Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Old Elk Hunters

A 'park tag' is a tag to shoot an elk within the "confines" of Custer State Park, all 71,000 acres of it. I have 25 years or so in for that tag, with a realistic shot at one. I think the highest point total for that one is 36 presently. As expected, nobody youthful has a realistic shot at getting one.

My Daddy hunted the back country (8-10 miles in) until he was almost 82, killed his last bull at 81. He had two things going for him in addition to good genetics. He had my pack llamas and a willing slave. He just died last month at almost 97 years.

Hopefully I have his good genetics but could really use the willing slave, most young guys are useless as tits on a boar except for blowing their own horn, and a bugle off their atv...

I will say this the mountains get steeper each birthday but the knowledge from the previous 40-50 elk more than makes up for it. Biggest frustration is the crowding that is endemic to the sport these days, that is what makes it more difficult.

Dont squawk too much about geezers kid, believe me in what seems like a couple weeks you will be one. My Dad claimed that if he slept in on New Years day he missed the 4th of July.

I need more llamas...

76 YO this season- both my oldest son and I have elk tags for December here in CO. Filled my pronghorn tag on Saturday, DIY of course- takes a little longer to get a critter loaded, then cut up and in the freezer, but looking forward to the rest of the season, and hoping there will be a few more. I see it's been over 21 years since I first joined the 24CF- a lot of great hunts and memories in that span of time!

LMAO "don't squawk too much about geezers kid"

I have seen plenty of “old” guys, whatever that is, bitching about not seeing elk as they sit in their UTV. Same with a fair number of younger guys. They always have more excuses…You name it I have likely heard someone bitching about it. Too many tags given out. Not enough tags given out. Roads being closed. Roads not being closed. Too many predators. Too rough a winter. Not rough enough of a winter (to kill ticks and fleas, is the theory). Etc., etc.

I have seen no difference in the ages of hunters as it pertains to the number and type of complaints they have. It is fair to say older guys generally can’t get into the backcountry as well as they used to, however I see plenty of younger guys in absolutely horrid shape complaining about not seeing elk. There are also plenty of older guys who obviously didn’t take care of themselves complaining about the same things. The world continues to turn…

The one thing I get riled up about is folks (of any age or point status) applying for tags with little intention of hunting them. It is their right to do so, but frustrating. Doubly so with rare tags like sheep and the like. Why bother putting in and diluting draw odds? Plenty of tags are drawn in AK and only half those who draw even attempt to hunt it. Some of them may fill harvest tickets before that rare draw opened up, but many don’t bother to even try.

Getting into the backcountry ain't so bad, it's getting an elk out that's the hard part. Especially in places with a lot of blowdown, that's hard on an old man.

Bk,
To start with, you were exceptionally lucky to draw a Black Hills Archery “Any” Elk Tag with only 8 preference points.
I have 18 preference points going into the 2023 draw for my second time around. I killed a bull in 1995, eligible to apply again in 2005 and have not drawn one since.

I killed a 350” 6 x 6 in 1998 with a Sharps Rifle above Rod and Gun Campground in Spearfish Canyon. I have killed two cows in the Hills with a rifle since that hunt.
2009 and 2019. It comes down to “Do you want to hunt/eat Elk Venison or count preference points”!
I will turn 65 in February and believe me you will slow down when/if you get here.
I cannot fathom waiting 8 to 22 years to draw a tag and only hunt 8 days.
I have 30 preference points for Custer State Park,
But with only 2 tags drawn for the 2022 Season,
I may be 70-75 when/if I ever draw.
Anyways, not sure what the brag is all about, maybe them 2 fat boys were skinning bulls last Saturday?!!

Took 9 years of preference pts to draw my park any elk tag. Took 11 years of pref.pts to draw my park antlerless tag. Took 17 years to draw my hills any elk tag.took 14 years to my prairie any elk tag. Took 17.years to draw my hills archery elk tag. Took 9 years of preference to draw 1 of 4 mtn goat tags with 3883 applicants. The GFP don't give a fug if you draw or not they make more money on the sale of app fees and preference points than the actual licenses....mb

South Dakota allows you all to apply for several different hunts for a given species in a single year? Are all those different points specific to a hunt (i.e. prairie any elk, park any elk, etc.).

