How many days to you devote to an elk trip?

[camelcluch]

I start my vacation on 9/2. I have 34 days off to get it done here in Colorado. If I tag out, I may try and find another tag somewhere.

 

[cnelk]

Such an easy answer.

Hunt until your wife tells you to come home

 

[Zim]

Hard to draw tags, I’m hunting the entire season or until I kill. I’m retired now, but during my working years, I would plan on at least 2 weeks hunting.

Yes this has been my regiment as well. Always two full weeks without a day off. Until I got old and have been cashing in 20+ point hunts. Those I do full season, but take every 4th or 5th day off. This year if I draw Colorado with 25 points I’ll even go a week early to scout, so 5 weeks if needed. Trophy hunt until the last 3-5 days. I want my hunt’s worth if I wait that long. Not retired, but work very independently.

 

[Still Hunter]

Apparently never enough!

 

[Boosted8]

Just depends.


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[River_Hunter]

Heading on my first elk hunt this year. Planning on 2 weeks

 

[mossyoak52]

10 days if my wife and i are hunting out of state (co,wy,id) ,if we are here at home in montane we fill our deer and elk tags in first 2 days of the season

 

[khunter]

I’m marking off 11 days on the calendar for this year in WY. Four of that gets soaked up driving. A day of scouting, six days hunting.

I did 11 last year for Montana and felt like it was plenty of time. Filled my elk tag on day two of hunting. Tried to fill my deer tag as well, but by my last day, I was pretty beat and ready to come home.

Year before that (prior to kids) I did 14. We dealt with some really nasty cold weather, but we ended up coming home a day early. I honestly felt like it was too long by a day or two. Just hard to really get after it every day for longer than a week.

I sorta feel like I should try to negotiate with the wife and bump this trip up to 14 given WY is such a hard to get tag these days, but I’m not even sure if my buddy could swing it.

How many days do you normally devote to a hunt?

Couple weeks no problem. If I was a 2 day drive from the hunt area and had a buddy who maybe could not swing it he would A) not be in my hunt group in the first place or B) responsible for his own trabnsportation and I would have everything needed to be self sufficient.

Last year put in 24 days in two hunt trips for an elk tag I may never draw again. This year will put up to 3 weeks into a nonresident moose tag, Plus a week or so on nonres archery pronghorn in the land of giants (NM) and 5-6 days for a cow moose tag since the nonres bull tag is higher priority.

And if draw AZ desert sheep will set aside another few weeks to bowhunt that.

 

[Fullfan]

The last 19 days of Sept. I’m retired tho.

 

[Indian Summer]

Such an easy answer.

Hunt until your wife tells you to come home

I would never marry a woman who didn’t want me to keep hunting until I had meat for the freezer. When it comes to elk hunting mine has only two words: Good luck!

 

[String&stick]

I've got 3 kids (12, 8, 4) and a fairly understanding wife.

OTC archery hunts have been 10 days, typically 8 to 17 hours of driving depending on location. 2 or 3 guys in the truck so driving is always straight through and would be regardless of distance.

Now that my oldest is 12 he will be coming with this year, that gets me bonus days because it's less work for the wife at home (oldest and middle kid bicker like an old married couple half the time). This year we drew WY and will do 10 days of archery followed by 9 days of rifle. Will use all 10 days of archery, and will use rifle until tagged out. My buddies dad will take a bow in September but plans on hunting rifle so we are committed to both trips.

We have been into elk on day 1, and not got onto them (within 100 yards) until the last day before. Future archery hunts will be 12-14 days. Too many times you're really getting a herd figured out on day 8 or 9 and have to bail out!

As others have said go as long as you can. I like longer trips, sure I miss my kids and wife but that is my "ME" time. I bust my ass before I leave, and when I come back even if I'm beat I give my wife the mental break she needs after being "on" all the time at home with the kids. But it all depends on you and your wife's personalities. If I only had 5 days with a day of driving on each side I would still be going, there just wouldn't be any slow days!

 

[Rifleman86]

I've got 3 kids (12, 8, 4) and a fairly understanding wife.

OTC archery hunts have been 10 days, typically 8 to 17 hours of driving depending on location. 2 or 3 guys in the truck so driving is always straight through and would be regardless of distance.

Now that my oldest is 12 he will be coming with this year, that gets me bonus days because it's less work for the wife at home (oldest and middle kid bicker like an old married couple half the time). This year we drew WY and will do 10 days of archery followed by 9 days of rifle. Will use all 10 days of archery, and will use rifle until tagged out. My buddies dad will take a bow in September but plans on hunting rifle so we are committed to both trips.

