The Selway and Frank back in the day

[sneaky]

There are 12 different outfitters with licensed area in unit 17 alone. If each one kills 4 elk per year that's 48 elk. Last years harvest was 80. So I would agree that at 60% or more of elk are killed with outfitters.

When you stop to think about it, it is really sad that a once great unit has fallen so far. There is a lot of good looking habitat, and a lot of it is empty.

I would venture they kill more than 4 apiece on average. Not a whole lot of DIY guys are getting it done in there these days. Sad what the wolves have done to that entire region.

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[theleo91386]

Guys, I guess I should have asked for real world experience from people that have hunted in the wilderness areas then and now. Not really interested in stories from people with keyboard experience only. Real world stories are always more entertaining than someone just spitting data. I am very capable of researching data (boring) but I don't personally know anyone who has hunted the backcountry then and now. Would love to hear from the men that have been there and done that.

If you want to know the then and now of Wilderness areas all you need to do is look at Yellowstone. Back then you could get into ruff stuff where elk were left relatively alone and there was a better population there to hunt. With the introduction of a thriving wolf population the areas where elk were left alone became prime wolf areas and the game populations dropped dramatically. It's rough country that has considerably less elk in it than it use to back in the day. There are guys that kill animals every year without guides, but they're guys that have their areas dialed. They have a dozen honey holes, know how the elk react to pressure, and they are constantly moving to find and stay on elk.

Hunting Wilderness areas these day DIY means you need to be far more willing to put yourself through physical and mental hell and come out of it with nothing to show for your effort. In the good old days the same mental and physical hell usually resulted in a big bull most of us wouldn't think twice about getting mounted. If you want a fun Wilderness experience go in them with a fishing rod for a week or so and enjoy the peace, solitude, and scenery without the beating your head against the wall feeling you'll get starting from nothing trying to hunt elk in there.

 

[Gun&BowSD]

Seems like a pretty tough crowd on here... Can’t speak for back in the day but I had boots on deck last year in the Selway and I didn’t see any sign of elk for a week straight. Saw two whitetail does and a muley buck I ended up taking second to last day. That was all the fur we saw. A lot of wolf tracks everywhere we went. And one bear track. It was rough man. The couple people we saw and talked to were in the same boat. Great country though. Only heard one other shot besides mine in a week, not sure what it was on though.

 

[bigdesert10]

I have family friends that used to pack into the Selway every year on horseback. They say it was an almost constant symphony of bugles. Once the wolves showed up, the bugling stopped and they quit expending the time and resources to go there. We just lost the old boy who led the charge this year at 93, but he shot his last elk when he was 82, if I remember correct. I think you'll have a hard time finding too many here on the interwebs that had any significant experience in there when it was good (unless it was a one-time outfitted trip or something). I don't imagine they spend much time online.