Don McDowell
Member
Anybody that doesn't kill the first legal elk they have a chance at doesn't want to kill an elk very bad. Chances are really good you might not see another elk in 10 days of hard hunting...
Western Elk Hunting - advice for a flat lander
- Thread starter SwaneeSR
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CraigC
Sixgun Nut
I guess you're not familiar with Ross Seyfried.
Don McDowell
Member
Yes I am familiar with Ross Seyfried. Could even tell you the sign on the corner of the county road east of Buckingham Co. that tells how far it was to his place is still there.....
I am also an very experienced elk hunter, having done it for over a 1/2 century now. Many years ago the old guys I learned elk hunting from had a system of rating younger hunters, if a person didn't kill an elk on the first day of season you were thought of as a not to good of a hunter. If you got one on the second day of the season there might be some hope for you yet. 3rd day you were just a lousy hunter that got lucky, 4th day just plain lucky, and after that you might as well go home.
Hunting elk isn't like shooting whitetail from your tree stand. Elk are very mobile and cover an area about the size of some eastern states just in their yearly migrations.
If you have a good shot at a legal elk 2 minutes after legal shooting light in the morning on the first day, you had best take the shot. That could just as well be the last elk you see in 2 weeks of hard hunting.
I am also an very experienced elk hunter, having done it for over a 1/2 century now. Many years ago the old guys I learned elk hunting from had a system of rating younger hunters, if a person didn't kill an elk on the first day of season you were thought of as a not to good of a hunter. If you got one on the second day of the season there might be some hope for you yet. 3rd day you were just a lousy hunter that got lucky, 4th day just plain lucky, and after that you might as well go home.
Hunting elk isn't like shooting whitetail from your tree stand. Elk are very mobile and cover an area about the size of some eastern states just in their yearly migrations.
If you have a good shot at a legal elk 2 minutes after legal shooting light in the morning on the first day, you had best take the shot. That could just as well be the last elk you see in 2 weeks of hard hunting.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
I reckon his point was that he enjoyed HUNTING and that that was more important than bagging one. 
X-Rap
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I haven't been in position to pass on bulls often but it does happen. Last September I passed on a number of them and finally took the second largest that we'd seen on the last morning. Took 19 years to draw that tag.
Some sort of rating scale like that makes about as much sense as the Seyfried quote. I can have as much fun spotting and helping my hunting partners after filling my tag. When I can give the full effort I usually get at least 2 cows and the bull is a bonus, some on the first day some on the last and some in between.
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Some sort of rating scale like that makes about as much sense as the Seyfried quote. I can have as much fun spotting and helping my hunting partners after filling my tag. When I can give the full effort I usually get at least 2 cows and the bull is a bonus, some on the first day some on the last and some in between.
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Don McDowell
Member
Could very well be. But it's one heck of a lot easier to carry and camera and go" hunt" them in early September,if you have no interest in filling your license.....Not to mention not applying for a license you don't intend to fill, makes that same license available for someone who does want to fill it....
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
I guess when you hunt elk on your own ranch you can have it your own way.
His point was not that he didn't want to bag an elk. His point was that he LOVED to elk hunt and was never ready for it to end, to the point that he bought a ranch and spent years rebuilding the population on it. Jesus, I regret even bringing it up.
Don McDowell
Member
Sorry to disappoint Craig, but I've only "hunted" on my own ranch a few times. The bulk of my elk hunting has been done in the Upper Green River, the Hoback, the Gros Ventre, and the Sierra Madre's...and a few trips across the border into Grand and Jackson Counties in Colorado...
You want to pass on elk on the first or second day, that's your call, but I'ld be cautious about telling serious elk hunters you did that in a general license area,,, they may not say it but they'll sure think you to be a bit on the truth deficit disorder side of things...
You want to pass on elk on the first or second day, that's your call, but I'ld be cautious about telling serious elk hunters you did that in a general license area,,, they may not say it but they'll sure think you to be a bit on the truth deficit disorder side of things...
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Gimme a break, Don. Who said anything about passing on elk? You clearly completely missed the point.
Gentlemen, let it go.
X-Rap
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Lot of point missing here, about all I'll agree with is that it's great to be out doing it. I feel blessed to at times to have been able to structure my time and tags to cover multiple seasons in Colorado and when I don't have a tag I'm still greatfull to just tag along and help out.
