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Joined: Mar 2013
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A friend and I are just starting to get our Elk hunting trip planned. We both have small children (I have one with severe medical complications) so this could very well be a once in a lifetime bull hunt. Therefore, we want to give ourselves the best possible chance for success.
To help with that success (I hope), we're looking at fully guided hunts. At the moment we're thinking either Idaho or Wyoming but are open to suggestions. Any recommendations?
What time of year is generally best? We will be rifle hunting so, from what I've read so far, we have a few weeks to choose from. Are we better off going earlier in the season or later? Does it really matter?
What about the rifle/load itself? We'd like to stick to a factory load just to keep it simple. We're open to pretty much any caliber at this moment. Rifles that we own however include; .270WSM, .300WSM, & .338Win Mag. It would be nice to stick with something that we already own. Thoughts?
Optics? Ideal zoom/fixed scope? I was thinking a 2-12x50 Swarovski Z6 would ideal but, I hunt deer in the Midwest, what do I know?
Thanks in advance for any pointers. At the moment we're considering a hunt in either 2015 or 2016 so it would be nice to get our ducks in a row sooner rather than later.
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Joined: Dec 2012
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R,
What kind of elk will make you happy and are you willing to spend $10k-ish on a landowner bull tag in order to bag a nice 6 x 6?
It's not necessary to hire an outfitter to whack a nice bull in Utah or Nevada or Colorado.........if ya got the bank account.
Confucius say: He who angers you.......controls you.
My Lifestance is one of Secular Humanism.
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Joined: Mar 2008
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Campfire Tracker
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Guided once in a lifetime? Utah CWMU or L/O tag during the rut. Bring your checkbook.
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Joined: Oct 2008
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Campfire Outfitter
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Hunting early to mid-October in the Rockies is a good time. Pick any one of those rifles and factory ammo. I always hear about elk hunting being so expensive. However, now that I have the basic camping gear, it costs me an airline ticket (I always use miles so that is essentially free), a license, and a way to get to the national forest. Learning where to go is the hard part. For me, I struck out at the first place (2 years), moved to another area, found elk but was using a bow which makes things harder, then finally switched to rifle and have got elk opening day the last two years. If you really are doing this as a one time deal, I'd definitely get a guide. There is no substitute for local knowledge.
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Joined: Jul 2013
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Guided once in a lifetime? Utah CWMU or L/O tag during the rut. Bring your checkbook. This.
I belong on eroding granite, among the pines.
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Joined: Dec 2003
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Once in a lifetime hunt? I'd go British Columbia, for the awesome wild country up there. Go during the rut because if you have never seen a wild Rocky Mountain fall and listened to it being shredded with the sound of elk bugleing, you have never lived. In BC, you'd likely see a wide variety of animals and be hunting wilder, less pressured country.
I live in Montana and wouldn't give a dman if I never hunted elk here any more.
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Joined: Mar 2013
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OP
New Member
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R,
What kind of elk will make you happy We'd both like something that we'd be proud to hang our wall. Here in MN, it probably wouldn't take a big 6x6 to look good on the wall but a bull of that caliber would be ideal. and are you willing to spend $10k-ish on a landowner bull tag in order to bag a nice 6 x 6? $10k on the tag itself or the entire trip? Between the 2 of us, we've budgeted a TOTAL of $25k for the trip so far. This amount does not include gear however. We have the vast majority of the gear that we should need (especially if we go on a guided hunt) and are both FFL-holders which makes the remainder of the gear significantly less expensive. If we need more, I'm sure that we can scrounge up a few more bucks. At this point we plan on driving to our destination as well. We'd rather buy diesel fuel than jet fuel. LOL It's not necessary to hire an outfitter to whack a nice bull in Utah or Nevada or Colorado.........if ya got the bank account. That's somewhat comforting, on the other hand, that's concerning.
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R, Don't worry about your gear as you're completely adequate. The issue is........instead of paying a crooked outfitter to whack a small bull (maybe)...........are you willing to pay more to whack a nice one and do everything yourself? You can after purchasing the tag......if you've got some big game hunting experience. What is your hunting background and have you found and whacked eastern whitetails yourself and have you ever hunted out west? Would a bull like this one fit yer pistol? ![[Linked Image]](http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r489/Chris_Darnell1/2004UtahBull1_zps11fe0a51.jpg)
Confucius say: He who angers you.......controls you.
