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It's time for a once-in-a-lifetime hunting trip
By Tim Renken Of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
04/06/2002
Just once in your life you ought to go on an elk hunt in the western frontier.
Just once you should go first class, hire an outfitter, hunt with a guide from a spike camp high in a beautiful spot in the mountains. Do it right. Just once.
Maybe you've never felt a strong urge to shoot an elk, but want to experience a real mountain hunt. Most hunters regard the elk as the quintessential mountain game animal.
For years my son and I had talked about doing this, but it was always put on hold. In November, as we hiked out of the woods after a hard day of deer hunting, my son made an observation: "We'd better do that mountain hunt while you still can."
It was to be a celebration of four important milestones - three decades of my son and me hunting and fishing together, of his 40th birthday and my 65th.
So the planning and preparation began months ago for a big-deal hunt this fall. There are several reasons to begin the preparations early.
The best outfitters can accommodate just a few hunters at a time, and openings are relatively few for the best dates in their best hunting areas.
It takes time to check references from people who have hunted recently with the outfitters you are considering.
The number of elk permits is limited in most top areas. Drawings are held months in advance.
Of course, a major consideration is the cost of such a trip. Yes, this is to be a once-in-a-lifetime deal, but costs still need to be controlled. The typical elk hunt lasts five or six days and costs about $4,000 per person. Licenses can range from $2,500-$12,000 depending upon the exclusivity and quality of the areas hunted, services provided and accommodations. There can be additional costs for transportation.
Elk licenses are a big part of the cost of these hunts. In Montana, fees range from $450 to $1,000 for elk. Elk/deer combination tags cost a bit more. Many hunters buy combination tags so they can shoot a deer and black bear should the chance present itself. Most non-resident hunters rely on their outfitters to obtain the right permits.
Outfitters can provide several levels of service. The most basic is simply a place to hunt with the hunters staying at a motel in town or wherever. Another level, fairly popular, is called drop-camp service, in which the outfitter gets the party and supplies to a camp via horse or ATV and leaves them there for a specified time. Drop-camp hunting is relatively inexpensive, but with no guide or horses, inexperienced hunters risk a flop hunt. And most outfitters don't drop hunters into the best areas.
The most popular are the lodge, tent and spike-camp hunts. In lodge hunting, which is recommended for people who aren't strong physically or for hunts in late fall when the high-country weather is tricky, hunters stay in the lodge and ride out to the hunting area each day.
In tent-camp hunts, hunters ride out to a semi-permanent remote camp the first day, then hunt there with or without horses, as necessary, on subsequent days. Spike camps are temporary, primitive camps used only when outfitters must use extreme measures to get their hunters on to game.
The most popular option for newcomers is one guide to two hunters, though some hunters go three- or four-to-one, some one-to-one. Guides not only advise in the hunting, they also handle the horses, cook as well as manage the camp.
In all of the major mountain elk-hunting states (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia) there are basically two kinds of elk hunts: early and late.
Early autumn hunts are probably the most popular because they take place during the rut, when the bulls are bugling.
The best source for names of outfitters is the Internet, where a search with the words "elk hunting" produces a long list of outfitters, clubs, booking agents, etc. Another source is advertisements in outdoors publications such as Outdoor Life, American Rifleman and Bugle, the publication of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
For the first-timer, the best way to find and book a hunt is through a booking agent specializing in hunting trips. Most of these agents weed out bum outfitters.
Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas (www.cabelas.com) and Orvis (www.orvis.com) provide hunting travel service and outfitter lists in their catalogues and online. We are using the Bass Pro Shops service (866-228-6116).
Our outfitter is Spotted Bear Ranch of Kalispell, Mont., 800-223-4333 (www.spottedbear.com). Finding and arranging a big-deal trip like this is just the first step.
Subsequent columns will deal with clothing, equipment, physical conditioning for mountain hunting, horse riding lessons, etc.
