Norteno Report post Posted April 22, 2021 So my Dad lucked out and drew a tag in the Gila. He is used to hunting out of the truck close to home and is almost 70. We are going to plan a couple trips this summer, but being 5.5 hrs away not sure where to start. Unit is huge! Tag is unit 22/16b late October. Any pointers on an area to focus on? Pretty sure it will be 16b, but not sure if to come up from Silver City in the South or from up North. This is going to be a challenge for me and my Dad. We are not going to use a guide. Any help will be appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
junior71 Report post Posted April 24, 2021 Man that's a good tag but I think you need horses or mules. A buddy and I packed an elk out of 16a with roads everywhere. It just about killed us and we were only a few miles inn. I can't imagine packing one out of b on foot. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
backpacker Report post Posted May 3, 2021 Gotta ask - if your dad is used to hunting out of the truck, is almost 70, and you're not going to go guided, any particular reason you picked a wilderness unit to apply for? Not sure about late Oct, but Sept timeframe a guy can get into quite a few elk along the border of 16A/16B. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redman Report post Posted May 3, 2021 I had that tag and had a good hunt. After 3 scouting trips I came to realize it's a rough unit with NO roads I have hunted elk in NM, CO, Mont, Utah and AZ, that unit is as tough to hump in everyday My advice pay someone to pack in your camp and pack out your elk, it will be really hard to hike in from a truck everyday (sure luck could be on your side) I hired Tom Klumker, there are a few others, 2 of us paid $2400 (or something like that), packed in all of our gear for 7 days and packed out my elk- set us up near a spring and we had plenty of water - we were about 5 miles in and I shot my elk about 1.5 miles from camp- the bull was bugling in a recent burn. Good luck 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Norteno Report post Posted May 14, 2021 Thanks for the advice. I actually reached out to a college friend who now lives in Deming and he actually offered to pack out an elk if we get one with his horses. To make his effort easier we’re going to stick to the SE part of the unit. headed down there at the end of the month to start poking around 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
