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been at it since 76', trying to bust 100, 35 to go
I killed my first bull in 1966. My next elk will be #35. With mostly just me eating them, I'm on the "every other year plan."
Been of age to hunt since 1991, have killed 3 via archery and 7-8 via rifle. I'll catch up to you old farts soon enough.
Originally Posted by ravenr
been at it since 76', trying to bust 100, 35 to go


ravenr:

I went on my first elk hunt in 1978 and have killed 33 elk since then. But I only hunt elk in Colorado.

You must hunt in several states each year to have accumulated 65 kills since 1976.

KC

Since 1982, have not really kept count since then, buts its got to be at least 12, maybe 15 (mostly cows, a few bulls, nothing over 300", and all public land DIY hunts. I'm a meat hunter mostly but I do like to hold bone every now and then. I can't imagine anything that tastes better than a big fat September cow!
I started in 1966 I think +or-. I have killed quite few, but some one here said it was bragging to say how many. So I will just say it's over 40. I hunted NM for 8 years or so,CO since 74 and have been to ALberta once.
Elk is one of many reasons I live in Montana. I have been hunting them since I was old enough to hunt. To date, somewhere near 60, again, living in Montana I have been able to shoot 2 a year for some time now. From nicest to worsest...

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Since 2010. I've gotten 2.
Started hunting elk at age 12 in 1980:

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Shot this AZ bull this November, my 49th elk:

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Never have considered myself much of an elk hunter, but I've always had pretty good luck while hunting them.

Killed my first elk in 1996, I've killed a total of 10 elk, 8 bulls and 2 cows, all in Northwest Colorado (units 12 and 13). All the bulls were raghorns,I did kill one decent 5x5.
I've carried an elk tag 13 years, filling two.

I can honestly say though, that since I started seriously getting after it about six years ago, I could've killed elk every year. Passing on cows every year until I killed my first bull, and a handful of raghorns the last two years.

I love hunting elk, but I'm a little guy and hunt by myself- it better really be worth it when I pull the the trigger.
Started in 1970, have 46 in 41 years, all in Wyoming, about 60 percent bulls because you couldn't kill a cow in the area I hunted for 25 years. Killed three 6 X 7 bulls, numerous raghorns. When you get to be a smart old elk hunter you don't care if you ever backpack another big bull and no longer want to eat old elk so tough you can stand a fork up in the gravy.
I started in 80. Guess I've killed @ 30. Killed a couple of 300 6x6 bulls, got 1 mounted. Now, I'm happy shooting a dry cow--they eat better.
Started following my dad in the early 60's--back when there was a LOT less elk, and elk hunters. Killed my first elk in 1971.....I'm somewhere around 45 now...but I've kinda' lost track.....


Casey

Did that one die in a beaver pond? I had one that did....looked kind've like yours by the time I got him out...... cry

Originally Posted by shrapnel

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Been hunting them since 1976 and I have lost track how many I have killed. BUT, I can say I've never killed one with a .223!
Started in 1989. Two with a bow, about 13 with a rifle, and one with my old toyota pickup truck just outside of Meeker.
Originally Posted by alpinecrick

Did that one die in a beaver pond? I had one that did....looked kind've like yours by the time I got him out...... cry

Originally Posted by shrapnel

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Actually it is the result of about 6 miles behind a 4-wheeler on a muddy trail.
Im 37 years old. I have killed 13 bulls with a bow. Have never shot one with a rifle, unless it was a wounded bull someone else had shot..

Toby Joe
I think I bought my first elk license in 1990, though I'd been hunting in MT since 1980. I've shot one per year since 93, probably around 340 average, (7 with a bow). This coming fall will be my son's first year (he'll be hunting at 11) and I suspect if it's brown - it's down.
Killed my first elk in 1974 a raghorn 5x5 and have killed about 25 to 30 since then. I haven't hunted in the last three years since I move to AZ, but am going to head back to MT this fall and see what happens. Probably about 75% bulls and 25% cows. Some in Idaho, and most in Montana.

Bart
So Shaplnel you never thought that maybe I should backout 6 miles I mean dang both of you lost your head Grin.Kawi
Ok 1979 and 33. I still get goofy every time I see them.

