What is a 4000$ elk??

[squeekieslayer]

I wouldn't pay a penny for any elk. I've shot too many of them for free. Other than tag fees of course. $49

Very helpful.... Apparently your gas is free, your time off of work is free, all of your equipment was free, your food and clothes are free.... you get the point. I but all of us "local residents" would be surprised to add up how much we spend for an elk.... with no guarantee of even harvesting one.

Obviously this guy does not appear to be someone that is lucky enough to hunt elk every year for pennies. So $49 dollar tags are out of the question. I am with Bob, $4000 for a great experience and and great bull is a bargain by many out of stater's opinion. By the time you drop $1000 on a tag, take the time off of wrok, drive or fly to where you are going, and buy all of the equipment you need, you are going to be in over $4000 grand for a DIY hunt with no guarantees.

Hell, sometimes I wonder if my elk hunts cost $4000 bucks and my tags are dirt cheap. By the time i have all the must have equipment and spend 100's of miles in gas...

 

[CentennialELK]

Some of us take for granted what we have here. If I didn't live here and have the easy access that I do, I am certain that I'd be willing to pay the 4g's. To me it is the same difference as how much I'd be willing to pay to shoot a Dall, Yukon moose, etc..., all out of my access. I had a friend from Louisiana pay much more than 4k to shoot a bull.

 

[Bar]

Very helpful.... Apparently your gas is free, your time off of work is free, all of your equipment was free, your food and clothes are free.... you get the point. I but all of us "local residents" would be surprised to add up how much we spend for an elk.... with no guarantee of even harvesting one.

Obviously this guy does not appear to be someone that is lucky enough to hunt elk every year for pennies. So $49 dollar tags are out of the question. I am with Bob, $4000 for a great experience and and great bull is a bargain by many out of stater's opinion. By the time you drop $1000 on a tag, take the time off of wrok, drive or fly to where you are going, and buy all of the equipment you need, you are going to be in over $4000 grand for a DIY hunt with no guarantees.

Hell, sometimes I wonder if my elk hunts cost $4000 bucks and my tags are dirt cheap. By the time i have all the must have equipment and spend 100's of miles in gas...

That's probably true for a lot of residents. It really doesn't cost me more than $100 extra to hunt for elk.

I guess my answer was just my way of saying I wouldn't pay $4000 for the elk.

 

[Jtelarkin08]

That's probably true for a lot of residents. It really doesn't cost me more than $100 extra to hunt for elk.

Key word there.. resident..

 

[MTbowhunter36]

Very helpful.... Apparently your gas is free, your time off of work is free, all of your equipment was free, your food and clothes are free.... you get the point. I but all of us "local residents" would be surprised to add up how much we spend for an elk.... with no guarantee of even harvesting one.

Obviously this guy does not appear to be someone that is lucky enough to hunt elk every year for pennies. So $49 dollar tags are out of the question. I am with Bob, $4000 for a great experience and and great bull is a bargain by many out of stater's opinion. By the time you drop $1000 on a tag, take the time off of wrok, drive or fly to where you are going, and buy all of the equipment you need, you are going to be in over $4000 grand for a DIY hunt with no guarantees.

Hell, sometimes I wonder if my elk hunts cost $4000 bucks and my tags are dirt cheap. By the time i have all the must have equipment and spend 100's of miles in gas...

Well put. Heck, last year alone I probably spent that with hunting elk in three different states. Was it worth it? Yes, and I can hunt elk within an hour from my house. But to hunt something that isn't available in your state $4K is pretty cheap. However, If I'm dropping the coin for a moose hunt that would be the main focus for sure.

If you have the chance to harvest a nice bull elk for $4K, I would say go for it. The memories and the elk (if you mount it) will be worth much more in the long run than the money, IMO.

 

[Jtelarkin08]

Well put. Heck, last year alone I probably spent that with hunting elk in three different states. Was it worth it? Yes, and I can hunt elk within an hour from my house. But to hunt something that isn't available in your state $4K is pretty cheap. However, If I'm dropping the coin for a moose hunt that would be the main focus for sure.

If you have the chance to harvest a nice bull elk for $4K, I would say go for it. The memories and the elk (if you mount it) will be worth much more in the long run than the money, IMO.

Moose will def be the number one target.. But if we see a good bull and he strolls into bow range it will get interesting..

 

[spdcrazy]

I would let the stalk and hunt decide. If you have a bull in range and all you can think about is how much it's going to cost, it probably not worth it. If you pull off a stalk of a lifetime or an aggressive bull shreds a tree not 20 feet away and screams in your ear before offering an opportunity and all you can think about is capitalizing on your hard work and how much the hunt, animal, and experience moves you and means to you as a hunter, shoot!! Money is a renewable resource. Opportunities to build memories like that don't just happen.

thats a great way to think of it

 

[Bughalli]

Back to the original poster. The beauty of a trophy fee setup is that you only pay if you shoot one. So you can be selective and wait until it's "right"...if right at all. It's not typical to have that option. Most of the time you would pay all the fees up front, regardless of whether you get one. I spent $6k to hunt 16D in NM, fully guided and never drew my bow back. Great adventure, but certainly wish I didn't have to pay so much given I didn't harvest anything.

