Any suggestions for an elk hunt?

[teddy12b]

My cousin and I are planning an elk hunt for 2023. We've been talking about it for years and the other night we decided to commit to it far enough off that we won't have any excuses not to. We're both experienced hunters. I've got more than enough backpacking and PRS competition experience that the camping gear or longer shot won't be too much of a burden.

Where we're trying to get our heads around is 1.) where to go and 2.) when to go. We'd looked at Colorado in the past and we like the idea of getting a tag over the counter. That's where our grandpa went many years ago and we grew up listening to his stories from his hunts there, but I don't think that we're necessarily married to it. He's more of an archery guy, and I'm definitely a rifle guy. Honestly, I'd be happy to tag along and help my cousin get a bull and experience that with him. Not to mention I really don't want to have to field butcher and carry two bulls out over hills if I don't have too. If anyone has any suggestions of any kind I'd appreciate it. We're just in the early stages of putting this together.

 

[Onebad06vtx]

Save your money and get a guide.
It can be done by yourself but there is alot of work involved.
Pay a guide and let them work for you.

 

[rooster]

Long post buckle up:

Finally did my first elk hunt last year. Couple things. Most elk tags are not over the counter. You have to build preference or bonus points in almost every state. you still have the opportunity to buy points in couple of states for this year. Do that now.

hunts that are OTC, Colorado is the big one. You can do bow or late rifle. Expect to see lots of people during bow, like the trailhead looks like Black Friday. Idk about late rifle bc I haven’t been. Everything I watch on YouTube shows more snow than I want to deal with.

Speaking of snow it snowed on me, like a lot of snow, in the beginning of September. The weather is unpredictable and it’s much colder on the mountain than the weather stations in town show on the weather reports.

I went unguided. I used a lot of resources like Gohunt, onX elk research studies and more to pick where I went. I hiked an average of 16-20 miles per day searching for elk. When I finally found some and missed my one opportunity of the entire trip it took me no less than 6 hours to hike back out to the truck. Elk don’t like people or roads so don’t expect to road hunt especially in Colorado.

that brings up my next point: fitness. Even if you do a guided horse camp hunt expect that you need to be in good shape. The air is thin and the mountains are steep. Fitness will help a lot but won’t stop you from getting altitude sickness if you ascend too fast.

We overnighted at around 7k feet at a hotel on the west side of Denver. I was in the best shape of my life for that trip, easily running 10-15 miles multiple times per week to build up for the trip. I was sucking air, couldn’t get enough O2 to function properly when we got over 10k feet. we initially planned on car camping but between the 3-4 inches of snow, temps below 11f ( I only know that because that’s when jet boil fuel canisters stop working) and the thin air on the mountains we changed that plan on day 3. A hotel in lower elevations was well worth the drive up and down the mountain.

gear: the camo you use for deer will work but you will be far from comfortable. Since western hunting is a far more active adventure there are better options out there from Sitka, kuiu, gulch gear, forlough to name a few. These are pieces of clothing made to function ie. they dry quickly (you will sweat) and are super lightweight. Your gonna need a backpack, stone glacier, mystery ranch and badlands make good packs. I’ve used and own one from each company. There are other options out there but I can’t speak to them.

even if day hunting you need to carry stuff. Dad wasn’t in the best shape so he slimmed his pack down to a bare minimum of like 18 pounds of gear including a bow.

I’d suggest checking out rokslide forums for tons of elk and western hunting info.

if you or anyone has any specific questions ask or PM me and I’ll try to answer best I can. Skipping elk and Doing Arizona mule deer next month since Dad said that was his dream hunt. Next year I’ll be burning some points on a quality hunt though.

 

[den57]

Getting an outfitter for your first hunt can be a good thing. Learn and use that information so you can do a DIY hunt on your next trip. Reading these two sites can get you a lot of ideas and info.