Many years....have taken only a few cows....couple spikes

and 3 mature bulls....have only hunted Utah...

here's probably my last Utah bull....last November...

takes too long to get an LE tag...me on the right....


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I killed my first one in 1961 and I was standing next to my dad when he killed his first one in 1958. I have probably averaged at least two states hunted each year over my lifetime. I have hunted three states each year, for the last 6 years. Ravener and I are very close. "Greenhorn" can I be your son? I need a big bull. Someday I hope.
Well tikkanut if true what away to go out!
Hunted elk 38 years, got 49 so far.
I killed one once. laugh

This one was pretty good.
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This one was bigger.
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This one was smaller

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Kinda lost count if the truth would be known. I do seem to keep a few freezers full of high quality elk meat.
Didn't keep good track between 1982 when I started and 2000. Since then I've filled 9 elk tags with rifles chambered in 7mm RM, .30-06, .300WM, .338WM and .45-70.

For me its never been all about numbers, though, and I've passed on quite a few easy, legal shots - including the two biggest bulls I ever lined up the sights on. Sometimes just being able to get out in elk country has been enough.
Killed the first one in 67. Something in excess of 40 since then.
First one in 1960. No idea how many. Numbers don't matter to me.
Originally Posted by Mauser_Hunter
First one in 1960. No idea how many. Numbers don't matter to me.


Did you leave the antlers in a tree? grin
Started hunting Colorado in 1965 with my dad�..14 years before, moving here. I killed my first elk and mule deer that same year�I was 16. Dad always said you never ask a man how many cattle he has or how many acres he owns. I guess I would add how many animals he has killed to that�.�plus I never attempted to count.
Originally Posted by huntsonora
Originally Posted by Mauser_Hunter
First one in 1960. No idea how many. Numbers don't matter to me.


Did you leave the antlers in a tree? grin


Aren't they on your wall? smile
Originally Posted by Mauser_Hunter
Originally Posted by huntsonora
Originally Posted by Mauser_Hunter
First one in 1960. No idea how many. Numbers don't matter to me.


Did you leave the antlers in a tree? grin


Aren't they on your wall? smile


Nope! Must still be in a tree
You're confused. I don't use trees.
Do the math on Elk antlers and money in your pocket to pay for things..At $10-15 a pound for antlers, sometimes higher, and say just a 30lb rack.Do the math.

Back in the 60-70's we sold Elk Ivories for $25 a pop.Now there a great bargaining/trading chip and I have seen them go for $100 each...If 'ya know the right source.

Jayco
logcutter
you know the right source?
i got a bag of them.....

KC
i been pretty serious about it
utah,colo,n.mex. and x2 a yr here in wyo
for the past 10 or so years.
nothin like letting the air out of a tan-side
If I could find another $100 offer,I would get rid of some I have..$30 bucks is all I have seen this last year....

Or you run into a complete idiot like my old boss did and sold his Whitetail(small non-typical) for $300 right out of his truck-bed in a bars parking lot after we stopped for a cold one on the way home.



Jayco
Looks like i've left a lot of money on the ground. Not bothered too much though. I hunt for pleasure and meat. More than enough pay back for me.
Originally Posted by huntsonora
Did you leave the antlers in a tree? grin

My first bull was a 5x5 that I shot hunting north of Craig, CO with my college roommates who were from there. Back then (1966) many locals didn't care about antlers and either left them in the woods or threw them in the dump with the hide and bones.

I wanted to take my bull's antlers back to Fort Collins and hang them in my room, but my roommate wouldn't let me put "those stinky horns" in his car for our trip back to school. I finally got my antlers a couple of months later when my roommate's parents drove their pickup over to visit him. Those antlers (and a bunch more) are still hanging over a truss in my garage.
3 years hunted.....2 elk killed
That a lot of dead elk. You guys should stop and leave them for me...
I started hunting in the late 70's. I dont know for sure how many I have killed. A few dry years and a few years with two, most years one. I have only hunted in MT.
I would like to know where the guy hunts in MT where he has shot one every year since 93 and they average 340. I must be doing something wrong...
Been hunting elk for about 45 years; off and on. Several years I didn't hunt them, but would guess I've killed a couple of dozen. Mostly cows, best bull was around 330.
You guys who live in Montana and Wyoming and hunt elk every year make me envious, and then I remember why I've never seen a palm tree growing in your states.

