I keep seeing people post that they have killed 40-60 elk. I have missed feelings here. Number 1 I'm just plain jealous. 2 how in the hell can anyone afford it? 3 at what point do ethics come into play? A professional hunter does just that, hunt but I've seen what seems to be a high no. of guys claiming to have done this.
We all love to hunt and we all covet that trophy tag. Should there be a limit? When is it someone else's turn?
If you hunt the right areas, killing 40-60 elk in a lifetime isn't hard. I've taken 13 Colorado elk in the last 15 years with resident tags which cost under $50 each (and less as you go back in time). Had I figured out elk hunting sooner, my total would be much higher as I've only missed one or two years since I started hunting Colorado elk in 1982. By then some people my age had been hunting elk for 17 years or more.
Lots of people can afford to hunt with guides and hunt multiple states. How they afford it is none of my business and being jealous is a waste of time and energy.
Covet a trophy tag? No thanks. I'm a meat hunter the usually hunts a single season (or overlapping seasons which gives me an extra 2 days). Most years I have both a bull and a cow tag. I've only filled both tags two or three times and have turned down far more shots than I've taken, sometimes coming home empty-handed as a result.
When is it someone else's turn? When they decide to send the time and resources required to do so. I give up quite a bit to hunt elk every year, even with resident tags. When I first started I hunted opening weekend and maybe Monday, 2-3 days tops. These days I hunt the 7-10 days and have a much higher success rate.
Instead of being jealous, figure out how to be successful with your hunts and have more of them.