I'm guilty of taking that blessing for granted and this year I probably won't get a chance for any hunting at home.
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I'm guilty of taking that blessing for granted and this year I probably won't get a chance for any hunting at home.
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Don McDowell
Member
Oh sure you can tell us how many times it happened...
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Don I think you're just trolling for a fight. Seems to be the jest of your posts more often than not.
Don McDowell
Member
Nope not trolling for a fight. There does seem to be some here that are trying for that,,,
You said
You said
Gtscotty
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Wyoming is split up into a bunch of small areas for each game animal. Once you know what area the cabin is in, you can put in for the draw for that area next year. Applications for the out of state draw were due in April I believe. Leftover tags are put on sale in early July, but pretty much all of the in demand areas are gone by now. For instance, left over cow tags for area 7 sold out in less than two hours. Certain areas are general over the counter tags for residents, but I don't think that's the case for non-residents.
As for passing on a bull, I did it this past year, and have been kicking myself ever since. I had climbed up into a saddle with just my rifle and binoculars on a Sunday evening and was scouting for the next weekend when I saw two bulls come down a hill about 250yds away. I went prone, set up on them and started thinking about what was going to come next. It hit me that I was alone 2 hours from a cell signal and 3 hours from home without enough gas to just drive the 2 hours, make the call and come back. My wife and baby were expecting me home that night and if I pulled the trigger I would be dressing through the last hour of light, and packing out that night and most of the next day. So I left and went home to my family with the expectation of hitting that area early the next weekend... And I would have if the road hadn't drifted shut and stayed that way for the rest of the season.... Oh well, maybe next year (only drew cow tags this year).
As for passing on a bull, I did it this past year, and have been kicking myself ever since. I had climbed up into a saddle with just my rifle and binoculars on a Sunday evening and was scouting for the next weekend when I saw two bulls come down a hill about 250yds away. I went prone, set up on them and started thinking about what was going to come next. It hit me that I was alone 2 hours from a cell signal and 3 hours from home without enough gas to just drive the 2 hours, make the call and come back. My wife and baby were expecting me home that night and if I pulled the trigger I would be dressing through the last hour of light, and packing out that night and most of the next day. So I left and went home to my family with the expectation of hitting that area early the next weekend... And I would have if the road hadn't drifted shut and stayed that way for the rest of the season.... Oh well, maybe next year (only drew cow tags this year).
OP
OP
SwaneeSR
Member
Wow. That is a tough break Gtscotty. I bet you have replayed that scenerio in your mind over and over.
As for me, I am on the road pointed West.
I hope you ornery elk hunters appreciate the fact you ARE elk hunters and have enjoyed elk hunting in the rugged areas of this great country of ours. .
Fly over country? I dont think so.
BTW - I have at least a party of three willing to help me put together an elk hunting trip.
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As for me, I am on the road pointed West.
I hope you ornery elk hunters appreciate the fact you ARE elk hunters and have enjoyed elk hunting in the rugged areas of this great country of ours. .
Fly over country? I dont think so.
BTW - I have at least a party of three willing to help me put together an elk hunting trip.
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Don McDowell
Member
Yup I do, and I've got some to share about spending a week pounding the timber and never getting a shot at a legal elk. Could of reached out and touched cows and calves from time to time, but never an antlered elk did I have a clear view of.
Also have a couple of years where in a week of hunting never saw an elk, didn't even see a fresh sign, in a basin that had many times had me back in camp by 10 on opening morning with bloody hands, a heart and liver soaking in the creek..
Also have a couple of years where in a week of hunting never saw an elk, didn't even see a fresh sign, in a basin that had many times had me back in camp by 10 on opening morning with bloody hands, a heart and liver soaking in the creek..
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I generally have two elk tags in Colorado. One in NM and occasionally another in one of the surrounding states. I'd rather shoot a cow than a rag horn. Cows are better eating. That makes it easy to pass up scrub bulls early in the hunt. This year I have an either sex tag for first season and an Eastern Plains tag as well. If I wanted I could have a land owner bull tag in NM.
