Non-trophy Elk Hunting - worth it?

[Indian Summer]

You saw the Tetons. If your soul didn’t want to go back and see the mountains again then western hunting probably isn’t worth the cost to you.


I’m a diehard elk hunter. I’m pretty bored with deer hunting in Pennsylvania. I could take it or leave it.

The thing that draws me is the mountains. Every day is an adventure. I am a very confident elk hunter so always having a good time.

I have had people ask me what is it about elk hunting that keeps you coming back for more when it’s expensive and so physically demanding. I tell them the same thing. It’s the mountains. I can’t get enough of the sites and the smells and everything about them. If the only thing that lived in the mountains were opossums, I would probably go on an opossum hunt every year. I sure do love the site of a bull elk though. I like it even more when my tag is attached.

 

[loganwayne]

Honestly it sounds like you dont want to go and are looking for someone to validate it. Everyone's hunting expectations are different.

I'm in NC have almost a 1000 acres to hunt whitetail on, I hunted 1 sit last year on the farm. The rest of the time we ran around on public in 3 states. I have wanderlust and hate hunting the same areas over and over again.

I will say not finding game was my biggest holdup for YEARS. I got my first bird dog of my own almost 13 years ago. Promised I'd take him up north to get on grouse up there. Last year I finally said screw my anxiety, I picked a spot on the map and went. My trip was made in the first 30 minutes of hunting with my puppy pointed her first grouse. My only regret was not doing it sooner.

 

[Macintosh]

Q, what do you live and breathe for? Did the tetons get your attention in that way? What were the circumstances of your visit there, and was that “worth it” to you?

Im of the opinion that its dumb to try and force things. Being happy and satisfied is a choice to a very large degree. I dont think it makes any sense to try to force yourself to like something if your heart isnt in it. At the same time, if your heart really IS in something, I dont think it makes sense to not spend what it takes to do that at least once to try.


I may not draw the mule deer tag I applied for this year. If I dont, I’ll probably be in WY anyway backpacking somewhere and exploring, probably do some fishing and maybe scramble up a peak. I can do the exact same thing here at home, but the different landscape, the visibility of everything, the style of hunting, the WAAAAY better weather, etc is a draw for me. We’ve had something like 28 consecutive weekends of rain or snow here, so right now some crisp western mountain air is what Im after. if you arent into the trophy, and the cost of a guided hunt is too much to stomach, why not just go on a september backpacking trip somewhere and try to count coup on some elk and mule deer with a digiscope, catch some trout in a mountain stream, and enjoy a climate where the sun shines more often than not? Thats a pretty cheap vacation in the scheme of things. And, If that doesnt sound fun, then why do the same thing with a rifle?

 

[Macintosh]

Honestly it sounds like you dont want to go and are looking for someone to validate it. Everyone's hunting expectations are different.

I'm in NC have almost a 1000 acres to hunt whitetail on, I hunted 1 sit last year on the farm. The rest of the time we ran around on public in 3 states. I have wanderlust and hate hunting the same areas over and over again.

I will say not finding game was my biggest holdup for YEARS. I got my first bird dog of my own almost 13 years ago. Promised I'd take him up north to get on grouse up there. Last year I finally said screw my anxiety, I picked a spot on the map and went. My trip was made in the first 30 minutes of hunting with my puppy pointed her first grouse. My only regret was not doing it sooner.

Man, you got deer and 1000 acres in NC, I have 30 years worth of grouse covers in northern new england. We could maybe work out some sort of arrangement! Just saying.

 

[loganwayne]

Man, you got deer and 1000 acres in NC, I have 30 years worth of grouse covers in northern new england. We could maybe work out some sort of arrangement! Just saying.

If i leased it i would say deal but it's all free for us but dont want to push my luck bringing people since I was invited to start hunting it with my buddy. The land owners friend do come down from Alaska almost every year to hunt at Thanksgiving.

 

[Macintosh]

@loganwayne it would strictly be for the good of your bird dog. “Medicinal purposes”, more or less. We pretty frequently have 30-40 bird contact days, your dog will thank you.

(Im kidding, but it’s not really off topic given the “at home” things we take almost for granted that are really awesome, and the feeling that what’s over the fence is always supposed to be so much greener…)

 

[cmahoney]

The Oklahoma hunt was an experience with a bunch of brother officers. I had no part in the planning of it.

As part of the trip, we also went up to Show Me Birds in Kansas. That was phenomenally fun.


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

I will maintain my bearing and refrain from commenting. Carry on Sir.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[loganwayne]

@loganwayne it would strictly be for the good of your bird dog. “Medicinal purposes”, more or less. We pretty frequently have 30-40 bird contact days, your dog will thank you.

(Im kidding, but it’s not really off topic given the “at home” things we take almost for granted that are really awesome, and the feeling that what’s over the fence is always supposed to be so much greener…)

We go and spend between 10-15 days a year up north and we averaged about 25 contacts a day. Locals said everything was way down from it being so dry all year up there. Only saw 2 woodcock the whole time.