Bowhunting Elk - Bowsite.com

Elk | Rokslide Forum

 

[two70]

There are some draw tags that are easily drawn by hunters with little or no points built up. Some of these tags are in areas that are extremely rough and hard to navigate, some are in places where elk are few and far between, and some are in areas where there is little to no public access. If it were me, I'd try to find a reasonably priced hunt on private land in a draw area with little to no public land as a first option for my first elk hunt.

If you decide the DIY route is the way for you, don't wait until you (hopefully) get an elk down in the back of beyond to worry about how you're going to get it out. Do your homework beforehand. In some areas, rental pack horses or pack llamas may be a good option and save you a lot of misery.

 

[Alpo]

I lived in Colorado for 20+ years and hunted late season Elk in about 1/2 of those years. Success rates were extremely variable even though we hunted in the same area all of those years. Elk travel 15 to 20 miles a night at times. Our best luck was just at daybreak and more coincidental than planned.

If I was going to do it in 2023, I'd save my money and do a guided hunt in Wyoming. Around Cody.

 

[teddy12b]

Guys, that's all great advice and thank you very much.

We'd definitely be looking for a guide/outfitter. My cousin has a buddy who is a guide and owes him a favor, but who knows if that'll actually pan out in a year and a half from now.

The getting in shape part will be no joke. At the end of August I was in Alaska doing steep trails at 5,000 feet or less and it was very obvious I'm a flatlander. That's even with me going to crossfit classes 2-3 times a week and doing plenty of outdoor chores. Hiking 16-20 miles per day is something I absolutely know is not in the cards for us especially in steep terrain. My cousin and I are strong, but we're both built to pull carts, and not run cross country. My initial plan was to travel light and setup a temporary camp each night at a different location. I've done some backpacking trips like this, but I don't think my cousin has. Either way it'll be an experience.

From the sounds of it, the private land hunts with a guide/outfit sounds like our best bet, but time and money are always a factor in these things too.

 

[two70]

From the sounds of it, the private land hunts with a guide/outfit sounds like our best bet, but time and money are always a factor in these things too.

IMO, there's something special about a DIY hunt but the time and money equation leans heavily toward guided hunts on private land. You may win the lottery and have a success in the first couple of DIY attempts but that is not the norm, especially in open general areas.

 

[teddy12b]

IMO, there's something special about a DIY hunt but the time and money equation leans heavily toward guided hunts on private land. You may win the lottery and have a success in the first couple of DIY attempts but that is not the norm, especially in open general areas.

I'm all for the DIY stuff, but I have no shame in getting tuned up by a local guide the first time around. I always figure hiring a guide is like a training class specific to that area and there's no way to make up the time that the guide has spent in the area on a 1 week hunt. At some point getting an experienced guide will only help a guy out. Having said that, I've also seen a few dumb ones too that called themselves a guide and really shouldn't have.

 

[BigRed]

My cousin and I are planning an elk hunt for 2023. We've been talking about it for years and the other night we decided to commit to it far enough off that we won't have any excuses not to. We're both experienced hunters. I've got more than enough backpacking and PRS competition experience that the camping gear or longer shot won't be too much of a burden.

Where we're trying to get our heads around is 1.) where to go and 2.) when to go. We'd looked at Colorado in the past and we like the idea of getting a tag over the counter. That's where our grandpa went many years ago and we grew up listening to his stories from his hunts there, but I don't think that we're necessarily married to it. He's more of an archery guy, and I'm definitely a rifle guy. Honestly, I'd be happy to tag along and help my cousin get a bull and experience that with him. Not to mention I really don't want to have to field butcher and carry two bulls out over hills if I don't have too. If anyone has any suggestions of any kind I'd appreciate it. We're just in the early stages of putting this together.

My first suggestion is that you take me!

 

[chubbs]

If I was to go to Colorado again, I would be hiring a guide. I tried the DIY hunt with a couple of friends in 2018. It was a good time, we came home without any elk though. We primitive camped for 10 days right off the colorado river on federal property. It was an expensive trip to not see elk. Seen moose darn near daily. Seen mule deer and a black bear. Met some good people, put miles and miles on my boots and ATV. It was disappointing hunting as the cold and snow had pushed the elk to green grass below our game management unit. But it was still worth it, seen some beautiful sights. I'm an overweight farm boy. I spent close to a year getting ready physically for the hunt. Cardio and lots of humping my pack. It helped.

