The
Hunting Area
The Hondo Ranch offers some of the finest elk hunting in New Mexico. The approximately 4,000-acre ranch is located in the foothills of the Sacramento Mountains in central New Mexico. The ranch is entirely free-ranging and borders the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation for over three miles. The quality of the bulls in this area must be experienced to be believed.
The Hondo Ranch lies between 5,500 and 6,000 feet in elevation. The terrain is characterized as rolling hills and is covered in a combination of juniper, pinon pine and live oak. The canyons are relatively shallow with vertical variation on the ranch of no more than 500 feet.
Difficulty of the Hunts
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the easiest place possible to hunt elk and 10 being the toughest terrain on earth to hunt elk, we give this hunt a difficulty rating of 2.
The low difficulty rating stems from the lack of any considerable vertical terrain. The most difficult aspect of the country is the never-ending supply of rock, thorns and cactus. I promise there is no shortage of those.
All hunts are guided 1 on 1 and there will NEVER be more than one hunter on the ranch at one time.
Expectations
for the Hunts
Every hunter arrives with high expectations for a hunt, as they should. But, there are many factors that affect the outcome of a hunt. The first and foremost factor, outside of weather, that will dictate the "success" of this hunt is patience. Much more than conditioning. That's a change from most elk hunts we offer.
There are core areas of the ranch which produce 90% of the bulls taken over the past years. Most days the bulls are there and it seems easy. Some days they are not there and then the patience comes in. We just do the same things the next day and so on until we find what we are looking for. It almost always happens.
With all that said, what are reasonable expectations? Determining actual shot-opportunity percentages are difficult due to the extreme range of hunting abilities, conditioning, expectations, and hunters not sticking with their minimums (i.e. sliding scales). If you are in shape, will hold steadfast on your minimum, and will stick with the hunt for the duration, the following shot-opportunity percentages are what our guides feel they can produce for a 1 on 1 hunter on the Hondo Ranch, any given week, archery or rifle:
Minimum
Chances at a Shot
Size Class
Opportunity
Comments
300+
90%
Ranch minimum. Good 5 & 6 points with high success.
320+
80%
Getting harder, but good minimum for in-shape hunters.
340+
40%
Entering the uppermost class of bulls. Almost asking too much.
360+
10%
Too high of a minimum. These bulls just seem to happen.
380+
2%
A gift from the gods.
Accommodations/Meals
The accommodations for the Hondo Ranch hunts are in a modern 2-bedroom house located on the ranch. All the conveniences of home are available with the exception of TV.
Meals will be provided with breakfast and lunch consisting of easy-to-make items. A full dinner is prepared by the guide in the evenings.
Airport Information
Air service is available by flying into either Albuquerque, NM or El Paso, TX. The ranch is located centrally between the two airports. You will need to rent a 4x4 vehicle (in case of inclement weather) and drive to the ranch. The drive time is approximately 2 1/2 hours.
Choosing a Weapon-Specific Hunt
Archery and rifle hunts are offered on the Hondo Ranch.
Click on the Links Below to Go to Specific Hondo Ranch Elk Hunts:
Hondo Ranch - Archery Elk Hunting
Hondo Ranch - Rifle Elk Hunting