Today we went to Fishtail Ranch to enjoy a horseback ride. They were so wonderful, and attentive to…read moreour needs (short people raise your hand!). They made sure that the shorter individuals in our party were set up with saddles to match the needed stirrup height. Our guide Eli was amazing! The stable is full of incredible horses and we had zero issues with behavior. Our ride was about 2 hours long, and winds through some of the most amazing scenery around! This is a must stop location for a fun family adventure!

We had an awesome experience doing a 2 hour horseback ride through the mountains at Fishtail Ranch…read more The price was unparalleled (65 per person for a 2 hour ride!), the wranglers were helpful and easy to talk to, and our horses were well selected. One of us had moderate experience with horses while the other is a beginner, they matched us well with our horses and we both had a wonderful time. We drove up for the day from Albuquerque and it was worth the drive, a beautiful scenic trip along the way. Would absolutely recommend.

First, I have not dealt in office with this department. My positive experiences come from their…read morecommunity events. I have attended several family learning outdoor events and I cannot express the gratitude I feel for the great experience my young kids & entire family have. The staff is patient, kind, & pass on their knowledge like quality educators. If the NM govt spent more effort on these community building learning events or increased parks & recreation events this place might find a common ground to feel shared community instead of the (social, political, economic) gaps that feed the local culture of what's yours is mine. Maybe other government divisions can take note of the positive impact they can impart with tax dollars.

Over my 35 years of Hunting with numerous big game guides, including George Taulman, I found George…read moreto be professional, personal, and a skilled outfitter/guide. He and Jean run a top notch operation. I highly recommend USO.

New Mexico elk hunt. You could do better yourself. The only positive about this outfitter is the…read morefood and the accomadations. The knowledge of the guides is very, very sub par. I was left at a water hole for 12-16 hours per day behind a ground blind my 'guide' built. Nothing came into the water. My guide was not affraid to smoke marijuana driving down the road and bashing the other guides. Very unprofessional.

A Dream Come True: My Unforgettable Experience at Wheaton Creek Hunting Lodge…read moreI recently returned from a three-day cow elk hunt at Wheaton Creek, and I can honestly say it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, far exceeding all expectations for my first-ever elk hunt. From the moment I arrived, the Wheaton Creek Hunting Lodge felt like a welcoming home away from home. The facilities were absolutely top-notch--comfortable, beautifully maintained, and offering every creature comfort imaginable. My room was a particularly lovely highlight: a quaint Southwestern-themed sanctuary featuring a cozy fireplace and an incredibly comfortable bed. The staff and management truly set this lodge apart. The entire team was extremely friendly and exceptionally conscientious about every guest's needs. Owner David was genuinely affable and welcoming, making me feel like a valued part of the Wheaton Creek family. The culinary experience was equally outstanding. The chef prepared wonderful, high-quality breakfast, lunch, and dinner that fueled long days in the field and satisfied after a day's effort. Unparalleled Hunting Opportunity and Guidance As for the hunt itself, the ranch offers an overwhelming amount of opportunity. On one incredible day, I spotted 20 separate bulls before we even approached the massive herd of cow elk, which totaled between 100 to 150 animals! My guide, Davy, was truly excellent. He was not only extremely knowledgeable about the land and the animals but also incredibly helpful and patient with my learning curve as a new elk hunter. His guidance was invaluable. The entire atmosphere was enhanced by the wonderful group of fellow hunters who were staying at the lodge--friendly, interesting people who made the evenings just as memorable as the days. Overall, the experience was perfection. Wheaton Creek delivered a perfect blend of high-end comfort, incredible hospitality, and world-class hunting. I am already planning my return next year to make this a new tradition with my young son. Thank you, Wheaton Creek, for the hunt of a lifetime! I cannot wait to be back!

2024 Rifle Elk Hunt : Pros:…read moreWheaton Creek Ranch was an amazing experience! The owner and staff were very friendly and worked hard to make sure that our needs and comforts were met. The guides were also friendly and worked very hard each day for the hunters. All the hunters in our group were successful and shot decent bull elk. (Scores of 180-300) The elk were delivered to the processor promptly. As a hunter and not someone who expected pristine conditions, the rooms were very comfortable and spacious. The lodge inside was set up and decorated nicely. The chef was very accommodating and always had breakfast, soup, fruits, snacks, and refreshments available every day. The food was hearty and delicious! Their were many beautiful views to take in. Very accommodating and great lasting memories. Cons: Price $$$$, for the caliper of bull elk we saw/harvested, but I'm sure their are some big boys around at times. From some online reviews, there's a noticeable decline of success in recent years. If not the case, in the world of tech nowadays, yearly social media and/or website updates could disprove and show otherwise. WCR website/Facebook/Instagram is almost non-active. Would really help the business to keep updated. The grounds needed a little tlc There's a lot of land that is broken up but very huntable but may take a decent ride to get to and from. Seems to be a lot of turnaround with employees. Would I recommend WCR? YES Always remember that with fair chase hunting, you go in taking the chance to come out with or without success taking the chance of a loss of $$$$. Much of the hunt is the excitement of preparing, traveling, hunting, harveting, meeting new folks, experiencing new surroundings, and making lasting memories. All of these were fulfilled for me.

