Elk Hunting Experience and Advice?

[roscott]

This past year, my dad and I finally managed to get out west and hunt elk, after years of talking about it. We selected an unguided drop-camp rifle hunt in western Colorado, near Grand Junction. We used the outfitter Colorado Mountain Adventures to pack us up and down the mountain on horseback, and to pack our meat down. Lacking any experience in elk hunting, we still managed to bag a cow elk, and had an outstanding trip. Outfitter fees were about $1000 per person, plus all our other expenses incurred with fuel, gear, tags, etc.

We plan to head out west in 2018 to again hunt elk, but are debating where and how. While we were extremely pleased with our trip, we are considering foregoing the outfitter this time around to save money and further the "do-it-ourselves" experience. Additionally, our drop camp was situated around 9,000 ft and fairly heavily wooded, which resulted in scout-setup-wait style hunts. Since we have the opportunity for that style hunting in Indiana, we are considering pursuing a spot-and-stalk style hunt.

I would love to hear feedback on your elk hunting experiences out west, particularly if you hunted DIY (do-it-yourself). Specifically details regarding cost, style of hunt, location, time of year, and elevation, would be great, although just good old fashioned hunting stories are welcome too!

 

[Jeepster48439]

Went in 2012 with 3 other buddies for early muzzleloader season (September). It was a full D-I-Y hunt. One of us had prior elk hunting experience so we weren't all newbs. We setup our base camp in Vega State Park and hunted in the Grand Mesa National Forest. From the State Park there is a road that goes to the National Forest. We took a 4-wheeler and a 'cart' to use to haul out meat. We found a great meadow at around 12,000 feet where we scouted a large herd of elk. To get to it, we had to drive the 'road' for an hour and then hike an hour or so to get to the spot. We arrived at park check-in time 3 days before the season started and scouted for the two days before the hunt started. We met some 'locals' that gave us some tips on what to look for and where they thought we would most likely find elk. We jumped a cow opening morning and then chased the herd around the upper meadow the rest of the day. The next day we hunted a different area and planned to go back to the meadow the third day. Unfortunately, at the end of the second day, we got word that one of the guy's mother was in the hospital and wasn't expected to make it much longer. So we packed up that third morning and headed east. Fortunately, our hunting partner was able to make it back before his mother passed. Unfortunately for us, we didn't bag an elk that trip, but still had a fun time. I can't remember the costs too well, but I think all totaled it cost around $1200/person, maybe less.

Some things we would do differently:
1. Get a tag for mule deer in addition to elk. Where we were, there were muleys everywhere. Obviously we weren't at a high enough elevation.
2. Get higher and deeper. At that time of the year, we didn't really get to the summer grazing areas. It wasn't as cold as we had anticipated, so the elk were still higher up.
3. Study the roads (State, County, National Forest) for alternative ways to get to the higher elevations. We used the same route everyday (driving as far as we could and then hiking the remainder) which limited our hunting area.
4. Study the Colorada DNR game maps for where you want to hunt. They have a ton of data.

I am looking to go out to Wyoming probably next year for elk.

 

[oldpink]

Lucky dog!
Lucky to get drawn for tags and lucky for having the funds to be able to do it.
I hope you have a big freezer, 'cause elk venison is said to be some of the finest table fair you can get.

 

[yetti462]

Been 3 times to the Rout National Forest just north of Craig, CO. It was DIY in rifle season. We walked in and always tagged out first day.

 

[roscott]

Jeepster, that sounds like a great trip, even if it was cut short. We also saw plenty of Muleys, but didn't have tags. What makes you plan on Wyoming rather than returning to Colorado?

Oldpink, we were very fortunate to be able to make the trip, but Colorado has guaranteed tag draws for certain areas, and can be done pretty inexpensively! As to the meat, to my dismay I have found elk to be even better than whitetail... There's no going back now!

Yetti, that's impressive! It almost sounds too easy. How far was your walk in and how many other hunters were around? Also, did you have bull tags or cow tags?

Thanks for the responses!

 

[den57]

Enough good info. on this site to make your head explode.......

http://forums.bowsite.com/biggame/section.cfm?gameid=5

 

[Jeepster48439]

I recently helped a gentleman from Wyoming purchase a home in Brownsburg. He and his family are ranchers out there and has offered me an opportunity to go out and hunt his land. Otherwise I would probably go back to Colorado.

