New Mexico Gemsbuck



Bill Hoehle hunted New Mexico for four days on a leap year hunt (February 29 - March 3, 2004) for gemsbuck. Sixty gemsbuck were released on the White Sands missile range in southern New Mexico in the 1940’s. They are now well established in the area, numbering over 6,000 animals and migrating to neighboring public and private property.

The hunt took place on a private ranch that borders the missile range. That area of southern New Mexico could best be described as desert mountains. Bill reported that it snowed the first two days and then rained the third day of his desert hunt. In addition the wind blew every day, gusting on the least windy days to 25 mph, and up to 40 mph on the windiest day. Daily lows were in the 20’s with highs in the mid to upper 30’s.

Under those weather conditions the gemsbuck stayed in the valleys and draws, out of the wind. So spotting them from the peaks and ridges was quite a challenge, and the wind, rain and snow made staying warm whilst sitting on the ridges and peaks trying to spot gemsbuck a challenge, too.
Relatively few animals were spotted over the 4-day hunt. But Bill and guide Franko Vallejos worked hard.
A successful stalk finally came together at 3 pm of the fourth day and a mature bull gemsbuck was taken.