New Mexico or Colorado?

If you were going to buy a 2,000 - 4,000 acre ranch for both hunting and recreation in New Mexico or Southern Colorado, which would be the more friendly state for an out of state (Texas) owner for hunting?

Dunno, but would guess New Mexico.

Colorado has a state income tax and not sure about their game management as of late, residents have been complaining.
Land prices may be much higher in Colorado as well, not sure on that.
As for being from Texas, you'll get some push back from locals in CO but they have so many transplants I wouldn't let it bother me.
I would look into what both states do for landowners as far as tags, etc.

Don’t know about NM, but a guy I know just bought 27,000 acres in Colorado for a little over $22,000,000. He’s originally from Co but runs his business in Texas.

New Mexico also has state income tax. I'd also look at the property taxes in each. I've looked at residential properties in bot states and New Mexico seems to have higher property taxes for comparable properties. Don't know about ag type properties.

Can you get landowner tags in both states, or what will it take to draw a tag there? If you buy in Colorado, what season will you hunt and how crazy will it get on the surrounding land? Couple of times that I've hunted Colorado, it was a circus of people racing around on ATV's all day long, and well into the night. Now I just avoid Colorado and will probably never bother going there again. I wasn't successful either time that I've hunted New Mexico, but I did enjoy how few people I saw while out hunting. Most days I wouldn't see anybody on public land, and when I did, it was either glassing them from a distance, or passing them gong in different directions. Unlike Colorado, where everyone seems to have an agenda, the hunters that I've met in New Mexico where always very friendly. In my mind, I think it's because they where not dealing with tons of other hunters all over the place.

Lincoln and or Socorro county New Mexico. Most of the ranches are X number of owned land and Y number of leased land from the state or BLM. Arae has some good hunting, the high desert so even in the desert the summers are not brutal. Figure an easy million per 1000 acres, deeded and leased. . Houses on most of the real working ranches are that, working houses, unless bought by a Texan as a weekender get away ranch. In both counties you get scenery and desert. It takes a special type of person to love the desert, you either do or you hate it.

Property value in the southern half of the state seems to be cheaper, anything in the Santa Fe or Taos area adds dollars to every acre. Water rights, in New Mexico it is important to know about the water rights of the property before you buy it.

I do not know about property taxes on ranches, but taxes on residential are a lot better than Texas is, a damn site better. In my opinion icome tax, really a minimal issue, their sales taxes are less and it all equals out.

Depends on Ranch size. CO is a draw(elk and mulie) for LO but most draw for atleast one season.

NM is an elk draw for unit wide tags (best option for smaller ranches,) if you enter the draw for a Unit wide tag it opens your ranch to the public. Mulie are OTC for ranch specific

Socorro NM is a [censored] hole, Capitan, Lincoln and Ruidos are much better, but 36/17 are extremely hard to draw an elk tag for. So if you buy there make sure you can atleast get ranch tags.

Hopefully you have a place to Elk hunt now.

Stub what did you buy? I’m ready to go fishing, hope you gots a few miles of river

Working on trying to make it happen ASAP, just have one minor hangup the $$$$$

For quite sometime I periodically (actually way to often) get on Lands of America to check out properties in several states such as northern New Mexico, southern Colorado, eastern Oklahoma, mid to northern Arkansas, southern Missouri and of course Texas that are larger than 1,000 acres for hunting and recreation. There are some very beautiful properties out there that when I get the $$$ I would love to own, especially in New Mexico or Colorado for the Elk hunting and mountain recreation whether it is snowmobiling in winter or escaping the worst of our Texas summers. What I have noticed over the last couple of years is that the amount of listings has dwindled quite a bit.


During my fantasy thoughts of actually getting one of these heavens on earth, I think about who would be cool/fun to take Elk or Mule deer hunting with me, somebody that has been there and done that with the knowledge to share with how to do's and do nots and believe it or not you are on the to go list along with some Jack County peeps.

Still have that one hurdle to overcome, the $$$$$. Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight........

My fantasy ranch was the cielo vista ranch in colorado. With that said CO politics is as about as close now to Cali as you are going to find.

Honestly NM is a better deal, and if you can stomach the winters WY is still wild and free

Wow that is one hell of a ranch

https://www.mirrranchgroup.com/ranches/cielo-vista-ranch/

Yes, 100k acres and a 14’k mountain. Momma always said Going to be a bear be a Grizzly
ain’t much of a step for a stepper

Funny, one of the owners before last sale, their kid was in my son's class. Definitely an awesome place.

I’m glad I didn’t grow up on that ranch, would be spoiled for life

BOBO it is only $105,000,000 for 83,368 acres just $1,259 per acre, sounds like a deal to me! Besides that's Chump Change for you

If it were me! I would strongly consider Wyoming. Better game mgmt. lower taxes, much better politics. I ranched and hunted on the Western slope of Colorado for 16 years (actually hunted there for 20)

I wish, If I had it, I’d already spent it!!!

For the money unless I am missing something, this Oklahoma ranch looks like a great chunk of land to own that is not to far away.
Wonder if you could release Elk on the property and realistically hope they would proliferate?

https://www.landsofamerica.com/property/6815-acres-in-Haskell-County-Oklahoma/7690331/

Pretty ranch and live water, actually extremely reasonable for size

Not sure where in NM you are searching but I know there are many ranches here in the NE corner owned by Texans. Seems like mostly from Dalhart and Amarillo.