 

[Dirty Steve]

I have hunted Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico. New Mexico is difficult to draw a tag and has a very short season. Everyone and their cousin hunts Colorado. I have hunted more often than not in Wyoming, more specifically the NW corner near Jackson, Pinedale and Cody. You'll generally need a preference point to draw in Wyoming. Hunts have been both guided and drop camps in Colorado and Wyoming, drop camp in Idaho and guided only in New Mexico. We got to be good friends with a ranch up the Gros Ventre in Wyoming and hunted out of it and a tent camp associated with it for about 10 years. We basically paid for horses, food and a wrangler which amounted to about twice the cost that you are looking at for a drop camp. Still relatively cheap.

There are only 2 outfitters in Wyoming that I am aware of that do drop camps. There is no money in it and you cannot go in any of the wilderness areas un-guided (State law for WY.), which sucks. Your opportunity for a drop camp in WY is very limited. There is an area near Pinedale that we used to hike into pretty easily and hunt out of a spike camp that is off-wilderness but right up against it. We did it several years for mule deer and always saw a lot of elk in there. It just depends on how much you want to take and how hard you are willing to work. Hunting out of a backpack used to be a lot of fun when I was younger and tougher. If you can drive to it, so can everyone else. If you can ride a horse to it, so can the locals. If you are on foot and go farther to spike camp, most won't and if they do, you be there when they are still at the trail head getting ready.

I like to either hunt the very first week of season or the very last and hope for serious snow. We always had the best success wherever we hunted when we had extreme cold and snow to concentrate elk and push them either down or to more protected areas. Whenever you go, be at the very top at daylight. Thermals rise in the morning and fall as the day warms up. If you are at the top, your scent can't get any higher. Be lower in the evening. I also like to be able to see several different drainages from one location on top and then glass to find what I'm after and then make a plan. Elk travel a lot and sitting in a place in the timber waiting for one to come by is not as productive as glassing large areas.

Check the Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association web page. It list contacts for all of the WYOGA members and you can search by region that you want to hunt.

Wolves are a major problem in the NW corner of the State now and the elk numbers are not nearly what they were. We quit hunting that corner of the State because it became more of a horse riding trip than a hunt. Going from seeing hundreds of elk in a week to seeing 10 just was to depressing. If I were hunting Wyoming for elk again, I'd look down near Elk Mountain or in the Snowies. No wolves in there but there is a lot of private ground that you can't access.

There are some drop camp opportunities in Idaho, but it was screwed hard by wolves as well. I have friends who used World Class Outfitting in the Selway, but they folded.

Whatever you decide, it generally takes a few trips to learn an area well enough to hunt it effectively going the DIY route.

Dirty Steve

 

[Jeepster48439]

Whatever you decide, it generally takes a few trips to learn an area well enough to hunt it effectively going the DIY route.

I do agree with this. If I go back to Colorado, I would hunt the same area.

 

[yetti462]

Yetti, that's impressive! It almost sounds too easy. How far was your walk in and how many other hunters were around? Also, did you have bull tags or cow tags?

The first year we had cow tags. 5 of us were in the group, we were all done by 11:00 opening morning. It was unbelievable how many elk we saw. There was no early snow that year to push the elk out of the mountains. I'm estimating seeing 150-200 head of elk that first day. All of the seasoned hunters that camp there every year said we got spoiled and that its not like that every year.

The 2nd year I got drawn for an either sex tag and unlike year 1, where shooter bulls were everywhere, all I saw were spikes. Everyone with cow tags were done by 10am. I passed several cows trying for horn and had tag soup. Dammer!!

Year 3 we all had cow tags and were tagged out by 10am. and of course the cow I shot had two shooter bulls with her.

All of this was done by walking about 1 mi from camp.

 

[dtkw]

I have only hunted one time in my life, I was living in Los Angeles, a friend who asked me if i want to go hunting with him in CO, Sure, I did. I brought my Remmy 700 BDL in 30-06. On the second day, we spotted an elk about 600 yards away, my friend asked me if I was comfy to shoot it. Sure, I had some sniper training in the past. So I adjusted my scope a little and bsng! in less than a second, I saw the elk bucked and dropped. We rode in the ATV and brought it back to camp. Some guy cleaned it and cut the meat for everyone. IT was the best meat I ever had. Elks are huge animal, so be prepared.

 

[throttletony]

Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Montana, interior WA (and you already mentioned CO) all have awesome spots.
I have a buddy that guides in Northern UT, Kevin Norman, hes also a taxidermist.