I hunted with this outfit January 21st of 2023 I paid for a meat bull keep in mind I am not an avid…read morebuffalo hunter so I was trust my guide Monte to show me a meat bull in my budget. myself and another hunter both shot bulls that Monte to us to shoot. When we got all the buffalo back to there camp/cleaning station he changed both of us a very large sum of money that he called a trophy fee witch none of this was discussed or in his contract. The other hunter and I were not pleased with his operation Monte gave the other hunter some of his money back as far as myself monte won't return calls or texts. Do yourself a favor go hunt with anyone else joke of an outfit. Very unprofessional and super shady.

I'm not sure why there's a couple bad reviews for this outfitter. My dad and I just spent 5 days…read morewith them and had the greatest time. Ray is the owner and he met us there to get us all settled in. He would stop by from time to time to check in on us and see how we had done. He even guided my dad the first day himself. He put together a team that works hard to protect the reputation and image of the Milligan Brand. The guides were all very knowledgeable and had great personalities. They made us feel like we were part of the family. We had other hunters in camp that had been coming there for 20-30 years, which speaks for itself. There was no "preferential treatment" to the repeat hunters. We all had the same opportunities at elk. My dad and I both took beautiful bulls, a 6x6 and a 6x7. Big Ben was our camp chef and let me tell you, the man is great at what he does. He has as much passion with the pans as the guides do in the field. If you're looking for a 5 star hotel with suits and ties for guides, this isn't for you. This place is rough around the edges and so are the guides. They're hunters like us with a true passion to be in the woods with us and yes, they are going to have a couple beers when we get back to camp. Nobody was getting stupid drunk like one review I read. My guide was Desi and I don't think I could've asked for a better one. He knew what I wanted and made it happen and genuinely seemed like he enjoyed every minute of it. This was my first elk ever and I think he was just as excited as I was when we walked up on it. He's a very family oriented man. His father is also a guide there. It was pretty amazing to see the relationship they have since my dad and I are the same way. My dad's guide was Patrick, who's also the head guide. He kept everything running smooth with the rest of the guides and hunters. He truly bent over backwards to make sure he had a great hunt. At 76 years old my dad took his first elk, and it was a great bull. The weather was unseasonably warm which slowed the bulls down a bit but everyone in camp had opportunities at bulls and when we left a day early, 6 of the 8 of us had taken bulls. This hunt was everything we pictured in our heads and more. After some terrible experiences with other outfitters in the past, these guys restored our faith that there is some good ones out there.

Let me start this off by saying I don't normally write reviews but this one is warranted. To be…read morevery clear, Ray is an arrogant guy who only cares about getting your money and making sure his higher end clientele are taken care of, where us average/new guys get the short end of the stick. Next, let's talk tipping, (and I have all the original documents, contracts, etc. saved). We looked at the tipping guidelines emailed to us beforehand and it said in writing that "Tips generally run $500-$1000 from a hunter to his guide. Also, the chef averages $125 per client. Our Camp jack is often tipped $25." I went on a 2x1 rifle Elk hunt and my buddy and I each left $600 in tip to the guide, $150 to the chef and $25 to the camp jack. We are not millionaires but thought we received good service so we tipped accordingly, per the guidelines we were sent. As we were leaving, we got a text from Ray saying "YOU AND (MY FRIEND) ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO COME BACK AND HUNT WITH US. DO NOT CALL US AND DO NOT TEXT US EVER AGAIN. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE ANYMORE." Are you kidding me?! That text was sent to me on our drive home across the country without any context or any reason why. Who the heck does that?! My friend and I were perfectly good clients, acted properly, said nothing offensive, stuck to the rules and followed all orders so what the heck did we do to deserve that type of treatment?! Did we not tip enough based on Ray's guidelines that he himself wrote and we followed?! Do yourself a favor and avoid this man and his company at all costs. He is not worth your trouble, hard earned money, or time. Now to the review, in case you are still interested... My friend and I were on a 2x1 guided rifle elk hunt and were told we had over 10,000+ acres or more of high-country land to hunt on. Sounds great right? Well, every single morning we went to the same exact spot and saw nothing and maybe heard a bugle or two very far out. Our morning hunt (with the walk included) lasted for about 2 hours, then we came back to the camp, took a nap/had a snack, and went back out in the late afternoon for another 2 hours. Then we came back, ate dinner, and had some drinks. My buddy and I were ready to hunt all day considering we spent almost $9,000 each to make this trip happen and all we got was 4-5 hours a day with A LOT of downtime. Now don't get me wrong, the wilderness was very nice and the chef was excellent but the guides were basically drunk all day and night, drinking beers and slugging crown royal in between hunts and late into the night. The bunk cabins we stayed in were nothing special and the limited number of elk we saw were mostly spikes and young 3x3 or 4x4. We ended up getting a young 4x4 bull and a 3x4 on the 4th day because we wanted to go home with meat. Ironically enough, I got my bull on my own in between hunts during "down time" because I wanted to hunt more so the guide said "Go in that direction" which I did, I sat for an hour and got my shot. After experiencing this hunt and doing my own research on other guide services for the future I would rate Milligan Brand 1 star out of 5 at best, and 1 star just because we liked the chef. Avoid this company and go with someone else!