Favorite states to hunt elk

[leftyhunter]

Its been a little while since we have had a thread that discuss the pros or cons of hunting elk out of state. In Cal has we know drawing a elk tag is a long shot at best but its great when it happens. What have your experiences good or bad been in terms of hunting out of state? I am not asking for honey holes or even favorite zones and I am interested in the DIY hunts. There is nothing wrong with a guided hunt or tresspass hunt put that can be over 4k vs I figure one to 1.5k for a DIY counting non resie lics and tags plus transportation.

Thanks in advance:JHO rocks:
Leftyhunter

 

[COHunter]

Colorado

Why? Because tags are only $46

If I could afford to hunt every year out of state then Utah would be my 1st choice

 

[BigSurArcher]

Only hunted elk in 1 state, New Mexico. 2008 I filled my archery cow tag in less than 3 hours of getting there. 2009 I filled my archery ES tag with a 351 bull. Both were DIY hunts.

 

[buckfever07]

Montana. Lots of animals and nice country.

 

[jerryt]

Colorado. Hunted there 6 years in a row and killed a bull everyday the first day of the hunt except 1 year it took me two days because I missed the first day. They have been all DIY however a few have been with a trespass fee to get to the public land that I kill them on. By the way $1500 would be pushing it for most states these days even if you do all the butchering yourself.

 

[JTA6498]

Lefty, I have also been planning this for next season. I have looked into AZ and NM and it is around $600 for both state just for the Tags/License. You put travel, food, game care, etc., you are definitely looking at $1500. From what I have read, I like NM because it is all random draws and they offer alot of good archery only hunts. The areas in AZ, towards Flagstaff, seem to have lower drawings odds. But then again, it is hard to beat the over the counter tags in Colorado. I am leaning towards NM myself. The 2011 big game packet comes out in the end of this month. And by the way BigSur, what area where you in where you took your elks? That cow that you posted in the 2009 bowhunting Pics was huge!!!

 

[leftyhunter]

Thanks guys NM will be added to my list. I guess I should of said 2k. keep the info coming.

Leftyhunter:toast-yellow:

 

[BigSurArcher]

16D. (0.55% draw odds)

 

[leftyhunter]

0.55 is not great odds but it definatly paid off for you:smiley_green_with_e the bulls horns speak for themselves in NM some Indian reservations charge if I am not mistaken 60k for a trophy elk. Nothing wrong with that but to get a quality elk on puplic land with a bow thats an accomplishment!

Leftyhunter

 

[JTA6498]

0.55 is not great odds but it definatly paid off for you:

Leftyhunter

Keep in mind, NM allocates a percentage of tags for residents (70%), non-residents (10%) and non-resident guided hunts (20%). So for unit 16D, if they have a total of 60 tags, 6 are available for NR. Last year, there were 60 first choice NR applicants who applied for this tag. Therefore in reality you have a 10% chance of drawing if you are doing a DIY public land hunt.

 

[BigSurArcher]

Keep in mind, NM allocates a percentage of tags for residents (70%), non-residents (10%) and non-resident guided hunts (20%). So for unit 16D, if they have a total of 60 tags, 6 are available for NR. Last year, there were 60 first choice NR applicants who applied for this tag. Therefore in reality you have a 10% chance of drawing if you are doing a DIY public land hunt.

Your info is a little off.

Here are last years draw-odds for 16D archery tags.

Season- Tags- 1st Choice Odds
1- 6- 3.1%

2- 5- 1.7%

3- 4- 0.4%

Guided Tags

Season- Tags- 1st Choice Odds
1- 7- 8.0%

2- 6- 3.4%

3- 5- 2.3%

 

[JTA6498]

Your info is a little off

I was trying to give an example of how the drawings are allocated and I was referencing the earliest of the three 16D hunts (Elk-2-268) There are 60 total tags that they give out and there were 62 Non resident, non-guided first applicants. That is approximately a 10% chance of drawing. I am assuming you were talking about the latest of the three hunts (Elk-2-270). Obviously that is a Q/HD hunt and I am assuming it is in the rut. That hunt had 432 first choice non-resident non-guided apps and only allocated 4 tags for them, making it just under a 1% chance of drawing. We were just talking about different hunts

 

[Big Moose]

I think Colorado is the place to go. I'm a deer hunter and I tell guys that if you can not get an elk in Colorado, then you probably won't get one. We see at least a dozen legal bulls every year when deer hunting. Elk are a nuisance and we try to work around them.

I hunted Montana back in the 60's and 70's and many years we did not cut a fresh track the whole 2 to 3 weeks we hunted. If we did, and it was a bull, we would track him down and try to take him. There were few elk back then. When I got into big buck hunting and came to Colorado, I could not imagine seeing that many elk in one trip. It was like elk heaven. We saw fresh tracks every day. Amazing.

This year we hunted elk where we normally deer hunt and took 4 bulls out of seven of us. We passed up one other as we had plenty of meat on the ground and our work was cut out for us. We also did not hunt the last three days of the season.

You can get an over the counter tag every year and there is lots public ground to hunt. We hunt in the White River National Forest. I spent $1200 total for the whole trip. That includes my tag, food, fuel, and $100 I chipped in for horses to pack out two of the bulls.

One thing about Montana is the combo license includes deer and elk and would be cheaper than getting a deer tag (drawing) and an elk tag in Colorado.

I'm hoping to draw a deer tag somewhere next year. We got rid of our horses back in 78 and you do need them (I think) if you really want to get in to elk hunting. It was either elk hunt this year or stay home. We stayed home last year and it sucked!

Moose:toast-yellow:

 

[leftyhunter]

Thanks Big Moose,

The only Natl Forest that I am familiar with in CO is the San Juan which is pretty steep I assume the White Mountain is too? Your right about horses especially for guys pushing 50. How much does it cost to rent pack annimals plus I would think a deposit would have to be made well ahead of time. Thats a nice buck it looks like a record book quality mulie. Has MT elk hunting improved quite a bit in the last 35 odd years?

Thanks Again;
Leftyhunter

 

[Big Moose]

Leftyhunter Yes, it usually is steep in the places we hunt and away from the roads. This is the key....get away from the roads. The White River National Forest is heavily hunted as is the San Juan. You have to be willing to go where other hunters won't. Many times it is down in a steep nasty black timber patch." Back in the day" I would sneak through a spot like that and shoot them in their beds. Everyone has their own way of doing it. No matter what, once they are down you have a ton of work. I hunt deer with reckless abandon, going where ever they are. I did that this year on my elk hunt and I paid the price....physically. I'm at the point where packing them out on my back is getting to be too much! Now I remember why I don't elk hunt anymore! These dudes are big!

Has Montana gotten better ? I think so, at least until the wolves arrived. There is no more Gardiner late hunt and the herds are really suffering including the moose population. The wolves are starting to show up in Colorado now too.

Moose

 

[leftyhunter]

Thanks Big Moose. I didn't know the wolves had worked their way that far south to Colo.

Leftyhunter

 

[COHunter]

There are no wolves in Colorado. Coyote's are just like people and sometimes you have one that grows a little bigger than average!
:wavin hello:

 

[Big Moose]

There are no wolves in Colorado. Coyote's are just like people and sometimes you have one that grows a little bigger than average!
:wavin hello:

Sounds good to me! I hope you are right....:thumbs up2:...we can still shoot coyotes....even big ones.....right?

Moose