Archery Elk Hunt Recommendations?

[Tim_Anderson]

Does anyone have personal experience, or can you recommend a good archery elk hunt (outfitter) in one of the western states? My partners and I are looking for a do-it-yourself type hunt, prefer private land but would do remote public land, september bugle, drop camp, etc. Thanks!

[jmd1]

If you want to come to AZ let me know. I can give you some names of great guides.

[Tim_Anderson]

I would go to Arizona, but isn't it pretty tough to get tags down there?

Love that state. Was down there on private land for a Coues Whitetaill hunt the past two years. Unfortunately, they don't have elk on those ranches!

[jmd1]

The last day is tuesday for permits. it is pretty tough to draw but if you get unit 10, you are in tall cotton. Depending on where you were in AZ hunting the couse, there may have been some elk. I know they added a bunch of depredation hunts to get rid of non native elk in some areas. Do it for next year.

[Antero]

Not sure about how hard it is to get out of state draws but there is plenty of good spots here in Colorado. If you want to really hunt there are several wilderness areas where you would not be crowded. We hike in 5 miles before hunting and see elk every day. If you study up I'm sure you can come up with something. We camp outside of the wilderness areas and hike in and we usually see a few out of staters camping near us. One group from Michigan has been there for 3 or 4 yrs in a row.

One thing to note, wilderness areas out here mean no 4 wheelers, no trucks....just your feet or horses/mules. A lot of hard work packing out with elk on your back. As a guy told me once, "elk are sure heavier when they are dead".

Another thing, I see no reason for a guide or outfitter, do your homework, be willing to go deep and you will be OK.

[Scoot]

...it is pretty tough to draw but if you get unit 10, you are in tall cotton...

"Pretty tough to draw" is an understatement! Unfortunately, he's a minimum of 12 years away from drawing unit 10 archery in AZ as a non-res. Last year only a small percentage of those with 13 points were drawn for 10...

Pretty depressing for those of us who would like to hunt AZ before we get too old. Plus, point creep will only make it tougher over the next decade.

Tim, do you have a certain amount of money you are looking to spend? If you're willing to drop some coin, there are some great hunts available- some in CO some elsewhere. I've never paid a guide to hunt with them, but I do know of some pretty good opportunities in CO and NM. Give me an idea of what kind of money you would like to spend and what kind of elk you're after (any elk, any bull, a representative bull, a 300" bull, a 350"+ bull). The kind of elk you'd realistically like to hunt will have major implications on the cost of the hunt...

[Tim_Anderson]

We are looking for a good drop camp that's less than 2K. Add on license, transportation, food etc. and we're probably looking at 3K or more. We are a few "do-it-yourselfer's" who have chased most of what there is in the lover 48, but just have not gotten into the elk yet, but it's time! We love turkey hunting, coyote hunting, and the whole aspect of calling in game and interacting with them up close and personal. Elk hunting during the bugle seems like the ultimate - I never get tired of the video and tv shows. Having said that, I'm looking for my first bull with archery. My two partners have each shot younger 5x5's, which I would be TICKLED with. We are not at the point of trophy hunting yet - would be ecstatic to just get into some remote country that's not heavily pressured, and get in the middle of some screaming bulls. So having numbers of bulls (versus trophy quality) would be our priority. We've been looking primarily at Colorado and New Mexico. Have been doing as much research as I can, but it sure is time consuming. Thanks for the help guys.

[Scoot]

Elk hunting during the bugle seems like the ultimate - I never get tired of the video and tv shows.