I'll probably go back in the next couple years, but will most likely find a guide and horse camp. I love my atv for hunting, but hate dragging 3 or 4 along with us the whole way. If you do take an ATV, fuel injection is your friend. My polaris doesn't care about elevation. Some of the carbed guys had issues.

 

[Mongo59]

My suggestion is: don't try and do it in southern Indiana...

 

[BigRed]

If I was to go to Colorado again, I would be hiring a guide. I tried the DIY hunt with a couple of friends in 2018. It was a good time, we came home without any elk though. We primitive camped for 10 days right off the colorado river on federal property. It was an expensive trip to not see elk. Seen moose darn near daily. Seen mule deer and a black bear. Met some good people, put miles and miles on my boots and ATV. It was disappointing hunting as the cold and snow had pushed the elk to green grass below our game management unit. But it was still worth it, seen some beautiful sights. I'm an overweight farm boy. I spent close to a year getting ready physically for the hunt. Cardio and lots of humping my pack. It helped.

I'll probably go back in the next couple years, but will most likely find a guide and horse camp. I love my atv for hunting, but hate dragging 3 or 4 along with us the whole way. If you do take an ATV, fuel injection is your friend. My polaris doesn't care about elevation. Some of the carbed guys had issues.

Sounds like you still made a great experience of it.

 

[Alpo]

My son got an elk in the mountains outside of Paonia yesterday. He was sheltering in some pretty dense bush.

 

[BigRed]

My son got an elk in the mountains outside of Paonia yesterday. He was sheltering in some pretty dense bush.
View attachment 163941 View attachment 163942

Some great stuff right there!

 

[fullmetaljesus]

If I was to go to Colorado again, I would be hiring a guide. I tried the DIY hunt with a couple of friends in 2018. It was a good time, we came home without any elk though. We primitive camped for 10 days right off the colorado river on federal property. It was an expensive trip to not see elk. Seen moose darn near daily. Seen mule deer and a black bear. Met some good people, put miles and miles on my boots and ATV. It was disappointing hunting as the cold and snow had pushed the elk to green grass below our game management unit. But it was still worth it, seen some beautiful sights. I'm an overweight farm boy. I spent close to a year getting ready physically for the hunt. Cardio and lots of humping my pack. It helped.

I'll probably go back in the next couple years, but will most likely find a guide and horse camp. I love my atv for hunting, but hate dragging 3 or 4 along with us the whole way. If you do take an ATV, fuel injection is your friend. My polaris doesn't care about elevation. Some of the carbed guys had issues.

If humping stuff made people fit I'd look like a Greek god.

 

[Dirty Steve]

Have hunted elk in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming, both guided and DIY, horseback and on foot. I'd highly recommend that you do your first hunt as a guided hunt.

Decide where you want to go and buy preference points if applicable. Wyoming's deadline is November 1. Go to the WYGFD page, create a profile and buy a preference point NOW. Buy one again in 2022 and then you will have 2 points going into the draw when you want to hunt in 2023. Two points will guarantee you a tag in about any non limited draw area in Wyoming.

DIY is a TON of work and you basically have no idea what you are doing at this stage. I guarantee you will enjoy it more and will have a much greater chance of success if your first hunt is a guided hunt. You'll learn, and that is key to doing it again.

Also, I cannot stress enough, get in good shape if you are not already.

Dirty Steve

 

[Tactically Fat]

If humping stuff made people fit I'd look like a Greek god.

Stuffed animals and waifu pillows don't count.

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Stuffed animals and waifu pillows don't count.

Lol eww. I hate that fact I know what a waifu pillow is.

 

[teddy12b]

Lol eww. I hate that fact I know what a waifu pillow is.

I just had to run that through an internet search to get the joke and now I think I have to fire myself for computer misconduct.