Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Why Elk hunt?

Why do we hunt elk?

Because we are hunters.

Much like Bill Clinton, because I can.

Mostly to come with your experiences to the Campfire, then be told how you were doing it wrong, or how everyone else is better at it...

Because they are good to eat.

For the poker games.

Because its the closest I have come to Heaven while here on Earth.

Finally, someone came up with the right answer.
Paul B.

Enjoy being out hunting....don’t like to buy beef! memtb

Beats sitting watching TV - and most other things, too.

Because they taste good...

Because of where they live.

1. As mentioned above, they are good to eat. And good for you.
2. If you live in a state with elk, it can be DIY relatively cheap entertainment, or physical abuse.
3. Hunting during the rut for bull elk is about as exciting as it gets, in the big-game hunting world.
4. It provides endless anecdotal accounts on why your choice of rifle and bullets are the best, and the next guy's choices suck.

For the most part, elk are amazing animals that inhabit big, beautiful, tough country, where the terrain and the animals will challenge you physically and mentally. I don't even consider elk the smartest animals that are commonly hunted, but it can sure make you wonder at times how a person ever kills one.

Even in good elk country, you can go days without laying eyes on one. Just seeing elk can be an accomplishment at times.

While I love to eat them, that would never be the reason that makes me head to the mountains me to hunt elk. Getting some meat to bring home is just a bonus. Elk are often shared among the group because its usually a team effort to get one back to the road.

Every time I've killed an elk, I always figured if they could talk, they would have an interesting story to tell.

So I can take a long steep hike with my rifle in the mountains and get a good workout regardless if I am fortunate to find a willing participant to quarter up and haul off the mountain. It's all good no matter the outcome.

Hard to beat a good elk burger

I love elk country, love the fall hunting season, and I love seeing elk, watching them interact and learning their habits. I spend a way more time looking for them and looking at them than I do actually putting one on the ground and getting it in the freezer.

My dad fished and didn't hunt.
I grew up listening to elk camp stories from school friends and was enthralled with the tales of huge creek/river canyons and dark forest encounters with big elk.... but I had no realistic chance of getting a chance of a real quality hunt, (because of no family tradition to draw on and no clue what I was supposed to do) unless I hit the draw in my local unit.
I got a hunting dog @ 14 and focused on birds mostly and an local farm field deer I would harvest into in my teens.
After HS, I applied for a bull tag in a great elk area (at the time).
I was drawn after several years,scouted, set up a spike camp and was successful on a 6x7, great elk.
I was hooked.....but not like some.
I just enjoy watching them all year and usually being in the right place each year to harvest an animal.


Slave

P.S. I've never taken as big of elk as I did on that first elk hunt, nor close.
I don't care, though.
I still don't really commit to a serious, elk country, whatever it takes, balls out, stay out for 2 weeks, elk hunt.
I take the first bull I see and love it.
That way I can still take my dog bird hunting, steelhead fishing and deer hunting.....
but elk hunting is a nice part of it.

Mtnsnake: I Hunt - therefore I am!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

You and I think a lot alike, and I am not just referring to the fatties.

I normally take the first legal bull I can, so that I can get back to my beloved bird hunting and fishing.

I still have not taken a really big bull though...probably because I take the first bull I legally can.