Gila National Forest in New Mexico

[woodchip]

Any of you guys hunted the Gila National Forest in New Mexico?  What are the bird populations and the terrain like out there?

[anthonyjhallen]

I hunted the Gila one year but had better luck in the Lincoln.  I did run into some birds that responded well but never killed one there.  And as for the terrain, its high elevation, steep and like walking in a rock quary.

[Hevi-5]

I think I spoke with anthonyjhallen before I went out there.  Seems like you were from NM, but in the service when I talked with you.

Me and a buddy hunted around Mimbres a few years back.  We were there for opening weekend and there was quite a bit of pressure and only heard a few birds gobbling.  The weather wasn't perfect either though - around 20 degrees every morning.  Opening morning, heard one gobbling 2 ridges over and about the time we get halfway there, heard a shot.  After a few minutes we see a fellow driving out on an ATV.  About 30 minutes later we hear birds gobbling from the same place, so we hurry over and get set up.  We start working 2 gobbling birds and we see a truck pull up about 150 yards behind us.  I call to let them know we are there and they slam their doors, crank up and leave.  The next time the two birds gobble, they are across a canyon going up the next ridge.  We were not hunting the 'walk-in only - wilderness' area.  The area we hunted was accessible by truck/atv.  We were told you could got into the wilderness area and not run into anyone, but we were staying with someone that lived there and didn't have any camping equipment.  There was hardly any water anywhere other than stock tanks where we were hunting.  The biologist we spoke with prior to going out there said their hatches had been poor the last few years due to drought.  In hindsight, we would have probably done better to fight the crowds and hunt the area we started out in, since there were birds there.  We spent a few days trying to find birds in more remote places, but didn't have much luck.  The folks we stayed with said the place was a ghost town after the 1st week.  As far as the terrain, it was pretty rocky and dry with alot of pinion trees and cactus. Wear a good comfortable pair of hiking shoes/boots with some ankle support.  Even though we didn't get anything I would go back if I had the chance - just probably not on the opening weekend.  It is some beautiful country and there are birds there.  They just seemed to be very scattered.  Mimbres is on the southeast end of the Gila about 40-50 miles from Silver City. 
Good luck if you decide to go.

Billy

[GobbleNut]

The Gila is vast, sparsely roaded, and with widely scattered turkey flocks.  If you prefer an isolated, wilderness-like experience, it is a good place to go.  You should allow yourself plenty of time to find out where the birds are because they can be far between.

As Anthony said, the Lincoln NF is a better bet is terms of numbers of birds, ease of finding them, and having good access to get around,...not to mention better access to accommodations for your hunt.