Non-trophy Elk Hunting - worth it?

[FuddRucker]

I feel like if you have to ask you might not actually have the drive for it, which is okay.

 

[bz_711]

If you're happy with what you got then keep doing it.

If you want more adventure and more challenge...go chase elk or mule deer out west.

I like doing both.

 

[KHNC]

You really know how to motivate someone to try it out.


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“Keep on keepin’ on…”

My niece is a Marine. I was in the Air Force. Have to give them shit. lol

 

[camelcluch]

No points, no people, no money. Not being a jerk but it really doesn’t sound like you want to hunt out west. You have a lot of negativity about the entire deal. Find something that gets you excited and pursue that adventure. I hope it all works out for you and you find something that is memorable.

 

[LFaler]

I’m going on my first elk hunt this year . Doing OTC with some guys that have been hunting the area for a few decades . I don’t like canned hunts, high fence etc. and I don’t hunt for trophies I try to find experiences. I’ve done a DIY caribou hunt which was great fun, but when I do moose I plan on a guided trip. And I plan on doing my first Africa trip for Cape buffalo next year. If money is tight I get not wanting to spend it on an expensive hunt . But you may drop dead of a heart attack next year , get run over by some drunk asshole or find out you have cancer at anytime. Go hunt. I’d rather work a little bit more and do the things I want and not feel guilty about spending the money than sitting on something i can’t take with me when I’m gone and regret never doing anything when I’m too old or feeble to walk the mountains and forests. Do it while you can because I guarantee “one day”
Will come before you know it and you won’t be able to.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I’m going on my first elk hunt this year . Doing OTC with some guys that have been hunting the area for a few decades . I don’t like canned hunts, high fence etc. and I don’t hunt for trophies I try to find experiences. I’ve done a DIY caribou hunt which was great fun, but when I do moose I plan on a guided trip. And I plan on doing my first Africa trip for Cape buffalo next year. If money is tight I get not wanting to spend it on an expensive hunt . But you may drop dead of a heart attack next year , get run over by some drunk asshole or find out you have cancer at anytime. Go hunt. I’d rather work a little bit more and do the things I want and not feel guilty about spending the money than sitting on something i can’t take with me when I’m gone and regret never doing anything when I’m too old or feeble to walk the mountains and forests. Do it while you can because I guarantee “one day”
Will come before you know it and you won’t be able to.

Thanks. I have been working up a plan that is similar to this. I have started by planning an upland bird trip with a friend who lives in Montana. For me, the first thing is to get on the ground and have a firsthand idea of what I am dealing with. Then I will look into a cow elk hunt in one of the well-populated areas (as several folks suggested).


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[wind gypsy]

Thanks. I have been working up a plan that is similar to this. I have started by planning an upland bird trip with a friend who lives in Montana. For me, the first thing is to get on the ground and have a firsthand idea of what I am dealing with. Then I will look into a cow elk hunt in one of the well-populated areas (as several folks suggested).


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As a general comment, a lot of the areas that are popular for upland bird hunting in MT are not "traditional" elk ground. Good chance you'd be in more mule deer / antelope country that would be a limited entry draw for elk. The other thing is there is a lot more private land in some of these areas so navigating properly lines is more of a thing than like with some of the huge chunks of USFS land further west.

 

[cullenshows09]

Just go for it

 

[Q_Sertorius]

As a general comment, a lot of the areas that are popular for upland bird hunting in MT are not "traditional" elk ground. Good chance you'd be in more mule deer / antelope country that would be a limited entry draw for elk. The other thing is there is a lot more private land in some of these areas so navigating properly lines is more of a thing than like with some of the huge chunks of USFS land further west.

Thanks. I am mostly looking forward to the experience of hunting in Montana with my friend. She has friends who hunt ungulates, but I don’t know them yet. And she has private land access to public. If it turns out that there are places near her property that are good for mule deer or antelope, then entering those draws is highly attractive to me.

I am just the kind of person who doesn’t do big things spontaneously. I believe in making a deliberate plan, but then adapting the plan as needed along the way. It would also be different if I wasn’t the primary caregiver for my daughter. Her mother is around, but unreliable and irresponsible. So I have to plan layers of redundancy whenever I go anywhere.


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[WoolyBugger]

No points and not wanting to go with and outfitter leaves you with otc or easy to draw units. These places can take years to figure out but you can also be successful. A guy I hunt with is 9 for 12 in filling tags and never possessed an elk point. Other people in his group have gotten one or none in the same time. If its going to be a one and done thing, I’m not sure this is what you are wanting.

I hunted elk the first time in college and put the tag on a credit card, ended up paying a decent amount in interest but never questioned if it was worth it, I wasn’t waiting to get out there and do it. Walked around for 7 days before even seeing an animal. Didn’t see anyone else then went back the next year and there wasn’t a place to park that didn’t have a truck already there. Scrambled to find another spot and ate another tag.

This year it was too hot, tons of people, our group saw 3 elk in 5 days. Still worth it.

If your measure of being “worth it” is killing an animal in these units, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. There are “pure” hunts but its still a gamble on if other people are thinking the same. For me, its getting away from work and turning my phone off, building a campfire and having hot meal at the end of a long day, getting up early and making a coffee and doing it all over again. I enjoy the process of refining gear, preparing in the off season, pulling up onX on my lunch break at work, calling my hunting buddies and chatting about how we are optimistic this year and are looking forward to the time together since everyone is so busy and it is the only time some of us get to see each other.

If you’re into fishing, I have gotten similar satisfaction hitting some blue lines in the mountains. Far less expensive, not limited by tag availability, and depending on where you go you could be alone for days. Tough to beat dry flies on small streams. Most of the places I’ve hunted have also had trout.

Everyone else has more or less said the same thing. But if you’re on the fence about it, maybe it’s not for you.

