Elk the “Golden Goose”?

[D_wit22]

Great responses…I’ve had the benefit of being out 3 times and have been blessed to harvest a few elk. I’m fully addicted to Elk hunting and I have a 7 year old boy and that’s all he talks about must be because he hears me talk non-stop about it. For me, I’m an eastern whitetail boy…once I found a style of hunting that is the “go get them” style I was hooked! Sitting in a treestand just isn’t the same anymore for me.
But I am just amazed at all the programs,gear,food, etc… that is pushed in an elk hunters face every year to help you be more successful. These businesses do a great job of cashing in on the “golden goose”

 

[fatlander]

My hunting partners and I were discussing this topic a week ago.

We all think high pressured mature whitetails are much tougher to kill than high pressured herd bulls. Elk are more difficult once they’re on the ground, obviously; but getting a herd bull on the ground is easier than a mature whitetail on the ground.

You can get away with so much on a rutting bull, things that would absolutely never fly with a whitetail. That was one of the hardest things for guys that grew up on the east coast to grasp when starting to hunt elk. Once you figure out what you all you can get away with, it’s not all that difficult, from a pure hunting perspective, to kill a 700 pound deer that screams his location to you.


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[LostArra]

Elk live in beautiful places usually away from people unlike whitetail deer that live anywhere there is an acorn or a flower bed. (There are exceptions for elk like Estes Park and parts of Wyoming, usually private land, where they aren't far from humans)

Elk are hunted (bow) usually during decent weather and if it's cold, at least you are moving.
Some deer hunters spend thousands on clothing just to survive bitter cold while sitting perfectly still.

Elk are vocal. Hearing a bugle in the distance lets you know there are elk in the area even though you may never see them. Bugles keep you motivated. Every year at deer camp when deciding where to hunt I wish whitetail bucks would bugle, scream, roar or make some loud noise.
Many elk hunter's dreams are crushed by the bark of an unseen cow.

For a whitetail hunter to walk up on his first dead elk even if it's close to the truck, is an eye opening experience. "I'm not dragging this to the road!"

 

[StupidLightweight]

I get what you're saying, OP. I think the fascination with elk is due to them being a dream animal that millions of hunters will never hunt, let alone kill. This makes them so coveted.

But to say they're harder to kill is a stretch. Unlike deer, elk are easy to see, smell, and hear. They travel in large herds much of the year. Having hunted elk in WA, OR, ID, CO, WY, and NM, I'd say elk are by far easier to hunt than blacktail deer or public land whitetail.

 

[3325]

So let me say right off the bat, I am not an expert elk hunter!

Few of us are, including those of us who have killed elk.

But I’d like to ask a basic question. Of all the animals in North America, why does it feel like Elk is the ultimate hunt to test how good of a hunter you are?

I don’t think it is. I’ve had more success on big bull elk than big buck mule deer.

I think of all the other animals that we hunt here in the USA. Most times you just plan your hunt, and go for it. But for some reason Elk hunting has this extra level of attention on it.

It’s logistically more involved and physically more taxing.

Like deer hunting….you find areas that have deer, you look for deer, and you kill deer. Seems simple right?

I suppose it can be that way if you’re sitting in a tree in a midwestern wood lot.

But for Elk, it seems that same formula is not followed. And why is that? Go look for elk, find elk, kill elk. It should be that simple right? But instead we spend hours and hours online trying to “kill” elk?

Again, it’s logistically more involved and physically more taxing.

I’m getting long winded now…but do you guys agree that elk hunting is viewed differently? And what do you think is driving the “golden goose” feel ?

Two reasons.

A royal bull is viewed as one of the most attractive trophies, probably surpassed by only a full curl bighorn ram.

The excitement of hearing a throaty bugle coming out of dark timber in the early season surpasses anything I’ve ever felt when hunting. Seeing a nice mule deer buck doesn’t compare.

 

[highcountrymuley]

Probably has to do with the lure of hunting the beautiful country they call home, the insanity of their bugling and the sheer size of them. A hunting dream for most folks from the east and Midwest. I moved from FL to CO 22 yrs ago and alot of the natives and long time hunters don't think elk hunting is that hard. I have been successful each of the last 3 years but only had success every 3 or 4 years before that. It is definitely a mental challenge to stay with it when it's tough. The fact that they live (often but not always) in big herds makes it hard to go undetected when you do get close. They live in rugged spots and seeing so much sign but zero actual elk is disheartening. And the size of them really gets u the first time you get one down on a solo hunt!
Elk are an iconic hunting trophy of the west. Everyone thinks they taste so much better than deer and there's definitely more meat so there's that too!

 

[Jon Boy]

I’d encourage everyone to look at success in every western state between elk and deer. You can derive your conclusions on which ones are easier to hunt then.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

Easy... Elk are smarter and taste better.

This
And have way more meat.

 

[bergie]

I feel it’s all about time on task. I have hunted elk enough that I can look at a map and have a pretty good idea where elk will be. And they have that unfortunate (for them) need to announce their presence at high volume.
To me mule deer are a completely different story, those things have whipped me since I started hunting them. But again I gotta think it’s all about time on task. I can hunt elk on public out my back door, mule deer require more travel so I only get a week at most chasing them per year.

Whatever elk lack in difficulty to find they more than make up for in difficulty to get back to the pickup.

Whitetail are by FAR the easiest.

All above though are just talking about killing a mature specimen for the areas I hunt, if we are talking true trophies, I’ll use B&C minimums as the definition, I would have no idea how to rank them as I think all are incredibly difficult to do consistently on an OTC public land tag.

