DIY Elk Hunt help.

Been a dream of mine to go out west and chase Elks in the backcountry for quite a while and recently decided I need to start putting the pieces together to hopefully make this happen next year and if not, definitely the following year. Hopefully I can get enough up to speed to make it out next year... Any DIY Elk hunters out there that can give a first timer a few pointers on putting together a first elk hunt..
I know next to nothing about elk hunting other than to make the trip easier on myself, spend the next year getting into crazy good shape...

Just curious about how much it will run me to go out and rough it on public land for about 10 days... I don't have anybody to go with me as of now so if I could, I would be interested in pairing up with somebody whom is also interested in going. Would maybe help me learn the ropes or if your new too then we can learn from mistakes together lol.

I know there is a ton of pieces in this and was just looking for some basic information and maybe pointers or tips from DIYers who have been out and maybe learned the hard way.


I have just started researching on Elk101 and the RockyMtn Elk Foundation in hopes of getting a solid start.

Thanks,
CJ

When I researched it there are actually quite a bit more OTC elk tags out there than I thought. Utah, Idaho and Colorado all have OTC elk tags. I got on the forums and read a lot from others and started narrowing what area I wanted to hunt. Idaho was cool but generally has very rough terrain. Colorado isn't a breeze and most areas are WAY up there. I went to Colorado. I also chose a unit that doesn't allow anything but foot or horse transportation.

Next go to hunt data and download the maps for your area for your GPS and order two paper maps. I forget the terms but I got one that was farther out and showed the unit as a whole and surrounding units. The other was a much closer that had just the elk area I would be hunting. Hunt data shows private land, elk migration and summer ranges, walking trails and roads.

In the unit I was in I was fortune enough to meet the guide who held the land use permit for the area. I spent $600 for him to use his horse string to get our camp in and out, plus if I got an elk down he would get it to the truck.

10 days is tough for a first timer. I would plan to hunt 4 or 5 days, then go back to town, sleep in a bed, get a shower and a shave, then go back for another 4-5 days.

Then you need to decide on your dates. We went opening day. The elk were not in rut and would be found above timber line feeding in the meadows. Colorado had muzzle loader season in the middle of archery season and that puts it in the middle of the rut. This means more hunters to compete with and orange. That is why we went early.

Don't cheap out on equipment. Every ounce matters. Plus, you will not need nearly as many clothes as you think. I took way too many the first trip out. I recommend plenty of socks and underwear, then one set of good marino wool base, 2 sets light weight outerwear and a good jacket. It's cool in the mornings but you are likely to be hiking, so simple easy to shed layers are best. It get warm during the day but a pop up thunderstorm is likely and because the come over the mountains you do not get much warning. A good lightweight waterproof jacket is a must.

If you are going to go opening day, I suggest packing in and getting camp set up at least 3 days early. Use day one to set up camp and get used to the altitude. Use day 2 to get out from camp and look for elk and day three for your scouting. locate an area that you can glass the areas above timberline and figure out where elk are. Opening morning, get up early and get there.

I have bivy sacks and can camp out anywhere on the mountain if needed and keep my pack around 40 pounds. It's going to be uncomfortable, it just is. So just understand you are not going to be comfortable.

If you would like to talk off line, feel free to give me a call

Byron 706-621-8575

I was hoping you would chime in. I have been off the Radar for a few years but I remember that you take a yearly trip out there. I was dead set on getting out there next year but with the cost of all the gear (quality gear) and plus transportation and the actual hunt it might be more realistic for me to use the next year prepping for the following year. I'll see how it goes and go from there. I was talking to a guy out at the Archery Range that has been going the last 10-12 years and it sounded rough. Hopefully my time roughing it over Afghanistan will play to my advantage.... I was thinking I may need more gear than what I am wanting to buy right away for 10 days straight. So coming in and resetting after a few days would probably be the right call.

I graduate Nursing School in December and was toying with the idea of putting my first check aside and trying to get up money for a guided hunt for my first time. And hopefully family will toss a few dollars my way too. The hunts are just so expensive but it may cut the learning curve down a bit.

