you will be fine.

Thanks for the info guys. Super excited to get out west and hunt the tastiest animal I have had. Bison is a close second.

I hunted Aoudad the first week of January, and got very badly sunburned on the far western side of the unit.

Bill is right. We don't get much weather in January, but you might have snow.

I'll make sure to bring some sunscreen.

quote:

Originally posted by steel:
I know they are harmless but they freak me out for some reason. I hear the tarantula wasp really puts a hurting on people with its sting.

I can attest to how bad a Tarantula Hawk sting hurts!

I was on an early September archery elk hunt in New Mexico unit 15, sitting in a ground blind at a tank that was being pounded by elk. At one point, I noticed a Tarantula Hawk in my blind, dragging around a Tarantula it had stung. Long hours in a blind can be boring, so watching it go about it’s business was a nice diversion. Sorta like my own personal National Geographic show. I eventually quit watching him as various animals visited the water and my attention shifted to the reason I was there. At one point, I realized a couple nice bulls were coming in and I was going to get a shot. A 330 class bull appeared to my left, standing atop the dam, broadside at about 30 yards. I raised my bow and drew back, but noticed something moving on my left shoulder, on my deltoid...

It was the Tarantula Hawk, dragging his prey up my shirt sleeve, headed toward my collar. There was no way in hell was I gonna let that Devil Demon get inside my shirt. I knew I had to act fast, or I was going to lose my shot opportunity at a nice elk standing well within my range. So, while still at full draw, I leaned against a pine tree that was at the edge of my blind, figuring I’d crush the giant wasp against the tree, then would shoot the elk once the Tarantula Hawk was no longer a threat. BIG MISTAKE!

As soon as the Tarantula Hawk felt the pressure, it immediately stung my shoulder. I let out a horrific scream, the elk bolted so quickly I thought they were gonna leave their hides behind and I involuntarily launched my arrow somewhere upward, into low earth orbit. I was in great pain, pissed off (more at my own stupidity than anything else), and took my anger out on the Tarantula Hawk that was now on the ground. I crushed his ass with my boot! Back at camp, I had a red, swollen deltoid and a ‘You wouldn’t believe what happened to me’ story. Everyone was highly amused at my plight.

...never did kill an elk on that hunt.

DLS, great story that came at quite a cost!
The tarantula hawks are usually pretty mellow as wasps go, but that half-inch stinger is as visible as a tailhook on a fighter jet when they buzz by.
Here is a wonderful Wiki regarding the Schmidt sting pain index. You will note the tarantula hawk is at the apex, Level 4.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...idt_sting_pain_index

Great story.

We also have pterodactyl sized black beetles.

And 2 or 3 kinds of poisonous scorpions.

The only redeeming quality of scorpions is that they are lazy and stupid. You just don't want to step on one.

Our kitchen tons probably pick up more scorpions than they do food. We find them in the house regularly.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
DLS, great story that came at quite a cost!
The tarantula hawks are usually pretty mellow as wasps go, but that half-inch stinger is as visible as a tailhook on a fighter jet when they buzz by.
Here is a wonderful Wiki regarding the Schmidt sting pain index. You will note the tarantula hawk is at the apex, Level 4.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...idt_sting_pain_index

It says he described the pain as “Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric”. That sounds about right.

Threads like this is why I like AR. Lots of guys giving 1st hand knowledge. I really like talking hunting----not politics. Bob

I hunted with Compass West unit 34 in 2015 on a unit wide MZ tag. They did a great job. I started on the ranch then moved up higher since I had a unit wide tag. Saw a lot of elk, and shot a good bull.

You'll likely be on the ranch they lease. Pretty gentle country by elk hunting standards. Long ridges with sparse pinion. Lots of glassing, and not a lot of hiking. That said, there are a couple of places that are harder to access.

The earlier hunts are out of cabin tents that are pretty decent, and the late hunts are out of the ranch house.

I'd take layers that will go from 50F down to zero, but wouldn't expect anything super cold.

A bipod on your rifle wouldn't be a bad idea, and practice with it at the range. Otherwise good binocs and a rangefinder. No need for a spotter.

Have fun. Great that you can go with your father.

Jeremy

Yea I'm pretty excited. My dad sacrificed a lot to get myself and four brothers through school so it was the least I could do is give him his dream elk hunt he could not afford because having five boys gets expensive. It was a little pricey but from some of the bad experiences I have read about some of the cheaper outfitters, I think paying extra for a good experience is worth it in the long run. I have not read a bad review about chris and his crew at compass west so that is why I pulled the trigger and went with him.