Looking for a Western hunt with no points: Bull Elk, Moose, Bison, Big Mule or Big Whitetail Bucks

[PS_727]

I have decided to stop buying tons of gear, and start taking the gear I have on more hunts. I'm looking for any suggestions on finding a guided or semi-guided rifle hunt or guided archery hunt with 0 points. Has to have good success rates. Interested in Bull Elk, Moose, Bison, Solid Mule Deer Bucks, Whitetail Buck with 150-180" opportunities. Background: I don't have any hunts planned in 2025 or 2026. I am currently accumulating Elk and Deer points in WY and plan on doing Antelope there again. I have done Archery Elk OTC in Montana and Archery Elk/Black Bear in Idaho 3-4 times and gotten close to 3 bulls. I did a succesful DIY Antelope hunt in Wyoming in 2024 with a friend who lives out there. With all the draw lotteries and changing strategies, it can be overwhelming to navigate. Any help in figuring out what opportunities are available would be greatly appreciated.

 

[IrkedCitizen]

Money talks. Landowner tags can be had in Colorado for elk/deer/pronghorn. Alaska for moose can be an every year thing as well.

If you have money to drop on a landowner tag I'd reach out to JT over at Allout

https://www.instagram.com/jt_robbins85

 

[Dan-o]

Home

World Class Elk Hunting in the Bull Mountains of Montana. Trophy Mule Deer and Whitetail. Antelope Hunts. Best of the Bulls, High Success, Private Ranches.

www.bestofthebulls-trophyhunts.com

Call 406-428-8156. Ask for Bill,

For Guided Archery, you should have about a 90%+ chance of drawing going in with 0 points if you buy the outfitter point in addition to yours at draw.

 

[Indian Summer]

Anything else? Maybe a hot tub in camp? What’s your budget?

 

[PS_727]

Anything else? Maybe a hot tub in camp? What’s your budget?

I don’t need a hot tub in camp! I’m mainly just looking to see what can be done in 2025 without points and have a decent chance and make some memories. A big moose is a bucket list hunt but I’m not ready to spend enough for that. I don’t have a set budget, that would depend on the animal. $1,500-$10,000 I don’t expect a moose hunt to be the same price as a whitetail. I’d be open to any of the lower 48 states or Canada. I’ve never done anything guided before.

 

[LongWayAround]

You can shoot a ranch bison any time you want, probably not going to get a guided hunt without drawing a tag.

Moose in Canada is probably your best option, just find an outfitter. I don't think there's any landowner tags to be purchased.

Eastern Colorado outfitters kill big mule deer and whitetails. Tags are easy, you just have to buy the hunt.

There's a lot of outfitters in OTC units in Colorado for elk.

Landowner tags in New Mexico.

Pretty broad question...

 

[dreadi]

You might try Bear Paw Outfitters since they operate in areas with OTC tags.

 

[Indian Summer]

You need to narrow things down. What kind of experience are you looking for? A wilderness experience? Is killing more important than the experience and location of the hunt? Wild places would be elk or moose. Moose with no points means north of the border so more money. Giant moose means even more money. Easier. and cheaper? Midwestern deer or antelope. Less physically demanding but not cheap eastern plains mule deer. Maybe exotics on a Hawaiian island? Yeah you need to narrow down your goals.

 

[PS_727]

You need to narrow things down. What kind of experience are you looking for? A wilderness experience? Is killing more important than the experience and location of the hunt? Wild places would be elk or moose. Moose with no points means north of the border so more money. Giant moose means even more money. Easier. and cheaper? Midwestern deer or antelope. Less physically demanding but not cheap eastern plains mule deer. Maybe exotics on a Hawaiian island? Yeah you need to narrow down your goals.

You need to narrow things down. What kind of experience are you looking for? A wilderness experience? Is killing more important than the experience and location of the hunt? Wild places would be elk or moose. Moose with no points means north of the border so more money. Giant moose means even more money. Easier. and cheaper? Midwestern deer or antelope. Less physically demanding but not cheap eastern plains mule deer. Maybe exotics on a Hawaiian island? Yeah you need to narrow down your goals.

