Non-trophy Elk Hunting - worth it?

[Q_Sertorius]

Edit - If you are new to this thread, the answer is "yes." I am going to try out a DIY elk hunt in 2026. Probably in Montana, but I am not set on that yet. The conversation in this thread helped me refine my thinking on the topic and I appreciate everyone who participated.

Original post is below.
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All my life, I have thought about hunting "out West" or "up in Canada." I'm 46 and not getting any younger. I'm in excellent shape for a flatlander. I have a good job, but I am loathe to spend big money on vacations or experiences. I love hunting, but I hate crowds. I have hunted almost exclusively on private land in Virginia. I did a few hunts on public land and I did one guided hunt in Oklahoma that my friends convinced me to try. It was on a ranch owned by some fellow Marines.

The guided hunt in Oklahoma was a horrible experience. It wasn't hunting. I told them I wanted to still hunt and they said, "we don't do that here." They drove me out to a tree stand, dumped a bucket of corn on the ground 100 yards away (in a spot where I could tell they had been dumping corn for months). An hour later a decent-looking cornfed buck walked up for me to execute him. He might as well have been a lamb. I texted the guide and he came out to pick him up. The guide insisted that I could not field dress him right away and assured me that he would take care of it back at the barn. I realized they didn't want to "ruin the spot." Once we were back at the barn, I offered to help, but he said it was part of the service. I went back out hunting. That evening - nearly 12 hours later - I saw that he still had not field dressed the deer. Needless to say, that venison did not taste very good. It really soured me on the whole guided hunting experience. I know that there are guides and hunters on here who will be outraged at that kind of experience. So, there is no way I would pay money for a repeat of that experience.

1. The first problem is that I cannot make up my mind whether it is even "worth it" to go hunting "out West" or "up in Canada" as an experience. Or in Africa or anywhere else. And I mean that for any animal.

The whitetails on my farm are not particularly big or rare, but they are very wary and elusive (except during the rut, then they are dumb. But since by that point I have been going out twice a day, every day, hunting them, I feel like I earned the right to shoot them). I still hunt for them, which generally means roaming the mountainside for several hours during the morning and early afternoon, then doing it again in late afternoon. And, having been hunting on the farm for over forty years, I know it really well. I enjoy the familiar. And I have an entire national forest just over the top of the mountain if I want to get away from that.

I've been hiking out in the Grand Tetons and seen elk, moose, bison, etc. So, I have been "out West" and I have seen the living, breathing animals. But I haven't hunted them. I know that would be a different kind of physical challenge. But I keep coming back to the thought that "hunting is still just hunting." Am I wrong? Is there something else special about elk, or any other animal, that makes it "worth it"?

2. If I can answer the first question in the affirmative, then I want to find the right kind of hunt for me. I keep coming up with nothing. I have an ON-X subscription so I have access to Huntin' Fool. When I talked with the advisor, I tried to explain that I want to go hunting, not killing. I don't care about a trophy on my wall (I don't even have a wall that could fit an elk trophy in my current house). I don't need to go out looking for the biggest bull in the whole wide world. I just want to hunt - but with a reasonable chance of success. But he didn't seem to get it. He kept gushing about trophy animals this and trophy animals that. He kept talking about how going with this outfitter or that outfitter would put me into a target-rich environment where I would have an excellent chance of success at a trophy bull. But I don't want that. I just want to hunt and have a reasonable chance of success at any bull. I won't shoot cows. 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. And I have to bear in mind that each hour I currently spend hunting is an hour I am not working. So my deer season last year probably cost me at least $10,000 and probably a lot more than that. But it's a lot less painful to not work and not make money than it is to work and then spend the money.

So, based on all that, do you think this is an experience I should continue to explore? Is there something about it that you think makes it likely that in 20 years, I am going to say, "I wish I had done that before it was too late."?

 

[Poser]

What stands out to me is the statement "I am loathe to spend big money on vacations or experiences".
Obviously "big money" means a lot of different things to different people. On a tighter budget, one could hunt elk out West for as cheap as $2000-$2500 depending on gas prices, fuel economy, solo vs spitting costs and if you have camping gear nor not (or have your vehicle converted to sleep in). And, you could do that for as long as a month if you wanted to hunt archery, were disciplined about not using hotel rooms, minimal eating out.

