A Georgian's first Elk hunt - the full story

[ddd-shooter]

Well I wanted to stay, number one advice i read leading up to the trip was "dont leave elk to find elk" but i got outvoted, buddy thought we would find some honey hole with no pressure if we looked hard enough, ended up wasting 2 days. Im confident if we would have dedicated those days to the elk we found our chances would have increased.

Knowing how hard elk are to find, I agree. Either way, great job, great story, great memory.

 

[KentuckyHeadhunter]

That was a great read! Thanks for sharing your journey.

 

[HardlyHangin]

That was a great read! Thanks for sharing your journey.

Glad everyone has enjoyed it! Maybe itll make it to the magazine lol

 

[Big7]

I've been thinking about it for a while.
Before I retired, me and 2 others had a trip planned but they both backed out.

Money wasn't really an issue back then because I still had plenty coming in.

On the fence right now because of how much they charge for an out of state hunter and no guarantees.

Really not interested in a high fence "hunt".
To me, that's not really hunting.

I enjoyed reading the OP's experience though.

 

[Professor]

I don’t mind the risk of striking out. I never use a guide, so that is a reality and I believe we need to enjoy not seeing animals as part of the hunt and hopefully a chance to learn. It is expensive though. My concern is having to race other hunters to a spot. I read one story where a guy had to buy an electric bike just to keep up with the other hunters. They were not allowed to camp in the wilderness area and a ranger opened the gate at the parking lot at 6:00 am each morning. He might as well have used a starting pistol. A friend went on an archery hunt last year. It was dry, so the elk were staying close to water. He found a small lake on the map and headed in hoping it still held water. It did, but he wasn’t the only one with the idea. The lake/pond was surrounded by hunters in orange. It looked like a dove shoot. What was strange he said, was that the hunters didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with 30 of them all surrounding a small watering hole. Almost universally these were new hunters that bought thousands of dollars of gear after watching a bunch of YouTube videos during the shutdown.
I really do not want to risk that experience.

 

[Big7]

I don’t mind the risk of striking out. I never use a guide, so that is a reality and I believe we need to enjoy not seeing animals as part of the hunt and hopefully a chance to learn. It is expensive though. My concern is having to race other hunters to a spot. I read one story where a guy had to buy an electric bike just to keep up with the other hunters. They were not allowed to camp in the wilderness area and a ranger opened the gate at the parking lot at 6:00 am each morning. He might as well have used a starting pistol. A friend went on an archery hunt last year. It was dry, so the elk were staying close to water. He found a small lake on the map and headed in hoping it still held water. It did, but he wasn’t the only one with the idea. The lake/pond was surrounded by hunters in orange. It looked like a dove shoot. What was strange he said, was that the hunters didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with 30 of them all surrounding a small watering hole. Almost universally these were new hunters that bought thousands of dollars of gear after watching a bunch of YouTube videos during the shutdown.
I really do not want to risk that experience.

Yeah.
That too..

Who knows. I might wind up being a resident out west, maybe even Alaska someday.

Florida was the plan but as I get older, Florida is a bit hotter everytime I go. Seems like it anyway.

My 83 y/o Mother is all that's holding me to Georgia. I like it less and less everyday but I am still loyal to my birth state.

 

[Big7]

And...
Wyoming is starting to look good. It's the least populated state, has a relatively low cost of living and supposed to be good for
elk, moose, sheep, and mountain goat.

I believe I could make that work.

Would love to have stories like in the OP to experience.

 

[splatek]

Yeah.
That too..

Who knows. I might wind up being a resident out west, maybe even Alaska someday.

Florida was the plan but as I get older, Florida is a bit hotter everytime I go. Seems like it anyway.

My 83 y/o Mother is all that's holding me to Georgia. I like it less and less everyday but I am still loyal to my birth state.

FLA for the Governor.
Western states for the hunting

 

[Professor]

And...
Wyoming is starting to look good. It's the least populated state, has a relatively low cost of living and supposed to be good for
elk, moose, sheep, and mountain goat.

I believe I could make that work.

Would love to have stories like in the OP to experience.

Great for antelope. More antelope than people. Good mule deer hunting too. They have moose, sheep, and mountain goat, but even resident hunters wait years for those tags. Alaska is the only destination if you want the opportunity to hunt those species, plus’s brown/grizzly bear on a regular basis. I think a resident in Alaska can kill 5 black bears, 2 brown bears, 2 moose, 2 caribou, 1 Dahl Sheep, and 1 mountain goat for $85.00. They also have blacktail deer. Plus, you can enter a drawing for Rocky Mountain elk, Roosevelt elk, Woodland bison, and muskox. That would keep you busy.

 

[GAoutdoor]

I believe we need to enjoy not seeing animals as part of the hunt and hopefully a chance to learn.

I've been working on not letting lack of animals get me down and enjoying the time outside, but I'll admit it gets hard when I get into a stretch of hunts without seeing anything. I do enjoy seeing them, even if I don't get an opportunity to take one. I have to remind myself that even seeing one is a big win though.

 

[cowhornedspike]

Would love to have stories like in the OP to experience.

Not trying to offend you but the way you have stories like the OP is to get off your butt and computer and go do it. It ain't coming to you.

 

[Big7]

Great for antelope. More antelope than people. Good mule deer hunting too. They have moose, sheep, and mountain goat, but even resident hunters wait years for those tags. Alaska is the only destination if you want the opportunity to hunt those species, plus’s brown/grizzly bear on a regular basis. I think a resident in Alaska can kill 5 black bears, 2 brown bears, 2 moose, 2 caribou, 1 Dahl Sheep, and 1 mountain goat for $85.00. They also have blacktail deer. Plus, you can enter a drawing for Rocky Mountain elk, Roosevelt elk, Woodland bison, and muskox. That would keep you busy.

Thanks for that info.
I was even thinking about starting a "where would you move to if" thread.

Think you just took most of the mystery away.

I'm pushing 60 so I don't have years and years to "hopefully" draw a tag. Alaska has always been in the back of my mind since I was a little kid.

Only thing is property crime (for drug money) and more serious crime is high per capita.

But... That's on the rise virtually everywhere now.

 

[Big7]

Not trying to offend you but the way you have stories like the OP is to get off your butt and computer and go do it. It ain't coming to you.

Planning on it.

I still have one parent left and property here to get rid of. After that eventually, I might never come back. Seriously.

 

[HardlyHangin]

Looks like I made the big time

A Georgian’s First Elk Hunt – Georgia Outdoor News

gon.com

 

[Gaswamp]

thanks for sharing the story