I’d definitely be open to a Midwestern buck hunt if it didn’t need accumulated points. I’d prefer whatever hunt I do has good success rates and if I’m paying for a whitetail hunt, I’d want somewhere with bigger bucks than what I can kill here in SW Pennsylvania. I got a nice antelope this past season, so not looking for Antelope this year. Prefer it not be wilderness for this year either. I’ve been to a lot of places so location isn’t as important as opportunity.

 

[SloppyJ]

OTC in CO is a good bet. You're gonna be hard pressed to find anything this year and if you want next year you better start calling.

 

[Kevin W]

For a whitetail hunt in Nebraska check out the Omaha Indian Reservation and the Winnebego Indian Reservation. Both have game and parks divisions with whitetail hunts. Each reservation has huntable ground on the Iowa side of the Missouri River so there's always the chance at a hammer hunting those tracts.
https://winnebagotribe.com/wildlife-parks/

Wildlife & Parks - Omaha Tribe of Nebraska

Mission Statement of the Wildlife & Parks of the Omaha Tribe: Park’s Mission is to ensure the Safety and security of all game species within the exterior boundaries of the Omaha Reservation. Wildlife & Parks shall enforce all hunting & fishing laws as set forth...

www.omahatribe.com

 

[Zork]

Too bad your budget isn't 11k. I know an outfitter that provides a fresh supermodel class hooker in your tent every night with your lower 48 trophy moose tag.

 

[Echo]

There is some great advice in this thread. I would really encourage you to think hard about what type of hunt you want most if you’re willing to pay for a guided hunt. I.e. which species do you really want to pursue.

A few other considerations:

- it’s application season across the west, so you giving thought to the above is not only important but something you should do quickly.

- even with a guide, you’ll want to think hard about what type of terrain you can handle coming from the east. I.e. if you pay for a week long guided elk hunt in the mountains but you’re not prepared for the physical demands, it could end up in a lot of money and disappointment.

- you could try for a non guided OTC hunt this year, gain some experience, and give yourself some time to make a really solid plan for 2026.

My last suggestion would be to sign up for a tool like go hunt or OnX elite, which provides a lot of state research and draw odds.

 

[PS_727]

There is some great advice in this thread. I would really encourage you to think hard about what type of hunt you want most if you’re willing to pay for a guided hunt. I.e. which species do you really want to pursue.

A few other considerations:

- it’s application season across the west, so you giving thought to the above is not only important but something you should do quickly.

- even with a guide, you’ll want to think hard about what type of terrain you can handle coming from the east. I.e. if you pay for a week long guided elk hunt in the mountains but you’re not prepared for the physical demands, it could end up in a lot of money and disappointment.

- you could try for a non guided OTC hunt this year, gain some experience, and give yourself some time to make a really solid plan for 2026.

My last suggestion would be to sign up for a tool like go hunt or OnX elite, which provides a lot of state research and draw odds.

Thanks for that information. I have onX elite, I didn’t realize it had that information in it. I’ve been thinking about trying Nebraska or Missouri for deer. Leaning towards deer or bison I think this year. I am always skeptical of just finding a guide or place to go online. So many scams out there. The archery elk hunts I did were otc with friends. I did an Idaho rifle mule deer hunt a couple years ago but we only saw a few bucks and all were on private land. This past year we did an antelope hunt in NE Wyoming.

 

[Echo]

OnX elite has good draw odds information. I think gohunt has better unit profiles and pretty informative application strategy articles.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Your best opportunity is going to be paying money and going on a guided hunt. Otherwise I think you are going to be disappointed from what I'm seeing in your posts with respect to the quality of animals you are looking for. Stay in Southwest Pennsylvania and find a landowner that has some big bucks on it since you said you're looking for something bigger than what you already have there.