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.

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.

Guided once in a lifetime? Utah CWMU or L/O tag during the rut. Bring your checkbook.

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.

This.

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.

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.



$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



That's somewhat comforting, on the other hand, that's concerning.

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?

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.

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).

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.

That's great! One less thing to be concerned about.



Absolutely. Neither of us are afraid of hard work. The concern that we both have is inexperience when it comes to elk hunting.



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.



Absolutely! If we came home with a pair of bulls in that class, we'd both be thrilled.

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?

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.

"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.

I don't blame you for not wanting to do the 'get out' step, either.....

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.

+1

Jicarilla Indian reservation in northern New Mexico. Amazing bulls within your budget.

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

Horse lake has some great bulls if your into high fence hunts. IMO a person could do much better than a Jic' elk hunt.

Now deer hunts I'm all in.

Contact Cameron or Lonnie Mayo at Absaroka Beartooth Outfitters, Big Timber MT. They could help you with a horse pack hunt east of Bozeman MT.

You can buy a big elk. You can buy a classic elk hunt. But the former is never guaranteed on the latter.

I'm one who votes for northern British Columbia. They have a minimum 6-point law (at least 6 on one antler) so more bulls live to be at least somewhat mature. The rifle season starts September 1st and runs through the rut, so you'll be hunting bugling elk in some of the most beautiful country in North America, and it's normally a horseback hunt, which is the best way to see real wilderness.

Apparently you're willing to consider all sorts of options. One is Prophet-Muskwa outfitters, which offers 7- or 10-day hunts in your budget range, and there are options to add other animals, such as moose (there are a lot of them), mountain goat, black bear, etc. The tags are over-the-counter so there's no draw to deal with.

Ditto BC.

For me, were I wanting a paid elk hunt, it'd be a dyed-in-the-wool Northern Rockies horse-pack hunt in pristine wilderness.

The hell with Boone and Crockett.

The hiss of the gas lantern, smell of campfire, horses feeding near camp,
Bells tinkling in the night, bulls bugling on the mountains......

The how is just as important as the how big....

As a BC resident who has hunted the Prophet-Muskwa area a few times, I can concur with Brad and John. The experience alone is second-to-none. To ride through pristine valleys, seeing elk on the hillsides, Stone Sheep on the slopes above them, and moose in the lower reaches (and the occasional grizzly) is an experience you'll never forget. Add to that the ability to hunt truly wild elk during the rut (first few weeks of Sept.), and you're in heaven. The success ratio for 6x6 bulls and better is probably in the 90% range, so you're not likely to come home empty-handed.

The only caveat is that if you want to bring the meat home, I'd suggest driving up, as many of the airlines now won't take the meat. Bring some coolers in the back of your truck, or in a utility trailer. They'll cut and pack the meat for you, and you can buy some dry ice in Fort Nelson for the trip home. The meat will stay frozen for 4 days, easily. As someone earlier said, you already have the equipment.

I guarantee that, for the rest of your life, you'll fall asleep at home, reliving the experience.

I did an elk and moose hunt with Prophet-Muskwa in 2002, and drove up from southwestern Montana to Ft. St. John, where P-M flies you into their main camp, just to be able to take the meat back easily. Got both a good bull moose and a 6x6 elk, and gave half of each to a friend who was up there visiting but not hunting.

Put the broken-down (but unbutchered) quarters in coolers with some ice and drove home over two days. The meat was fine even in warm mid-September. It might take another day to get back to Minnesota, but the same technique would sure work even without getting the meat butchered and frozen.

Had a caribou tag too, but didn't see one I wanted to shoot. It was still probably the best North American hunt I've ever been on except for a couple of special ones here in Montana with family and friends. Killed the 13th bull moose I saw on the second day of the hunt, and probably saw at least that many legal 6-point bulls, but didn't close the deal on one until the 9th day. In between covered 150-200 miles on horseback, seeing a number of grizzlies, Stone sheep and even a couple of mule deer, one a good buck. We hunted right in the area where the famous Chadwick Stone ram was taken, and where both Elmer Keith and Jack O'Connor hunted in the days before Alaska Highway and light planes made getting there a lot quicker. Once you get back in there, though, it's still real wilderness.

