Do any of you purposely hunt deer when you have both deer and elk tags? Especially a bull tag?

- Why would you hunt deer on purpose if you have an elk tag at the same time?

Are you hunting both, or not?...... Whichever one comes first, leaves the rest of the season to chouse the udder one....

Yeah, that.

But with one other thought. I hunt harder for the elk first because if you spook them
they may not be back in the area for weeks. MD will be there.
But when opportunity knocks........

I’ve hunted deer off and on all my life, no elk here. 99.5% of that deer hunting on the same land seeing the same trees, same bushes, sitting in a stand or next to a tree waiting for a deer to walk by. I’m bored of it. No elk in this part of the state and drawing a tag slim chance. I would elk hunt in Kentucky if I drew a tag sure but to me even then I would prefer the western elk hunting experience.
Always thought elk hunting would be a heck of a lot of fun plus I’ve ate elk meat a few times and it’s delicious.
If I saw a monster deer while elk hunting I might shoot it but other than that I can’t think of why i would want to deer hunt on purpose with an elk tag in my pocket. Maybe it’s just me.

Years ago,we would have deer tag in our pocket and maybe shoot one on the way back to camp, but when I am hunting elk,I am hunting elk.With today's short season I would not want o take a day out of elk hunting to pack a deer out.Elk are hard enough to find anyway

How big would a deer have to be for you to shoot it while elk hunting?

We shot any that were legal on the way back to camp which might have been 1/2 way from the elk hunting area.(2-3 miles) Out elk hunting I let quite a few bigger ones go. It could be a B&C, but if I am after elk, I let them walk. Big deer never interested me much. I can shoot bigger deer in my back yard than I see in elk country .When I do shoot them they are just added meat in the freezer

Interesting.. I would take a big deer over any elk I have ever seen.. I am just the reverse, elk are just meat, and not even close my favorite.. Today, I still love hunting deer, elk I can take it or leave it.. Last year I had two licenses.. Maybe hunted one day.. But other events were much of the problem.. But still I only hunt elk when there is nothing else to do..

Just curious why does deer turn your crank so much over elk hunting?

When I was growing up in CO I carried a deer tag, an elk tag and a bear tag. I hunted hardest for elk but would take the deer if it was a good one or was really close to the road. Bear on the other hand got top billing if I saw one. I was a CO resident for 52 years and I killed a lot of mulies and elk but only shot 2 bear. When the opportunity presented itself I went for the bruin and forgot all about elk and deer.

Tags were a lot easier to get back then and unless I wanted doe or cow tags I could buy OTC buck, bear and bull tags. Those days are gone.

I only deer hunt when elk and antelope tags are rendered useless ,by either the season or being filled. That being said if I happen upon a mule deer while looking for antelope, I am then deer hunting. Usually from my experience if you hunt for both together, you find yourself in a place between desirable spots for either..........

About the same here.

I really like to chase elk in the rut which is one reason I hunt in ML season.Something about a bull screaming that sets the hair on my neck up

I’ve never hunted elk and that bugling excites me just watching it on tv and YouTube’s.

I've hunted deer and elk at the same time. Also hunted bear and elk at the same time.

Time off work comes at a premium with an abrupt end all too soon. Same as animals on public land being pressed by abundant hunters.

In 18 years or so. Having an extra tag only put meat in the freezer from an alternate species twice.

Quite a few years I only put in for elk, opting to forego the deer tag. More meat, and I saw more elk generally in that area than deer.

For me , I’ve not found prime areas to overlap very often. I’d always hunt Elk first then move to deer either after your tag is filled or by sheer luck. Elk tastes better anyhow.

Not an issue for me in WA since rifle deer and elk don’t generally overlap. In CO, if I’m fortunate to have both tags I hunt elk primarily until that tag is filled unless a wall hanger happens by. Happy Trails

Here, deer season opens 5 days before elk so by the time elk season opens, they're either used to the shooting or they're gone entirely. One more shot isn't going to scare them any more than they already are.

Where I live, I hunt deer, elk, and antelope on the same day if I hadn't already gotten my antelope. Of course I would never try for all three on the same day!
I usually fit in some Sharptails and Huns though.

Big mulies are very difficult to get. If you see a big one on a ridge 1/2 mile away, you'd better be out of sight. If he sees you, even at that distance, he's gone. Shooting an elk will likely scare the deer more than vice versa.

Big mule deer are super smart.. Big elk also, but I give a big mulie the most credit.. I just love them.. Elk are just meat and not close to my favorite..

No - but I'm archery in Idaho when both are in legal season, so I'll have both tags on me.

I'm not "purposely" going to hunt deer on an elk hunt - until the elk is down - but I'll have a deer tag just in case "the one" steps out.

I've finished an elk stalk, and had a monster muley bedded near me, that I'd have taken in a minute, had the shot presented.

We've passed many a mulie during the elk hunt, but none were a "wow" either.

Sure.
I have done that many times. Sometimes I have also had a bear tag too, especially in Idaho.

The only tag I use that for me so far has never been in the same area or a the same time for open seasons are Antelope. When I hunt antelope it's usually only antelope. There are some elk and antelope overlaps, but I have never hunting them both at the same time in the same area. Most times the 2 seasons do not overlap. But depending on the area it's not uncommon to hunt deer bear and elk at the same time.