Most states allow you to put in for one hunt per species. AK and NM have a bit different system but it doesn’t seem as complicated as what you’re making South Dakota out to be. I have only bird hunted SD so please excuse my ignorance.

I just checked the applicants and preference point breakdown for CSP any elk.
There were 349 applicants with 30 to 41 years preference points.
Below 30 years preference the applicant numbers are astronomical in your chance of drawing a tag.

I need MB to do my applying for me!

I didn't realize there were people in the 40's for park tags...wow. That's insane.

SD allows you to put in for all the elk tags but then draws in order instead of simultaneously. if you get drawn for an elk tag, then you're pulled out of the remaining drawings. One elk tag per person per year. So I have 25 park years, 18 prairie elk years, i can start applying again for BH rifle season next year, and I can start again in 9 years for the archery tag. If I'm drawn for a park tag, my name comes out of the rest of the drawings for that year.

11 rifle tags and 4 archery tags for CSP this fall according to the application

Glad to hear you're doing so well. If you're up to it, come say hello at our friends place during third season. She lets me put up a tent there and I walk into the National Forrest. Know she would love to see you as well. Bring a rifle and I know we could get the elk out.

Stay healthy.

I don't understand the premise of paying for a trophy, but I'm not judging. Takes all types to make the world go around. If a giant elk with rifle, and zero points was the goal, I'd be looking at private ranches in NM. I have a guide friend in western ID that swears he can put me on 350's, but it's bow only and a ton of work to get to them.

Well usually the CSP uses the GFP and it's drawing system for tags. I can say for a fact that in the BH's units that 50 % of the tags up frt availible to landowners and they get them.. only in Unit H3 that is no guarantee. A bona-fide landowner is one that owns 320 acres in the unit he applies for. Of the remaining 50% 5 % of the tags go to people with up to 2 years preference, 15% go to those who have 3 to 9 years preference and the remaining 30 % are allocated to those who have 10 years or more. 41 yrs of preference is no guarantee that you'll get a tag just 41 chances in the draw same as the guy with 10 years of preference gets 10 chances in the draw. You only saw old guys because kids, younger women and men gotta go to school or are working. I don't support your complaint. Way back in the early 90's one year saw 27 individuals with multiple elk tags for the same season. Yeah 2-3 different elk tags for the same year. I didn't think that was fair either and called the local gfp commissioner and discussed it with him. More than a few other active hunters also called their commissioners about that which resulted in the current system where you draw one your ineligible that season for the others. More equitable distribution of the tags. The preference pt system gives the long time applicant an increasing chance of drawing but why should it not work that way, you the applicant have paid your dues. Sorry bk you pay your money for a chance in the draw not for a tag you think your owed. Us old guys don't get around as good as younger people and all of us who have got lucky and drew paid many years to do so. ..mb

Why were you on foot where there were road hunters?

I stopped putting in for those hard/impossible draw hunts years ago, particularly the out of state ones. I’ll time-out before I draw. No sense funding rogue agencies.

The area where we've drawn cow tags for the last 20 years has twisted itself so the flat lands we used to hike are now vertical. A couple years ago, we about fell off the trail when the ground took a serious upturn and tried to buck us off. So, we were forced to abandon that area and let the youngsters have it. We've found a wintering area with a late cow hunt where even this Grandpa with his cane can stay upright. 3 of us have taken 4 cows over the last 2 years and I doubt we'll hunt anywhere else for a while unless the IDFG changes the regs again.

I hope I’m still going like some of these hard old sons’a bitches I’ve been with before. Awe inspiring effort, bottomless knowledge and endless wit.

Turned 77 last month and just returned from a disappointing Wyoming elk hunt. Warm, dry and a hunter behind every tree and rock made it very difficult. We were camped 4 miles off of the highway and at one time had 24 camps along that same road, easily 100 hunters. I drew this tag as a second chance application and will never go back there again. I was there a total of 6 days, and I never found one fresh elk track or shiit pile. I had a fleeting glimpse of one elk and heard one bull squeal. I hunted at and above 8,000 several days, and after 6 days of dodging ATV's and trying to get back where they could not go I called it and came home. I am now preparing for a spike only hunt in Oregon. I have done well there over the years and hope to see some elk.