Looking at some property thats for sale in Ruidoso.
What kind of big game hunting can one expect in this area.

Pronghorns,mulies,elk?? Quality of animals.

Hunting access,economy, weather, ect.

I lived in N.M. many years ago, and would go through this area from time to time,but cant remember the details.

Any info will be welcome and appreciated..sakofan..

Nice country. Lots of Texans and other non-locals flock there, especially in the summer. Mule deer in the surrounding areas - the tags (for now) are over the counter, but everybody and his brother hunts those units. Elk are plentiful, but lots of guys put in for the draw, especially for bulls, so the chances may not be that great. Cow hunts might be a good option. Antelope to the east, but getting a "public" tag is about like winning the lotto. I think you average about 8-10% chance of getting drawn for that. You can pick up a land-owner tag for a grand or so in the areas around Roswell, which isn't too far. There are oryx on the missle range to the west, but that's only once-in-a-lifetime, and pretty pricey for a non-resident ($1500). Spring and fall turkey hunting is pretty good in most of the surrounding area. There's bears in them thar hills too, and tags are over the counter at this time. There is a lot of Forest Service land around, so you'll have plenty of roaming room even if you don't get the big game tags.

Beautiful weather in the summer, pretty cool in the winter, but nothing unbearable. Don't know much about the specifics of the economy, but I bet it relies pretty heavy on Indian gaming. You're right against the Mescalero Apache reservation, where you can gamble to your heart's content. If you win big, you can buy one of their $6,000 mule deer tags.

Not a bad place overall, but I don't think I'll move there any time soon...

The local economy is centered on tourism and skiing. Good skiing conditions in this part of the state is alot less dependable than some of the more famous ski destinations like Utah or Colorado.
The land prices tend to go from outrageous to dirt cheap and not surprisingly that coincides with the economic cycles of the local economy.
Hunting for mulies and elk is possible depending on where you are in Riudoso. Most of the elk hunting in the area seems to be on Mesaclero land and they charge a huge premium to hunt elk. There is also lots of BLM land within a 100 mile radius.
Antelope can be found to the east near Roswell and to the south of the lincoln range in the plateau between Alamogordo and Salt Flats TX. The Antelope are not plentiful but they are of very good quality.
I used to fly fish a stretch of the Rio Penasco to the east of Cloudcroft quite a bit.
The military at Ft Bliss has draws for Antelope and mule deer hunts on its vast holdings to the south of Alamogordo.
El Paso is the biggest city near Riudoso...roughly 100 miles to the south as the crow flies...about 120 driving miles. You'll find more hunting opportunities to the north of Riudoso on private land around Capitan and Lincoln and out the the east towards Roswell as an awful lot of the land around Riudoso is either Indian owned or part of the Lincoln National Forest.

Thank you both for your informative responses.

I was looking at some land, about 150-200 acres.
I realize that I cant expect to hunt big game on that small of parcell. But,it would be secluded and that suits me.

Iam a commercial concrete contractor, and thought that Ruidoso would be close enough to El Paso, that I could support myself, my wife and animals.

I do long to live back in that state. I was stationed at Cannon AFB for 2 1/2 years, and lived there anougher couple of years before moving to the East coast. YUCK!!

Not that Clovis was a haven by any means, but Ruidoso and Alamogordo suited me well enough..sakofan..Thanks again!!

Sakofan, you might look around Cloudcroft,Timberon, and Weed NM for property, both will be less expensive than Ruidoso, and less carpit bagger prone!

Nearly all of the Sacromento Mt range, which includes Ruidoso, Cloudcroft, and Weed, has many public hunting areas, of Forest, or BLM land! There is 36,000,000 acres of public land in New Mexico. The area around Cloudcroft, and Weed has pleanty of Muledeer, and black bear, some elk, and a heavy population of wild turkey! Top that off with the fact that the sweetest apples in the world grow around Highroles, and Cloudcroft, and you are near Heaven at an average altitude of 9,000 feet above sea level!

I lived in El Paso, 90 miles away, off and on from 1950, to 1982, and this is my old stomping ground! You'll love liveing there!

[ 10-11-2003, 19:03: Message edited by: MacD37 ]

Thanks Mac, and the others.

I will investigate those areas that you mentioned.

If Highroles is renound for it's apples, is "Weed" renound for...pot???LOL..sakofan..

I used to break colts and poison rats for the Govt. on the Indian reservation near Ruidoso way back when..I have hunted every inch of that country for Mule Deer, I never saw an elk, but black bear were fairly abundant...Also hunted on a frinds ranch near Capitan and it was great hunting for mule deer and a few bear... Antelope are on private ranches about 100 miles from there...Killed a bear with a 22 pistol in the dump at Ruidosa with Leland Railey one time and that got exciting..Scared hell out of us...Went to all the Indain rodeos and got drunk, got in fights, went to all the dances and chased all the girls, and had a great time in general. Then I had to grow up, that was the hard part...

Today the public hunting is so so, and get the heck hunted out of it IMO, but, the private land is great..

Some pretty good info and some pretty suspect info.
Elk in the Sacramento Mtns becomming numerous enough to be a nuisance. If you get drawn for a public tag, odds are good that you'll find one. Antelope available at Carrizozo, Socorro & around Roswell/Vaughn area - maybe some of the best antelope huntin in the US.
Mule deer have been badly mismanaged (still sellin permits over the counter trying to fund the entire bureaucracy with deer) by out Game Dept. Odds are pretty good you can find a yearling 4 pt almost anywhere you look. If you want to hunt trophies . . . good luck.
Turkey, bear and stuff abound.
Lots of private land in the Hondo and Bonito valleys that is over or becomming over developed. Lots of Texans & Golfs up there but they don't taste very good and are pretty hard to clean anyway.