I will definitely take your number down and will likely shoot you a PM a little later. Getting the ball rolling on this would and actually getting out there would be a dream come true.

I have saved your response so I can go back and look at it.

Thank you,
CJ

I'd be interested in talking with you as well. I have been wanting to do the same thing.

stick_slinger said:

I graduate Nursing School in December and was toying with the idea of putting my first check aside and trying to get up money for a guided hunt for my first time. And hopefully family will toss a few dollars my way too. The hunts are just so expensive but it may cut the learning curve down a bit.

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There's no need to do guided when there's millions of acres of public land. I can't speak for you, but $8000 at a minimum isn't worth it to me to just get away from other hunters when all you really have to do is walk a couple extra miles. Each mile you go, the less hunters there are. But if you don't go an OTC option, also look at leftover tags, it might not always be the highest quality areas, but that doesn't mean it won't hold good animals. Plus, for your first one, don't set your expectations to high and then get down and want to give up. Don't go out there expecting 350" bulls to be all over the place, cause that ain't gonna happen. Really, you should be expecting to shoot a raghorn or get lucky and shoot a big one on your first trip. Cause elk are smart and it's a big learning curve. Just keep your hopes up when hunting them though, elk hunting is very mental.

HunterJoe24 said:

There's no need to do guided when there's millions of acres of public land. I can't speak for you, but $8000 at a minimum isn't worth it to me to just get away from other hunters when all you really have to do is walk a couple extra miles. Each mile you go, the less hunters there are. But if you don't go an OTC option, also look at leftover tags, it might not always be the highest quality areas, but that doesn't mean it won't hold good animals. Plus, for your first one, don't set your expectations to high and then get down and want to give up. Don't go out there expecting 350" bulls to be all over the place, cause that ain't gonna happen. Really, you should be expecting to shoot a raghorn or get lucky and shoot a big one on your first trip. Cause elk are smart and it's a big learning curve. Just keep your hopes up when hunting them though, elk hunting is very mental.

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Dang, if its gonna cost me $8,000 to do a guided hunt then that is certainly out of the question but I have found some less than $3,500. Granted that doesn't cover travel expenses but I don't see another $4,000 coming from other things... It was just a thought, DIY is likely the way i'll do it. And while I hope to see and arrow a big bull on my first trip, I certainly don't expect it. Seeing as how I have never stepped foot out west before or have ever even touched any type of Elk call

I'm listening...

Had a trip planned bout 10 years ago as I was nearly 50 that fell thru the month before we, the guys I was going with backed out and I chose to follow suit..very disappointed in the entire deal including myself and now staring 60 in the face..I had just recently determined that I will be going it alone!! And, thinking that will be in the next 2 years!

I've been out west a bunch over the years doing business with little to no play time..would love to put something together with the right folk or folks!

Archery is what I'm looking for...

I have been toying with Hunting around the Jackson Hole, Wyoming area. I have a place to stay out there with a friend. I have successfully hunted Kansas putting trips together for 6 years. But an Elk hunting trip has seemed to be quite difficult to put together.

I can tell you that you can train all you want, when you get out there walking up hill at 12,000 feet, it be worse than you thought! LOL

There are plenty of OTC opportunities. I guess guides are fine but I can take 3 or 4 trips out there for the same money as one guided hunt, (once the gear is bought).

I love learning and the two trips I made out to Colorado were awesome. I feel like I could go back to that unit and get on a bull now.

Leaving this morning for Utah. I will have a mule deer buck tag and a cow / spike elk tag. I drew the deer tag with 0 points and the elk tag is OTC. Driving out because my bro in law is going with me and he is toting the same two tags. Hoping to come home with a trailer load of meat.

I did a good 12 months of research before I chose the elk unit in Colorado. Called the game biologist for that unti several times over the summer and talked to him. Took 12 months to buy gear. A sleeping bag here, bivy sack there, pack, ect... Broke those expenses up. But most of the gear can be used for years to come.

I knew from experience that most people will be all up for the idea but when it comes time to climb in the truck, they disappear. Find you one guy that you can depend on and get him dedicated, pick a departure date and expect to be in the truck that day.

I have thought about heading back out to Colorado by my self next time. I think it would be awesome.

