Do it yourself elk hunt

[jd1]

I have never posted on the elk forum or hunted elk for that matter. I normally hunt deer, pigs, and birds mostly in CA, but I am interested in hunting elk next year. I have looked at hunting in Idaho(south west), Colorado, or montana. Looking for an over the counter cow or bull elk hunt on public land. Just wondering if someone can point me in the right direction. There would be 3-4 of us in a group(none of us have hunted elk). Thanks

 

[hunterdoug]

hey jd1 I go to oregon otc archery tag and lic, about 430.00.
a friend of mine goes to colorado gen rifle about 500.00 tig and lic.
he gets into them if the weather turns and they migrate. lots of elk there when you find them.

 

[DAWG]

Which of the states you pick of those you listed isn't as important as just getting an area with a good elk population and learning it. Shouldn't take too many phone calls to each respective game department to get that. ID is really pricy now for nonresidents. MT requires a draw, even for a general tag. CO has cheap ($250) nonresident cow tags that run concurrent with bull seasons and are usually a gimme in the draw. That's great as you can learn the same area at the same time cheaply, and maybe have the guys in your party insistent on a bull still have that option and all hunt together. If I were in your spot, I'd start out with CO. Look on their website for the areas they suggest, call biologists, pick an area, learn it, and stick with it, even if unsuccessfull in harvesting the first year. Each year will get better. Jumping around is great if you apply for primo bull tags and go to primo areas, but figure on not hunting a lot if you go that route.

 

[easymoney]

Good info by all, there are lots of things to consider when planning a DIY elk hunt. Where, what kind of animal and how much time or money you want to spend.
But like has been stated look around a bit and you can find some good deals on tags, especially cow tags. Pick a state that has good public access, good numbers of animals and that will meet your trip expectations. After you get a general hunt or two under your belt, you can be a bit more picky...

 

[Vermonster]

Haven't done it myself, but I have heard Colorado is relatively easy in terms of tags, especially for cows, big herd, lots of public land, etc. I have a buddy that hunts around the Durango area, so i may try that in the next few years......

 

[quack_head]

how old are you? start entering and building points for unit 1 in CO. Primo elk unit. Buy OTC tag in CO, Buford area is good, Rifle area, grand mesa. The best advise i can give is you can't get em sitting on the couch. get out there and hunt.

 

[jd1]

Thanks for the advice from everyone. Just got back from deer hunting(harvested a nice 3x2). It sounds like Colorado is a good option for first time DIYer. I will start e-mailing and making some contacts. Thanks for all that replied.

Quackhead, Im 37 and will certainly look into CO unit 1.

Thanks
JD

 

[jerryt]

Colorado over the couter First Combined season. We did not draw deer tags this year but got our bull elk tags over the counter and we could have gotten cow tags as well. There was three hunting in our party and we were done on day two hunting Zone 11 and 22

 

[dw33]

Nice jerryt. Congrats.

 

[COHunter]

Just a heads up for you guys that buy cow tags here in Colorado, looks like they are going up to $350 next year.