Hello all!
I first would like to say great forum! I have have been visting this site and have learned much over the past year! I new with reloading and big game hunting, I have hunted Minnesota whitetails for the past 15 years (since I was 13) but that is the extent of my experience..Anyway I am planning a retirement gift for my father, I am planning on taking him Elk hunting for the first time! I was wondering if any of you have heard of "Elite Outtfitters" out of Ruidoso, New Mexico? Or any other recommendations? Thank you in advance, Rich

Jumper
FWIW my suggestion is to find a good booking
agent and buy a hunt through him.I had a great
hunt in the Gila before it got popular and had
a great wilderness experience.The outfitter took
4 elk hunters a year and was a small outfit. I
never would have found him by myself.Since I started using an agent for my guided hunts,I have had all good hunts.The NM outfitter has since retired,a good agent knows who is producing and providing quality experiences currently.
I do not know the outfit you are asking about.
Good luck
Jeff

unable to delete

[ 01-05-2003, 02:34: Message edited by: GilaMonster ]

I'm not going to name names because I don't want to get into any trouble simply for helping another hunter, BUT I've already seen a name mentioned here that has a well earned reputation for flying the hunting grounds both before and during the season.

He covers up the numbers on his plane and goes after it. Obviously planes are 'expensive'....

It's seems very difficult for G&F to do anything about it but they may be getting to the point of bringing the FAA into the picture.

You need to ask yourself how you feel about ethics and go from there. I will say one thing about that behaviour, it has the potential to negatively affect the hunting of other ethical hunters, in fact, I saw it happen.

The best advice you got out of this thread was to find a good upstanding outfitter. There are several that frequent this site.

Good luck.

Reed

One additional point that may not be clear to some folks. It's illegal in NM to scout by air within 48 hours of the season and then all the way through the season.

Is it ethical to be flying so low that you dip under the hills from view? Does that sort of flight affect elk?

Buyer beware.

Reed

The other restriction in the use of aircraft for locating game animals is the use of radios between the plane and hunters.

I hunted in NM this past season and there was talk about a well known outfitter who was doing this in AZ, none that were mentioned above. The other side of the story has it that AZ and the outfitter were fighting over how the state handle the license issues. Do you think a state would do something like this ? Maybe!!

rslus

This must have been the same outfitter that provided a "hunt" for a person getting on a plane with me in ABQ in Sept.

Among other things he complained about was, the "guide" knowingly took them across the state line and made light of it til the guy (The one doing the complaining) pulled out GPS with mapping an told him to get his butt back in the state he was licensed to hunt.
As the hunter said, 'Not only was it wrong, but I had a VERY expensive rifle to lose.'

LouisB

A friend from TN ended up with a outfitter in the SW part of NM and the "guide" was just a ranch hand, first they had to repair the truck so they could go back and get the tack the "guide" forgot to load and when they finally got to the hunting area, the ranch hand asked what they thought would be a good way to find an elk and actually had NO IDEA on his own.

John got an elk after he aboandoned the guide the fourth day of the hunt which was only the second day of actually hunting.

I asked both of them to file an official complaint so that NM Game and Fish could review the activities and prevent the amount of bad "press" the state would receive from these two "outfitters" in the future.

[ 12-14-2002, 06:33: Message edited by: TCLouis ]

Like JeffP said, go through a reputable booking agent. Assuming you don't mind paying for first class, a good booking agent will hook you up with a first class outfitter.

You constantly hear horror stories on these forums of guys getting the shaft on hunts. I suspect 90% of these horror stories are due to "bargain shopping" and hiring cheap outfitters.

unable to delete

[ 01-05-2003, 02:33: Message edited by: GilaMonster ]

What happened? Am I missing something? Almost afraid to ask this question...think I'll just ask in a new thread.

It's not so tough to infer...stay away from those using airplanes.

Reed

Thanks Reed...did not know if it was just one guy in particular or any guy with a plane.

Just to elaborate a bit more. One of the guys in my bunkhouse this past season got burned pretty badly by an outfitter flying the zone DURING THE SEASON. He was not happy. The rancher has reported this guy many times, as have others, and NM G&F can't seem to solve the problem. Perhaps the FAA can solve the problem should they witness him flying with the numbers covered but that may or may not happen.

My advice to you is to pay attention to any outfitter/guide's methods. If he uses aircraft quiz him very carefully on when and how he uses that aircraft. If you really want an elk maybe you can use that to your advantage. If you're ethical and don't want to risk losing your equipment (rifle, 4-wheeler, hunting rights, etc.) then you may want to look elsewhere.

For what it's worth, we had four guys on this ranch and we got two 5x5's in the barn and I lost another 5x5 after getting two shots into him...tough suckers. Anyway, another outfit nearby had five guys all with guides and no elk harvested and another place to the NW had 3-4 guys all with guides and no elk harvested. The place to the NW was USING aircraft.

For us it was good old fashioned hard work, much walking and good communication amongst the three of us in the bunkhouse plus the rancher.

Good luck,

Reed

Thanks again Reed, hunting for me is not just shooting things, it is more a way of life. If I can't do it things ethically I just don't do them!