The Arrow Guru said:

I can tell you that you can train all you want, when you get out there walking up hill at 12,000 feet, it be worse than you thought! LOL

There are plenty of OTC opportunities. I guess guides are fine but I can take 3 or 4 trips out there for the same money as one guided hunt, (once the gear is bought).

I love learning and the two trips I made out to Colorado were awesome. I feel like I could go back to that unit and get on a bull now.

Leaving this morning for Utah. I will have a mule deer buck tag and a cow / spike elk tag. I drew the deer tag with 0 points and the elk tag is OTC. Driving out because my bro in law is going with me and he is toting the same two tags. Hoping to come home with a trailer load of meat.

I did a good 12 months of research before I chose the elk unit in Colorado. Called the game biologist for that unti several times over the summer and talked to him. Took 12 months to buy gear. A sleeping bag here, bivy sack there, pack, ect... Broke those expenses up. But most of the gear can be used for years to come.

I knew from experience that most people will be all up for the idea but when it comes time to climb in the truck, they disappear. Find you one guy that you can depend on and get him dedicated, pick a departure date and expect to be in the truck that day.

I have thought about heading back out to Colorado by my self next time. I think it would be awesome.

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Yeah man, that last part about finding somebody is the part I'm worried about... I don't know any truly dedicated Bowhunters that I know are gonna be ready to climb in the truck and go. They will likely back out when the time comes. If I buy my own gear and go out the first year as a DIY it may be another year before I can go because I know the gear alone is gonna set me back a pretty penny but it will be worth the wait because I know the gear is gonna last me... Maybe I'll put a GPS or something on my Christmas list this year and will put my money from graduation towards gear.

Any thoughts on Elk University through Elk101.com? I may sign up for that and while I get the gear and funds together try to learn as much as I can through that. It seems to provide valuable information.

And if you don't mind me asking. For a DIY what seems to be about the average cost for roughly a 10 day hunt? I'm assuming gear is gonna run $1,500 or so (just a guess).

I may plan for the year after next if I do a straight up DIY the first time. Spend the next year getting the gear together and learning the basics of Elk hunting while learning the basics of calling. And the spend the next 12 months figuring out where I'm gonna hunt. Might be more realistic for me rather than trying to get it all done before next season.

OmenHonkey said:

I have been toying with Hunting around the Jackson Hole, Wyoming area. I have a place to stay out there with a friend. I have successfully hunted Kansas putting trips together for 6 years. But an Elk hunting trip has seemed to be quite difficult to put together.

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A big Kansas Booner with my bow and a Bull Elk from anywhere are the top 2 on my hunting bucket list. I actually have a friend moving to Kansas very soon so hopefully that will help me get started on marking that one off the list. He is gonna start looking around for a lease when he gets up there. Fingers crossed

Btw, I don't think Wyoming offers OTC Elk tags so unless you already have points built up getting on a Elk in Wyoming might be tough. I have a friend doing travel Nursing there right now and has a Co-Worker who lives there who just finally got drawn for a tag after 10 years. He goes out of state every year to hunt. I'm not sure the details on where he applied or anything.

stick_slinger said:

A big Kansas Booner with my bow and a Bull Elk from anywhere are the top 2 on my hunting bucket list. I actually have a friend moving to Kansas very soon so hopefully that will help me get started on marking that one off the list. He is gonna start looking around for a lease when he gets up there. Fingers crossed

Btw, I don't think Wyoming offers OTC Elk tags so unless you already have points built up getting on a Elk in Wyoming might be tough. I have a friend doing travel Nursing there right now and has a Co-Worker who lives there who just finally got drawn for a tag after 10 years. He goes out of state every year to hunt. I'm not sure the details on where he applied or anything.

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I think some units in WY aren't quite that hard to get tags for. I haven't studied it very hard mostly just talking to a friend that lives and hunts there.

OmenHonkey said:

I think some units in WY aren't quite that hard to get tags for. I haven't studied it very hard mostly just talking to a friend that lives and hunts there.

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10 years to get one he was probably trying in a pretty tough unit and will be a crazy good spot this upcoming year.

stick_slinger said:

Any thoughts on Elk University through Elk101.com?

