Experience needed for the big bulls.

[MTguy0341]

My 2 cents is if you wanna draw for a limited entry go for it, definitely worth your time when you would draw one. OTC is awesome too. Way I look at it as long as you're elk hunting you're going to be successful. Whether it be an elk on the ground or lifelong memories.

 

[DEHusker]

I get what you are asking. This may have been mentioned before, but I actually think hunting in a limited draw unit has the potential to actually be EASIER to hunt for newbies and those with less experience. Elk are usually less pressured in draw units or trophy units and typically respond to calling much better and behave with less paranoia than they do in heavily hunted OTC units with hunters crawling all over the place. Now, you could get spoiled hunting in trophy units all the time but I don't know of a place in the West where you can draw an awesome trophy unit every year (as a non-resident)...let me know where if you find a place! I'm going into my 4th year of elk hunting this upcoming season and I think I learned the most from my 2nd to my 3rd season...I feel like I have a lot to learn still (forever learning) but I feel like I have a very good feel for how to find elk, how to call elk, and how to put it all together to get a shot. What makes elk hunting so fun for me is a) the environment they live in is challenging and beautiful and b) there are so many variables that one must overcome to get a shot. Weather, wind, rut activity, other hunters, bad luck, good luck...all come into play and all must align to get a shot! Good luck. My advice: Draw a great tag if you can but only if you feel you have the tools and knowledge to find an elk and put him down. Some great tags are hard to draw and only come around every few years so don't waste one if you don't feel like you don't have the "skillz" to get r done.

 

[Jethro]

For a non resident, all elk tags are expensive. But in regards to a unit that takes a long time to accumulate points and is hard to draw and could be a once in lifetime tag, I know I would not have wanted that for my first trip. I remember thinking on that first trip "ok we're here, now what do we do?" But you do it and learn. 2nd trip bugled in first bull. 3rd trip bugled in a few and actually drew bow. 4th trip got shots but didn't seal the deal. 5th trip was the charm!

Now 1 elk doesn't allow me to say I kill them consistently. After that 3rd trip for sure I at least felt like I had an idea of what I was doing to have a realistic chance.

 

[Greenhorn]

Some of the replies here crack me up. Why would you want to wait at all to hunt somewhere that holds better bulls? My answer is wait zero years. Unless you like to hunt little bulls, or younger bulls, or fewer bulls. To each their own.