Originally Posted by
Wheatley
Another thought I was thinking about was the amount of work it takes once one is down. People hear these stories and they stear clear of many areas elk enjoy/goto for seclusion. Since I moved back to Wyoming I am 100% that is only two years but I have also taken my Wife, my brother and brother in law and got them an elk after mine was down. All of them had to be quartered and packed out. I cut all of them up and helped haul them all out. I enjoy it and the work is worth it to me. I suspect many people do not enjoy this and could be a reason.
This is another good point. Maybe people are not so much interested in the meat, so they hold out for a bigger bull. Maybe they just don't get very far from the road because they don't know how to get the meat out farther back in. My hunting partner had his elk packed out a couple of years ago due to weather complications, and it cost $350. Some people may not want to go back in too far to fetch their elk and don't want to shell out $300+ to have it packed out.
I love the entire experience, and to me there is no significant difference between taking a cow or a bull. I do prefer to go during either sex first rifle season in Colorado, because the hunting is better -- the elk are not yet stirred up and hiding out in the dark timber. Also, I like hunting near treeline, and the elk are still up high, on public land in the first rifle season. Later seasons? Maybe not. I took a 4x3 bull in 2009. This year I will probably take a cow. I'm a non-resident.