Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Best Elk hunting advice?

Well I've been sitting on the side lines for 3 years now just building points while my beloved fought cancer, she lost the battle about a month ago. Im ready to get back to big game hunting in 2023, all over the west. Whats some of you guys best resources for information now. I used to get huntin fool, eastmans, top rut, on-X, gohunt. Are there others out there better or more accutate? Thanks Wayne

Wayne,
I can't help you on the elk hunting resources but can offer you my sincere condolences on the loss of your beloved. That really sucks.

Condolences on your mate my friend! My girl beat it this year. As far as advice, I was always told "any elk on the ground is a good one", ha. I would go after cows as often as I could. When you get your points, hire an outfitter and get a. lots of help and b. a big bull! Its only money!! Merry Christmas friend...Jim K

My sincere condolences.

Sorry to hear about your loss, mine was successful in her journey and we are grateful but perhaps not as grateful as we should be after reading this. I hope you get back in the field soon and successfully!

Get points everywhere while you figure it all out is my best advice. Wyoming seems to be an every four years deal for NR's now; used to be every other. So get the points.

So sorry for your loss. On the flip side, sounds like you have more time now. Time is essence of elk hunting, we all wish we have more of it. I'd look at your points right now. Plan your fall applications and make sure you have a guaranteed or OTC hunt somewhere. Then come spring, I'd head in the direction of your top two tags and start scouting. Enjoy the woods, the drive, and look for animals. Repeat as many times as you can over the summer. There is nothing that replaces boots on the ground. And nothing replaces time spent the woods - whether it's looking for animals or just watching the sun set next to a campfire.

Douglas, WY is a hop, skip, jump from Lincoln, NE.

Apply for a bull tag HUNT AREA 7.......for the chance in 'random draw'. Also apply for a reduced price cow tag. Get a preference point too, when available.

Apply for Pronghorn and Mulie tags too(different HUNT AREAS). Random draw, could acquaint you with the area before you get an elk tag. Doe tags antelope, not mulies. Bunches of whitetail doe tags available, cheap.

Hunt archery and rifle seasons.

Pull out a camper. Casita's work just fine.

Shed hunt in the spring.

Fish Toltec reservoir for Cuttbows.......Fetterman road.

Buy a cheap .223 and hammer prairie dogs at Thunder Basin, north. GPS recommended.

Buy a 25-06 and hammer them at 500+.

Or, you could just move out there.

[color:#FF0000][/color]


How much public ground is there in area 7?

My wife passed away unexpectedly several years ago. And will never be forgotten, you will grieve for sometime., but she would not want you suffering for even. Take each day step by step, the loss will never totally go away but will become manageable Remember she would also want you to move forward. good luck.

no hunting help from me either. just wanted to send my condolences. i lost my wife of 39 years 15 months ago to cancer. it sucks Wayne! hang in there!! time does help heal, at least for me.

Sorry for your loss, I can’t image it.

10 rules for elk hunting:

1. Hunt where the elk are.
2. Hunt your ass off.
3-10. See rule #2.


Hunt where the elk are sounds silly but it’s the first critical choice. Do your homework and spend the money. They’re harder to find than they are to kill.





P

My sincere condolences.

As for advice, Pharm is correct plus my minimal additions below.

Buy good boots. Get to your area a few days ahead of season. Take your time. Listen to what the mountains tell you & don’t make up your own ideas of where elk ‘should’ be. Have fun.

Sounds like good advice. I’ve only shot a few elk; all DIY hunts. I’d only add: be an optimist and don’t give up. The elk you are looking for might show up any day and you “must be present to win”.

The OP was asking about advice concerning resources geared more towards getting a tag and gadgets to electronically scout, not necessarily advice on what to do once a tag is in hand, but I will still throw this out there:

You can't be afraid of the dark...

Odd that you bring that up. I’m real comfortable in the dark in familiar types of terrain and navigate easily at night. Still, I recall a certain creepy feeling at night alone elk hunting in the West. I went on anyway but I do recall the strangeness of big country at night.

First of all I am sorry for your loss.


The weird thing is riding in the dark.