My Lifestance is one of Secular Humanism.
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Joined: Feb 2013
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25K???!!!!
what kind of hunt do you want? I know of people that have paid tresspass fees, gone out and picked the bull they wanted from the truck out of a herd of over a thousand, shot the bull.
The farmer then drove out in his tractor, lifted it up and gutted it for him, than threw it in his truck and he was done by the first night with little work......
He just paid by the estamated green score. 10K will get you a pretty nice bull that way but to me thats not a hunt or even a harvest.
I would think that for 6-7K you could get a decent hunt with good odds of harvesting a bull that might fill your criteria. My grandfather went on a self guided hunt in Utah for his 55 birthday. He couldn't walk very far by that time and still shot a 330 5X5 and he was very happy. That cost him 5K back 8 years ago.
That encluded help quartering it and getting it out. Again he paid by gross green score.
Last edited by twintips16; 11/03/13.
life, liberty, and the pursuit of all who THREATEN it!!!!
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,973
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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A friend and I are just starting to get our Elk hunting trip planned. We both have small children (I have one with severe medical complications) so this could very well be a once in a lifetime bull hunt. Therefore, we want to give ourselves the best possible chance for success.
To help with that success (I hope), we're looking at fully guided hunts. At the moment we're thinking either Idaho or Wyoming but are open to suggestions. Any recommendations?
What time of year is generally best? We will be rifle hunting so, from what I've read so far, we have a few weeks to choose from. Are we better off going earlier in the season or later? Does it really matter?
What about the rifle/load itself? We'd like to stick to a factory load just to keep it simple. We're open to pretty much any caliber at this moment. Rifles that we own however include; .270WSM, .300WSM, & .338Win Mag. It would be nice to stick with something that we already own. Thoughts?
Optics? Ideal zoom/fixed scope? I was thinking a 2-12x50 Swarovski Z6 would ideal but, I hunt deer in the Midwest, what do I know?
Thanks in advance for any pointers. At the moment we're considering a hunt in either 2015 or 2016 so it would be nice to get our ducks in a row sooner rather than later. What your budget can withstand is going to be the determining factor, rather than a location and/or the odds of success. If it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing and if you can not afford a premium hunt and if you don't have time to wait for a premier tag which offers the best chance for success and the most optimum trophy quality by sheer numbers of over-size bulls, then you should probably stick with the so-called "cheaper to hunt" elk states like Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. Though, you might look into extreme northern British Columbia, instead. The price of a northern British Columbia hunt is going to be a little higher than the average price of a Northern Rocky Mountain Divide Ecosystem hunt in the Lower-48, but it's a better hunt (overall).
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Joined: Dec 2001
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Joined: Dec 2001
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I wouldn't overlook NM either! You could even draw one of the premier tags but can buy a LO tag. 25 K I wish I had that to spend but would be on a NF or Manitoba Slam.
Good Shooting!
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 16
New Member
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OP
New Member
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 16 |
R,
Don't worry about your gear as you're completely adequate. That's great! One less thing to be concerned about. The issue is........instead of paying a crooked outfitter to whack a small bull (maybe)...........are you willing to pay more to whack a nice one and do everything yourself? Absolutely. Neither of us are afraid of hard work. The concern that we both have is inexperience when it comes to elk hunting. You can after purchasing the tag......if you've got some big game hunting experience.
What is your hunting background and have you found and whacked eastern whitetails yourself and have you ever hunted out west? Big game hunting background is exclusively whitetails. I have hunted whitetails across southern MN (mainly SE MN in "bluff country"), northern WI, Ontario, and Wyoming. My buddy had hunted whitetails in northern MN and central WI. Neither of us have ever hunted elk. Would a bull like this one fit yer pistol? Absolutely! If we came home with a pair of bulls in that class, we'd both be thrilled.