Next week: Finding the right place and outfitter.
By Tim Renken Of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
04/06/2002
Just once in your life you ought to go on an elk hunt in the western frontier.
Just once you should go first class, hire an outfitter, hunt with a guide from a spike camp high in a beautiful spot in the mountains. Do it right. Just once.
Maybe you've never felt a strong urge to shoot an elk, but want to experience a real mountain hunt. Most hunters regard the elk as the quintessential mountain game animal.
For years my son and I had talked about doing this, but it was always put on hold. In November, as we hiked out of the woods after a hard day of deer hunting, my son made an observation: "We'd better do that mountain hunt while you still can."
It was to be a celebration of four important milestones - three decades of my son and me hunting and fishing together, of his 40th birthday and my 65th.
So the planning and preparation began months ago for a big-deal hunt this fall. There are several reasons to begin the preparations early.
The best outfitters can accommodate just a few hunters at a time, and openings are relatively few for the best dates in their best hunting areas.
It takes time to check references from people who have hunted recently with the outfitters you are considering.
The number of elk permits is limited in most top areas. Drawings are held months in advance.
Of course, a major consideration is the cost of such a trip. Yes, this is to be a once-in-a-lifetime deal, but costs still need to be controlled. The typical elk hunt lasts five or six days and costs about $4,000 per person. Licenses can range from $2,500-$12,000 depending upon the exclusivity and quality of the areas hunted, services provided and accommodations. There can be additional costs for transportation.
Elk licenses are a big part of the cost of these hunts. In Montana, fees range from $450 to $1,000 for elk. Elk/deer combination tags cost a bit more. Many hunters buy combination tags so they can shoot a deer and black bear should the chance present itself. Most non-resident hunters rely on their outfitters to obtain the right permits.
Outfitters can provide several levels of service. The most basic is simply a place to hunt with the hunters staying at a motel in town or wherever. Another level, fairly popular, is called drop-camp service, in which the outfitter gets the party and supplies to a camp via horse or ATV and leaves them there for a specified time. Drop-camp hunting is relatively inexpensive, but with no guide or horses, inexperienced hunters risk a flop hunt. And most outfitters don't drop hunters into the best areas.
The most popular are the lodge, tent and spike-camp hunts. In lodge hunting, which is recommended for people who aren't strong physically or for hunts in late fall when the high-country weather is tricky, hunters stay in the lodge and ride out to the hunting area each day.
In tent-camp hunts, hunters ride out to a semi-permanent remote camp the first day, then hunt there with or without horses, as necessary, on subsequent days. Spike camps are temporary, primitive camps used only when outfitters must use extreme measures to get their hunters on to game.
The most popular option for newcomers is one guide to two hunters, though some hunters go three- or four-to-one, some one-to-one. Guides not only advise in the hunting, they also handle the horses, cook as well as manage the camp.
In all of the major mountain elk-hunting states (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia) there are basically two kinds of elk hunts: early and late.
Early autumn hunts are probably the most popular because they take place during the rut, when the bulls are bugling.
The best source for names of outfitters is the Internet, where a search with the words "elk hunting" produces a long list of outfitters, clubs, booking agents, etc. Another source is advertisements in outdoors publications such as Outdoor Life, American Rifleman and Bugle, the publication of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
For the first-timer, the best way to find and book a hunt is through a booking agent specializing in hunting trips. Most of these agents weed out bum outfitters.
Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas (www.cabelas.com) and Orvis (www.orvis.com) provide hunting travel service and outfitter lists in their catalogues and online. We are using the Bass Pro Shops service (866-228-6116).
Our outfitter is Spotted Bear Ranch of Kalispell, Mont., 800-223-4333 (www.spottedbear.com). Finding and arranging a big-deal trip like this is just the first step.
Subsequent columns will deal with clothing, equipment, physical conditioning for mountain hunting, horse riding lessons, etc.
Next week: Finding the right place and outfitter.
