Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Killing Elk

No Schidt!

My biggest bull, probably less than 300 inches but big bodied, fell about a half mile uphill from where we could eventually get an ATV. It was very considerate of him to be there. It was steep enough downhill grade that my friend and I could slide and drag him down in one trip.

My friend poses with him. He broke a left side point off from his fall up high and to the right.

I would be curious as to your guess of the percentage of the total elk kill nationwide that were killed in the hunter's backyard.

My best friend was a sheep hunter.
Best human being I ever knew.
We were friends for 35 years.
We shared the glory, we shared the pain.
I miss him every single day.

Elk do seem to bring out the best and worst of people, here and elsewhere. I do not know why but I have noticed it too.

I've killed my fair share, though nothing real big. All Rocky Mountain bulls have been general season public land, DIY and all but one have been solo. I wouldn't have it any other way. It is just how I like to do things. I have never drawn a LE Rocky Mountain bull tag, in any state and I put in for a lot of them. I did draw a Rosey bull tag in Alaska though.

To be fair, I know some absolute bad asses of other disciplines who don't hunt at all and would absolutely whip my ass if I were to try their passions. It's just the way the world turns...

George,

Good bull! (And good to hear you got him on the "correct" side of the road....)

You planning on coming through Montana again anytime soon?

Elk hunting is over-rated in regard to how tough it is. Yeah, you can't be a total couch potato. You have to be able to hike and pack. But, its not as tough as most make is sound either.

They aren't my favorite thing to hunt, not even in my top 5. My entire life has been a good time to be an elk hunter. Makes sense to take advantage of what's best at the time.

First elk, November 1980...



83rd elk, December 2022



A few favorites:

Life’s worthless analogies, finding elk and dick size.

Who cares how big their dick is as long as it works?

Show me a gent that can kill Blacktail in NW Oregon, or western wa, consistently,that’s impressive. 👊🏻

I live in Wisconsin where hunting deer is almost a religion...

Once you kill an elk.... deer hunting takes a back seat.... it's never the same after that.

I run into some serious deer hunters... And I just think... "buddy... If you want to get serious.... "

Getting an elk is sort of a rite of passage in western elk communities. Everybody gets a deer, but the elk thing can take more effort. You've kind of arrived when you fill the freezer with a elk and more so if it's a bull.

As far as the pack-out, so many seem to fear it and absolutely dread the process. I think it just adds to the experience of earning it. With a decent pack, decent footwear, and being in reasonable shape, it ain't as bad as many make it sound. With even one partner, getting an elk out helps a bunch and in my opinion adds to the "team" experience. Even if it means you're packing somebody else's elk.

I don’t know how much more manly it makes you, I’d need to convert to LDS and get a second wife if I got much more manly, but it’s way cooler than sitting in a box shooting a deer at a corn feeder that you’ve been looking at trail cam pics of for three years.

Elk is my spirit animal and I've never killed one.



And killing in general(recreation or otherwise) has really waned in the last 4-5 years.

i hear ya.


I kill porcupines though.

And it ain't even their fault!



Yeah, you don't want to run one through a corn chopper and have it end up in the silage pile.

That said, give me a wild pheasant hunt like I had growing up on the Sacramento Delta and I would be hard pressed....

A big rooster flushing in front of your dog's steady point and a perfect retrieve after the shot and an elk bugling in the big draw below you on a frosty september morning at first light.

That would be tough to choose

Elk hunting can be as difficult as you want to make it, or as easy as helping around the ranch.

The funny part is how many folks know that their way is the best.

It’s no magic, but takes hard work or money like everything else worth a [bleep] in life. Some are easy; some are hard. A motivated person can obtain an elk if wanted. I agree with you 100%. Sometimes luck. Don’t discount luck. Killing an elk doesn’t add to a man, but surely it doesn’t detract either. If you haven’t killed one and have had ample opportunity I would be more likely to question you, than to idolize someone that has.

nothing like the blood rush of a successful hunt done fair chase, on foot, away from roads and vehicles..

nothing like the hard work of a five mile pack on foot, four trips, at altitude, of an animal...

however, only a moose or an elk can provide the wonder of best meat from a spike or bull or cow or calf....

turning down a shot at a broadside 7X7 spindle bull was my highlight of elk hunting. it was a skinny two year old with narrow short tines,, and responded to my cow call...

and I let it go... That is elk hunting at its best: passing on a mature bull for whatever reason... for me... muzzle loader... next time...