first hunt

[waterfowler]

hey yall gunna try to get my first turkey hunt(bow) in this fall was looking at the lincoln national forest any tips? and how much of a issue are bears and mountain lions? thanks

[dewey]

I don't know anything about New Mexico gut one of our resident turkey hunting experts, Gobblerman, hunts in New Mexico and he might be able to help you. Welcome to the forum.

Dewey

[Gobblerman]

Welcome waterfowler,....your choice of hunting the Lincoln NF is a good one. Lot's of turkeys in that country. You will find them just about anywhere above 7000 ft.,...and especially along the drainages that have reliable surface water sources.
Bears and lions are no problem. They are there, for sure, but the likelyhood of running into one is pretty small,...and they will run the other way as fast as they can if they see you anyhow.
Good luck on your hunt!
Jim

[waterfowler]

hey thanks gobblerman sorry for late reply been super busy im looking at unit 34 what did the fires do to that area?

[Gobblerman]

Only one significant fire occurred this spring in the Lincoln, and that was north and west of Ruidoso. It did some serious damage to some really good turkey country there. The rest of the Lincoln came out of this spring's fire season okay. Just don't plan on hunting in the Rio Bonito drainage north of Ruidoso. A lot of it has been closed to entry at this point anyway.