EXPERIENCED ELK HUNTERS...We need your help!!!

[Mike Vines]

We, Silvertip Mark and I, are in the bigining stages of planning a 2012 elk hunt (2011 is already booked up) and are wondering what State, and where in that state you all would recommend 2 rookie elk hunters to go to have their highest chance at an opportunity.  We understand that opportunity and success are measured differently and rightfully so.

  We both have read "The Elk Thread" from a couple years ago, and yes it is chocked full of info, but we would like more than one experienced hunters opinion.  

  Like I said, we are just planning (and yes we are going) and don't know if we want to do a DIY, drop camp or a fully guided hunt.  Neither one of us would turn down a shot at a cow elk, or a spike horn for that matter, so trophy elk aren't on either one of our lists, but not to say we wouldn't take a chance at one.

  We are just 2 working class guys who met thru TradGang, and want to go elk hunting before we are to old to say "I wish I would have done that when I was younger".

  Any, and all, information you may be willing to share with us is greatly appreciated.

Mike

[steadman]

Lots of different options for ya Mike. If you are interested in a cow/spike hunt in UT it's ots and pretty cheap right now. Prices are always subject to change. If they move the elk hunt into more of Sept it could be a real good thing. Lots of places to hunt in CO as well, with chances at bigger bulls. PM me if needed. Good luck and have fun!

[Whip]

Boy, that's going to be tough without narrowing things down a bit.  I haven't hunted there, but from what I have heard steadman's suggestion of UT for cow/spike is a good one. Virtually all of the well known elk states have some great hunting in parts of the state.  But there is no state that is great all over.  

For your best chance of success, without any previous experience, guided is probably going to up your odds.  But personally I prefer DIY.  Just takes a lot more planning, more time, some experience, and a bunch of luck.  But the rewards are tremendous!

Drop camp can be a good option.  IF you have a good outfitter that drops you into a good area.  There are many that do drop camps on the side and have guided hunters as well.  You can guess who gets taken to the best spots with many of them.  Once you are dropped in an area you are generally on your own, and if the animals are not there it could be a long trip.  

Elk are wanderers, and what all looks like similar country to you will be loaded with elk in some spots and devoid of them in much of the rest. There is a real benefit to being able to change gears and try new spots until you find animals.

[Cane Knife]

I'm going to Idaho with a High school bud who lives there. We're going to just wing it (DIY) and hopefully we learn something.  I bought most everything from ElkNut and have been watching and practicing daily.  I'm counting on beginners luck but just happy to get out there.  If I hear a bugle or see one, my hunt is made as far as I'm concerned. Good luck!

[IdahoCurt]

What part of Idaho are you hunting Cane knife?

[rdoggsilva]

I usually hunt around Strawberry Reservoir in the northeast part of Utah. Have had good luck there.No matter where you go in the inter mountain west is usually good.

[Cane Knife]

Don't really know, my bud hasn't told me yet.

[3Bears]

I have been chasin elk for over 20 years and the game has changed alot.Over the counter sucess hunts are getting harder to come by.If I were you and your buddies I would start buying bonus points for Wyoming and in 3 to 4 years you can have a good shot at a good tag in the Bighorns.(But until I drew a good unit I would still over the counter to get experince and maybe with hard work and luck you could fill the freezer.

[John Scifres]

Western CO Wilderness Areas.  Go to the CO DNR website and spend lots of time learning the permit system.  It is all right there.  Find a couple GMUs that are an easy draw and make sure and get your apps in on time.

Then use Google earth and find north facing slopes 1+ miles from a trailhead, preferably with difficult access, like a river crossing or a hard pack over a mountain pass.  Then spend the next several months getting in shape and taking lots of practice trips.  Get your pack under 40 pounds.  Then hunt like heck when you get there.  Spend 2 days at between 5K and 8K feet to get acclimated.  Run around the mountains until you actually see elk and then hunt them.  They are not whitetails.

[Bowwild]

I have hunted elk 3 times all DIY but once with a group of fellow's who had it figured out quite well so I'd count that one as a free outfitted hunt.  I've hunted Bighorn mountains in WY and Colorado.

I've killed lots of whitetail, mulies, black bear, turkey...I'm 0 for 3 on elk. I've never even taken a shot. I can tell you some things not to do but I wouldn't even take my advice on how to tag one of the beasts!

Frustrated....yep.

[Andy White]

If you choose CO, I would stay in the western part of the state.  Lots of animals in the south-western units.  I would also consider UT for a cow & spike tag.  WY would round out my top three picks.

[montucky]

I'm a wildlife biologist and have worked for the F&G in Utah & MOntana and worked for other agencies in idaho and wyoming.  I have hunted all over utah, montana, and western wyoming and eastern idaho and taken elk in all those states.
My two cents:
If you dont care that much about trophy bulls, then I would stay out of utah.  Certain southern utah areas are tremendous limited entry hunts but the rest of the state is touch and go and you will often find a lot of hunters in the woods even in archery season.  My philosophy is this...if you can hunt an area for cows or deer with a darn good chance of later drawing a bull tag in that area with great bulls, then you are making an investment in the future by hunting a cow there and learning the area that has limitless potential, vs. hunting for example a utah cow area that you may never draw a bull tag on or that unit may never produce many mature bulls.
Idaho is good in various areas but in my opinion the best areas are harder to access cold turkey without spending lots of time and scouting and tend to be in the panhandle...my idaho buddies just dont do as well on elk as my wyoming buddies.