I shot my first elk, my best-ever 6x6 bull, as a college student in 1955. I've never tried to count the others until now, but I think I shot eight bulls and two cows since then here in Arizona, plus three more bulls in Colorado, New Mexico, and Mongolia.

Of those twelve bulls, two were spikes and the others were 6x6s of various sizes. All except the New Mexico and Mongolia bulls were self-guided.

I shot my last elk, a cow, one month before my 75th birthday a few miles from our cabin last August. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll draw another tag while I'm still able to hunt, but I realize the odds are against me.

Bill Quimby
Originally Posted by billrquimby
You guys who live in Montana and Wyoming and hunt elk every year make me envious, and then I remember why I've never seen a palm tree growing in your states.

I shot my first elk, my best-ever 6x6 bull, as a college student in 1955. I've never tried to count the others until now, but I think I shot eight bulls and two cows since then here in Arizona, plus three more bulls in Colorado, New Mexico, and Mongolia.

Of those twelve bulls, two were spikes and the others were 6x6s of various sizes. All except the New Mexico and Mongolia bulls were self-guided hunts on public land.

I shot my last elk, a cow, one month before my 75th birthday twenty minutes from our cabin last year. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll draw another tag while I'm still able to hunt, but I realize the odds are against me.

Bill Quimby
Palm tress are overrated.
Probably. But I share their intolerance for snow and freezing temperatures.

Bill Quimby
My first trip was in 1999, I've made 4 trips to CO and killed 2 cows and one small bull, self guided. Had 2 muzzleloader guided hunts for NM cows and filled both of those tags.

Love that elk country, but it does not love me.

KC
Palm trees are overrated. Hot weather sucks, not good for elk hunting

They really don't proved much shade or cover anyway!!!
"Hot weather sucks, not good for elk hunting..."

You're absolutely correct about heat. But cold is no fun, either. That's why we like Arizona. We spend May through through October at 9,000 feet elevation in our White Mountains, and November through April in Tucson. There are elk in our yard part of the year, and javelinas provide company the rest of it.

Bill Quimby

It's hard to believe 9000ft can help Arizona heat. I hang out here at 12,000 ft in the summer, and it's still hot.
Depends upon what you call hot. It can get above 80 in our little village, but it happens only rarely.

Most summer highs are 65-75 degrees, and it can be cooler when a low rolls through. I've seen snowflakes briefly up there in June and August.

Meanwhile, down here in Tucson, these are the highs/lows forecast for the next six days: 73/44; 70/44; 72/40; 77/47; 79/49/ 79/49.

Bill Quimby
I have hunted elk twice, and scored once on a 5X5. I'm putting in this year again, hopefully I'll draw.
Since 1980...24 elk last count.
Been hunting elk since 2005 (all diy, public), have shot 7 bulls (four 6x's, 2 5x's and one 4x4) and two cows. keep getting the cow tags but don't try too hard once I get a bull down, usually try and help others get their elk...I didn't know crap aboout elk hunting when I started but I had determination and hard work on my side.
Been elk huntin since 1999. Killed my first one in 2001 I believe. Was a calf but I was happy. Since then, I have killed 5 more. 1 calf, 1 bull with my bow, two bulls with a rifle, and a cow with a rifle. I like racks as much as the next guy but when it comes to elk huntin, I dont hold out for a big one like I do huntin deer. An elk is an elk to me.
Originally Posted by billrquimby
Depends upon what you call hot. It can get above 80 in our little village, but it happens only rarely.

Most summer highs are 65-75 degrees, and it can be cooler when a low rolls through. I've seen snowflakes briefly up there in June and August.

Meanwhile, down here in Tucson, these are the highs/lows forecast for the next six days: 73/44; 70/44; 72/40; 77/47; 79/49/ 79/49.

Bill Quimby


Yeah, we all have our own thermostat built into us. Mine is set pretty low. Your present winter temps are too hot for me.

I live here at 8000ft. In the summer it gets in the 80's. That's why i'm always up at 12,000ft to get away from it.

Give me a blizzard, and i'm a happy camper. smile
"Give me a blizzard, and i'm a happy camper."

I hereby bequeath all future Arizona blizzards to you, Mauser hunter. Enjoy.

