Hello Jim and Backfire Community - I just completed my guided elk hunt in New Mexico’s unit 34 on public land. It was my very first elk hunt and I learned a ton. I know enough about hunting to know that not every hunt will be successful, but I didn’t even get a shot at an elk that was standing still under 600 yards. My 2 friends both had opportunities and one of them was able to take a nice 5x5. Question for the community: is this normal to not even get an opportunity to take a shot on a guided hunt? Is this something I should speak with the outfitter about? As this was my first elk hunt, I am looking for some pointers/advice on this. Appreciate any and all advice/comments. Thanks!
There are no guarantees in hunting…you will hear many versions of this statement from anyone that does it. The easiest way to think about this is change the words " guided hunt" to “meal at restaurant”. All the same principles apply. If you call a restaurant to make a reservation and ask " am I going to like my meal?" What do you think they are going to tell you? Outfitting is a business like anything else and you need to do your own homework. An outfitter booked up years in advance with repeat clients is the same as a restaurant having a full parking lot every night… probably going to be a good meal/ successful hunt. The things I look at are
-
Does the area I am going to have a good population of the species I am hunting.
-
What are the animals doing when I am trying to hunt them. Are they breeding, migrating through, wintering over. Think of trying to book a waterfowl hunt in Canada late in the season and all the water is frozen…all the birds are going to be hundreds of miles to the south already and your hunt is going to suck even though two weeks before it was the best hunting ever.
-
Talk to as many people as possible that have used the outfitter/ read reviews. This is really important. Your friend that shot the bull is going to have a different view of the outfitter than you did without getting an opportunity so you need to get as big of a sample as possible to make an informed decision.
-
Manage expectations with your abilities. If the hunt is in mountains and I am out shape or typical shot distances are further than I am capable I need to be honest about my expectations for success.
3 Likes
Thanks for the insights. Very helpful and appreciated. The Outfitter has a great rep. My friend has hunted for years with them. I’ll for sure be back if I have the luck of drawing another tag. Weather definitely was a factor as it was unseasonably warm on 2 of the days. Outside of not taking one, it was an amazing trip. Did 8-10 miles hard hiking/stalking each day and saw beautiful country. Got on a big group on the last day in the AM, but the bull just didn’t make himself open. Looking forward to next season.
1 Like
Personal opinion
If you truly enjoyed yourself while there, saw things you had never gotten to see before, and are truly excited about going back to the exact same place with the exact same outfitter, then yes the trip was worth it.
Some of my most memorable and enjoyable hunts ended up with me not taking anything home at all. Funny enough, the hunt where I scored my biggest whitetail ever, was one of the most miserable hunts I’ve ever been on.
3 Likes
Awesome that you got to go on a good hunt and sounds like you had a good attitude about it.
Unfortunately, it is pretty common to not get an elk on a guided hunt, but it really depends on the unit.
Usually, I ask outfitters what percentage of their customers last year took a shot. I take whatever they say, reduce it by 20%, and that should give you a decent idea of what to expect 
Some hunts have high success rates but low trophy potential. Be open with outfitters and tell them you’re new and really want shot opportunity over trophy potential. A good outfitter should be able to help you find a hunt that matches that criterion.
2 Likes
Thanks for the pointers Jim. I’ll apply all of this when planning for next year. At least my buddy is sharing the meat!
1 Like
Also looking at tools that show what the average harvest rate is for the tag you’ve got. Hopefully the rate with the outfitter is higher, but if you’ve got a tag/unit where the success rate is 10%… you know it’ll be tough. I was talking with an outfitter for a tag this season and I asked about success rates and he said “listen, success rates in this unit are under 10%. It’s a tough hunt.” I appreciated that honesty.
If they worked hard and seemed to know what they were doing; that’s all we can ask. I was on a bear hunt where the guy just straight lied about what was going to happen/what he would provide. It was my first guided hunt and I learned a lot about how to vet an outfitter… and how not to hunt bears. 
1 Like