 

[WCB]

I live and grew up in the midwest hunting whitetails essentially out my back door. I sort of have the opposite feeling towards them. I hunt them because they are here and a chase "trophies" because otherwise it is WAY too easy. Just killing an elk for most people and in general by statistics is hard. I also grew up in a family where my grandpa, dad, and uncles have shot about everything in N.A. and had a grandpa telling stories of crazy sheep and elk camps, bear charges, hunting during wars in Africa and exciting stuff always revolving around the outdoors. So I think it had/has me wanting to see those things.

Imo I would book a elk hunt with an outfitter in a good unit, with good elk numbers (maybe trophy bulls maybe not) and experience it. Maybe do a horse back tent camp hunt and go for the experience. Your comment on essentially not willing to risk going home empty handed however does wave a flag as a reason you like to hunt whitetails on the same property all the time....its easy. Maybe you also don't care but I have seen some amazing things in the elk mountains Or maybe mule deer mountains, antelope flats, moose woods, etc that white tail hunting would never offer.

Or maybe throwing this out there. Do a western whitetail hunt if your stuck on that species. That will tell you right away if it is actually the species that gets you excited or the ease of the hunt you have always done.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Your comment on essentially not willing to risk going home empty handed however does wave a flag as a reason you like to hunt whitetails on the same property all the time....it’s easy. Maybe you also don't care but I have seen some amazing things in the elk mountains Or maybe mule deer mountains, antelope flats, moose woods, etc that white tail hunting would never offer.

I said a "reasonable chance of success." A reasonable chance of success on a DIY hunt is different than a reasonable chance of success on a guided hunt on private land.

If I can plan and execute a hunt that puts me in a place where there are elk, I would consider that a success and a sound foundation upon which to build and learn more. A lot of this thread has been about calibrating my expectations. The people who have described hunting for a week and not even seeing an elk have been most helpful in that regard.

If I paid some outfitter thousands of dollars for a private land hunt, I would expect to at least get a shot at an elk (especially since I am not interested in a trophy class animal). And I would be seriously questioning my choice of outfitter if that didn't work out. But I would also feel like I simply paid to shoot an animal.

Which is why my original post specifically said that I was interested in hunting, not killing. As the old Chuck Norris joke goes, "Chuck Norris doesn't go hunting, because "hunting" implies the possibility of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing."

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“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[WoolyBugger]

I said a reasonable chance of success. A reasonable chance of success on a DIY hunt is different than a reasonable chance of success on a guided hunt on private land.


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Genuine curiosity; what would you consider a reasonable chance of success on a diy hunt?

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Genuine curiosity; what would you consider a reasonable chance of success on a diy hunt?

Sorry, while you were responding, I edited my post.

If I can put myself where there are elk, with a tag in hand, I would be quite happy with myself on an initial hunt.


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“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[WoolyBugger]

Sorry, while you were responding, I edited my post.

If I can put myself where there are elk, with a tag in hand, I would be quite happy with myself on an initial hunt.


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“Keep on keepin’ on…

I think that’s more than reasonable

 

[EastHumboldt]

Basically the OP said “I’m happy hunting white tails, not sure about hunting elk being such a big deal… change my mind.” So some members helped him sort through it and change his mind. Why did we do that? Isn’t there enough competition for good tags already?

My reaction was don’t wanna go, don’t go. I’m not gonna spend a second trying to sell you on it.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Any/all elk hunting is worth it.

 

[7RemMag]

Basically the OP said “I’m happy hunting white tails, not sure about hunting elk being such a big deal… change my mind.” So some members helped him sort through it and change his mind. Why did we do that? Isn’t there enough competition for good tags already?

My reaction was don’t wanna go, don’t go. I’m not gonna spend a second trying to sell you on it.

If his mind was so easily swayed by a few pages of random individuals on the internet telling him "Do it", I don't think he was nearly as "on the fence" as it might've seemed. I get on this forum and scroll or browse through it on average at least once a day for a few minutes. There's some great information and advice on here. That's why I finally created an account months ago. That said, if my mind is made up on something, ain't no way in hell any of you guys are going to change it. If I created a thread on here looking for advice as so many often do, I certainly wouldn't want anyone to misrepresent their advice for any purpose.

Furthermore, it looks like the OP opted for a cow elk tag in Montana. I certainly think that's a far cry from a highly competitive tag. Even if it's a bull tag, so be it. Maybe he'll hunt elk once, decide it was fun, and never do it again. Maybe he'll start applying every year. Regardless, I don't think that this thread alone will have been all that influential in the matter. Just my take on the matter, for what it is...and that isn't much.

 

[mad_angler]

I have to add to this thread...

I am a bit fanatical and love a challenge. I am almost 60 and have been hunting most of my life. For a while, I chased deer with my bow fanatically, then I got a dog and chased ducks fanatically, and so on. I loved the challenge of trying to "solve the puzzle" of each pursuit.

But I've always been intrigued by elk hunting. I could see that it totally consumes some folks. I wanted to understand why...

So, I started planning for a hunt last year. I knew nothing. I prepared a good bit and went on a cow rifle hunt in Wyoming. Now, I can see why folks are so addicted. The level of the challenge/puzzle is beyond anything I have done before. Deer hunting and duck hunting do not have 10% success rates...

This fall, I am heading back to the mountains to chase cow elk (definitely not "trophy" hunting). I am totally consumed with researching and exercising to try to make it happen.

I know way more than I did last summer. But I still know nothing...

 

[CoMulies]

My first elk hunt was an OTC tag where I sat on the side of a mountain at 11k feet with nothing to drink but boiled snow and didn’t see sh*t besides tracks for 4 days. And the whole time I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to do it. The mountain west is just awe inspiring, go for it.