Bill Quimby
Cool beans!
I'm a relative newcomer to elk hunting, having resided most of my life outside elk country.

14 years elk hunting, 14 elk killed.

Been in on others killing of at least as many.

Were I limited to one animal only to hunt the rest of my life, it would undoubtedly be elk.
Mauser Hunter can also have the Northern NM / Southwestern Colorado San Juan blizzards like the minor one going on right now.
Mauser Hunter, I'll share those blizzards with you. I am a dedicated skier in the winter months. I spent 18 years living above 8000'. Summers are beautiful, and so is all that snow. Just wish we were getting our fair share of it this year.
I've had some pretty outstanding elk hunts in snowy, and even blizzard conditions. Snuck right up on a lot of elk in heavy snow storms.
I had a peanut butter jar full of ivory's and met a young man (fellow elk hunter) in Az last summer while on a fire. His wife made traditional native american clothing. I sent them to him when I got home. Now some one can really appreciate them.
While there (AZ) it never got above 90, went to Texas two weeks later never got below 90 and highest was 114. I hate hot weather.
Have only been to Colorado twice: 2010, 2011, Have not killed an elk yet. But, will be back at it again in 233 days !

Have discovered that I like the hiking / adventuring / exploring as much as I like the hunting. Meat in the freezer is good. (Mule deer doe last year) A wall hanger would just be icing on the cake...
I've only hunted elk for 2 years and I have shot 2 cow elk. One in Colorado near Pagosa Springs and one in Arizona near Show Low. Very good eating. Much better than the Texas whitetails I used to hunt.
Bought my first elk tag in '70, killed 1st elk in '72. 1 bull in the 360+ class. Way more than I deserve.
Cheers
I've hunted elk for myself 3 years now. First year I got a cow elk in wyoming. Second year I got a spike on Utah's spike hunt. Third year (last fall) I got a smallish 5x5 bull on the Utah any bull hunt.

I've been pretty lucky, especially the last two hunts. Both of those hunts I wasn't even really expecting to even see elk.
I've hunted elk since bout 1965 and have taken 45 so far. My last one was a 6x5 the one before a 7x7 (scored 356 ). Most of my elk have been smallish 6pointers or 5 point raghorns and a few cows throwed in. I hunt mostly on private land open to anyone for the askin. Use horses a lot to get further back, and once I find 'em, I never give up. Have used everything from a 6mm Rem to a .45-70. Like the .308 or the .30-06 best. I shot my 356 with a 7x57 Mauser. That being said I'd much rather hunt big muley bucks.
Hunting 25 years harvesting 23 or so odd elk. Some private land, some public. Some came out in pieces some came out hole.

Farthest shot lazered at 305, with a 338 win. Closest 33 feet with a 338 win. 75% of elk killed with the 280 rem 25% with 338 win and one with a 300 win.

Generally first legal animal got whacked, rarely held out for something "bigger".

Assorted cows, spikes, biggest bull a 5x5 horn wize. Packed out 278 lbs. of boned-out meat from a different 5x5. I hunt first to fill the freezer then second for sport and thoroughly enjoy doing both.

Did not kill one last season, breaking a 17 year kill run.

Looking forward to killing one with the new 7mm rem mag this fall grin

Elk hunting, its the best.
My wife says we've been married at least 2,000 years ( is that a compliment? ) so if I use the same method Idaho Fish and Game uses to estimate Elk populations in units --I've probably taken 20,000 elk!!!
Started in 1977, first one in 1980, 29 total to date.
21 bulls, 8 cows. MT and WY, hunted some in Idaho without success.
I, like Brad, am a relative newcomer to hunting elk as I had to get through college to be able to afford it! 18 elk in 22 hunts for me.
Pretty hot lately. Where's those blizzards you guys were going to send me?
We had snow all day today! Sorry if you didn't get any! wink
Two
Held three tags, taken two elk. Since 1986 ...

Every year for the last 30 years we have had snow in camp. Every year we have had snow those who wanted to filled all their tags did so. Some years we have bull tags, some years we have a bull and a cow tag, some years we have either sex tags, and some of the years we have had a mixture of all tag types. We hunt high travel corridors between fall and winter ranges. Four of us have killed 120+ elk, more cows than bulls.
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