What is the attraction of elk hunting?

[Mykolaivka887]

I prefer to hunt elk late season, just to further establish my weirdness.......

Yes sir, that's really the only time that I can hunt elk. It's incredibly rare that I ever end up with time off during Sept and Oct. So I'm stuck with late season bulls in Nov and Dec, and I like it.

 

[Dos Perros]

I prefer to hunt elk late season, just to further establish my weirdness.......

Is that preference because of the animal and it's behavior, or perhaps social?

 

[woods89]

Is that preference because of the animal and it's behavior, or perhaps social?

That's a bit of a tough question, but the fact that there are less people about that time of year definitely plays a part.

I also just kind of like sitting behind glass looking into big country.

I went archery one year, mid September, in an easy to draw unit. We were into elk, and I had a lot of fun, but we certainly dealt with other hunters. I could have fun hunting either way, but honestly I like the game of trying to glass up groups of bulls quite a bit.

 

[Still Hunter]

#1 - Any excuse to be in the Colorado mountains.
#2 - Being there around the 22nd of Septembers on, the beautiful colors of the seasonal change is magnificent and the cool crisp air is early fall coming to the mountains.
#3 - A DIY Elk hunt is much less money than a Texas Deer Lease.
#4 - I can get away from work and the wife for 10 days!
#5 - one elk is more meat than three deer and much better tasting
#6- Until you have been in the middle of a Rut Fest with bull elk fighting all around you, hearing the impact of the antlers, trees being demolished by angry bulls, bulls screaming bugles at one another, chasing cows, cows running everywhere and being in smack dab in the middle of it all, you can't begin to understand the additive adrenaline rush that hits you.
#7 - Getting AWAY FROM HUMANITY!

 

[Gerbdog]

Gotta fill the freezer, gotta put that bow to good use... but mostly... i need a challenge in my life, something to look forward to and train for all year... but something thats also very rewarding.

I'd say its that whole "well the mountains there, thats why we climb it, blah blah blah" thing but honestly... i'm only gonna go hiking if i have a mission: access some fishing, hunting, shed hunting, scouting, whatever... i dont hike just to hike.... so i dont elk hunt just because its challenging... i like thats its hugely rewarding when your successful. If i were a dog i'd be extremely food driven.

also because "its in the DNA"

 

[Deadfall]

IDK man. OTC is all I hunt. have not put in for a special draw once in my life. I see how most folks hunt so understanding the success rates aren't that difficult. I also haven't hunted Colorado since 2018 or 19. Only reason I hunted then was because guys I know were complaining about no mature elk and too many hunters. Turns out there are plenty of elk. Or were anyway. The elk were doing the same things in the same places they were in 80, 90 and so on. Hunters were missing them in the same way they always have.
I think most people are weak and like excuses.

You could NOT pay me enough to put in for special draw or even consider hunting private land...

 

[Szwampdonkey]

Different type of hunt entirely. If you had to ask, I'll just assume you've never done it. As someone who has done both, I'll take elk any day.

Done both as well. I’d take a big mature Buck on public over Elk any day.

 

[Usi05]

Can’t speak to Colorado but
-the hunt and encounters
-being in cool places in terrain I don’t have in MI.
-the meat
-the break from the everyday world
- mostly the challenge of it all. Knowing it takes work and it’s going to suck at points. All the preparation from fitness to spinning every damn arrow.

I played a lot of sports when younger and I’m super competitive. I think one of the ways I channel that is public land hunting. Doing shit that’s hard because it’s rewarding and the experiences will be there forever.


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[dirtytough]

I’ve drawn a few decent elk tags and also hunted elk otc. Definitely not the same hunt. OTC elk is a filler for me.

If I was coming from back east there is no way I would make otc my only trip out west.

 

[vladkgb]

It's a better value hunt, 3x the meat of a deer, better tasting IMO, calling and interacting with them is fun. I prioritize filling the freezer vs having the biggest challenge or getting a trophy.

 

[TA2510]

Kinda an odd question and it’s hard to put in writing exactly what I mean. I’m not talking about good quality tags, limited units anything like that.

I’m talking Colorado OTC, public land, success of 10% type hunts. How are people lining up by the thousands to pay 760.00 plus time off work, fuel, food, gear etc for this type of experience?

I guess I just don’t get it. There are far more challenging animals to hunt than raghorn bulls, IMO a big mature whitetail is far more challenging to kill.

From the woods with way to many hunters, non hunting outdoor rec, small, quiet bulls that don’t really even act like elk etc. Are people genuinely happy with this type of experience or is it just kinda a novelty that is something new to try?