The mules seem calmer……maybe because I can’t see and sit easier.

I had one mule that only liked to be in front if I had my head light on.

Yeah that is a really, really good point.

Condolences Elkmaster

Angus1895

That reminded me of one mule I had. She would follow my headlamp. If I tried to ride without it she woud wonder of the trail. If I let her go long enough, we were both lost as I had no idea where the trail was at that point. Usually I had to wait until it got light. I never let her do it when it was dark in the evening.

I think Pharmseller is spot on but I will add keep a positive attitude while hunting. It pretty much goes for any hunting but if you are hunting where they are and staying after it things can go from nothing to something in a matter of seconds!

I am so sorry for your loss. Nothing will ever fill that void completely, but pouring your energy into the outdoors and hunting can be very healing.

For you, the great thing about going hunting is that it will force you to exercise and the environment will reset your view of things. Hopefully that will help you restore and revitalize yourself.
Best wishes to you.

OnX to reply to the original point; Avenza is another good one. There are all kinds of places in the West to go elk hunting. You can't hunt them all and none is an "obvious" or "perfect pick." So pick a state that has a season and license structure that works for you (Montana works for us--relatively close by so we could go back if it worked out, later in the year but not too late--but YMMV)

but the point about the dark is a great one. I was uncomfortable in the woods in the dark until an afternoon chasing a herd of elk around became an exhilarating evening walk in the snowy cold to get back to a road and picked up. Now I don't even think about it anymore.

Condolences for your loss. Bringing peace to mind and soul comes from within, but IMO getting your body out into the woods sure can give that process a head start. My only advice - keep the breeze in your face and enjoy!

Enough but most bulls take to private after rifle starts then later they move to wintering ground.
I would pick any area other than 7 personally, well not 6 either.

Reduced price cow tag might be obtainable in Wyoming, no PPs needed.

Sorry for your loss friend.
Have you looked up Elk101?
I don’t know where you have been applying last 3 years to build points or where you’re willing to go.

But The best advice I can give you is make few plans. just in case plan A or B don’t work out.
Also just go out there and do it. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Try to hunt OTC areas that are close or similar area/terrain That you are applying for. This way you get to go out and put miles on the boots and Learn the area, elk behavior and what not.
Sorry wish I could help more

If a guy's really serious about hunting elk, he needs to move to a good elk state. The non-res tag situation in many states is getting out of hand.

This.

The other suggestions have all been valid, but not if you don't have a tag....

hahaha

1st sorry about your loss Elkmaster may She rest in Peace, and be with Jesus and her family and friends that have passed.

Nice to see where you are going in the dark, and it's really nice to have two free hands when you are skinning out big game in the pitch dark. I always have one of these when I am out in the bush.

There are opportunities to be successful on public land. You most likely wont connect on a big bull but you will get to elk hunt.

Decide your state to hunt.

Take the entire season off

Buy good gear

Use googleearth, onx, call local game and fish office

Practice shooting

Get an atv or sxs if you dont have one

Archery season is way easier to find them, i didn't say to shoot them

Advice. I can add this. Hunting in Montana this year early one morning I was winded by two bulls at a staggering distance.
You cannot give their noses nor the wind enough respect.

Osky

When I was young and wanted to learn about Elk Hunting an Old fellow told me to "carry a big screen to sift thru all the Bull [bleep]".

As stated above, hunt where the elk are.

Or where they are heading once everyone shows up. [bow hunting]

Just go and you learn as you go. Be in good shape and understand what you need to be safe in the backcountry and just get after it

Very true. I started elk hunting with a friend in ‘87, and took the last of 12 or 13 in ‘2018. So,~ 30 years, while probably hunting 20 of those. Between time constraints, drawing tags as a NR, etc., one is really limited. Especially when you are younger and working.

I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, but never got my fill of what I think is one of the greatest game animals there is. The country is also usually grand, and the hunting so suits rifle and cartridge nuts.

Tough to beat.