Of course, you could easily spend $10,000 or more on the exact same experience with al of the latest and greatest and lots of indulgences. I talked to a guy once who was hunting with a homemade long bow, driving a tiny hybrid car and he said he was budgeted to spend no more than $1200 total including his tag and was going to stay for as long as 3 weeks. He was a scrawny little guy and when I talked to him, he was picking wild berries for lunch.

So, give yourself a working budget, figure out a way to sleep in your vehicle or buy a used tent, make yourself a bunch of jerky, hit the grocery store for some rotisserie chickens, hunt in the clothes you have with maybe a small splurge for a used puffy, DIY yourself a hanging shower setup, take a month off work, buy a ~$700-$800 tag, figure out where the crowds are not and hunt. Maybe you'll kill one, maybe you won't. There's no formula that will unpack this for you beyond that. This is either an experience you desire or it is not and you may not know until you do it.

 

[il_cop]

If you want to "hunt", go hunt. If you don't have points for next year, grab an OTC tag while they exist and hunt public lands on your own....you'll have a "hunt" for sure. And as @Poser mentioned, you can definitely do it for less than what you would pay a guide.

That said, manage your expectations....It's a steep learning curve-
A win would be seeing elk on more days of your hunt than not. If you get a shot opportunity on any legal bull, that would be a significant success, whether or not you kill him.

That's a hunt.

 

[MuleyFever]

You don't want to cow hunt so that takes a lot of hunts you could do off the table.

Given your attitude towards this whole thing seems like collecting points isn't really something you want to get into because then it really becomes an is it "worth it" mental exercise.

So then you have OTC hunts but you hate crowds.

Not trying to be negative but you may be much happier to just keep doing what you're doing.

 

[cmahoney]

You will probably be miserable on a crowded OTC elk hunt. Go on an antelope hunt first.


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[Q_Sertorius]

You don't want to cow hunt so that takes a lot of hunts you could do off the table.

Given your attitude towards this whole thing seems like collecting points isn't really something you want to get into because then it really becomes an is it "worth it" mental exercise.

So then you have OTC hunts but you hate crowds.

Not trying to be negative but you may be much happier to just keep doing what you're doing.

Correct. I am definitely not going to get into the points game.

My current inclination is to keep doing what I have been doing.

I guess what I am really trying to find out - before I get too much older - is “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?” Why do people spend years building points and planning to do this? Or spend $10,000+ for five days of hunting? That’s not a judgement on those who like it, I’m really looking for what about it hooks you. If it is something that I have to experience to understand it, then I guess I just have to try it out.


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“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[Q_Sertorius]

You will probably be miserable on a crowded OTC elk hunt. Go on an antelope hunt first.


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This is another thing I have heavily considered doing.


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“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[trophyhill]

If you have to ask if it's worth it, you may as well stay at home. Unless you are ready for a new obsession

 

[WRO]

Correct. I am definitely not going to get into the points game.

My current inclination is to keep doing what I have been doing.

I guess what I am really trying to find out - before I get too much older - is “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?” Why do people spend years building points and planning to do this? Or spend $10,000+ for five days of hunting? That’s not a judgement on those who like it, I’m really looking for what about it hooks you. If it is something that I have to experience to understand it, then I guess I just have to try it out.


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“Keep on keepin’ on…”

There’s a few good guides that’ll take you on a bull hunt for 5-7k. You can hunt decent hunts for 3-6 points in Colorado and many other state’s.

I’m not too proud to drop bombs on moms, one of my favorite hunts was in Nevada with my daughter hunting cows.

 

[gonhunting247]

Heck ya, it's worth it at least to me. But, why pay for a guide? Get an easy draw or OTC tag ang go out and have fun while figuring it all out and exploring new country! You might need to change your perspective on the whole thing and just be excited for the adventure instead of worrying about the negative though. Not saying that in a bad way, but it all adds up and takes away from work, but that's part of the reason it's good.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

There’s a few good guides that’ll take you on a bull hunt for 5-7k. You can hunt decent hunts for 3-6 points in Colorado and many other state’s.

I’m not too proud to drop bombs on moms, one of my favorite hunts was in Nevada with my daughter hunting cows.

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


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“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[cmahoney]

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


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“Keep on keepin’ on…”

It’s part of the management plans. Taking out horses would be better but there is only so much feed and water out there. Elk are doing good in most places.


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[Jason Snyder]

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?

The country. The comraderie of a select few very close friends. The sunrises. The sunsets. The drive down a new road. The new trailhead. The old ones you remember well. The majestic nature of the quarry. The sweat and pain of packing one out. The feeling of relief at the end of the last load. The campfire. The moonrises.

