Will you kill an elk anywhere?

[Coveyleader]

I’m curious on how far guys will go to kill an elk? We hear nasty terrain, holes, etc.

I’ve always said i will kill an elk anywhere, but I guess after thinking about that, what that really means is I will kill an elk anywhere that I have committed to hunt.

There is a place i used to love hunting, it’s Jurassic park down there, but I know longer even toy with it. The pack out is just too much. Maybe rent some lamas, but on foot, meat packed out on my back, it’s just too much.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I’m curious on how far guys will go to kill an elk? We hear nasty terrain, holes, etc.

I’ve always said i will kill an elk anywhere, but I guess after thinking about that, what that really means is I will kill an elk anywhere that I have committed to hunt. There is a place i used to love hunting, it’s Jurassic park down there, but I know longer even toy with it. The pack out is just too much. Maybe rent some lamas, but on foot, meat packed out on my back, it’s just too much.

I’ve given up solo hunting in a few spots for that reason. One has the most hellacious deadfall fields Everything from ankle to head high, there are elk there, but sometimes the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. If I had 2-3 other guys to pack it would be painful, but doable

 

[Trial153]

I haven’t passed an elk but did pass dandy big bear I stumbled onto once…. I let down my bow in a moment of clarity.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I’m curious on how far guys will go to kill an elk? We hear nasty terrain, holes, etc.

I’ve always said i will kill an elk anywhere, but I guess after thinking about that, what that really means is I will kill an elk anywhere that I have committed to hunt.

There is a place i used to love hunting, it’s Jurassic park down there, but I know longer even toy with it. The pack out is just too much. Maybe rent some lamas, but on foot, meat packed out on my back, it’s just too much.

I rifle hunted a spot a couple of years ago that required dropping in from the top into a basin that was FULL of elk. And I mean FULL! I didn’t kill an elk and struggled to get back out of there. I didn’t go back. I still wonder what I would have done if I had killed one in there!

 

[ckleeves]

I have absolutely passed bulls I didn’t want to pack out of where I was. I have the tendency of having to see whats over the next ridge and then the one after that. I have no intention of actually killing and packing something out of there but you gotta check. If I found a giant I would probably break that rule. Had enough hellish packouts when I was young and dumb.

 

[Coveyleader]

Google earth doesn't show you what it really takes to get an elk out alone, or even with another guy. They are just work getting out. I consider myself in pretty good shape come elk season from my alpine fishing trips in the summer etc. Until a guy is packing up hill and says "ok, I'll make it to that tree and I'll take a break (10 yds away) and after 5 steps you stop due to screaming legs, with no end in sight, it puts things into perspective.


I think the worst is when you kill an elk late morning, say 10am. Low on water, tired from running all morning, now put a dead elk in front of you in some god forsaken place........... Got the badge!

 

[TheViking]

My buddy and I dropped 2 cows during rifle season about 10 years ago in this deep basin. Probably 8” of snow. Roughly a 2k foot elevation gain to get out of there, steep nasty shit.

Never again. Took us a day and a half to pack them out. Luckily if it was cold out and the meat could hang for as long as you needed.

Granted I wasn’t in nearly as of good of shape as I am now, but I’m a lot more selective where I drop something! Temperature plays a role in that as well. I’d hate to kill something and lose half the meat to spoiling.

 

[87TT]

My buddy and I dropped 2 cows during rifle season about 10 years ago in this deep basin. Probably 8” of snow. Roughly a 2k foot elevation gain to get out of there, steep nasty shit.

Never again. Took us a day and a half to pack them out. Luckily if it was cold out and the meat could hang for as long as you needed.

Granted I wasn’t in nearly as of good of shape as I am now, but I’m a lot more selective where I drop something! Temperature plays a role in that as well. I’d hate to kill something and lose half the meat to spoiling.

Definitely have a plan before the hunt/shot. I quit hunting the first week and a half last year because of the heat.

 

[S-3 ranch]

14 hour day to get this done, 6 hour hike, 1 hour stalking, hour of feild processing, 6 hour hike back to camp

 

[Hnthrdr]

14 hour day to get this done, 6 hour hike, 1 hour stalking, hour of feild processing, 6 hour hike back to camp View attachment 548190

Great Bull! Awesome back end on that left side!

 

[Fowl Play]

Yes and No.... I would not kill an elk in an area I cannot pack one out of.... but.... I also do not hunt areas I cannot pack one out of.

 

[Mike D Texas]

I haven’t killed an elk. It’s on the list over the next 2-3 years but it will be with an outfitter. By then I will be almost 60 years old and in average shape at best; plus I am a flatlander.


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[waitforit]

I do not want to shoot an elk by the road next to my vehicle. I enjoy the mountain experience almost more than strictly hunting. Have passed on "easy" places like this

 

[Pacific_Fork]

Depends on the weather. If it’s October on with cool temps there isn’t many areas I wouldn’t kill a bull solo hunting. Age class might be a determining factor depending on the terrain and distance too. I wouldn’t shoot a raghorn deep unless I had an empty freezer or horses. I’ll take as many as 4 days solo making one trip slowly at a time if it’s cold and have a good secure tree to hang the meat in.

 

[cnelk]

Ive done it a long time ago but not anymore.

Everyone should kill an elk in a hellish spot just to experience 'Embrace the Suck' once. Twice if you're stoopid

 

[S-3 ranch]

Ive done it a long time ago but not anymore.

Everyone should kill an elk in a hellish spot just to experience 'Embrace the Suck' once. Twice if you're stoopid

Yeah embracing the suck =‘s elk , sheep, goat hunting, now that I’ve learned , I adjusted my position with the evolution of aging by hunting smarter

 

[resident vs nonresident]

All weather dependent. If its cold and meat spoilage is not an issue i would kill (while still in my younger age and decent shape ). As long as i have few days off i dont mind packing for day or two. I prefer to do more trips with lighter load vs trying to go overly heavy in less trips.

 

[MuleyFever]

Last year on my AZ hunt I definitely did not hunt some areas that had potential due to being alone. I found an elk closer to a 2 track that was big enough and went after it because I knew I could get him out by myself without killing myself. However, I think I may have acquired a hernia on that trip. Surgery in 2 weeks .

 

[elkguide]

Twenty years ago, I killed a bull way too far in and said that I would never do that again. And for the next eighteen years I was careful to get my elk near a road or trail or in an area that I could get horses, a wheeler or something to assist getting them out. Then two years ago a couple buddies and I spotted a good bull two miles away and one of them said, "I'll bet that you can't get to him." He was in a hole and after the shot ran deeper into the hole to die.

So to answer your question on this nice spring day, "I am never going to shoot an elk way back in again."
(We'll see what this fall brings!)

 

[Tick]

I finish packouts saying never again. But for me passing a shot because of the work would be worse to deal with all summer. Be a different mindset if I just physically couldn't do it.