We have been into elk on day 1, and not got onto them (within 100 yards) until the last day before. Future archery hunts will be 12-14 days. Too many times you're really getting a herd figured out on day 8 or 9 and have to bail out!

As others have said go as long as you can. I like longer trips, sure I miss my kids and wife but that is my "ME" time. I bust my ass before I leave, and when I come back even if I'm beat I give my wife the mental break she needs after being "on" all the time at home with the kids. But it all depends on you and your wife's personalities. If I only had 5 days with a day of driving on each side I would still be going, there just wouldn't be any slow days!

Yeah for reference I’ve got a 2 year old at home, as well as a 100 lb dog, and she works full time. 11 days was asking a lot last year as I had been deployed for the past year. Turned out that was plenty of time, but we had hunted the same area two years prior.

I may push the drive a bit more this year, there are 3 of us, it’s about 3 less hours, and I could add a half day of scouting on the front end and a half day of hunting (or a pack out) on the back end. I’m the only one with the tag so that helps a lot too. Needless to say I’ve got a great hunting partner (and his 18 yo kid this year too.)

Worst case, I know I could add a day on the back end, as I was planning on being home Saturday night and have Sunday to catch up with the family. But if that last minute bull shows himself, the wife will understand, or at least get over it eventually!

This is rifle by the way. If I was bow hunting, I’d definitely want a full 10 days of hunting not including travel. That’s a whole different ball game IMO.

 

[trophyhill]

14 minimum for me and most often more. Its a sacrifice. I use all my vacation time from work hunting elk and deer

 

[Usi05]

Last year i did 9.

Year prior the group I was with did some scouting for a long weekend and then went for a week.

This year I’m going to try and scout again late summer. Then do 5 days for archery and 5 for rifle if i don’t fill archery tag. Feel like that’s a good approach with a MT General tag


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[Zim]

Just got hit in Colorado for archery elk unit 61. My plan will be as stated. Head there a week early to scout and stay the entire 4 week season if needed.

 

[Roger17]

Such an easy answer.

Hunt until your wife tells you to come home

Nope! For me, hunt until employer obligations tell me to come home. No paycheck, no hunt. Of course, I've been married a long time and my son is 22, so that likely makes a difference. Son and I missed Christmas hunting AZ for the first time last year and wife told us we should go do it again this year and have fun. Man I love that woman!

Edit: Forgot to add, plan this year is drive all day on a Tues, hunt Wed-Wed and drive all day home on Thur. So 2 days driving and 8 days hunting.

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[trophyhill]

14 minimum for me and most often more. Its a sacrifice. I use all my vacation time from work hunting elk and deer

I’d like to edit this slightly. There have been times I’ve killed early and haven’t needed all that time. When that has happened, I do stupid stuff like go buy an out of state deer license, or a land owner cow rifle tag to use that vacay up later

 

[String&stick]

Yea rifle you should be good. I don't subscribe to the "tell your wife what's up" or "it's your life just go she will get over it" mentality. It's a WE situation and I know she works hard while I'm gone. 10 days with little ones at home and I would feel like I wanted to be back seeing them and helping out.

As they get older it's easier to be gone longer because they help mom instead of creating more work. And then they hit an age where they can come along and carry a pack!!!

Good luck this year hopefully you make it happen early and have plenty of time!

 

[Elkoholic87]

I always have the entire hunt off.


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[Jimss]

Usually has a lot of factors involved.
Have I been in the unit before?
How long is the season?
How picky am I?
How far of a drive home?
How long of a pack out?
Weather?
How many years did it take to draw the tag?
Weapon being used?
How lucky?

I had a quality Utah elk tag quite a few years ago that I had never set foot in the unit before. I arrived 2 weeks early to scout. It took around 1 1/2 weeks before the weather cooled down and the elk started getting rutty. After I found the elk I was into whopper bulls every day and was being super picky. It was nastier country than most of the sheep and mtn goat country I've hunted! I hunted 9 days hard before I finally connected on one of the biggest bulls I was interested in. It took another 1 1/2 days to pack the bull out of a hell hole by myself. Another day to drive home. Another 2 days to butcher the bull at home.

With that said, next to maybe moose....generally speaking, my elk hunts take the greatest amount of physical work and number of days for success. Obviously there are elk hunts where a guy can drive right up to a bull, shoot them, and load them in the back of a truck. I have never lucked into that type of elk hunt. Mine usually involve long hikes into the most remote location on the mountain. Boning and packing them out on my back.