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Colorado has a free one I got a lot of info from:
http://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/EHU.aspx

This site is extremely useful for choosing units:
http://www.toprut.com/

Colorado also has a free hunt planning service that you can call and explain what you want to do and they'll help you choose a unit and figure out logistics.

We are doing a back country hunt in October (either-sex rifle) and using llamas to pack in and out. After much research, llamas seem to be the ultimate, low maintenance pack animal. I would reserve them 6 months in advance.
http://www.rent-a-llama.com/

Minus new gear purchases, I think we'll be in the neighborhood of $1,500 each for the trip driving out there including license/tag, fuel, food, and llama rental.

Thanks C.Killmaster, that is some very useful information!!! I've already started to re-think my current bow setup as well. I have a single pin slider which I love but a lot of the Elk hunts I see the Elk come in very fast and don't leave time for adjustments so I think I'll be going to the Spott Hogg 3-pin slider after this season... Give me the slider adjustment ability which I love and will use when I have time but will have the ability to just draw and shoot when needed.

Any GPS recommendations that aren't $500??

stick_slinger said:

Thanks C.Killmaster, that is some very useful information!!! I've already started to re-think my current bow setup as well. I have a single pin slider which I love but a lot of the Elk hunts I see the Elk come in very fast and don't leave time for adjustments so I think I'll be going to the Spott Hogg 3-pin slider after this season... Give me the slider adjustment ability which I love and will use when I have time but will have the ability to just draw and shoot when needed.

Any GPS recommendations that aren't $500??

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Yes, get OnX Maps on your smart phone and a compass and basic GPS for backup. I think it's like $30 per state per year and you can download topo and aerial to your phone for offline use. They have the most accurate public/private land boundaries on the market. Also pick up paper copies of USFS or BLM land, wherever you end up going to hunt.

Also, don't wait 2 years to go. You're not getting any younger and you just have to plan it and make it happen. If I were you I would go this year if you can swing it. I stayed home for too many years. If you look at it as just your first time going, rather than a once in a lifetime, there's less pressure to kill some monster bull and you'll have more fun.

Another thing we did was watch flight prices and got really cheap flights ($160) to Denver and spent 5 days in the spring hiking and scouting. That really narrowed down where in the unit we wanted to focus. It also gives you an idea how you'll handle the altitude.

Like white-tailed and mule deer across the country, a lot of OTC units and units with lots of tags are hunted hard and big antlered bulls are not common.

You just have to decide if you want to shoot any elk or a giant bull.

Also look at putting in for the Kentucky tags.

I would love to go this year but I'll be tied up with Nursing School until December.. Plus my wife would literally kill me if I dropped that much money on a hunting trip right now lol. Maybe I can get everything together and make it happen for next year, we will see... And cool, I just downloaded OnX the other day.

stick_slinger said:

Been a dream of mine to go out west and chase Elks in the backcountry for quite a while and recently decided I need to start putting the pieces together to hopefully make this happen next year and if not, definitely the following year. Hopefully I can get enough up to speed to make it out next year... Any DIY Elk hunters out there that can give a first timer a few pointers on putting together a first elk hunt..
I know next to nothing about elk hunting other than to make the trip easier on myself, spend the next year getting into crazy good shape...

Just curious about how much it will run me to go out and rough it on public land for about 10 days... I don't have anybody to go with me as of now so if I could, I would be interested in pairing up with somebody whom is also interested in going. Would maybe help me learn the ropes or if your new too then we can learn from mistakes together lol.

I know there is a ton of pieces in this and was just looking for some basic information and maybe pointers or tips from DIYers who have been out and maybe learned the hard way.


I have just started researching on Elk101 and the RockyMtn Elk Foundation in hopes of getting a solid start.

Thanks,
CJ

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This site below is dedicated to DIY Western Hunting. I think you will find it, and specifically the elk sub-forum, very helpful, with many knowledgeable people who have been doing this their whole lives and live out there. (Just like they could get more info on hunting whitetails in GA on this forum)

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/

Also probably a great place to look for folks who are serious and will do more than just talk about it when the rubber meets the road