Mr. Longbeard

I've never been elk hunting or been out west. I am pretty sure that the first time I go it will be mostly scouting and learning the lay of the land for future hunts. Anyhow I was wondering if anyone could help me out as far as were to go and what all is involved as far as permits and such... I am looking for public land only...

j3k2c1

I am not sure what state your looking at, but as a first timer I would say colorado would be your best bet. Low $'s for tags, lots of public land, and tons of elk!

outdoor338

I agree with j3K, Colorado is a great place to hunt elk, and very affordable. I would check with the DOW (division of wildlife) and see what area's that might suit you. Public land hunts are good bets if you do your homework, that's the key, make the phone calls, check the area's that they suggest, look at the stats for the unit you want to try. Those are available at the DOW. You can do so much from your home office and save ton's of money with just phone calls.

If you need any more help let me know, hope this helps!

Dr. Mike
[email protected]

glob3006

As said previously Colorado is a great place to start. If you are just planning a "Get your feet wet " kind of thing I would certainly get an otc or leftover cow tag. Unit 25 would be a good place to start........Lots of cows!!
Bill

BowElkFreak

One thing I would suggest no matter where you go is to learn a little about Elk in general. One thing I've seen with "Eastern" hunters when they come West is how they tend to want to hunt Elk or Mulies like Whitetails or Turkeys, etc. Nothing against that at all, I would probably look like an idiot doing the same thing going East to hunt those!

With that said, know that Elk can cover some serious country and they flat out DO NOT like people and stay away from roads. Once you find your area, grab a map and identify roads, etc. Elk won't be near them or at least the big herds won't. I'd say count on a 1-3 mile buffer minimum from all roads. Next, they can travel a long way, but they generally come back to the nice thick pines or aspen on the north sides of the hills. They love clearings, meadows and hate the sun. They will usually "follow" it back to their beds, keeping it off their hides. Another thing about them traveling far, one unit in Idaho we chase them on has them traveling 5 miles at night to feed in some fields and meadows, then traveling that 5 miles back each morning to bed and then do it all over again. 10 miles round trip every day!

They are an awesome animal and awesome to hunt. Good luck and enjoy!

outdoor338

I have hunted elk for many years, was a successful whitetail stand hunter back home in Wisconsin, when I moved out to Colorado I heard all kinds of story's about hunting elk, how to stalk them, you better be on the move constantly, well..I got to tell ya! I was exhausted from all the stalking at high elevation, coming from Wisconsin with no mountains in the Badger State, I figured that I wasn't going to push elk around for others. So, I hunted like I as back home, found what I thought was a good area, sat down the next morning, and waited, now mind you I learned how to call elk from that spot with a cow call, it was mid-October, I worked that call, and about 10:00 AM a nice satellite bull comes to my call. Kapow....My hunt is over. I know whitetail tactics worked for me and they still do, I shoot a bull every year. let the other hunters push the elk to you, this works where I hunt, and there's lots of hunting pressure from other hunters. Let them do all the stalking, walking, sweating and push elk to you. To date, I have several bulls hunting this way. This may not work for everyone, some folks can't sit all day, while othrs like me, don't mind taking ownership from a ground stand from sunrise to sunset, at least check it out!

Dr. Mike

bearklr

I have to agree with the others. Colorado is a great place to find public land. We stayed in Baggs Wyoming and hunted just outside Black National Forrest and had great success on the public land. I found the best thing to do is talk to the locals and get an idea of where to start. Most are willing to help you out and after a few days you'll have a pretty good idea of the lay of the land and where exactly you want to set up. Either way good luck.

ELKampMaster

I agree along the lines of what outdoor338 said regarding "staying put" providing your individual situation will allow for it.

On public land in Colorado, there will most likely be a lot of hunting pressure. I consider intentionally working that hunting pressure to your advantage to be a wise strategy. IMHO, "lying in wait" can be more productive than bouncing around in the forest with the elk who are also getting "bounced" thru the forest.

I like using the "ambush method" and stringing my team in a "picket line" across the elk's route of travel. Each team member gets a good secluded spot with good rest. Now all one has to do is use the range finder to determine the various aiming point adjustments for elevation for different approaches into your site and you are all set ---- be patient and stay alert. It helps to make sure you can travel to and from the spot in the dark and arrive at your ground blind one hour before sunrise (GPS).

EKM

Dirt2

I'd like to suggest that "whitetail" tactics probably work better in some parts of the country than others. In CO, with its high elk densities, I'll bet it works. In NM and AZ or other places where water is severely limited, again, whitetail tactics probably work pretty well. But when you get into habitats like where I hunt in western MT, with lots of water and moderate elk densities (compared to CO), I really think "whitetail" tactics are a good recipe for the dreaded tag soup.

elknut1

Dirt2---Good observation!! Defenitely hunt elk like elk, never bring deer into the equation! elknut1