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As a new elk hunter, with no hands on experience in any state with elk, you need to ask yourself if you're willing to do a 9-11 day hunt without seeing a single elk or very few. Good probability that could be the outcome of your DIY trip. If that is unacceptable, then skip the learning curve and go straight to an outfitter. You could get lucky on a DIY hunt and get into elk quickly and with some ease or you may go several trips spending big money, time, and energy with no ROI. In the end, it may even be cheaper to go outfitter.
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THIS...in spades.
I watched three dudes from CA ( Im in Montana) rollin with their Motorhome, their trailer, their 4wd ATV,and their spare pickup to hunt elk DIY. They got one...a rag horn.
Do the math: Motorhome $100 K
Trailer 8 K
ATV- 12K
Pickup to haul this stuff-55K
Total $ 175K
They could go to Chama multiple times and bring home huge bulls for that price....just a for instance.
Knew another dude from back east, serious DIY dude, who killed an absolute MONSTER bull on public land....on his 23rd attempt.
