In need of a guided bow hunt out west for ELK in 2027

[Kilboars]

Looks like we may be loosing the property we've been hunting in MT this so I'm looking for a new experience.
I'm a soon to be 62 yr old bow hunter from FL in decent shape with 20yr of hunting only with a compound bow. For Elk I've hunted NM, CO, MT and Edmonton, CAN for moose which I'll do at the end of Sept this year and again in 2026.

I'm looking for a new cool experience and I tend to go with guides because the odds are so much better to get a tag and then to get close to elk. I was thinking Utah, WY, Arizona maybe. Any thoughts of good outfitters in these areas or others with good odds?

 

[Indian Summer]

Funny how some people see things. There are landowner tags and other means of getting licenses. But in general booking through an outfitter doesn’t make a license any easier unless you have an unlimited budget. As far as getting close to elk, you might find you do better on your own with as much experience as you have. You have more experience than the majority of guides.

In my opinion, the benefits of using an outfitter are simply to save time and effort. You don’t have to set up a camp and tear it down. Your meals are served to you. All you do is eat sleep and hunt. On the downside when you book with an outfit, you get five days of hunting. Go on your own and you can hunt two weeks for the same price it will cost you to hunt one. That’s huge! For that reason, I think your chances of success are better on your own.

 

[Kilboars]

Funny how some people see things. There are landowner tags and other means of getting licenses. But in general booking through an outfitter doesn’t make a license any easier unless you have an unlimited budget. As far as getting close to elk, you might find you do better on your own with as much experience as you have. You have more experience than the majority of guides.

In my opinion, the benefits of using an outfitter are simply to save time and effort. You don’t have to set up a camp and tear it down. Your meals are served to you. All you do is eat sleep and hunt. On the downside when you book with an outfit, you get five days of hunting. Go on your own and you can hunt two weeks for the same price it will cost you to hunt one. That’s huge! For that reason, I think your chances of success are better on your own.

Thank you, and you may be right.

I don't have unlimited money but I have than I do time that time of year. 10 days is about my max I can be away from my business. Although I really don't like hunting with outfitters I do like the just "eat, sleep & hunt" part, I'm soft

But thanks for the encouragement. Great food for thought.

 

[Brooks]

We had a guy come out to hunt elk a couple years ago from Georgia he used an outfitter/rancher neighbor of mine. He got a tag to hunt the 15,000 acre ranch, he got a bed, tv and shower, coffee and breakfast in the morning and a big hot meal at the end of the day.

He got close to a legit 370 bull on day 1 but got picked off because he kept fooling with his phone to get a video (archery) he got a shot at another bull just as big at a water tank the next day but missed.

He had one more opportunity but didn’t get it done. The guy had never seen an elk before he got here. He probably saw more big shooter bulls in 5 days than a lot of people ever see. He sure didn’t think using an outfitter was a bad thing ! The ranch sold a couple of years ago and the people that bought it don’t allow any hunting.

Before he flew back to GA I told him not all elk hunts are like the last 5 days. He wanted to put a down payment on a hunt for the next year but they told him the ranch might get sold and it did.