I get what you are asking. I am from Louisiana and would go to Colorado every year and hunt elk if it was possible. I have even went as far as trying to convince my wife to move to the mountains but her being a only child and her parents getting up in age she will not leave. So why do I pay thousands to go hunt and shoot the first raghorn I see......I fell in love with those mountains the very first time I went hunting in Colorado. To get to go to a place that I feel in love with so many years ago with some of my closest friends or now my daughter is truly an amazing time. I carried my youngest daughter last year on her first elk hunt and on the 2nd day in camp without seeing a elk yet she tells me "daddy I freaking love this, I could live here". To hear my daughter who has killed a couple 8 pt whitetails and several does and hunts whitetail every year at home make that comment just made this Dad feel good. She did not get to see a elk last year but was planning this years elk hunt before we got home. I have been elk hunting 9 times so far and I have killed 3 elk, and I know that is not very good odds. Elk meat is by far the best tasting meat from any wild game I have ate myself just my opinion. I do not want to disrespect anyone on my next comment on why I shoot the first raghorn I see. I have watched several hunting shows where they glass a stud of a bull and then say "If we don't see anything bigger by Thursday we will come back here and kill that elk". Well I hunt public land and I know I'm not guaranteed to even see a elk so i shoot the first legal elk I see. Maybe one day I will be able to go and shoot that stud but until then I will just enjoy time in the mountain with my daughter and closest friends and try to keep the freezer full of elk meat. Sorry so long and happy hunting to all.

 

[Jaquomo]

Very few CO OTC units have a true 10% success rate on public land. The published success numbers include guided and ranch hunts. It's a grind. You have to love everything about the process to keep at it.

 

[FairWeatherFisher]

I’m still trying to grasp the appeal of elk hunting on the whole.
Sometimes I consider getting an OTC Roosevelt tag, but the idea of packing one of those out sounds absolutely terrible.

 

[Ross]

What is the attraction of elk hunting?​

You simply know when you know This question never enters your mind.

 

[PNW bow hunter]

Elk hunting sucks

If you have never done it before, I wouldn’t even think about trying it

 

[TXHunt]

Well, for me and my now 13 year old son this will be our first time hunting elk, heck it will be our first time hunting out of state for big game. I have been dreaming of elk hunting for years just because they are huge and in the mountains and it's different from what we are used to. We hunt ALOT now here in Texas, but in Texas hunting whitetails is very different. We drive side by sides or heated trucks with corn feeders on the front of said vehicles spraying corn out on the roads right to our deer stands. Then in the stand we have heaters and bring snacks and drinks while sitting in reclining office chairs. By the time it's light enough to see there are always many deer and usually some exotics already out feeding on the road corn or at a feeder. My son has been "hunting" with me since he was in diapers. Those days we colored in coloring books, watched movies, and he drove toy trucks on the deer stand floor. I do miss those days but the day I told him we were going to Colorado to hunt elk you would have thought I told him we won the lottery. I actually think he would take the trip to elk hunt over the mega million lottery right now. LOL I don't care if we get an elk or even seen an elk, spending a week in the mountains actually hunting these big creatures is going to be something neither one of us will ever forget.

 

[Wags]

I do it just to upset the residents with my CA plate....

 

[LuvsFixedBlades]

Kinda an odd question and it’s hard to put in writing exactly what I mean. I’m not talking about good quality tags, limited units anything like that.

I’m talking Colorado OTC, public land, success of 10% type hunts. How are people lining up by the thousands to pay 760.00 plus time off work, fuel, food, gear etc for this type of experience?

I guess I just don’t get it. There are far more challenging animals to hunt than raghorn bulls, IMO a big mature whitetail is far more challenging to kill.

From the woods with way to many hunters, non hunting outdoor rec, small, quiet bulls that don’t really even act like elk etc. Are people genuinely happy with this type of experience or is it just kinda a novelty that is something new to try?

I only bowhunt public OTC units in Colorado. I've killed 11 bulls in the last 13 years with a bow, and only two of them have been under 300. Take from that what you will. If you haven't seen a bull bigger than a raghorn, the problem is probably your skillset.

My attraction to them is they are delicious. Their racks are majestic and huge. Calling with them is probably my single most favorite thing to do in my life that doesn't involve my kids. My pursuits of them take me to incredible places all overt the West, in addition to CO. Did I say they are delicious?

 

[Scoot]

Wags, I bet you're effective with that!

 

[Wags]

Wags, I bet you're effective with that!

100% success rate...