Trapping Trip

I got a question for the guys on here that take out of state trips. Me and my trapping partner have always wanted to take a trip out west to trap, but we are not sure on how to get the land to trap. Do you guys that take trips trap on public land or private? I have looked at many different state wildlife websites and none of them really specify whether you can trap state ground or not, and I know that here in Tennessee you can you just can't use a four wheeler off of main roads.

Western New Mexico from Lordsburg up to Reserve ( Mostly National Forest) may be of interest to you: The spur thru Mule Creek Pass has National Forest, J Thorpe filmed his video just North of RT 10 Lordsburg in the Burro Mountains and the ranches below which is BLM and partial private. Stick to National Forest. Cage Traps in AZ. There is a range around Plyas NM that was productive also, but you have to watch out for Illegals. Unless you can get on the San Carlos Reservation. Respect the land and there are lots of good trappers in that area.

I grew up in that part of the world south of Lordsburg at Animas. Lot of country down there, fur quality will be on the low side. Elevation is right around 4000 ft and it's desert country. Lots of varmints though, used to hunt lots of lions down there. Reserve, and the surrounding area would be better for fur quality. Elevation is high, more mountain country, colder winters, and like stated above mostly national forest around there. However, you would have to deal with wolves, which is a pain in the (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) in this state. We cannot trap or hunt them here so you might want to do some research if trapping in that area. I'm in central NM and don't have to deal with them. Our state game and fish proclamation has all the guidelines for trapping and can be downloaded at wildlife.nm.state.us The furbearers section starts on page 122, and the lion section is on 116 to 121, lion tags you have to pay for separately. Happy trapping!!

Besides all of this, you would not believe how much gear that you have to bring with you for a out of state trip!

I'll add plenty of public land in most of the state except eastern half. Also our game and fish has an app with decent GPS. Northern half can be intense with elevation upto 13k'. Weather can drastically change within the same day bring winter gear and tire chains.

So the land you guys have said is all public and can be trapped right?

Yup. Except city owned properties and some other public areas such as listed in the proclamation:
Closed Areas: Los Alamos County, except the northern quarter and a strip along the west bank of the Rio Grande (north of Water Canyon from the Rio Grande to a line 1,000 feet below the canyon rim); the Valles Caldera National Preserve; portions of the Wild Rivers Recreation Area; Orilla Verde and Santa Cruz Lake recreation areas; the Valle Vidal and Greenwood Area; Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center; New Mexico state parks; national parks and monuments; national wildlife refuges and New Mexico State Game Commission-owned WMAs. Fort Bliss/McGregor Range only allows furbearer hunting and is closed to trapping. The Gila, Cibola, Lincoln and Apache Sitgreaves National Forests are all closed to beaver trapping.

Thank you! I was looking on some state land in west Texas, and most of them say furbearers. Does this mean trapping or does it specifically have to say trapping allowed?

You're welcome. Not sure about Texas regs. State trust land in NM is the only place you can trap lions except on private lands with written permission. The NM state trust lands are usually pockets of land surrounded usually by public land.

I went out and started knocking doors, found a place to trap for nine years, I would only trap private land, I tried public, I think public gets hit hard.

Public get hit hard especially when you are chasing high dollar fur. Do your self a favor Buck 77: read Traplines West by Don Hoyt, you will learn alot about the adventure you are attempting. I am not trying to discourage you but you need to think about logistics: you have a 30 hour drive, one way, are you taking an RV, WATER, GAS, food. Its not about trapping its about logistics. The trapping is the easy part. Get on Google Earth and look at the terrain Adam M was talking about. Your first trip is going to kick ur butt, you better be ready for it. I suggest you pick a camp site near the big dry or on the Frisco River and walk in so no one bothers you and you can get some cats and fox, multiple walk ins will reward you, you run with the experienced road warriors and you might end up empty. Mule Creek Pass is also good hard to penetrate but great fur. Think about what you are doing. Higher the elevation the more wolves, like around Smoothing Iron and Reserve. Good Luck and listen to Adam M.: HIS ADVICE WILL KEEP YOU OUT OF TROUBLE.

I trapped different parts from the Burros, Silver City, Cliff, Mule Creek, Big Dry, Little Dry, Fisco, Upper Gila, Smoothing Iron to Reserve over 19 years. Had alot of fun and will never regret the time there or the great people. Treat them as family as they are excellent folks. I worked for Phelps Dodge/Freeport Mining so I got around AZ and NM quite a bit. Be safe and have fun.