 

[D_wit22]

I feel it’s all about time on task. I have hunted elk enough that I can look at a map and have a pretty good idea where elk will be. And they have that unfortunate (for them) need to announce their presence at high volume.
To me mule deer are a completely different story, those things have whipped me since I started hunting them. But again I gotta think it’s all about time on task. I can’t hunt elk on public out my back door, mule deer require more travel so I only get a week at most chasing them per year.

Whatever elk lack in difficulty to find they more than make up for in difficulty to get back to the pickup.

Whitetail are by FAR the easiest.

All above though are just talking about killing a mature specimen for the areas I hunt, if we are talking true trophies, I’ll use B&C minimums as the definition, I would have no idea how to rank them as I think all are incredibly difficult to do consistently on an OTC public land tag.

not to disagree…but I hunt PA public land whitetail. It’s been a few years since I killed a buck on PA public land. I’ve been out west 3 times, and all three times harvested a bull. So maybe I’m just extremely lucky, but I would agree with the thought that elk are slightly easier that a highly pressured whitetail buck.

But I’m still drawn to Elk even tho they might be “easier “. Obviously there are way more harder things involved when it comes to elk hunting. Like said above….when I walked up to my first dead elk I will never forget that feeling of WOW, how in the world am I moving this thing

 

[Jethro]

Go look for elk, find elk, kill elk.

That’s my hunt plan. Never thought of it as a test of how good I may or may not be.

 

[bergie]

not to disagree…but I hunt PA public land whitetail. It’s been a few years since I killed a buck on PA public land. I’ve been out west 3 times, and all three times harvested a bull. So maybe I’m just extremely lucky, but I would agree with the thought that elk are slightly easier that a highly pressured whitetail buck.

But I’m still drawn to Elk even tho they might be “easier “. Obviously there are way more harder things involved when it comes to elk hunting. Like said above….when I walked up to my first dead elk I will never forget that feeling of WOW, how in the world am I moving this thing

Had to edit my original post I CAN hunt elk out my backdoor lol.

I suppose your experience contradicts my time on task theory. I think I am left with man idk what makes something easier or harder.

Maybe its all to do with location, and experience, and weather, and other hunters, and predators, and game management....my current working theory is hunting is just hard so when you gain a small advantage by figuring out one or more of the above it starts to feel 'easy'

For me big elk are neat, schmedium mule deer are neat and big giant whitetail are neat. It would probably come as no surprise that I have killed some medium elk, more big (for my area) whitetail and only a couple small mule deer.

Man I wish it was September already.

 

[throwdarts]

Imo, they're are special & one of the hardest animal to consistently kill year after year. Elk have a majestic look, size, sound & habitat that gets into your bloodstream unlike any other.

I'm talking general areas with a bow, cause that's what I know, & not the same as limited units.

It's not that they are so hard to kill per se, but it takes so much effort to get to the killable stage. They move massive amounts of land under pressure. It requires good decision-making. They move to private land that are off limits & as a herd animal there's always multiple eyes & noses to mess us up. Where they live is often hard for us to access & the wind will only be steady for so long. It's the challenge that they give us, that makes it so rewarding even if we just get close.

Yeah for sure i want to put a 300+ bull on the wall, but because of the above mention that's why I don't hesitate to slide a shaft into a healthy cow when it presents itself. It's hard enough to do that & the meat doesn't get any better.

I love hunting deer & spend more time chasing them every year than any other creature, but deer are local in comparison & aren't a good comparisons to elk.

I don't think it's the hardest animal to kill in North America, that belongs to goats/sheep. I think elk are the most challenging animal to kill for the majority of people within reach.

 

[Laramie]

But to say they're harder to kill is a stretch.

Can you explain why they have one of the lowest success rates out of any animal hunted? Were the hunts you went on public over the counter type of areas or limited quota and/or private land?

Elk are stupid easy when you have pristine access or high population limited quota hunting.

 

[D_wit22]

Can you explain why they have one of the lowest success rates out of any animal hunted? Were the hunts you went on public over the counter type of areas or limited quota and/or private land?

Elk are stupid easy when you have pristine access or high population limited quota hunting.

Personally in my limited experience(very limited) not all hunters chase/hunt elk with the same tactics. I really do think this is what drives success rates. The mental toughness as mentioned is huge. The physical conditioning is huge. Just the desire to keep pushing is huge. A lot of this stuff cant be learned or taught. Positive attitude when everything else sucks is a rare trait.
I believe there are more internet hunters that have false impressions on elk hunting/killing and that really drives percentage down. Also if most eastern guys like me come out and only hunt for a week -10 days and then call it a season compared to the local who can hunt all season… that pushes percentage points too. Maybe I’m way off tho…

 

[Laramie]

Personally in my limited experience(very limited) not all hunters chase/hunt elk with the same tactics. I really do think this is what drives success rates. The mental toughness as mentioned is huge. The physical conditioning is huge. Just the desire to keep pushing is huge. A lot of this stuff cant be learned or taught. Positive attitude when everything else sucks is a rare trait.
I believe there are more internet hunters that have false impressions on elk hunting/killing and that really drives percentage down. Also if most eastern guys like me come out and only hunt for a week -10 days and then call it a season compared to the local who can hunt all season… that pushes percentage points too. Maybe I’m way off tho…

You aren't wrong. I have been hunting elk almost 40 years. I asked those questions of him because he made reference to elk hunting being easy. Generally people with that mind set aren't hunting pressured elk on public land. A ranch elk is a very different animal than a national forest elk in a high pressure setting.