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 16
New Member
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OP
New Member
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 16 |
25K???!!!!
what kind of hunt do you want? I know of people that have paid tresspass fees, gone out and picked the bull they wanted from the truck out of a herd of over a thousand, shot the bull.
The farmer then drove out in his tractor, lifted it up and gutted it for him, than threw it in his truck and he was done by the first night with little work......
He just paid by the estamated green score. 10K will get you a pretty nice bull that way but to me thats not a hunt or even a harvest.
I would think that for 6-7K you could get a decent hunt with good odds of harvesting a bull that might fill your criteria. My grandfather went on a self guided hunt in Utah for his 55 birthday. He couldn't walk very far by that time and still shot a 330 5X5 and he was very happy. That cost him 5K back 8 years ago.
That encluded help quartering it and getting it out. Again he paid by gross green score. Neither of us want to "shoot fish in a barrel". We'd like to have a very high probability to shoot a bull but we don't want to pull up in the truck, get out, pick our bull and whack it either. What is this "trespass fee" that I've heard about? What about an LO tag?
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,911
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,911 |
If you would be happy with a 320'ish bull I would start buying tickets for the Valle Caldera. It would be much cheaper and would be a hunt you would never forget.
ETA; wasn't thinking, it might be tough to pull that off with two hunters.
Last edited by SLM; 11/03/13.
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,973
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,973 |
25K???!!!!
what kind of hunt do you want? I know of people that have paid tresspass fees, gone out and picked the bull they wanted from the truck out of a herd of over a thousand, shot the bull.
The farmer then drove out in his tractor, lifted it up and gutted it for him, than threw it in his truck and he was done by the first night with little work......
He just paid by the estamated green score. 10K will get you a pretty nice bull that way but to me thats not a hunt or even a harvest.
I would think that for 6-7K you could get a decent hunt with good odds of harvesting a bull that might fill your criteria. My grandfather went on a self guided hunt in Utah for his 55 birthday. He couldn't walk very far by that time and still shot a 330 5X5 and he was very happy. That cost him 5K back 8 years ago.
That encluded help quartering it and getting it out. Again he paid by gross green score. Neither of us want to "shoot fish in a barrel". We'd like to have a very high probability to shoot a bull but we don't want to pull up in the truck, get out, pick our bull and whack it either. What is this "trespass fee" that I've heard about? What about an LO tag? "Trespass Fee": The fee paid to a land manager or land owner which would then allow a person the ability to access and use said land. "LO (Land Owner) Tag": Special tags that are not in aggregate with state managed tags and that are afforded to land owners who then distribute said tags to whomever they wish and usually for a fee and/or a contractual agreement of some sort. There are all sorts of opportunities in virtually all western states whereas a persona can gain access to private land and thereby hunt elk. Since you've allocated a huge bundle of cash toward your endeavor, you're able to afford some of the premium private land opportunities in the West. A budget of $12,500.00 per person - specifically designated for elk - can buy a hell of a hunt.
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 22,902
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 22,902 |
we don't want to pull up in the truck, get out, pick our bull and whack it either. I don't blame you for not wanting to do the 'get out' step, either.....
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,067
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,067 |
I'd 2nd Royce's advice of British Columbia, but I'd
opt for Alberta.
The elk are bigger in body up there and there are 5 and 6x Areas in that is all you are permitted to kill.They have a lot better programs of awarding hunters tags if an outfitter's contract is turned in with it.
In the lower 48's at least, a better bull, at least for a once in a life time hunt, is only going to happen on private land. On public land ,you are looking at years to accumulate enough points or incurring "a maybe" bigger bull success.
If you are looking for that $25K complete budget, then you could probably go Vermijo Ranch in NM.
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,911
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,911 |
we don't want to pull up in the truck, get out, pick our bull and whack it either. I don't blame you for not wanting to do the 'get out' step, either..... +1
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 189
Campfire Member
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Jicarilla Indian reservation in northern New Mexico. Amazing bulls within your budget.
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Joined: Jun 2001
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2001
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Problem with Jicarilla is the guides can be good or bad. It's crap shoot from what others have told me. No first hand experience though. I use to hunt it in the early 60's
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
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