The 1st 4 years of archery I was 0 for 4 the last 2 years 2 for 2. So 2 for 6... rifle 2 for 4. Getting to know the land and find spots that hold elk are the big key for stick and string.
In 8 years of hunting elk in western WA, I’ve killed:
Musket - 2 bulls/1 cow
Rifle - 1 bull
The years I didn’t kill one, I either missed, had a misfire, or had my buddy shoot because he only had a couple days of our week long season off. I have a real love/hate relationship with my muzzleloader :/
All of my elk hunting has been in Alaska on Afognak Island. I've shot 11 elk in 18 years. However we hunt as a group and some years I do not even have a tag but I still go along to help and share in the hunt. The other hunters do the same. Over 18 years we have harvested 23 elk (with 3 years where we got shut out). We generally have a week to hunt, and quit once we get one or two elk. I think the average hunt is about 5 days.
12 elk hunts over the past 13 years, three bulls killed. However I have passed up a couple in the past five years. Oregon westside general rifle season.
51 years of serious elk hunting; 27 bulls, never took a cow.
2 in Colorado OTC , rifle hunts. Early 1990's.
1 in AZ, haven't drawn archery tag since 2004, keep applying.
1 in NM-Gila, haven't drawn archery Gila tag since 2008, keep applying
WA State: all rifle hunts
Only drew cow permit 2x, 1977 & 2012 but tagged spike bulls those years instead.
Most bulls tagged in WA State but mostly spikes (17) due to general spike season (didn't draw big bull permit)
6 Branch antlered bulls, in the 1970-80's and of that> 2 permit bulls (2002 2006),
haven't drawn WA branched permit since. Of course only hunted 2 adjacent GMU's, for all those years. Reported all kills since WA State started mandatory tag reporting few years back. So WDFW knows....
blanked in WA State the last 3 years,
2019 was multi-season permit Archery-rifle, spike bull only or cow (option archery)
thanks to last 3 bad winter kills and tribal unregulated poaching.
6 - Years hunting, 2Yrs archery Colorado 1990's, 2012 1st rifle Colorado, 2017 Archery Idaho, 2018 & 19 Utah Rifle
0 - Elk taken
3 - Archery,
3- Rifle,
6- Public land - 3 times in Colorado, 2 Utah, 1 Idaho
0 -private
5 - OTC,
1- Draw (Colorado 1st Rifle). 7 - Days average per year spent hunting
3 - Opportunities (1 in Colorado in 1990's but had issue with bow, 2 in Utah in 2018
Fortunately I like Hunting Elk a lot. Not scoring is not irrelevant but I'm still going to hunt either way. Planning on getting a Montana general combo tag this year if I draw, if not probably Idaho or Utah OTC. I'm only 70 though so plenty of years left to hunt.
I've hunted elk every year since I was 12. Never could draw a rifle tag so from 12-21. 10 years of cow tags I'm 6 for 10. For archery (4 years) 1 bull. 1 for 4.
7 elk in 18 yrs. All archery. 4 bulls and 3 cows. Hunter WA exclusively for the first 15 years and 3 of those years you could only shoot unicorns, I mean spikes. It is rather hard trying to chase down just spikes when every small bull running around is an 2x3.
Ive been hunting elk 22 years
14 bulls 3 cows all but 1 cow was a roosevelt
1 draw tag youth cow ochoco unit when i was 14
All the rest were either general season archery or rifle and 2 lop tags
All but the 2 lop cows were public land
10 bulls 3 cows rifle 4 bulls archery
Amount of days hunted is different every year depends on if im bow or rifle hunting
Archery is around 15 full days a week off work evenings and weekends
Rifle season i don't work from 2 days before 1st season usually till the end of second season depending on what tags we get second season is spike only some of my group get first season some get second. Second season has a lot less hunting pressure because most other units are any bull. I spend more time scouting than anything else
13 years of archery and I'm at 15% but I lost two bulls I arrowed, so it would be a little higher (woulda shoulda I know). Rifle is probably about double that.