Very true. I moved to Colorado in 74 because I could not get an elk tag every year in New Mexico. I missed very few seasons while living here.Probably less than 3-4. I killed a lot of elk, but now I am pretty much done with it. Age and health caught with me, but it's been a hell of a run. 45 elk hunts isn't bad, not counting NM hunts and one in Alberta

I would just add to the above to be in absolutely the best physical condition you can possibly be in.

You'll get more out of your hunt & have a much better chance of killing a decent elk.

Never been fortunate enough to have an easy elk hunt.

MM

I would NOT waste your money with OnX. GoHunt now has mapping, so you can get your draw stats and GPS in one.

All my schit is saved in OnX, though, so…..

Best advice beyond getting in good physical condition and knowing your equipment (rifles, pack, boots - have all your 'stuff' dialed before you go): NEVER QUIT.

I see guys hunt hard for 2-3 days, get tired, discouraged from not seeing elk and start sleeping in, hunting close to camp, go into town - everything but hunt hard. I've killed more elk later in the week than I have early in the week.

Case in point: I didn't get drawn for a bull tag last year. We decided to do a cow hunt. Easy right? Cows, hell they're behind every aspen right?

I was preaching all week to a newbie to never give up. We simply weren't seeing elk, lots sign but limited sightings. I knew if we kept at it, our "luck" would change. It did Thurs at 2:00 in the afternoon. I literally went to a high spot at 1:00 and sent a text to the guys in camp that animals seemed to be moving and I was going to X to spend the rest of the day. On the way I ran into 6-7-8 cows. One came back to TN. These were the first elk I laid eyes on in 6 days. It seems the harder, I try the luckier I get.......

Don’t let failure get you down.

Statistically speaking, the % of elk hunting success is around 17%. Out of that 17%, probably 80% of those guys are regular hunters that kill elk every year.

20% of 17% is 3.4%.

So you can see that odds of going to a state that has elk and getting one is not as probable as the outdoor magazines might lead you to believe.

That’s about the best distilled down and straight forward advice I’ve seen in print. We have killed more towards the end than ever on the front end.

If you can afford it, hire a proven outfitter.
IME success rates near 100%.

Yup.

If you're not playing the wind, you're not hunting elk; you're just out walking around with your gun.

Double Yup. Even if you cook in your sleeping tent or spray yourself with the best as advertised scent eliminator.

Thanks!

I have several more stories just like that with elk. Last year I didn't see a cow until the last afternoon. Saw several bulls but had another cow tag. And I mmmmmmissed. didn't think it possible to miss an elk.......

Out of a dozen or so elk I've managed to kill, Thursday has been good to me. My skill set is strong on persistence, a little low on the skill side - I need 7-8-9 days <G>

I killed this bull on the last day of a ten day hunt in the nastiest blow down I was ever in and it was the only elk I saw all season. He came past me about 10 AM, sneaking thru aspen so thick I could not shoot. I trailed him it about 1/2mile and went into blow down. I sat down and cow called. He jumped up from the bed.I threaded 405 gr 45 -70 slug under two fallen trees and killed him at about 15 yards. Where there are elk today there may be a lot of tracks and sign, but they probably will not be there tomorrow, next week, or next month.Where there are no elk, there may be elk tomorrow in 2 weeks or a month. Trust you gut.

Bwinters said it the best: "NEVER QUIT" I would have added some !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is the best advice given in this thread. My elk hunting partner is a little bit older than me and I've learned a little from him, but the best education is given by the elk, if you are smart enough to take note of what you did wrong. Every year you are going to F up. That happens, but you better learn from your mistakes. If not, you won't be much of an elk hunter. Making the shot is the easy part, choosing the bullet is the easy part, but finding them is the tough task. My elk hunting partner always said, "elk hunting separates the boys from the men". And he was 100% right. When you learn that, you will be on to something..

I have also found I have killed my elk on the last day of hunting elk, because I usually quit elk hunting once I got one...

Always find what you're looking for in the last place you look...