Some of my best hunts have been cow hunts. For all the reasons above.

 

[CMF]

I've been hiking out in the Grand Tetons and seen elk, moose, bison, etc. So, I have been "out West" and I have seen the living, breathing animals. But I haven't hunted them. I know that would be a different kind of physical challenge. But I keep coming back to the thought that "hunting is still just hunting." Am I wrong? Is there something else special about elk, or any other animal, that makes it "worth it"?

So, based on all that, do you think this is an experience I should continue to explore? Is there something about it that you think makes it likely that in 20 years, I am going to say, "I wish I had done that before it was too late."?

You've got to go to know.
I'd say yes, there is something special to hearing an elk rip a bugle that whitetail hunting doesn't provide.
I waited til I was 34 to go elk hunting and regret not going sooner. I've hunted every year since, some years multiple hunts with the kids and have got into other species too.

You definitely don't sound like the type to go guided, but how do you define "reasonable chance of success"?
Because if you're good with 10%, then pick up a secondary draw or leftover tag in CO and go hunt. If you're looking for higher success, start applying in premium units in NM, AZ, UT but just know it might be 10-15 years before you draw.

Your deer season cost you 10k. If you're content to spend that, you could pick up a NM unit wide landowner tag and go have a pretty good unguided hunt with what I would say is "reasonable chance of success"

 

[il_cop]

Correct. I am definitely not going to get into the points game.

My current inclination is to keep doing what I have been doing.

I guess what I am really trying to find out - before I get too much older - is “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?” Why do people spend years building points and planning to do this? Or spend $10,000+ for five days of hunting? That’s not a judgement on those who like it, I’m really looking for what about it hooks you. If it is something that I have to experience to understand it, then I guess I just have to try it out.


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That's a huge question... And likely hugely personal in terms of the answer

I can't speak for non-residents and others that don't live in elk country.

Here, in the mountains, it IS hunting... It's what and how we hunt.

There are hunts that in a word are - "pure" in the sense of the hunt, the animals, the landscape, the solitude (sometimes), the difficulty and complexity. Not all the time...but ever so often.

I play the point game because I try to avoid OTC, so I can get my next fix of "pure". (but OTC, for me, is better than not hunting)

I think the answer to your question is because it offers the experience you're after, though it's not guaranteed.

 

[LostArra]

If you are a bow hunter, you are missing out on a lot of enjoyable and challenging hunting by refusing to hunt cow elk. My only elk hunting goal every year is to go elk hunting every year. I've killed a lot more cows than bulls (zero trophy bulls) but all of the hunts have been memorable even 2013 when the Rockies had the great flooding monsoon. I'm 72 yo and I'm planning on a limp-fest this fall somewhat "chasing" elk since I scheduled my partial knee replacement after hunting season.

I'm sorry to hear about your Oklahoma deer trip. Whitetail outfitting just always sounds sketchy to me.

 

[AntelopeEater]

Tomorrow you could apply for a SHARE elk hunt in California, along me and about a million other people.

Very low odds of drawing, but it is cheap to enter.

If you do get lucky and draw, it is an opportunity to hunt Elk on private land real cheap with high odds of getting one.

I haven't hunted elk yet, but I think it would be more thrilling than going after a deer, but I suppose that is entirely subjective.

 

[cmahoney]

Tomorrow you could apply for a SHARE elk hunt in California, along me and about a million other people.

Very low odds of drawing, but it is cheap to enter.

If you do get lucky and draw, it is an opportunity to hunt Elk on private land real cheap with high odds of getting one.

I haven't hunted elk yet, but I think it would be more thrilling than going after a deer, but I suppose that is entirely subjective.

Cheap? Have you seen what CA charges for a non resident elk tag?


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[Q_Sertorius]

I’m not — and never will be — a bow hunter. I don’t have time in my life for that level of dedication to another perishable skill. I also have a bad shoulder that was made worse by a Navy surgeon.


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[MuleyFever]

I guess what I am really trying to find out - before I get too much older - is “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?” Why do people spend years building points and planning to do this? Or spend $10,000+ for five days of hunting? That’s not a judgement on those who like it, I’m really looking for what about it hooks you. If it is something that I have to experience to understand it, then I guess I just have to try it out.


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“Keep on keepin’ on…”

Elk hunting is just hunting to me. Nothing more special about it than any other Western hunting. Just a different animal. People just get into things. Plenty of people just as obsessed with whitetail hunting, or fishing.