As others commented....there's a big difference in value between being a resident and non-resident. Getting a good tag as a nonresident can be a challenge. Your typical OTC tag options will not yield quality bulls. Not with any regularity. Of course quality is subjective, hence measurements and scores come into play. So take all the comments with a grain of salt.

 

[tstowater]

I would suggest visiting with the outfitter to find out what kind of elk to expect. The BC people haven't chimed in yet, but my recall is that historically a 325 bull in the country where you are hunting is a big one. It might have changed, but the outfitter will give you a better idea. That said, what are your realistic expectations for a bull hanging on the wall? Is this going to be your last elk hunt if you get a bull that meets your goal or are you still planning on hunting them more. The antlers are not as long on the bulls that far north but they seem to have more mass. My recall is that you can get ones with a lot of character if you are looking.

Based on the hunt you are doing, I would buy a tag (if you get the right response from the outfitter on expectations), but I would focus on the other animals on your bucket list... the moose, bison, goat, etc. and the elk would be an opportunity hunt only. There are elk to hunt in the states, but $4 grand isn't bad for a decent one. Just curious how many of the guys here that have put in their 2 cents have shot a 300+ bull on the cheap other than the ones in live in the west (I know there are some).

I can tell you from experience, the bigger bulls generally don't come easy. As I already have two nice ones mounted, I am focused on a big one so you end up passing a lot of bulls that most people would dream of shooting. Kind of wonder if you are crazy, but it really depends on what you want. Any time I was hunting sheep, I would have extra tags for opportunity animals. I did pass up a darn'd nice mountain caribou one time on a Stone sheep hunt, but it wasn't an "easy enough" opportunity to do it. One thing about it, you should see lots of cool animals.

 

[bigeasygator]

I live in Louisiana, so I don't get the option of $100 elk hunts. When you are paying for an elk hunt (or a landowner tag), in my opinion you're paying for some combination of quantity and quality. There are units that hold less elk but hold some real monsters, and there are units that hold more elk but don't have the trophy quality -- sometimes both of those hunts will cost the same. My experience says that trophy quality matters a bit more than quantity with regards to price. I've hunted NM a fair amount and I'd compare that price to the landowner tags there. $4000 can get you a landowner tag in some of the Gila units or the primitive units (13, 15, 17). I can tell you that just about anyone of those units can produce bulls 375 and up, but the populations aren't as high as some of the other units. I went on an "expensive" elk hunt in Idaho last year (it was an elk/mule deer combination hunt for ~$10K) -- I can tell you that that area of Idaho may produce a 375 class bull once every 50 years, and that 300-330 is more reasonable. I was paying for the quantity on that hunt (you were pretty much guaranteed a chance at a decent bull given the numbers they have in the unit). I guess that's just a way of saying not all hunts are apples to apples. I'd talk with the outfitter and see what kind of elk they kill and compare that to some of the other hunting opportunities out there. Ultimately, you may decide $4,000 isn't that much to spend when comparing your alternatives to putting an elk on the wall.

 

[oct71]

If this would be your first elk, if a decent bull bull presents a shot, I wouldn't hesitate to spend 4 grand if I had the money. Good luck on your hunt.

 

[2rocky]

Well I've shot Elk, but not moose. If It was reversed, I'd be sure to have the Trophy fee for a moose in reserve at that price . If It was a bowhunt, Something solidly above P&Y minimum would be my trigger point.

 

[Greenhorn]

So an extra $4000 so you can just shoot one if you see one while hunting moose? Yikes. Assuming you will be paying even more for the license, meat care, transport, etc. No thanks. I wouldn't pay that for the moose either, but I'm a tight ass.

 

[Jtelarkin08]

So an extra $4000 so you can just shoot one if you see one while hunting moose? Yikes. Assuming you will be paying even more for the license, meat care, transport, etc. No thanks. I wouldn't pay that for the moose either, but I'm a tight ass.

Lol well you wouldn't be on the moose hunt then. It's 10,500 ha

 

[jack88]

Save the $4000 and use it towards a dedicated elk hunt. Hell, you'll maybe choose to hunt a new state, see some new country, try a new outfitter. More trips, more variety, more fun!

 

[Nick Muche]

I've shot Whitetails that costed that much, and they were DIY... HA. All said and done, when you account for your gear, time away from work, gas money, scouting, multiple trips, etc... 4$K is about what most of us spend in year for that one chance at the animal we are hunting...

If you like the bull, the situation, etc... Then drop the string!

Best of luck.

Nick

 

[Bar]

I've shot Whitetails that costed that much, and they were DIY... HA. All said and done, when you account for your gear, time away from work, gas money, scouting, multiple trips, etc... 4$K is about what most of us spend in year for that one chance at the animal we are hunting...

If you like the bull, the situation, etc... Then drop the string!

Best of luck.

Nick

I always here this side of it. Of course you have higher expenses as a NR, but not having to add the $4000 certainly helps.

 

[Greenhorn]

Wow that's some scratch for a hunt. I hope it comes with an all you can eat buffet of caviar and strippers!

 

[xXlojackXx]

I wouldn't pay more than $500-700 for a bull. And that's only to buy an out of state tag. But living in the NW I'm fortunate enough to get on 330+ bulls every year for free.

Now flip the species and I'd pay $4000 to shoot a 55"+ bull moose in Alaska.

 

[Pmiller45]

The best time to do something is when you have the chance.