I live in western nc and we still have grouse...... kinda. We flushed 3 all year

 

[Wihunter12]

The whole reason I go is for the experience of seeing new, beautiful country, meeting new people and chasing some kind of animal. I have made over 20 trips to South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska and have not spent more than $2000 on any trip. Many of them less than $1k. Granted I have never hired a guide or had a high dollar tag but I would not trade those trips for anything.

 

[7RemMag]

If you're not after a "trophy" lots of options for Western Hunting with fair to good odds of an enjoyable hunt. If you have the funds, and you are interested, go hunt. Have fun.

I grew up hunting the same farm(s) back home, and I eventually grew tired of it-At least to an extent. The expectation was that we'd see lots of deer, and some fairly decent bucks. We'd kill a few deer. Every few years, we'd kill a real stud. I moved away in 2022 (or '23?). Western Hunting has been a breath of fresh air for Myself and My Dad and Sister who moved to Wyoming about 6 months later. We don't have much private land to hunt anymore, so there's a little more effort involved sometimes, but we enjoy ourselves more than we did when we had that private land "honey hole". I guess my point being maybe it will be similar for you. Maybe you'll hate it. You probably won't know until you give it a shot. What do you have to lose?

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Q, what do you live and breathe for? Did the tetons get your attention in that way? What were the circumstances of your visit there, and was that “worth it” to you?

The first question is a tough one. Taking aside my daughter, with the life I have lived thus far, if I spent the next forty years doing a bit of work, reading, wandering around my farm and shooting at things, I think I would be very happy. The only reason I haven't already started doing that is my daughter. I plan to get her started in the world, give her the house in the suburbs, hopefully see some grandchildren, and then die with a bit of money in my checking account, some books, some rifles, and a farm. But... I just don't know what is in store for me.

And I want to live a life with no regrets. When I was younger, I thought I wanted to join the Marines. When I began to take steps to make it happen, my family was horrified. I initially let family dissuade me from joining the service, but eventually I realized I just wouldn't be happy if I didn't do it. Now, with that in the rearview mirror, I sort of agree with Mark Twain, who wrote, "I'm glad I did, partly because it was worth it, but mostly because I'll never have to do it again." I always assumed that Twain was implying that whatever it was, it was awful, but I don't necessarily think that's the case. It may just be that having done something, it is not necessary to do it again. Which takes me right into the second question.

The Tetons were beautiful and the wildlife was spectacular. It was a good trip. I went with my ex-fiancée a couple of weeks before I started my workup for an OEF deployment. It was absolutely worth it from the point of view of a visit. But, without denigrating them in any way, I didn't get any more of a thrill from them than I do from the Blue Ridge mountains. I don't feel an urge to go back to see them again. Unlike many people in this thread, the Rockies are not home to me. I honestly feel a greater urge to go visit Twentynine Palms, California, where I spent almost four years as a combat instructor, than I do to go back to the Tetons (or Yosemite, another beautiful place I visited while I lived out west). And that place objectively sucks, but it has a draw to it -- to me -- that a lot of nicer places just don't.

At one point on that trip, we were hiking a trail and came upon a yearling moose. She was maybe ten yards away. Quite an impressive animal, but I didn't get the sense that I would want to hunt her. I also didn't get that feeling from watching the herds of elk in the distance in the Tetons. And the bison were basically big cows.

Watching those animals, I didn't feel the way I do when I see whitetails. Even the ones in my backyard in the suburbs or the ones I see from the road make me want to hunt them. Hell, the feeling I get when I see a groundhog -- something I have been shooting my entire life -- is more addictive than what I felt seeing those elk.

I suspect that could change if I hunted them once. And that's part of the reason I am trying to get a sense for what it is that attracts non-local people to it.

I think it is different when you have been doing something your whole life. I totally get the locals, including people in this thread, who say "to us, that's just hunting" or for whom those mountains are home. For them I can understand the itch that has to be scratched. I missed a couple of hunting seasons during my military career and each time it pained me. I never admitted it to my ex-fiancée or my ex-wife, but I missed deer hunting in November 2010 and November 2018 more than I missed them. But I also miss the feeling of being in Afghanistan, surrounded by comrades, with a naive optimism and belief in our mission that I no longer feel, more than I miss a lot of other, objectively better, things. I've done hard things that sucked, but which still have a strange and fascinating hold on me.

As someone else said above, part of me may be looking for reasons not to do it. Another person said it seems like I have an answer for everything and might not be satisfied with anything. While that may seem to be the case, the reality is that none of my answers are final. I am likely to read over this thread many times. Because, as others have said -- and they are absolutely correct -- that ultimately it is something I have to decide for myself. I appreciate everyone's thoughts so far.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I will maintain my bearing and refrain from commenting. Carry on Sir.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why maintain your bearing? Why refrain? I'm certainly not "sir." Not anymore, anyway.

One of my mentors planned the trip. It was to a ranch owned by friends of his. It turned out that I was the only one for whom "hunting" meant going and looking for animals, rather than sitting in a blind or tree stand and waiting for them to come to me. I probably should have asked those questions before signing up, but it was not expensive and I enjoyed the non-hunting parts of the trip. Obviously, I learned to pay more attention to those kinds of details in the future. But I don't think I could anticipate that the guide wouldn't gut the deer for over twelve hours. And I cast no aspersions or judgment on those for whom "hunting" means sitting in a blind or stand shooting deer.