Having multiple tags takes the pressure off of needing to shoot a barely legal bull early in the hunt. Last year I had a coveted Shiras Moose once in a lifetime tag. I could have been done 30 minutes after legal light on day one. I shot a record book bull late on day 8 after passing up 15 legal bulls during those 8 days. I was fully prepared to let that tag go unfilled if I didn't find the caliber of bull I was looking for.
If I'm in meat mode and have a cow elk tag I'll shoot one on day one. If I'm looking for a good bull I'll choke my motor and wait knowing full well that I might be eating tag stew for the hunt. I've killed a lot of elk in my life. The hunt is not always about making a kill for me any more.
Having multiple tags takes the pressure off of needing to shoot a barely legal bull early in the hunt. Last year I had a coveted Shiras Moose once in a lifetime tag. I could have been done 30 minutes after legal light on day one. I shot a record book bull late on day 8 after passing up 15 legal bulls during those 8 days. I was fully prepared to let that tag go unfilled if I didn't find the caliber of bull I was looking for.
If I'm in meat mode and have a cow elk tag I'll shoot one on day one. If I'm looking for a good bull I'll choke my motor and wait knowing full well that I might be eating tag stew for the hunt. I've killed a lot of elk in my life. The hunt is not always about making a kill for me any more.
Don McDowell
Member
I understand that line of thought. Altho if I ever was able to draw a moose tag, I would shoot a paddle bull at the end of the hunt rather than let that tag go home attached to the license.
But in the context of the OP's question, and given the expense of just the nonresident license and the travel just to get there, shooting a legal elk whenever that opportunity came about is the best way to start. IMHO.
A nice yearling dry cow is good eating, if it's a legal kill, if not then a spike is mighty fine eating, and beats the snot out of dreaming of that 6x6 that may never come into a clear shot.
But in the context of the OP's question, and given the expense of just the nonresident license and the travel just to get there, shooting a legal elk whenever that opportunity came about is the best way to start. IMHO.
A nice yearling dry cow is good eating, if it's a legal kill, if not then a spike is mighty fine eating, and beats the snot out of dreaming of that 6x6 that may never come into a clear shot.
SwaneeSR;
Do check the regs in any of the western states regarding the need for a guide if you're not an in-state resident. Those regs exist as much for your own safety as any other reason. Easy to get lost, hard to get found.
You cannot be in too good a shape for the experience. Notice I live in "Outer Montana" now, where we can hunt both sides of the same acre. It's very good advice to give yourself time to get altitude acclimated before stressing your body. Altitude sickness is no joke, you need some time to build up more red blood cells to carry oxygen, 'cause there's less of that gas above 4000 feet. Quite a bit of Wyoming is above 5000 feet. When I lived in Casper Wyoming I was above a mile high.
Then, if you're quiet, don't smoke, and can be patient, it's entirely possible to see more elk by sitting still than by trying to cover every square inch of your hunting area. A good guide can really help with picking the correct spot. Uh, don't take any sardine sandwiches unless you've got the bear tag too.
900F
Do check the regs in any of the western states regarding the need for a guide if you're not an in-state resident. Those regs exist as much for your own safety as any other reason. Easy to get lost, hard to get found.
You cannot be in too good a shape for the experience. Notice I live in "Outer Montana" now, where we can hunt both sides of the same acre. It's very good advice to give yourself time to get altitude acclimated before stressing your body. Altitude sickness is no joke, you need some time to build up more red blood cells to carry oxygen, 'cause there's less of that gas above 4000 feet. Quite a bit of Wyoming is above 5000 feet. When I lived in Casper Wyoming I was above a mile high.
Then, if you're quiet, don't smoke, and can be patient, it's entirely possible to see more elk by sitting still than by trying to cover every square inch of your hunting area. A good guide can really help with picking the correct spot. Uh, don't take any sardine sandwiches unless you've got the bear tag too.
900F
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SwaneeSR
Member
We are out here in Yellowstone on vacation. I found out hiking above 9000 feet above sea level is no joke. The air is real thin.....
Bush Pilot
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When you get in the vicinity of where you'll be hunting ask around if there are any ranchers that'll pack an elk out for you for a decent price. It's a scientific fact that elk quarters get heavier the further back you are or the steeper the canyon is. BTW, let the rancher do the packing, don't just don't rent the horses.
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