About Us
Our Story
The Christmas Ranch is located along I-25, 9 miles south of Wagon Mound New Mexico in game unit 46. We are a family run cattle operation as well as a northern New Mexico hunting destination. We offer premier antelope and elk hunting on the families 15,000 acre ranch that is all deeded ground. There is no draw for our unit so having to deal with applications is not an issue on our ranch. Matt and Will Christmas are fifth generation ranchers from both sides of their family. They have run the hunting on Christmas Ranch for over 20 years now. The ranch has produced many antelope that will exceed the 82 inch Boone and Crockett mark for the record book. The ranch consistently produces 300 to 320 class elk with 100% success over the last 15 years. Several bulls have been taken that are bigger than 320, however 315 is the ranch average. Christmas Ranch has been 100% success on all antelope hunts over the last 20 years. We are a family run all inclusive operation that can cater to any hunters needs. We also book hunts in Africa for one of the premier operations in South Africa. We are happy to help with any questions and packages to be put together for your hunting needs. South Africa is an amazing hunting opportunity for any hunter as well as any family looking for the adventure of a lifetime. Please feel free to reach out with any questions regarding any hunts in North America or South Africa as we are happy to help.
We can arrange airport transportation and shipping of your meat from
our local processor. All hunts take place on private deeded ground. You will not have to put in for the draw, we have
landowner tags for every species.
We also offer exclusive African Safaris in South Africa at a world class operation.
Please contact us with any questions and for bookings!
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What To Expect On The Hunt
Hunters should zero their rifles 1 1/2 inches high at 100 yards from the bull’s-eye. This will allow most rifle calibers to be accurate from 230 yards and under. We highly recommend hunters bring at least a 270 caliber or larger for elk. A 30 caliber rifle is adequate and will do the best job on an elk. We require hunters use a 243 or larger caliber for pronghorn and recommend hunters use their most accurate rifle they are comfortable with. Most shots are 300 yards and under for both elk and antelope. Hunters should expect to do a lot of glassing and once we find an animal of interest, stocking to that animal to make a decision on harvesting it. Most of the terrain is not very extreme to walk on, however the ranch elevation is between 6000 and 6500 feet above sea level. Hunters should be in good enough shape to walk more than a mile without stopping. We strongly encourage hunters to be in the best physical shape they can be for the best hunt possible. Once the animal has been taken, Your guide will provide pictures of you and the animal, and will field dress the animal to be taken back to the lodge for further processing. Your guide will then quarter your animal and put it in your cooler to be further processed at your discretion. We do not process game meat beyond quartering.Â
We will hunt in the mornings and evenings, and will enjoy a relaxing lunch at camp every day. Hunters will be in the field before daylight during elk and deer season and will typically arrive back at the lodge after dark. During Antelope season we will leave the camp shortly after daylight and typically glass and stalk after goats most of the day. Hunters will typically shoot off of tripod shooting sticks. We usually hunt all day during Antelope season.