Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Is 40 elk enough?

Not true.

If that were the case, I would be sitting home in a rocking chair every year. One year, When I drew a coveted Big Horn Sheep Tag on Pikes Peak, I cranked up my TENs Units to maximum output, loaded up one mule and went up and shot a nice 7/8ths curl ram. After my first fusion, I went elk hunting ,horse back 8 week slater wearing a full body brace. As the saying goes, Cowboy up

Saddlesore you sir are an inspiration.

The big trick to being able to hunt elk until a ripe old age is being able to get the meat out. Saddlesore uses his mules. I use llamas. Others have places where they can use atv's while others find strong young backs to take hunting with them. It's just that when you're approaching 70, from either side, backpacking elk quarters isn't nearly as fun as it was when 40.

I've packed a couple with an atv but 99% of our elk country is too steep and rocky for wheeled vehicles, even if legal.

One thing I learned years ago, is that you hurt just as much sitting home as you do up on the mountain.

Very true. 2 years ago, when I was 65, I hiked 12 miles one day with the llamas packing out 3 deer. I was tired but it was a lot more fun than watching soap operas on TV.

These are the good old days of elk hunting.

Tags are relatively inexpensive, opportunities for multiple tags in some states.

I hunted 8-9 days last year and shot 5, 2 in Montana and 3 in Wyoming...all on public accessible lands.

3 cows and these 2 bulls:

Montana bull:



Wyoming bull:



I was already done elk hunting in Montana and glassed this one up en route to pack my bull. Another hunter came along, that I didn't know, and was looking for a bull. I showed him this bull and helped him take this one:

Very nice bulls sir. Always good to see people still helping others out.

Yep, and a trumpet on the way there.

one factors thats becoming rather obvious,is that reading through this thread, its the old geezers that are still hunting, guys that started out decades back, that seem to both rack up the larger total kills, and thats probably because it takes years to develop the effective required skills and knowledge required to do so, and spend the weeks and decades afield it would require, the sad part is that about the time your in your 60s or older , having paid your dues for 30-40 plus years and you now know what to look for and why your doing things your generally in less than ideal physical condition to still carry on for several more decades to reap the rewards of those gained skills

That and being a resident or qualifying for "kinship permits" in states that have cheap and plentiful tags.

Sometimes it takes so long to find that really good elk hidey hole that you get your geezing license before you do.

I know several good hidey holes, however, I don't want an elk bad enough to go into them.

Years ago a friend located a high flat mountain that was pure hell to climb. The elk were on top. As he was dressing out a big bull, a plane buzzed him. Later, after he was home, he got a call from the IDFG congratulating him on the nice bull. They told him that they'd got his name from his truck license parked at the bottom. He was the 1st hunter they'd seen up there in several years. They knew about the elk but nobody hunted it more than once. He said he'd never do that again. The elk wasn't worth the work to get it out.

I've said that nearly every year after packing out elk,but somehow I keep going back, my wife says its a MASOCHISTIC STREAK, A MILE WIDE

(for the few with a limited vocabulary)
masochistic personality
n.
A personality disorder characterized by the infliction of pain on oneself so as to gain personal satisfaction .

Again I can't thank you old guys enough for shareing your story's to us kids. I for one am listening.

My brother has talked for years about buying land in the gila forest, maybe someday we will. Then we can get some mules and go after the monsters.

To the OP: And there is your secret, if you are still young enough. Pick spots in your chosen district where you would least like to go......


Then go there.

I took my first elk in 1974. I was pretty young and ignorant...Now, I'm just old and ignorant, but there is something about being, "In the elk" in September that is nearly unmatched. It's something I want to do every year until I'm physically not able to. I don't even need to kill one every year, but just need to be there....I went back to a recurve 19 years ago. This bull is the only elk I've taken with it. I had my goal of a really good herd bull, or nothing at all. Dozens, and dozens of close encounters through the years, but there was always a snafu involved. I can't describe what I felt when this all came together last fall....it was an amazing day!

I know a guy that will only hunt bow and makes all of it himself including his arrows. He may buy strings but im not sure on that one. He will not hunt with anybody unless he goes to Canada for moose. Nice bull!

My hunting partners realize I have an obsessive compulsive personality disorder that involves elk hunting related in some form year round. Most guys have a life I guess. I'm only about half-way to that 40 mark.
There is no off season. Every weekend is -

scout and scout again
deploy trail cams
hunt a leftover tag (I'll even hunt real low success tags just because I like the hunt as much as the kill)
gun shows
volunteer with the youth hunting programs
hunt sheds
shoot at the gun club
hunt antelope or sheep (in large part to prepare for elk)
collect trail cams
service equipment
contact landowners
local elk banquet
elk camp Vegas
state elk rendezvous
campfire rendezvous
visit a new shooting range

and I don't have reloading in that mix.

I know a lot of guys who are just plain full of it also.
hear stories of how great they were, killed dozens and dozens of elk, but I've never seen a picture and only seen maybe one or two dead elk in the 15 years I've known them. 40-60 elk is a LOT of elk. it is totally doable don't get me wrong. but how many guys out there have killed 15-20 and to them it feels like a lot more so they exaggerate a little bit, it happens.
I know guys that do it with deer, say they have killed over 100 when actually it's probably more like 20.