Mexico?

[Up Hill]

Ok guys, you know where I'm going with this. I thought I'd put it to people who know more than me on it. My son and I are considering changing goulds or oscelated next. A well know hunting consultant said he sends hunters into mexico every year and has for 30 years without a single incident.  But...the travel advisory council lists, as least Sonora, under  reconsider. Campeche seems to be the least. I'm all for an adventure as much as the next guy but no animal on the planet is worth risking lives or kidnapping ect. Just thought I'd see what the general consensus is.

[Paulmyr]

It would be my guess as a hunter you are not a very good target of opportunity because you have the ability to shoot back as do your outfitters. 

[GobbleNut]

Like everywhere else on the planet, we only hear the horror stories...no matter how low the odds are of something happening. Such is the case with venturing into Mexico to turkey hunt.  The likelihood of anything happening in doing so is almost zero, but in the back of our minds, each of us is thinking,.."what if I am the one?". 

I have gone down there several times, although not recently, and the only issues I/we had were not being able to speak the language and the inherent problems associated with that. Most of those trips were DIY where we did not go through an outfitter...just knew some people such that we were able to arrange the trips/hunts ourselves.  We never had a single problem...other than that nervousness associated with going somewhere totally unfamiliar to any of us.

In your case, going through a reliable outfitter should alleviate any concerns you might have. If you really want to go hunt Goulds or Ocellated turkeys...and are willing to pay the price for it...you should do it without a second thought.   

[Up Hill]

I appreciate the advice.  You were spot on about New Mexico.

[Swampmonkey]

Went down there last spring with absolutely no issues. Hunted chihuahua and it was listed under reconsider as well. Met some of the friendliest people and had a blast. The only people who find trouble down there are those looking for it. Feel free to PM me if you want any information on outfitter.

[hpo]

I would have no concerns. When it's time, it's time. Chase the fun.

I would say that I've lived in some serious shitholes over the years. But that's my opinion and it's rather worthless. 

[Alabama556]

I went down there 5 years ago with a very reputable guide. Long story short the bad guys did not get notified that 4 suburbans were headed out that morning. They thought 3 was the number.

I was not in the 4th truck but I personally talked with them in detail about the incident. When we all got back to camp.

The police pulled them over at 3:45 in the morning and then let them go. The police then followed them and pulled them over again once they got a mile or so down a dirt road. The cop never got out of the car and stayed there until a pickup with 3 guys with Ak's showed up.

They guys with guns went through the truck with a fine tooth comb. Guide and 2 clients had their hands on the front of the car. They went through their turkey vests gun cases etc.

After they did not find anything they left.

Me and my brother were hunting with the other guide. We started getting word something was not right around 10 am.

When we were riding back to the camp at about 12:00 or so our guide got a call from the bad guys apologizing for the mistake. I asked him what they said and he looked me in the eyes and said they are about to go kick the cops  that started all of this.

My group left the next day. Luckily nobody got hurt but damn those bits were scared being pulled over in the dark on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.

Bottom line is everybody in Mexico has to deal with the bad guys. It's a way of life. If they tell you to not to hunt a certain piece of ground you don't.

I am not going to mention who the guide was. He told me it was the 1st time anything like that had ever happened and I believed him.

[Yoder409]

I hunted Chihuahua in 2007.  That was just before all the cartel mayhem started.  There was a period in there where my outfitter (THE preeminate outfitter for Mexican turkeys AND personal friend of over 20 years) was not recommending folks come there.

I hunted Campeche with the same outfitter about 8 weeks ago.  We talked about the cartel a bit.  I also talked to a couple of the guides.  It IS a thing.  But there are those they (the cartel)  harass and there are those....for various reasons....they do not.

Neither time did I ever feel unsafe.  You WILL go through military checkpoints on the highway.  Never saw that become a problem.

Any REPUTABLE outfitter will let you know if they feel your safety would be in question.

If you have any questions....... shoot me a PM.

[MShillhunter]

Hunted with CG International Outdoors in Durango, Mx in 2022.  Great experience, top notch accommodations and food, and plenty of birds.   Hunting birds 9k in the Sierr@  Madres is an incredible experience


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[PalmettoRon]

The odds are strong that everything would be fine, but it's a very different world down there. I've been many times starting in 1997, had a long break and went back last year for one final time.

The hunting has always been great as well as the setting in really remote mountainous country.

Do NOT bring even one shell into Mexico if you aren't bringing your own gun. That could well get you jail time.

Ask the outfitter lots of questions about the hunt, some you may have thought went without saying.

Feel free to PM me.

[GobbleNut]

The police pulled them over at 3:45 in the morning and then let them go. The police then followed them and pulled them over again once they got a mile or so down a dirt road. The cop never got out of the car and stayed there until a pickup with 3 guys with Ak's showed up.

The police comment reminded me of the first time I/we went down there on our initial DIY hunt back in 2006. We had heard the stories about the police pulling people over...especially "foreigners"...and basically extorting money out of them before letting them go. 

We had hunted several days without issue, were driving back, and were almost to the U.S. Port of Entry when I noticed a police car coming up behind us on the rural highway we were on.  I nervously watched in my rear view mirror as the car followed along behind us for a while, and as expected, the lights came on and we were pulled over. I said to my buddy,..."Oh no, here we go", fully expecting to be harassed for a while and then having to pay some sort of "ransom" to get out of it.

We got out of my truck as two policemen got out of their patrol car and walked up to us.  We knew almost zero Spanish, but they knew just enough English to ask us what we were up to. With enough gesturing, pointing, and "pigeon-English" thrown in, we finally made them understand we had been "guajolote" hunting.

Their initial stern attitude gradually changed and, before long, they seemed genuinely interested and curious about our hunt.  We showed them the gobblers we had harvested, how we had used turkey calls to call them to us, and even pulled out our calls and demonstrated some turkey calling for them. All the while, I was still expecting them to demand some sort of bribe to let us go on.

However, after a few minutes, they just smiled and told us to go ahead, never demanding a thing from us. We jumped in the truck and headed on up the road towards the Port as quickly as we could...making sure to obey all speed limits and traffic rules...of course.   

[joey46]

As much as I would like to do a Mexico hunt under the current world situation I would pass.  Just not worth the risk IMO. To those that go good luck and post some pictures.

[Alabama556]

As much as I would like to do a Mexico hunt under the current world situation I would pass.  Just not worth the risk IMO. To those that go good luck and post some pictures.

It's a shame that it has gotten so bad down there. It's it an amazing hunt in the Sierr@  Madres. Our guide was awesome and his people were  1st class.


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[Up Hill]

I'm thinking about holding off on mexico now. At least for a few years.  Maybe things will get better down there. It's not just me but my 23 year old son would be with me. He'd go anywhere with me  and no way I'd put him into anything questionable.

[PalmettoRon]

Campeche is safe according to guys I've spoken to. I did the Ocellated deal a few times with Lovett Williams in Guatemala long ago, which definitely had some risks, but I wouldn't think twice about going to Campeche for the Ocellated, if that's on your bucket list.