Moon Valley Outfitters

note: The following reviews predate the numeric rating system and are not included in this outfitter's overall rating.

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outfitter review submitted by: Pernell Davis on Aug 2 2008

Species Hunted: Elk

Game Quality: AWESOME

Accommodation Quality: Very Good

Camp Condition: Very Good

Food Quality: Very Good

Guide Experience: Awesome

Other Personal Experience: Great

Overall Impression: GREAT can't wait to get back

Recommend: YES !!!!

Reviewer Comments: We had a group of 6 hunters that hunted unit 15 archery hunt sept.19 thru 24th. We killed two Bulls one 300" young 6x6 and one 350" awesome Bull. However there were 9 miss shots. we should have killed at least 50%. The guides were great and grew up in that unit they knew where all the water holes were and the trails the Elk used. I have hunted with alot of outfitters from NM to Il and this one is by far the BEST I have ever hunted with!!!! This Year there will be 8 of us in camp and with GOD willing we will kill some Great elk but, I know we will have the times of our lives. Please contact me if you have any questions about this hunt.

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outfitter review submitted by: Bill Green on Feb 26 2008

Species Hunted: Elk

Game Quality: Poor

Accommodation Quality: See comments

Camp Condition: N/A

Food Quality: N/A

Guide Experience: Fair

Other Personal Experience: N/A

Overall Impression: Poor

Recommend: No

Reviewer Comments: My son and I hunted Unit 9. It was our 3rd choice, but we were assured there were plenty of elk just that they were a little smaller than the bulls in the more desirable units. Our agreement called for us to stay in tents and bow hunt Mount Taylor. Classic elk hunting! However, our plans were changed by Moon Valley without our permission. Instead, we were put up in a motel/casino and hunted mostly arid grasslands. It wasn't the "once in a lifetime" mountain elk hunt promised by Moon Valley. We never saw Corwin after the pre-hunt meeting. Prior to the last day of the hunt we were so disappointed that I put in a call to him to see if there was anything he could to help us salvage a bad hunt. He didn't return my call. As for the elk, this is what we found: We spent a great majority of our time hiking to and from waterholes and other areas that were not being used by elk. We hunted several times adjacent to an Indian Reservation. We could hear elk bugling on the reservation, but they weren't inclined to approach, much less jump the 8 foot game fence that separated us. After the third day, I think the guide was pretty much just going through the motions. For the entire trip, I saw one bull and no cows. However, if the guide hadn't busted the setup, I may have gotten a shot. My son saw two small bulls, two 5 x 5's and a cow and calf.

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outfitter review submitted by: Don Terhune on Oct 14 2007

Species Hunted: elk

Game Quality: good

Accommodation Quality: poor

Camp Condition: poor

Food Quality: good

Guide Experience: good

Other Personal Experience: good

Overall Impression: good

Recommend: yes/no???

Reviewer Comments: the camping trailer provided for me and my two sons was filthy dirty when we arrived when I complained about the mouse crap on my bed we were told where the camp vacuum cleaner was and how to fire up the genorater we cleaned the trailer ourselves!

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outfitter review submitted by: Pat Patridge on Sep 22 2007

Species Hunted: Elk

Game Quality: Excellent

Accommodation Quality: Very Nice.

Camp Condition: New.

Food Quality: Great home cooking.

Guide Experience: Good.

Other Personal Experience: Everyone was Great.

Overall Impression: Great.

Recommend: Yes.

Reviewer Comments: I've been on multiple outfitted hunts and never have been compelled to write a review. But my experience with Moon Valley was class "A". I drew a unit 15 New Mexico tag for the 09/11/07-09/18/07 archery hunt. I have hunted this area before and there are big elk in it. This year was no exception. My first evening in camp, I sat on a water hole and had 6 cows/calfs and 2 spike bulls come to water. All within 20 yards. A bull was screaming up in the hills but would not come to water. The next morning we listened to multiple bulls before making a stalk. Had a 7x7 close before it caught my movement and took off. Called another 6x6 to 12 yards and did not have a shot. The 3rd bull we got on was a nice 6x6 which I ended up taking at 25 yards. 330 class bull. No doubt this was exceptional action, but each of the hunters had experiences with nice elk all week. They all were not a fortunate as me, but all were satisfied with the hunt. The Quality of the elk is unbelievable. When one's bugling and is coming to the call, there is no question that it is a shooter bull. I spent the rest of my hunt glassing different areas morning and evening. Bulls were everywhere, with very few "rag horn" bulls seen. This is a family run service. Corwin's daughter cooks and takes care of the camp. Corwin spends his time in camp with the hunters each morning and night. He ran a camp in unit 9, which he spent 2 nights in before coming back to our camp. His new cabin in unit 15 was very nice. He grew up and is respected in the area. The hunting is in a mix of private and public land. But the unit is large.

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outfitter review submitted by: Bill Campbell on Feb 19 2003

Species Hunted: Elk

Game Quality: See below

Accommodation Quality: VG, clean & convenient

Camp Condition: VG

Food Quality: Good, and plenty of it

Guide Experience: Excellent

Other Personal Experience: VG

Overall Impression: A good hunt & experience

Recommend: Yes

Reviewer Comments: We hunted elk in unit 15B, which was a draw hunt in a "primitive weapons" unit. I used a .50 caliber Omega inline muzzleloader. We hunted 10/19-10/23/02, which unfortunately was during a full moon that made the hunting challenging. However, the cows were coming into their second estrus and the smaller bulls were active. There were plenty of elk there, but they headed for the hills at sunrise. I took a nice 5x5 on the 3rd day. It was picture-perfect. We hunted a field all three mornings, trying to pattern the bulls we knew were there. There was a huge bull that right before sun-up would lead the herd to the hills. There were a few 4x4 and 5x5's hanging around the cows, bugling up a storm. I caught one as he moved out of the field. A bit later in the season the bulls form bachelor herds and should be less wary. Patrick, my guide, was excellent and a lot of fun. I understand that NM combined units 15A and 15B into one unit now, and I don't know how this will affect the draw odds. Web site: http://www.moonvalleyoutfitters.com. Email: moonvalley@gilanet.com

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