I. Thou shalt be in shape, for elk dwelleth not in the flatlands, nor where there is oxygen.
II. If thine ass resembleth 20 pounds of chewed bubble gum, bitter shall be thy lot.
I
II.Thou shalt not whine that the pace is too swift, or that thou cannot get thy breath, or that thou seeest stars, for thy guide shall care not, and mercy shall not be yours.
IV. Thou shalt not stuff thy pack with all manner of goods. Thou needst it not, and it shall do naught but rob thee of thy breath and turn thy knees to Jello.
V. Thou shalt not slam truck doors, nor speak above a whisper, nor tramp through the forests like the hosts of Gilead, for thou art in the backyard of thy foe the elk, and sharp are his senses, and he shall flee from thee.
VI. Thou shalt practice thy offhand shooting, for that may be the only shot that thou receivest.
VII. Thou shalt learn to shoot as swiftly as the hawk flieth, and thou shalt not fiddle-f*** with thy gear, nor adjust thy scope, nor set up thy bipod, for thou hast not time.
VIII. While the elk yet moveth, thou must shoot, for blessed is he who endeth the life quickly, and accursed is he who letteth an animal suffer for the sake of a one-shot kill.
IX. Strong must be thy bullet; all else is but the dung of horses.
X. The worst day thou shalt have hunting elk is better than the best day of whatever else thou doest.

How did that bullet perform? Obviously it worked but I am curious how it held together.

Thanks

It was a dead on front top of the brisket shot. It probably ended up it the guts as I never found it. The next year, I shot another elk with the same bullet. ..About the same distance, but a double lung shot. It went all the way thru,out the other side. The elk was a little up hill from me. Folks won't believe me, but it turned, staggered down towards me and fell about 6 feet in front of me .

The rifle was a 1886 Browning reproduction.Powder was 3031.I quit carrying it after that. 13 pounds fully loaded ,too heavy to lug around and it kept my saddle shifted off to one side,unless I hung a full canteen off the other side

Hunt Colorado.

The threat of a ranch sale has sent me scrambling in a search for opportunities - just for a cow hunt. Booking agents have been helpful and honest. Ever increasing tag costs confirm that states are monitizing their resource - understandable. While this is not a new trend, Wyoming has reduced their 2023 NR allocation for the "big 5" down to 90/10.While this does not include elk, the wife is actively searching for housing options in WY and MT. However my 21 points for a bighorn sheep tag may be a moot point. 18 sheep tags for 11,000 point holders are not good odds. I have read that WY officials are preparing for a spate of class action lawsuits. Thankfully the ranch sale has been rescinded!

Expect some big changes in Colorado for the 2025-2029 big game structure. Especially archery seasons, preference point usage, and tag allocation.Then read the summary of the wolf introduction plan submitted to the CPW commission this week. There is going to be be a lot of unhappy hunters and land owners.

You can bet that the liberals in state the legislature will approve any recommendation from CPW that will not cut their funding. Resident hunters are about to take it in the shorts again.

Better use those big number points soon.

Speaking of being in the dark, and lost, this gives me a chance for a story. At the time I couldn’t think of a better thing to do but sit down, haul out a Babe Ruth and have a snack.

We were in the Flattops of northwester Co., and while my friend decided to stay in camp, I headed out for an evening hunt, hiking across a large meadow, through some timber, across another long winding meadow, and hunt a small canyon we had crossed a couple days earlier. It was probably two miles from camp.

As the sun was setting I watched a small herd filter up towards the top on the opposite side of the canyon, maybe at two hundred fifty yards or so. It was too dark for a shot but I watched in the dim light noting there were two legal bulls in the group. Finally it was too dark to see.

I had noted my compass as I left camp and figured I was some distance southwest of camp but as I turned my headlamp on and struck out on a northeasterly tract, everything looked strangely different and new. Irrationally, I started on a more easterly direction, thinking it had to be right but after an hour I was in timber so thick, my light penetrated no more than ten feet — it felt like I was in a small room. It was blacker than black that night.

Thankfully it was fairly warm with a heavy cloud cover and no wind. I was lost and thought if I built a small fire it wouldn’t be a terrible ordeal. Surely I would break out of the timber in the morning and hit that large meadow. That’s when the Babe Ruth came out and gave me some time to think. Our friend from Buena Vista ran dogs and so had given me and my hunting bud a radio and a dog collar which I had completely forgotten about as this was about the third or fourth day of our hunt. At least I could call him and let them know I was at a standstill.