Montana's best elk hunting is in the southwest part of the state, but if it were me, I would put in for the Wyoming non-res draw (antelope also!), then buy over the counter cow tags to get your feet wet the first year if you don't draw out on an ANY elk tag.  There are lots of cow tags availabe in numerous western wyoming units (units numbering 80's through the 90's among others).  Most of those units are way above management objectives. You will be able to buy the cow tag for 288 over the counter when they come available.  Call the F&G biologists in that region. Plan on hiking a lot and making high elevation spike camps to find the elk.  Elk in that area usually go up in elevation during september/october so prep for that sort of excersise, and dont take it lightly...build your conditioning ...its much easier to get up there and stay there for the hunt.  For guys used to W/T hunting, one of the best strategies is to still-hunt dark timber in the mid-day.  Elk will often filter to the top quarter of a timbered ridge - so they can bed and settle in and get wind or sight of things above them backlit against open sky at top of ridge.  With good wind an experienced w/t hunter can feel at home hunting elk like this.  DOnt overcall, use cow call most and occassional week bugle if your going for bull or spike. Wyoming is the place and you will undoubetbly see/hear wolves and bears oh my!.  I took a buddy from Northern maine to wyoming last fall and he killed his first elk, a 5x5 the first hour of opening day, we never saw another hunter for the whole 5 day hunt there, but saw wolves, bears, cougars, and huge muleys as well as elk.  The wyoming elk hunting experience is in my opinion the best true wilderness hunts, outside of maybe the bob marshall wilderness in mt.

[montucky]

Oh I forgot to mention...the key for a DIY elk hunt is to locate zones with no road or trail access and bust you hump to it.  Elk are very sensitive to human disturbance and herds will go to areas that tend to be the geometrically furthest from traffic.

[highcountry]

Arizona!      

[PAPA BEAR]

the biggest hurdle you face is finding elk that are not call wise.most elk these days get called so much they tend to hang up just out of range and if they see no elk they turn and beat a hasty retreat.you need to perfect your calling,elk make a wide variety of calls and each one has a different meaning.for example..if you can perfect a lost cow tone you will have elk talking to you saying' hey''we're over here'..and so forth..so calling correctly is vital.as far as drop camps go do not and i repeat.DO NOT go where the outfitter wants to put you.he will put you in a spot that does not interfere with his fully guided clients,trust me on this one.i was a guide and experienced this first hand several times.nothing quite as frustrating as trying to explain to non guided hunters why they are not seeing elk when the guided hunters are getting tons of action.not all outfitters are this way but are you willing to risk it? a fully guided hunt greatly increases your odds of seeing elk but still is no guarantee you will tag one.i have witnessed and heard some pretty sad stories of outfitters not hiring real guides to guide hunters.the ace in the hole they have is the fact that there is no guarantees when it comes to filling your tag.you need to figure out what type of terrain you are capable of hunting.if you want easy hunting with no steep climbing i can steer you to a couple areas in eastern oregon.very easy hunting with zero chance of getting lost as you are surrounded by roads.the hunting is good.otc license/tag.one area is walk in only as the roads are closed to all motorized vehicles.it really boils down to what type of hunt you can handle physically and monetarily.pm me if you want more advice on calling/location etc.

[legends1]

I have also hunted the Strawberry reservoir area in Utah few years back.Had a cow or spike tag.Shot a spike on that trip.Saw alot of elk and elk sign almost every area i hunted there.Found a small water hole and put up a stand.shot that spike out of the stand.Saw some nice bulls but its a draw trophy area.Also hunted around Chales Ideho,problem with some areas of Ideho are the wolves.You may keep that in mind when checking a area.I spend my hunting season now in Oregon.Lots of good hunting on public ground.I have had friends who have done very well in Co.Good luck with your hunt.You can call the game rangers in each state.I have found them helpful.

[huntsfairchase]

John hit the nail on the head if you ask me. We did something similar almost 20 years ago, and have several good bulls to show for it. Colorado wilderness areas can be hard to beat. We picked one, learned it, ad stuck with it. Now every year we can give ourselves an honest chance to shoot good bulls because we kn

[huntsfairchase]

Oops...
Because we know the area and the habits of animals there. Best of luck whatever you choose!!! Can't beat elk hunting.

[PAPA BEAR]

yes indeed..wilderness hunts are the best way to go for sure.like stated,find an area and stick with it.once you learn the basic routes the elk use to travel within thier range you'll be in like flynn.          

[Mike Vines]

Thank you all for all the advice.  Like I said, we are just in the planning stage, and all of this advice is very critical to our final decision.  I told my wife about it, and here only response was "How much $ is it going to cost"?  I BSed my way thru that one without dropping a number on her, but eventually I'm going to have to let her in on this bit of info, so hopefully I will be so far into it, she won't have a leg to stand on when it comes to pouring the guilt trip on me.  One day, she's going to learn it doesn't work.

  Thank you for all your time helping us find our destination, and any and all info you care to share is greatly appreciated.

Mike