 

[hibernation]

what is it that makes hunting elk such a special thing that tens of thousands of my fellow hunters seem to build their lives around it?

I do it because I live in a good elk state and spend a lot of time in the mountains and forests near elk. They're cool animals that I like to watch and spend time pursuing. I don't really have the money to hunt them as a nonresident if I lived somewhere else, at least not regularly, so I'm not sure what I would do in your situation. At the same time, it's important enough to me that if elk hunting was suddenly gone here, there's a good chance I'd move.

If the experience is more a drive for you than the trophy, I wouldn't rule out a cow hunt either. I've had cow tags that were way more of a hunt than crowded OTC bull tags. Tracking, glassing, stalking, really getting a good hunt in, as compared to some bull tags that can be so crowded it just feels like a crapshoot who the elk get pushed to.

 

[High Climber]

There are thousands of people who spend thousands of dollars to sit on a beach, race sailboats, go to Disneyland, gamble in Las Vegas, traveling the world, etc. I’ve tried most of those things, without having to spend too much on it and I didn’t get the appeal for most of them. I may be hard to please, but really I just enjoy simple things. A “pure” experience is hard to come by these days.


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

It’s hard to find a more simple, “pure experience” than chasing elk in the mountains. You need perseverance, grit, some knowledge and a little bit of luck sometimes to punch a tag… but the experience is there all the same. You should find a way to make it happen. Gohunt subscription will have more info for you on OTC states or easy draws in non preference point states like ID or NM. Multiple states have opportunities to draw a tag in the random portion of the draw in good units with some luck you could be going on a “quality” elk hunt in a year or two.

 

[wind gypsy]

Like I imagine (hope) most hunters get their satisfaction, it’s the journey. Figuring out something new somewhere you’ve never been. Learning how to find them, kill them, and the grind to get them out, the mental and physical challenges that one often has to overcome to be successful. Being capable of getting your ass to the places you want to go on your feet vs it being a permission or pay for access thing. The sound of a pissed off bull bugle reacting to your call as he runs at you, That is what makes it special in addition to the wild places they inhabit.

If you’re considering just booking a guide and following them around until you shoot an elk, without really doing anything to “be an elk hunter” then it doesn’t seem like you’ll be satisfied. Especially if a place like the Tetons and the thought of bugling bulls doesn’t get you fired up.

I'm not willing to pay $10,000 to eat tag soup, but I would be willing to pay a reasonable amount for the hunting experience.

Sounds like you should just be unwilling to spend $10k. Because if you pay $10k to a well selected outfitter there’s a fair chance it’s going to feel like you bought an animal at the end especially if firearm hunting.

 

[Raghornklr]

Just reading your criteria. Odd suggestion but if you want to chase elk and give it a shot. The popular "out west " might not be for you. But a pure experience of hitting brush and still hunting bull elk with rag horn trophy quality . I'd suggest an otc rifle tag in Oregon or Washington for Roosevelt. It's a timbered suck fest chasing bulls that won't score well but you'll earn and enjoy finding them. If that's how you'd like to hunt. Tracking elk in the rain diy is about as far away from your Oklahoma hunt as you can get.

 

[Balderdash]

I hunt public land in several western states for deer and elk. Hunt public land around home for WT in WI, too. I can't stand canned hunts; I'd rather just go to the range or shoot for fun because its a lot more trigger time. I own some ground and have access to some other private with good deer populations, but I'd rather be out experiencing all the ups and downs of hunting larger blocks of more wild feeling public lands.

I say get some tags, set up some camps and go for it on your own. I don't know what your hunting looks like in VA, but for me there's nothing like hunting and camping in the mountains in the fall. Crowded or not, one can still find game, meet some great folks, and overall have a great experience.

 

[TaperPin]

If you wanted to hunt out west you already would have. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[hibernation]

Just reading your criteria. Odd suggestion but if you want to chase elk and give it a shot. The popular "out west " might not be for you. But a pure experience of hitting brush and still hunting bull elk with rag horn trophy quality . I'd suggest an otc rifle tag in Oregon or Washington for Roosevelt. It's a timbered suck fest chasing bulls that won't score well but you'll earn and enjoy finding them. If that's how you'd like to hunt. Tracking elk in the rain diy is about as far away from your Oklahoma hunt as you can get.

I can't think of a less nonres-friendly hunt than dumping someone into the coast range for a general rifle elk season. But you're absolutely right about it being the polar opposite of an Oklahoma whitetail hunt.

 

[Stache Attack]

I just don’t like killing females in any population I would like to see grow.


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

Come to Montana and shoot cows. 75% of units are over objective no one wants to shoot cows even though that’s what FWP wants. Cow and doe hunts are my favorite hunts of the year!

With no stress on antlers it’s a great way to learn/observe elk behavior, stalking, and terrain.