When I got him on the radio and explained, he told me to fish the dog collar out of my pack and hit the switch. As we talked he told me to start moving straight ahead So he could get a fix on his analog receiver. After about fifty yards, he corrected my path to a more northwesterly one. By my compass this put me on about a 280* route. Then about every half hour, he’d call and correct or confirm my path. Still, it took an hour to break out of that timber with the deadfall’s and all. Then it was aspens and in another hour I came into the huge meadow we were camped in. Finally I saw the camp lights maybe a little short of a half mile away. It was about 9 pm. Supper was cold but very, very good.

Thinking about, and looking at a map afterwards, I had walked a path making very nearly an equilateral triangle with each leg being about two and a half miles or.

My advice is Believe your compass! This event was pre-GPS units. Believe your GPS. Carry a compass, GPS, and a map if you venture out on your own at all. It’s a good idea anyway.

One last thing: don't go cheap on boots, socks, or anything else that will keep you warm. Cold can be an ugly enemy - from hypothermia to losing digits, and when you're far from camp, staying warm and having an energy bar can mean a LOT!

Get comfortable being uncomfortable.

More specifically to the OP. If I were you I'd look towards opportunities rather than "trophy" potential. Even maybe cow tags....gets you out there

I don’t like what I’ve been seeing from CWP commission meetings either. Just look at the commission members’ bio’s… bunch of liberals at best. Non -Residents won’t even get a reach-around after 2025.

hunt up David Petzal's commandments for elk hunting.

Addiction can be very costly!

How many addicts have stated, it’s only “pot” and I’m only gonna try it once! You figure out what is your best decision using that as my advice! memtb

If you do hunt Colorado, be sure to follow some best practices; best if you don't want stand out as an out-of-state newbie. Make sure you pickup is lifted and has oversized 22" rims with low profile tires. Bring at least one ATV per person, might be good to pack an extra too. Absolutely be sure to have a big box store generator, one of those 8000watt ones on wheels. Elk are totally used to hearing it and you need a way to charge your onxmaps gps at the end of the day. Consider 10,000w just to be sure. Carry and use repeatedly the Hoochie Mama and four different bull calls - can't be using the same voice when talking to them. Make sure to carry shooting sticks and spotting scope - elk can only be found on far far away hillsides. Some guys report having luck with climbing tree stands, so throw one of those in the trailer too. Don't worry about elevation and being fit, a 6.5 Needmore 13lb sniper rifle and ATV can make up for any lack of athleticism. When hunting with your buddies, line up at the edge of the woods and stand guard, just like watching a midwest corn field, elk are just big deer. If you hear a real elk in the woods, chase it and call incessantly. You can sneak up on them, pretty easily actually, and if they spook they won't go far, hunt the same spot the next day. Most importantly, don't be drinking Pabst, Shine, Whiskey, Gin, at the end of the day. Real elk hunters prefer heart-healthy red wine and it's OK if you and your friends can't finish a bottle, just re-cork it.

WOW, now that was Good To GO! Laughed my butt off!

Wow…….beautifully done! 👍 memtb

Grizzly country in Western Wyoming will give you the heebe jeebies, especially after a kill with blood in the air and especially at night...

Add to that, it’s after dark, a gentle snow falling, near zero wind, you’re breathing hard bringing the elk (or pieces of it out)…….each breath produces a dense fog temporarily eliminating all vision! You absolutely know with all certainty….that’s when the grizzly will rush out and bite you in the azz! 😂 memtb

I hunted Elk for the first time this past October, after deer hunting for almost 50 years. My guide was great and he told me to treat every day we hunted as if it were the first day and never let defeat take over your thoughts. After multiple encounters but no shot, he just moved on to find the next opportunity. He was determined for me to get a nice bull. On the evening of the 4th day of a 5 day hunt I shot a nice 339” bull. He never skipped a beat and it gave me a lot of confidence.

