I’d. Spend that 12k on equipment, gas and go figure them out, after six or so years maybe you kill a 6x7 290 and you can say he’s 300, most people wouldn’t know the difference. Then you’d have a trophy.
Just returned from my fourth moose hunt in Alaska. Have taken four good bulls. Thinking it might be time to shift focus to elk. I have only killed one small 5x5 on my own in New Mexico ,13 years ago.
If you wanted to go guided and had say $12,000.00 to spend, what area and guide would you choose. I have no points so landowner tag or voucher or OTC is a must.
I spoke to Mr. Hill from Hill Ranches in Colorado. Any other ideas? I don't want to sound like a horn shopper, but I want to experience one great elk hunt and kill a 300 plus bull.
So what does Hill want to shoot an elk on his place? Eastman's hunted that a lot, can't be cheap.
around 15 years ago i paid a guide $4,500.00 and got a bull with my bow that scored typical 376 b.c. but i have a spot where my son on public land has taken two nice bulls 1st scored 310 b.c. 2nd scored 380 + b.c. both with a bow we had no guides. public land can have some nice bulls too if you do your homework. Pete53
You're a liar. The world record elk had main beams of 56 2/8 and the number 2 elk had beams of 59 inches. Neither of which would extend past an elk's hindquarters.
He said the antlers "hung over it's azz," which to many (if not most) hunters would mean "above his azz", not "beyond his azz." There's a big difference.
BS. He meant extending past the hindquarters and you know as well as I do that no elk has had antlers that long. Not one of the top 10 bulls in the books has an antler longer than 61 inches. You really expect me to believe he saw an elk in the field bigger than the bull Winters took in AZ or Plute took in CO?
Two points:
1) Top-10 record-book bulls don't necessarily have the longest main beams. There are some listed lower down that have 63-65 inch beams.
2) While that still doesn't mean the antlers "hung over the azz," I have seen quite a few bulls which could scratch the top of their azz when they tilted their head back, whether when bugling or just wanting to scratch their azz. For years I spent some time each fall photographing rutting elk, and not only saw this a few times, but saw far more bulls with "scratch marks" in the hair on top of their azz where they'd done so. Or maybe it was from admiring cows biting their azz?
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
I’d. Spend that 12k on equipment, gas and go figure them out, after six or so years maybe you kill a 6x7 290 and you can say he’s 300, most people wouldn’t know the difference. Then you’d have a trophy.
Shawn
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Last edited by centershot; 10/05/22.
A true sportsman counts his achievements in proportion to the effort involved and fairness of the sport. - S. Pope
You're a liar. The world record elk had main beams of 56 2/8 and the number 2 elk had beams of 59 inches. Neither of which would extend past an elk's hindquarters.
He said the antlers "hung over it's azz," which to many (if not most) hunters would mean "above his azz", not "beyond his azz." There's a big difference.
BS. He meant extending past the hindquarters and you know as well as I do that no elk has had antlers that long. Not one of the top 10 bulls in the books has an antler longer than 61 inches. You really expect me to believe he saw an elk in the field bigger than the bull Winters took in AZ or Plute took in CO?
Two points:
1) Top-10 record-book bulls don't necessarily have the longest main beams. There are some listed lower down that have 63-65 inch beams.
63 to 65 inches still wont extend past the hindquarters. That would take at least 6 ft of antler and you know that elk doesnt exist
You get out of life what you are willing to accept. If you ain't happy, do something about it!
I want to experience one great elk hunt and kill a 300 plus bull.
The two are often mutually exclusive. Me, I'd be after a quality wilderness horseback hunt. I'd suggest a pack trip in the Bob Marshall B&C be damned. The experience of a real wilderness hunt is far more enduring than a pile of bone on the ground.
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Yellow stone has monster bulls. And talk about a challenging adventure, try sneaking a 350” bull out of a park. Bet it would get the heart racing!
Pennsylvania has bigger bulls and there are more elk in Rocky Mountain NP than one will see in Yellowstone now.
Many years ago, probably late 80's, my wife and I would go to Yellowstone and photograph elk. One morning we found that some one had killed massive bull and cut off the antlers in Norris Meadow. We contacted the Park Rangers and they copied our videos and photo we had taken the day before. It took the two years to find the culprit. He had finally put the antlers with a mount in Utah.
Interesting data on the Yellowstone elk herd. In1994 there were 19,000+ elk in the Yellowstone elk herd. This was the park and surrounding areas. Wolves were released in 94 and 95. In 2021 the elk herd was about 5800 with about 2000 in the park itself.
If anyone wants they exact figures they can search on Google "Elk herd count in Yellowstone"
Last edited by saddlesore; 10/06/22.
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
Yellow stone has monster bulls. And talk about a challenging adventure, try sneaking a 350” bull out of a park. Bet it would get the heart racing!
Pennsylvania has bigger bulls and there are more elk in Rocky Mountain NP than one will see in Yellowstone now.
Many years ago, probably late 80's, my wife and I would go to Yellowstone and photograph elk. One morning we found that some one had killed massive bull and cut off the antlers in Norris Meadow. We contacted the Park Rangers and they copied our videos and photo we had taken the day before. It took the two years to find the culprit. He had finally put the antlers with a mount in Utah.
Interesting data on the Yellowstone elk herd. In1994 there were 19,000+ elk in the Yellowstone elk herd. This was the park and surrounding areas. Wolves were released in 94 and 95. In 2021 the elk herd was about 5800 with about 2000 in the park itself.
If anyone wants they exact figures they can search on Google "Elk herd count in Yellowstone"
Rules are no meat waste, cutting racks is for people with terminal cancer.
I've seem some really nice bulls in Idaho's unit 54. Getting a tag, though, is a pipe dream. The drawing odds for residents are about 1%, even worse for non-res.
Judging from photos I've seen, bulls in transplanted herds in east have some monsters. They're protected and allowed to grow with limited hunting. It takes a few years to grow really big ones. Again, getting the tag is the hardest part of the hunt.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
Yellow stone has monster bulls. And talk about a challenging adventure, try sneaking a 350” bull out of a park. Bet it would get the heart racing!
Some years ago, a guy who made hunting videos put out a new elk hunting show with a guy getting a beaut with a bow. Shortly after than, some fish cops were watching it, in UT IIRC, and one said he'd been to that exact spot. There were some terrain features he recognized - inside Yellowstone. The park service took photos from the video and found the spot. When questioned, the guy who made the video stated that it was impossible to find really good bulls anywhere else.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
Do an ancestry.com test. I received my results recently. I’m 37% American Indian, that’s Feather not Dot for those not in the know. I’m pretty sure I can just start shooting elk anywhere anytime I please.