spaniel

I would think the average guided hunt is in the $5000-$6000 range. That's what it was when I priced it out at several places.

I ended up DIY and never went back, though I did have a local contact who helped me out the first year out there. Sure, my 6X6 only scored 243 and I came up empty the second year, but I took a lot more pride showing up at the truck with that rack on my back after an 8 mile hike out than I would have with a point-and-shoot guided hunt. We hunted, it wasn't just shooting!

spaniel

The difference being that these are public lands with OTC bull tags. If this were a select draw or trophy management area, the price would be a lot higher.

genesis27:3

The outfitters I guide for charge somethin like 4000 for a week and that includes bed, food, and a 300 class bull or bigger, or a cow.

SJAdventures

That would be a good average to go on spaniel;3669373. We still have hunts in New Mexico unit 5A on all private land for under $5,000 that are fully guided and equipped, with all meals and lodging with a landowner voucher included that guarantees the hunter a license. It is a great hunt with a great success ratio in the past, for the money, but it just is not a hunt that will consistently produce the trophy bulls well over 300 class that so many hunters who call us request. If you want a guided hunt that year after year produces 300+ class bulls they cost more period. If someone offers you a hunt that claims to offer an extremely good chance for big to giant bulls for under the average going price be very careful.

jdhogg

i could buy the property with that i want

charlie brown

I think that is expensive, but considering 4 tags, two hunters, and a fully guided hunt, not excessively so.

I have seen landowner bull tags (one tag) go for 10K + here in NV.

So, if you figure in the cost of a NR bull tag, cow tag, and hunting license (times 2) =$2150

That is a pretty good chunk of change for the license and tag alone, just for the general draw, with nothing guranteed at all, and you doing the work.

This hunt alone would cost a person from out of state upwards of $5000 total with tags included.

Later,

Marcial

dog1

Being from Ga., and hunting only whitetails and wild boar, and one hunt to Craig, Co in 2003 for muleys, the prices y'all are quoting seems far out of the range of the average person (me) could afford.

I'm not knocking you that can afford these hunts, but aren't these prices ruining what we as Americans grew up doing for free. Seems like something like this went on in England years ago. Only the stately and rich could hunt.

I doubt that I could hold out (physically) to actually go on most of the Elk hunts I read about, but that is still my dream, elk, mule deer, or antelope. My health has been failing me since 2003, but do hope to make a trip out west for antelope one day.

I'm glad for you that can afford to make these hunts, wish I could, but will be happy with my whitetail and wild boar hunting here in GA. Good luck to all of you.

dog1

Alsatian

It is not necessary to go on these expensive hunts. Many of these hunts you can do yourself. On the other hand, where things get expensive is TROPHY hunts -- hunt the objective of which is to take a male that has horns that are freakishly exceptional. "Freakish" you ask, yes, 98th percentile could be argued to be freakishly exceptional.

I don't think this objective is intrinsic to hunting. The original goal of hunting was to kill an animal and eat it. Females -- doe deer and cow elk -- provide just as good meat as a mature buck or bull with a big rack. In fact, the females probably taste BETTER. If you want to take a cow elk, you don't need an outfitter or a guide to get this done. Where a guide and an outfitter become critical is when they know where the big racks are because they have invested time doing pre-season scouting and when they have negotiated exclusive hunting rights on private lands. I think if you do not subscribe to trophy hunting objectives -- which I think could be argued philosophically to be a perversion of hunting -- the state of hunting is just fine and you don't have to be a rich man to do this kind of hunting. Now if your idea of hunting is bagging an elk with a huge rack . . . then you get stuck in the money issues. There are more people wanting that 98th percentile rack than there are elk carrying these racks around: basically this limited resource is monetized by shrewd business men.

jdhogg

im not a trophy hunter i hunt for meat and the fun of it,if a big buck or bull presents itself yup i;ll try for it.i have just as good a chance to get a 6 to 8 point bull here as the big money outfits do.

Muley70

Most of the hunters I've guided are there for the chance to be in the mountains chasing elk away from the crowds, not to shoot a "trophy' animal. Going on an outfitted hunt is certainly no guarantee and not a "point and shoot" endeavor. Almost all hunters say that their time spent hunting out of camp was the hardest they have ever hunted. I think people sometimes view outfitters as an "easy' hunt or for lazy people, I assure you that is not the case.

There are many reasons for booking a hunt with an outfitter. We have people in who physically cannot do a back country hunt w/o the aid of horses and mules, which they do not have. We have others that come out as a party, including some old army buddies from Nam just to get togather once a year in the sticks and rehash old times.

As far as cost go there are many reasonable hunts around the country. Outfitters cost are huge, keeping livestock year around is expensive as well. Insurance, board of outfitter fees, websites, hunting trade shows, fuel, leases/USFS fees, vehicles, phone bills, food, employees, camp equipment and tack, it all as up to big bucks and quick. We sell back country horseback hunts in good elk country for just under 3 grand w/o tag. I think that price point is very reasonable for almost any budget. How much one can spend on an elk hunt is a matter of personal choice, not for me to comment on.