Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting What is YOUR success rate?

3/0- this year will be my fourth and most likely last try...

I have hunted elk primarily since about 1966.First ten years was dismal until I found out how to do it. Since then I hover around 95% , actually 100% the last 15 years at least. Probably zero this year.

I have about 44-45 elk kills of my own all DYI except one in Alberta where a guide was required. These were both bulls and cows. Some of those were two elk/year when allowed and one year three here in Colorado. I have only hunted in NM when I lived there except for one year I got a landowner voucher for nothing after moving to Colorado.

At 70, I'm hanging it up this year. Probably be only deer and prong horn on the flat lands from now on. You younger guys can carry on the tradition.

Bold statement Vince... after the ribs heal hopefully you'll re-evaluate.

9/10 in 5 years. 5 bulls 4 cows. colorado, public land, do it ourselves. i hunt with one partner and he is 10/10 5 bulls and 5 cows.
so overall we are 19/20 in 5 years for the two of us combined.
Yes its a honey hole. NO, nothing is big, all raghorns. We have had a couple glimpses of decent bulls on private ground but nothing we could shoot at.
Yes, we are going back.
Neither of us had hunted elk prior to our first trip in 2008.

1/6. Very steep learning curve. All public land DIY. In my limited experience, the first season in a new area, with no opportunity scout, is a big learning experience.
2012: Rifle same area, 6x6
2011: Archery, same area, saw elk, 70-80 yds, no archery shot
2010: Recalled to active duty
2009: Broken collarbone
2008: Archery, same area, saw elk, no shots
2007: Archery, New area. saw elk, no shots. Oh soooo close.
2006: Rifle. Tried new area. Saw no elk
2005: Rifle. Saw no elk

Archery = zero shots, zero kills, sooooo zero percent.

Rifle = it took seven years for my first elk! Since then I kill an elk about every other year.

A lot of guys have talked about not being very successful the first few years, and then having pretty good success once they got dialed in. I would guess that the success in the later years has as much (if not more) to do with finding the right places to hunt as it does in how you hunt.

1000% Best thing to help the odds is to hunt where there's elk.

About 50% during years that I am able to hunt. This includes a mix of cows and bulls.

2bulls 4 trips. Fifth trip in 3 weeks.

Forty-nine elk in 44 years hunting WY, number 49 dead Oct. 2, number 50 mid-October, I hope.