Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Bull elk for the old and fat?

PM sent = tell'm gamebag gary gave you info!

Those are good prices.
A few photos.




Farmers hate it if you shoot anywhere near the sprinklers





They fight a lot and get pretty busted up.
These pics are from later in the season after some damage has been done.

Are they there in hunting season, or is that the winter range?

They are in the valley on pivot fields all year, above I put bulls n cows from oct to end of dec, phone changed it, it's second week of August till end of dec. I have killed a lot of elk in the upper end of the valley, n you see herds like alamosa's pics in the summer too, but they are on private land n have to have. Oucher, also 681 n 682 differ on their season dates though both have vouchers. Hopefully by spring I'll have all my junk down here sold n I will be up there to stay for good!!

1 thing I like about summer hunt is hunt elk morning n evening n shoot p dogs middle of the day

The CPW has advertised those San Luis valley floor hunts for years and you sign up for a draw.Problem is there has never been a draw. They want the elk gone because they get in the seed potatoe fields. We checked in out for several years, putting pur names in as we knew a rancher near the Russel Lakes and the CPW drives around and gives vouchers to the locals. Then the locals sell them. We were all set one year to get some of this fellows vouchers,but he called and said about two days before the season, a bunch of pick ups and ATV'a harrassed the elk over to the eastern edge of the valley where big name ranches were selling thier vouchers

One of the places we hunt is right there at russel lakes n have had good luck there, the park has a lot of elk on it n they don't want them n hire shooters n also try n drive the Eli off it every year. His hunts are all on west side of valley

Yup what he said

There has been a draw, but there isn't one now.
The DOW office was never very forthcoming with information. It was difficult to get to the person who knew.
There is still quite a bit of pressure to have some damage control hunts available to the public without the landowner vouicher part. The big federal changes to the Baca Grande and the area surrounding the Sand Dunes really limited the public land available for a public hunt. They can do hunts at the Refuges but it won't support much hunting for long.

Not bull elk but probably still of interest.

The Chieftain had an article today that said hazing and damage control hunts being considered to disperse elk concentrations damaging private land. A meeting is scheduled for public input. Link to the article won't help you because you have to be a paid Chieftain subscriber, but this link has the raw info.
http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/pressrel/2012/12192012_SLV_elk.html
This cycle repeats every couple years. If you are interested in a damage control hunt you should send an email and say so. Sometimes these meetings are loaded with outfitters who will all say that landowner vouchers (re-sold by the outfitters) are all that is necessary. The damage control hunts are worthwhile. I've done 4. They are not DIY but no gimme's either. Public area available to hunt is a lot smaller than it used to be so probably few will be chosen if there is a draw.

It is your public resource and you deserve a say in this.

Gary O;
There are some decent guided hunts for 4 grand. Up that number to 5 and there are a whole lot.
Above the price of the hunt is the price of the tag.

Things to consider;

Do you have any �Points� built up in any states ? Most elk hunting states have some type of bonus or preference point system. Having enough points to draw a great tag can make a world of difference.

Do you want to hunt �right now� meaning 2013, or are you willing to wait a few years to draw a tag ?

Do you want to sleep in a lodge, eat at a restaurant or would you be willing to sleep in a tent, eat around a campfire and ride/pack into the back country on horses ?

Colorado sells a lot of tags �over the counter, so does Idaho. Last year Montana had a lot of tags left over after the draw, for sale �first come, first serve�.

New Mexico has some great elk hunting, and gives an advantage in the drawing to hunters who book guided hunts.

Arguably the best elk hunting in the country takes place in Arizona and Utah, and the best tags in those states can take decades (not years, decades) to draw. Utah has a landowner tag system where you can buy great tags directly from private property owners. The really good tags sell for upwards of ten grand, just for the tag !

All that said, I�ll give you two outfitters to check out. Disclaimer, I have never hunted with these outfitter, I just know their reputations, and think they might be able to help you.

Winterhawk, in Colorado
JFWRC in New Mexico

Gary O, I myself lived the good life for awhile and ended up waay out of shape to really make the effort. However, if you have other physical limits, it just comes down to the $$$$$ you are willing to spend. I was willing to change my lifestyle to be able to hunt.I am in better shape at 64 than I have been since military. Granted it is called hunting and not shooting, so have to eat tag soup every couple of years. Generally because of pizz poor planning on my part. Go figure.