Changing focus

[madtinker]

I have spent three of the last four years chasing bulls, hunting an easy-to-draw but hard-to-kill unit. I love the area and I love the idea of pulling a bull out of one of that toughest areas in the state.

But.

I am also tired of coming home empty-handed. I am thinking of changing my focus to a high-success area that is still easy to draw, which means a cow hunt. This way I still get to go hunting, I have a better chance of bringing something home, and I figure I can still learn a lot watching elk in a higher-density unit.

For people that have put their “trophy” dreams on hold, did you have any regrets? Did it speed up or slow down the learning process?

Edit: put “trophy” in quotes because I have no delusions about meeting anyone else’s standards for what counts as a big bull.

 

[Sled]

Ive never really had trophy dreams so I can't help you there. What I can tell you is chasing cows in an area with more elk means likely more elk contact. The more you experience and learn the better you become at hunting bulls later. I spent one season on a high density elk unit and honed my skills in many ways that would have taken decades the way I was previously hunting. So, I'd say go for it.

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

Like I tell most of my clients. Unless you are going to only go once or twice and a bill is the complete objective you need to start with tags that give you easier options and get elk under your belt before worrying about “trophies”. Either sex tags are a huge benefit and harvesting the first legal elk you see will allow you to fill the freezer and start to gain elk knowledge that can help you in the future.

I know social media and male egos have made the “kill the biggest” mentality go crazy. An elk in itself is a “trophy” guys want to be like Cam Haynes who shoots 10 bulls a year and has a laundry list of guys doing his scouting and everything making it look like elk hunting takes 5 days, a couple bugles and good shot.

Go look for cow or either sex tags and start there,


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cnelk]

To the OP - Youre not alone - The internet has made lots of people make the wrong decisions

 

[liv3mind]

I personally enter the season with a minimum number of deer I need to put in my freezer. Once I hit that goal I may have the luxury of looking for horns. Now I won't pass on a nice buck if he shows up. But I'm not chasing him until I'm fed. Now elk is different, but coming home empty handed time after time if you could have taken a cow seems like it would wear on you.

 

[SloppyJ]

After harvesting my CO bull on my first elk hunt this year, I was in the woods thinking about how to get out there more often and how to stack the odds in my favor to be successful. I figured that getting out and getting experience hunting elk was the most important factor. I decided that I'm going to look for cow tags next year.

My goal is always to put meat in the freezer and my ego is not such that I MUST bag a huge bull for something to be considered a success. I think more people should prioritize working towards experience and learning new country and animal behavior. You're on the right track.

 

[madtinker]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I don’t think the time I’ve spent has been wasted by any measure. But I’d love to speed up that learning curve. I’ll look forward to chasing cows next fall!

 

[LCguy]

Elk are hard to kill period and in some ways, cows are harder to kill than bulls. More eyes, ears and noses to fool. I love hunting cows just as much as I love hunting bulls. It presents it's own challenges but it is also way easier to get tags and to echo everyone else, nothing beats experience.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I don’t think the time I’ve spent has been wasted by any measure. But I’d love to speed up that learning curve. I’ll look forward to chasing cows next fall!

A lot of people gave me crap for it, but you expressed very well a lot of what I was trying to convey in my “non-trophy elk, is it worth it?” thread. And in a lot fewer words.

The “hunting-industrial complex” really feeds off the male ego to drive a hunting mentality that I find distasteful and counterproductive. I used a lot of the feedback I got here to push me towards a cow elk hunt next year. Best of luck out there!

 

[Shortschaf]

Antlers are cool but I can't eat them

As someone who lacks the time to do any scouting, I would prefer a successful cow hunt to a nonsuccessful bull hunt. If I cannot get a bull tag for my first elk, I won't lose a wink of sleep

 

[North of 60]

I would happily hunt cow elk to have elk meat.

 

[Caseknife]

Can't learn about elk and their habits without being in elk. Hunt the higher density units on a cow hunt. Many more cow elk out there then bulls, they taste just the same and can usually hunt elk every year. Guys that complain that they can never draw an elk tag, been trying for 20 years, are not doing themselves any favors when they actually do draw and know nothing about elk hunting. All elk are trophies.

 

[CAElkhunter]

From my personal experience, I think you get your greatest enjoyment from Elk hunting by embracing the experience and not focusing on "Trophy quality". I have been on outfitted hunts for 33 years. Mostly great experiences, some not so great. For me, my least enjoyable hunts were in 2 trophy tag units. One in NM and the other in WY. I enjoy the meat, being in the outdoors and chasing those tough bastards so much that when the focus shifted to expecting to shoot a 350 bull vs. just enjoying the hunt it wasn't as fulfilling. When you walk up on a dead bull and are focused on the score vs. the success of getting a Bull it left me with a feeling I didn't like.

Don't get me wrong the thrill of seeing a big bull and successfully harvesting him is great. I personally have
moved on from chasing the trophy tag. I have been fortunate to be successful on most of my Elk hunts and
the chase and harvest of any legal bull is exciting to me.