I have hunted 5B on 4 different occasions. All were DIY hunts as we lived fairly close and could scout several times before the hunt.
We call unit 5, "Feast or Famine Five" If there is snow in southern Colorado/Northern New Mexico it can be a great hunt. No snow (north of there, not necessary in Unit 5) it can be a tough hunt, i.e. a camping trip.
Most of the elk there migrate in from other areas and winter in the unit. Because it is a wintering area, It is a GREAT unit to pick up sheds too!
The first time I hunted unit 5 there were 3 of us hunting, we had snow and I shot a 6x7 that scored right at 350 and one of my buddies shot a nice 5x5. The other hunter in our party passed on a small 5 pt and that ended up being the only bull he saw.
The second time we hunted there were 4 of us and we again had snow and I shot a 320" 5x6 and my buddy shot a nice 330 6 pt the other 2 had tag soup. But we thought we had found the holy grail of elk hunting units!
The 3rd and 4th time we hunted there, there was no snow and we had a 5 day camping trip even though we hunted hard every day. I think I saw one cow twice (the same cow) in 5 days.
Now mind you we were on what we called the "Halloween Hunt" which was at the end of October/first of November. The December hunt should help for better chances for snow. And these bulls literally show up overnight if it snows up North!
Don't be misled by the size of the bulls that you see come off the Jicarilla Indian Reservation which is adjacent to 5B. The BIG bulls that they kill come from their high fence area. The free range bulls that they kill are between 300" to 340" tops and that is the top end of what you can typically expect in this area with most 6 pt bulls being in the 280-300" range.
As far as level of difficulty goes, its no more than a 2.5 on a scale of 5. (at least in the areas where we hunted in Unit 5) Mostly canyon country, no real mountains to hump up. And you being from Idaho which I say is a 7 on a scale of 5 you will think it is super easy country!
But you will need to get away from the roads! There are a fair amount of road hunters there. I'm not saying you have to go miles in, even if you are one ridge away from the road you stand a better chance. The 6x7 I shot there could not have been more than 3/4 mile from a 2 track.
If there is snow, don't be surprised to see herds of elk out in the sagebrush flats either. There are some HUGE sagebrush flats and often times you can catch the elk in them at first light but they see you coming and are off. When I say HUGE I mean over a mile across. Some people have been successful staying in the edge of the trees and having them come by close enough for a shot.
Another word of caution...camp theft ABOUNDS in this unit. You come back from your hunt and it has been raided and looted. Its a HUGE problem in this unit. They will cut locks on trailers, break into campers, raid tents. It's a real issue there. We always camped and took an enclosed trailer and locked stuff up being careful to leave nothing of any value behind. We also stashed some stuff away from camp back in the trees. We were one of the lucky ones that never got hit but I know of several others that did get hit and I have read about it happening too.
I am 65 years old now and have not missed an elk season in 41 years and many years I have hunted multiple states (yes, I am still Mad at the elk
) and all but 4 of my hunts hunts have been DIY. (I have nothing against a guided hunt, we happened to live close and could scout and it allowed me to hunt multiple states by doing this) 5B holds a special place in my heart as the 6x7 bull I shot there was the first truly "big" bull I had shot. I love the terrain in 5, it affords you lots of canyons that you can rim walk and glass which is the way I like to elk hunt the most.
Good luck to you and let me know by PM if you have some specific questions.
We call unit 5, "Feast or Famine Five" If there is snow in southern Colorado/Northern New Mexico it can be a great hunt. No snow (north of there, not necessary in Unit 5) it can be a tough hunt, i.e. a camping trip.
Most of the elk there migrate in from other areas and winter in the unit. Because it is a wintering area, It is a GREAT unit to pick up sheds too!
The first time I hunted unit 5 there were 3 of us hunting, we had snow and I shot a 6x7 that scored right at 350 and one of my buddies shot a nice 5x5. The other hunter in our party passed on a small 5 pt and that ended up being the only bull he saw.
The second time we hunted there were 4 of us and we again had snow and I shot a 320" 5x6 and my buddy shot a nice 330 6 pt the other 2 had tag soup. But we thought we had found the holy grail of elk hunting units!
The 3rd and 4th time we hunted there, there was no snow and we had a 5 day camping trip even though we hunted hard every day. I think I saw one cow twice (the same cow) in 5 days.
Now mind you we were on what we called the "Halloween Hunt" which was at the end of October/first of November. The December hunt should help for better chances for snow. And these bulls literally show up overnight if it snows up North!
Don't be misled by the size of the bulls that you see come off the Jicarilla Indian Reservation which is adjacent to 5B. The BIG bulls that they kill come from their high fence area. The free range bulls that they kill are between 300" to 340" tops and that is the top end of what you can typically expect in this area with most 6 pt bulls being in the 280-300" range.
As far as level of difficulty goes, its no more than a 2.5 on a scale of 5. (at least in the areas where we hunted in Unit 5) Mostly canyon country, no real mountains to hump up. And you being from Idaho which I say is a 7 on a scale of 5 you will think it is super easy country!
But you will need to get away from the roads! There are a fair amount of road hunters there. I'm not saying you have to go miles in, even if you are one ridge away from the road you stand a better chance. The 6x7 I shot there could not have been more than 3/4 mile from a 2 track.
If there is snow, don't be surprised to see herds of elk out in the sagebrush flats either. There are some HUGE sagebrush flats and often times you can catch the elk in them at first light but they see you coming and are off. When I say HUGE I mean over a mile across. Some people have been successful staying in the edge of the trees and having them come by close enough for a shot.
Another word of caution...camp theft ABOUNDS in this unit. You come back from your hunt and it has been raided and looted. Its a HUGE problem in this unit. They will cut locks on trailers, break into campers, raid tents. It's a real issue there. We always camped and took an enclosed trailer and locked stuff up being careful to leave nothing of any value behind. We also stashed some stuff away from camp back in the trees. We were one of the lucky ones that never got hit but I know of several others that did get hit and I have read about it happening too.
I am 65 years old now and have not missed an elk season in 41 years and many years I have hunted multiple states (yes, I am still Mad at the elk
) and all but 4 of my hunts hunts have been DIY. (I have nothing against a guided hunt, we happened to live close and could scout and it allowed me to hunt multiple states by doing this) 5B holds a special place in my heart as the 6x7 bull I shot there was the first truly "big" bull I had shot. I love the terrain in 5, it affords you lots of canyons that you can rim walk and glass which is the way I like to elk hunt the most.Good luck to you and let me know by PM if you have some specific questions.