I did my Alberta hunt several years before MD did his BC hunt, and it was close to Thanksgiving,( much colder).The quarters had frozen sold so I had no problem driving back three days to Colorado.
I was hunting on the edge of Banniff NP as the elk were migrating out. Easily saw 300 elk per day 30-40 6x bulls.

Looking at the mentioned BC hunts has me wanting to go.

It does make a compelling case.

I think these guys will work within your budget depending on the unit. It will be public land, no pay by the inch crap.you could do it on the cheap if you get lucky and draw a tag. http://wlhunting.com/hunt-the-west/elk/

Rebby,

There are quite a few opportunities in the west to hunt quality units DIY on public land and whack a 280-320" 6 x 6 bull. I hate outfitters and guides and booking agents, believe that you are at risk and at their mercy for a OIL hunt, and if your reasonably competent as a hunter you can get this done yourself plus have muuuuuch more personal satisfaction.....and control your own destiny. Don't get freaked out and hesitant because you doubt your skills with elk. Many of these hunts are easy, VERY easy.....are in open country and elk are easy to hear and to spot.

Many of these are EXCITING rut hunts, with lots of great elk vocalizations, LOTS of animals, and a good portion of 6-point bulls. Plus......only a few hunters. These hunts don't require you to be an elk expert to succeed. They are easy and fun hunts.........many in desert sagebrush/juniper country.

Wyoming has 56 Commissioner's tags that are auctioned by WY based conservation groups. They allow you to pick any unit as long as you conform to the season framework. They have been going for $8-$9,000ish. Suggest units 30 or 31 in SW Wyoming to meet your goals. These are great rut hunts Oct 1-15.

Colorado has unit-wide landowner tags, but not too many available in the good units where you can whack a bull as described. I see an occasional unit 10 and unit 2 tag, a few more unit 61 tags........but you need 2 for both you and yer buddy so this may be difficult. 61 may be yer best bet in CO. 61 tags are cheaper $5-$7,000 for the later seasons (not rut hunts). 10 tags are $10kish and the very rare 2 tags are $12kish. 10 and 2 early rifle hunts are Oct 1-10 and are FANTASTIC OIL hunts!!

Nevada tags for unit 076-081 late hunt are $8-$10k. Many bulls but most will be broken as this is a late season (Nov) hunt. I drew this tag in 2010 but never shot a bull as the biggest were badly broken. Best unbroken one was 320".

Utah is the greatest opportunity for using yer checkbook to get a great tag and have a great quality hunt. They have both unit-wide LO tags (still have to conform to the season framework same as if you drew the tag)........and conservation tags that are auctioned by the wildlife conservation orgs. The bull I posted is from the Bookcliffs roaded unit, and I paid $6k for the LO tag in 2004. Those same tags are now $10kish.

New Mexico does have LO tags, but their 5-day seasons are sooooo short I cannot recommend NM.

Much as I don't care for The Huntin Fool.........in the interest of helping you I suggest you subscribe right now for next years research. All of this info is right there.

I would suggest that you contact John Porter at this address.
www.wyominghunts.com

I have known him for a lot of years and can tell you that he has an excellent reputation and is well equipped.

Once in a lifetime on a short time schedule, British Columbia or Alberta.
Once in a lifetime with time to wait for the chance to draw, one of the back country pack in hunts in northwestern Wyoming, or one of the Whittington Center elk hunts.

John, I built myself a large cooler out of plywood and lined it with 2" construction styrofoam. It'll hold at least two elk or moose, quartered. I put it in the bed of the truck when I go up north (a two-day drive from the Fraser Valley). I put the quartered animals in there and top it off with 4-6 bags of party ice, placed in garbage bags to prevent leakage. It'll easily keep the meat cool - just a few degrees above freezing - for two or three days.

For longer trips, though, I'd recommend dry ice. I met a doctor from Wisconsin up there a few years ago who hunts every other year with Barry Tompkins (High and Wild Safaris). He has his meat cut, packed, and frozen at Barry's Base Camp and uses the dry ice method to take his meat home in a utility trailer full of coolers. He says that it's still frozen solid after the long drive back home.

A lot of other fellows from the Lower Mainland, will use a small freezer and a generator in the back of the truck. They'll just run the generator enough to keep the meat cool.