Hunt Elk without breaking the bank

[ricknolaninok]

Looking for the best way for an Elk rookie to hunt without breaking the bank. I can hunt in any state but being from Oklahoma I would rather drive to NM or CO. How is the best way to approach this fall. I can hunt with blackpowder, rifle or bow. Thanks for your thoughts.

[bigbulls]

Well for ML in Colorado you have ten days to get in your application before the April 6th deadline. Same goes for any of the draw specific units but you won't draw a tag for those for about six years or more.

You can get an OTC either sex archery tag for most of the state. Same goes for rifle season. If you wanted to you can apply for a cow tag in an OTC unit and purchase a bull tag for the same rifle season but that is some extra cost.

You should contact the Colorado DOW and inquire about success rates for different OTC units and which ones are undersubscribed units. The undersubscribed units will usually have more elk and less people than the units that every one is going to.

[cj5]

start checking regs now, most states you have to apply and draw a tag. give arizona a look, the az game and fish got sued and now they have to give 50 % of the tags to non residents. it didnt used to be a bad price for the tag but i heard its going up this year. good units are 6,7,8,9 and 10. if you can rough it and camp out and not stay in motels and eat hotdogs on the campfire rather in restaraunts that would greatly reduce your expenses. wherever you go do your homework and not hire a guide do it yourself, to me thats what hunting is all about, not paying some guy $ 5000 to drive you out in a new truck and stalk th elast couple hundred yards and shoot what they want you to shoot.. you coul dalso ask a buddy or two to go and split the cost.. like i said check out arizona , its fairly easy to hunt and they have some BIGGG bulls...good luck

[cherokee_outfitters]

Rick,

There are several ways to go about it and not spend alot on the hunt. Your first year out will be mostly trial and error. If I was to go somewhere new for the first time I'd ask around the place you live or friends and I'm sure someone has come out elk hunting and maybe they have an area for you to check out for hunting. As far as I know the only over the counter tags avalible are from Colorado, Idaho, and Washington. The rest of the states are draw only. Some states have already went passed the draw deadline. Bigbulls said already that colorado's is april 6th. If your going to hunt colorado with rifle this year I'd opt for the 1st rifle season. It is a either sex tag in most units. Muzzleloading is total draw. Archery is over the counter for open units. I'm not a 100% sure but I believe you can apply online for colorado this year.

After you decide where your going and have found out alittle about the area in which you are going to hunt, make sure you get a few tips from the guys on the site on what to bring on your hunt. I'd personally pack in or backpack in and stay where the elk are and not in a motel. You'll be really dissapointed by road hunting most elk states. Sure theres elk right off the road but your odds are greatly reduced by road hunting. If you find you a nice canyon away from the people traffic where it has obivious elk sign and plan on hunting that particular area for the week you will greatly increase your odds. Unless you know little hot spots to go hit when the elk become stress and ran around then your better off staying in one area away from the main traffic and working that area for the time of your hunt. And if you pay attention to how the animals move in that area you'll have a place to go to year after year. You don't have to wait ten to fifteen years waiting on a draw like arizona to kill a nice bull above the 300 class you just have to put in your time and patience in field research to know where these big boys live and travel. If your in it for the fun of the hunt and the chance to bring home meat I'd say start learning about hunting elk now. There's tons of information out there to help you along the way. But if your in it for the trophy either buy it off a fenced in ranch or wait out the draw for some states trophy units. I hope your a young man because its going to take awhile to draw them tags.

Good luck on a new type of hunting. Don't get discouraged theres help out there. If you can't find an area to go to I would be more than happy to point out a few areas that don't get hit that hard. But as we all know some of the best hunting spots are the ones overlooked and not talked about much. Or so rough most won't go.

Turn to the people on this site theres alot of them here with wisdom and experience.

[glob3006]

Well that depends on your "bank". Here in Colorado a Bull/Either sex tag will run you $490.00.If you have no experience in elk hunting....That could be alot of wasted dough.Now a cow tag will only set you back $250.00 and with alot of areas over the DOW projection numbers, There are many more places to hunt a good number of cows. This would be a good and fairly inexpensive way to learn what it takes to and how to hunt elk.If you apply for a preference point every year.Then in a few years you will have the points needed to draw a bull tag in a good unit and the knowledge to hunt him.

[dperry]

New Mexico deadline is April 24th. Many places to hunt. There is no preferance points in New Mexico. There are several places that a non-res will pay $750 for a quailty bull hunt. Other places are $490 for bull and even less for a cow. You could even try and draw a cow tag on the Jicariilla Indian Reservation. I think it cost $500 for a cow tag. Then you must have a guide at $250 per day. Usually this is a one or two day hunt. Guaranteed meat in the freezer. Many units have large bulls.

It all depends on what you want out of your hunt.

[bearklr]

I suggest doing what we always do. Buy an over the counter tag for Co. We stay in Baggs Wyo. and hunt outside Craig Co. in the black national forrest. The cost is low and there is always a good chance of harvesting an elk. Good luck.