I'm not sure I'll ever do a guided hunt. I much prefer DIY. HOWEVER, if you don't live out west you need to realize the difference. 5 1/2 hr drive for you? Big deal. It was 28 hours for me last year. Didn't know the area? Well, try not knowing the STATE. I'm sure you were familiar with the general terrain and layout of the area.

My first elk hunt last year, the only reason I knew where I could get in and park and how to get to where the elk were was having the help of a kindly local who was the friend of a coworker. There were ZERO non-locals out there because anyone not local cannot find the way in there simply looking at a map.

Even DIY, I have closing in on $2000 into a hunt every time I go -- expensive out-of-state licenses, rental truck, gear to transport meat, gas, etc etc. Hunting is not just about killing but to blow most of a year's vacation to go out there with nothing more than internet research, only to get lost or find restricted access, over-hunted etc etc....no wonder some people want a little better odds. I'd like to go archery too but I'm sticking with rifle until I've satisfied my need to have good odds at an elk enough to take the lower odds on archery.

I'd love to apply in more states, but the work required is phenomonal to do all the research to get it right.