I am obviously not in a position to give Elk hunting advice, but he sure as hell is.

Nice bull, you and your guide done good…..real good!

The photo is a nice “teaser”! How about “the rest of the story”….. where at, cartridge used,bullet used, range the Bull was shot, and a few words about the hunt! Also, Congratulations to you sir! memtb

Thank you!! It was something that I wanted to do for many years.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/17685460/first-elk#Post17685460

Thank You for the link! 👍 memtb

Whenever I walk up to a dead elk my first thought is “who got who”.

Your Euro mount turned out great too!!!

This^^^

I never got a NM elk when I didn't cover a lot of country pre-season, preferably on foot, with glass and a good map to mark. Always had to do it DIY and that ain't changed.

no elk advice here, just my condolences on the lost of your wife. i lost my beloved wife Oct 4 2021 to cancer. i'm just starting to except and adjust.

True. And you can't be afraid of being alone. There's nothing wrong with being with a partner, but separating can often put one or both in a better position for a shot. Elk country can be huge and very lonely, miles from a road. Some guys just get nervous when there's no one else in sight.

The best part of the day is that 30 min between 1st light and sunup. I just love being out then.

Best part of the day, when the mountains are waking up. The dark makes you feel alive, especially when you walk up on deer or elk bedded on a ridge, walk up to a pothole in the sage flats you didn't know was there and have some puddle ducks explode in your face or look to your right and there is a white faced cow staring at you from eight feet away..

Thats a form of poetry right there....

I remember early one morning when I was bowhunting elk. There were quite a few angus cattle grazing in the area. As it was getting light, I was sneaking through some quakies when I spotted a black angus cow about 20 yds ahead of me, lying behind a lot. I didn't want to spook her so I slowly moved to one side...and got a good look at her ears. They were round. It was a bear. I had a tag but no shot. It put it's head down and it disappeared. I have no idea how it sneaked away from me like that.

I've taken the majority of my elk at this time, and many at very first shooting light. Always in the spot I want be at then. Yes you have to get there in the dark.

A great time to be hunting.

I’ve bumped various critters in the dark. One time I was hunting with the guy who own the land we hunt and he left camp a couple of minutes before I did. We were parking at the same spot and walking in a ways to our hunting spots. I could see his light go out in the pickup when I was about a quarter mile from him. I pulled up behind his truck and got my gear and headed up the steep trail knowing he was only a few minutes ahead of me. About 200 yards in, I heard a cow call just ahead of me and figured it was him messing with me until there was another to my left and another to the right! Then there was the thunder of hooves then back to silence. Damn! I walked through a small herd of elk in the dark. When I told him about it later, he said he smelled them as he passed by, too. We got a good laugh about it. The following day, I got a bull just after daylight and he got one just before dark. Happy Trails

I use OnX on my phone. Before you go, be sure to download the area map in case you lose cell service. Plus, using it offline will save the battery. You might need it later.
A GPS needs to backed up with a compass and map...and know how to read it.

As I'm no longer young, I have only two rules:

(1) Hunt uphill.

(2) Never shoot anything after 1 p.m. unless it's within 100 yards of camp.

Get in shape and I don't mean bench pressing, I mean hiking up and down mountains all day long with 50 pounds on your back.

I'm sure that somewhere in this thread it's been mentioned that you need to get away from other hunters.

Years ago a young guy in our church hiked 7 miles into some high mountain lakes where there was rumored to be a good herd. He found them and got a great bull. It took him a few days to pack it out as it was a really rugged trail. I've looked at the lakes on a map and it's a long hard steep hike in.
A few days after he got home, he got a call from the Idaho Fish & Game. They'd spotted him packing out the antlers from a helicopter and had a game warden on the ground go to the trailhead to try to get his pickup license #. They told him that they'd been watching that herd for several years and called him to congratulated him on a nice bull...and to tell him that in those years he was the 1st hunter with the 'nads to go in and get one.

That’s a great story Rock Chuck.

Find two young hunters with strong backs to share your 'wisdom' with.
Hunt where the elk are, #1.
Never give up and just start walking!