class, guide or just wing it?

Find somebody to partner with that has experience.
A boatload of guides are hired off craigslist prior to the hunt, you'd need to find a long term one. Cliff Gray, he'd be a good teacher/guide.
This, especially if you’re going to be in territory with which you are unfamiliar. For learning and safety, JMHO, this is the best way to go. See the posts about the two young hunters in Colorado who got lost and ended up apparently being killed by lightning.
 
For the love of all things holy, do not take some online class by some scumbag influencer. You are only contributing to the slow ruin of our sport. Classes are a scam. Hunting needs to be learned the hard way. Go wear out your boots.
 
We live in the information age. There is a ton of content available for free. My 1st elk hunt I saw a few elk very far away, but heard several bulls close. I had no idea what I was doing from the calling perspective. I was applying turkey hunting logic to Elk encounters.....LOL. At that point in time there was not nearly the podcasts and information available for free, and I knew I needed help on Elk behavior/calling. I live in the east and didn't have the opportunity to spend extra time in the field to figure it out. I decided to buy some of Elknuts content. That was a gamechanger for me and from there on have had shooting opportunities on most of my hunts. His content is excellent, but he shares a lot of it for free as well on podcasts now. Cliff Gray has tons of great information available on his youtube channel for free. I don't doubt the schools could be a good organized way to go through most of the important stuff. How much time do you have and do you enjoy finding nuggets on your own?

If time is not a critical issue and you are willing to put in the effort to listening and researching, reading articles, map scouting, and then have a strong will to push yourself in the field, good chance you'll be able to shorten the learning curve. I would argue the DIY option (class or no class either way) is so much sweeter than if you go guided as well. Even if it's not as big of animal as you might get on a guided hunt. After you get a few hunts DIY under your belt, you might even decide to go guided depending on the situation. The stuff you will learn DIY will even likely help you pick out an outfitter better.

Some of this comes down to personal philosophy & personality. Some people get frustrated easily and would rather pay more to increase success chances, and there is nothing wrong with that. When your truck breaks down or you have some home maintenance issue, do you take it to a mechanic or call a professional? Or do you check youtube and see if you can fix it first? Either approach has it's pro's and cons..... I would suggest it's a parallel to this subject. If you have that DIY spirit, go that route first. If you don't have that in your blood, then might be beneficial to go guided if you have the means to afford it.
 
Am I the only one that despises the word “content?”
lol. we live in a different world don't we? my kids laugh when i tell them how research was looked up back in the day at the library. or how we got a lot of it from magazines and early hunting videos.
 
lol. we live in a different world don't we? my kids laugh when i tell them how research was looked up back in the day at the library. or how we got a lot of it from magazines and early hunting videos.
And, most of what we knew about hunting was learned from our dads and granddads who had no access to “content” and were mostly figuring it all out on their own from time spent in the field.

The world changes, and I get that, but most of the information put out these days is formatted as some kind of recipe or success manual which makes people think they have to follow some sort of blueprint.

One of the most exciting things about hunting is discovering something on your own. Whether it’s a spot to find a herd of elk, or way to get one killed. I think “content” these days eliminates the discovery aspect of the hunt, and that’s too bad, because while killing a bull is gratifying - the self discovery aspect of a hunt is something I think a lot of hunters would get a lot out of.
 
I notice in your post you mention the Midwest so I assume that’s home base for you. If you want to elk hunt I suggest you look at the actual harvest rates by state. You can filter our cows vs bulls taken. You can also filter public land. Not sure if you can filter guided vs non guided actual results. You will find results on elk are very low as a percentage. Folks who live in the west will know this but new hunters coming from east of the Mississippi may not know. If you DIY you perhaps will not have the time to scout on weekends or after work like people who live in the area. All this may not matter to you but decide what your expectations are in advance and that may help you decide which way to go. Good luck!
 
Like a lot of things in life, especially in the beginning:
Investing in self education is usually worth it. Books, Courses, Magazines, YouTube, Forums etc...
Mentorship is usually worth it: Family, Friends, Guide etc...
Neither of those should be at the expense of actually doing the thing, which is the most important.

I would try to find a way to make all 3 work.
 
Just go hunting. You're over thinking this. Boots on the ground is where it's at. Take a buddy and enjoy the adventure. Elk live in all kinds of places west of I25. Take some survival gear so you don't get caught by inclement weather. Have fun! The road traveled is part of the adventure. And for the sake of god don't go on a manshoppingspree. It's not required for success.
 
For learning anything, I think you need to stumble for a bit on your own. Otherwise, you won't even know what to ask.

Pick a tag that you can get, do some online research and go hunting.

After a year or two of that, then consider the other options.
 
If you do go the guided route, be honest with your guide and let them know up front that you are wanting to LEARN and that the learning aspect is equally important to you as the harvest.
 
For the love of all things holy, do not take some online class by some scumbag influencer. You are only contributing to the slow ruin of our sport. Classes are a scam. Hunting needs to be learned the hard way. Go wear out your boots.
Gosh no, not doing that lol...The classes i was looking at/referring to were ones out west that involve time actually out in the woods as well as shooting practice and other hands on stuff like that.
 
And really, after thinking about it, those classes aren't really any cheaper cause id have to burn more days off and travel out there a second time. I imagine I'll probably save the money and just go for it with a tag in hand.

Just gotta convince a buddy or two to actually commit to coming with me ha.
 
And really, after thinking about it, those classes aren't really any cheaper cause id have to burn more days off and travel out there a second time. I imagine I'll probably save the money and just go for it with a tag in hand.

Just gotta convince a buddy or two to actually commit to coming with me ha.
Now that last comment is a mistake...

See the threads about hunting partners quitting or cancelling at the last minute...

It is highly unlikely that you will find a good partner. Most likely you will be extremely fired up and he will just be sorta interested You might still want to keep pushing after 3-5 days of hunting. He might "need" to go home. If you just have one truck, your hunt is over.

Or you might work hard and get in pretty good shape. He might be "busy" and not do any training.


Don't get me wrong. A partner can make it way easier and way more fun, especially for a first hunt.

Just always plan on actually hunting solo and plan the trip with as many guys as you like. If they bail, or wanna sit around the campfire, or want to leave early, or sleep in, or... you can just hunt,
 
I get your sentiment. But the guys id even ask are ones I know would be committed. The convincing would be to just get over that initial hump of doing something that seems so daunting you know?

But yea. I get what you're saying. I definitely wouldn't have a bad time by myself (til it came to any potential pack out)
 
Get a few nights backpacking in then just do it. A lot of hunters go outwest or alaska without ever spending a night in the tent. As far as western hunting goes I'm of the opinion its a lot easier to teach a backpacker to hunt and shoot than a treestand type hunter to backpack hunt.
 
I get your sentiment. But the guys id even ask are ones I know would be committed. The convincing would be to just get over that initial hump of doing something that seems so daunting you know?

But yea. I get what you're saying. I definitely wouldn't have a bad time by myself (til it came to any potential pack out)
Committed is great…but do they know the lay of the land where you’ll be hunting?
 
The common theme is do your research, you don't need a class, boots on the ground and accept the fact it's going to take a number of years before you become knowledgeable and in some ways competent to know what you need to know and not listen to the white noise. Best of luck!
 
If funds are limited, here is my suggestion based on experience:

I would do both learn as much a possible online and then drive however long to go do a DYI self-guided hunt on public land. I did it as a first-timer, and it can be successful, as we brought home a nice bull.

I will say this...If you do get a tag, keep shooting until the elk is down, the elk's head is down and stays down. It may take 2 or 3 shots.

They are amazing, magnificent creatures. And also incredibly tasty.
 
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