How long did it take for your first elk?

[FREAK]

My first bull was a lot harder to come by than the cow. I killed my first cow in 2013, and another early September in 2014. 2015 I decided to hold out for a bull or bust. I hunted hard that year, probably every weekend plus a couple multi day hunts. Finally shot a rag horn south of town in the canyon on November 15th, 2015. I still consider that bull to be one of my most valued trophy to date. Although my dad was a big elk hunter back in his day, his job took our family out east and I never hunted elk growing up. Other than the hunting show and talking through stuff with my dad over the phone while I was in college I primarily learned through trial and error and a couple good friends along the way. Many miles and many different ranges. I'm now on a 8/9 year bull killing streak and have a personal goal of going 10/10. Going to have to get lucky and draw something to make it happen.

 

[c0d95]

I think it took 4-5 years before I killed my first elk (a cow with a rifle). Then I killed an archery bull after 11-12 years of trying. It was a giant 368” public land bull, so I have always felt like the wait was worth it. Screwed up many many encounters over the years.

I would love to see a picture of that bad boy, if you feel like sharing...

 

[Bryerific]

I killed my first bull on my fourth tag when I was 18. My wife killed her first cow on her third tag and then her first bull with her bow on her fourth. We started hunting together in college and she put in almost 60 days for that first elk (mostly archery hunting although that first cow was with a rifle and back then her range limit and target acquisition speed affected her success).

Now she’s more likely to kill an elk than I am and recently we average an elk per ~8 days elk hunting.

I’d mention that having solid mentors has the biggest impact on the learning curve.

 

[thomas89]

First elk was maybe 3 days of actual hunting. Nice cow out of a group of maybe 10, 50 yards away through the timber. Somehow my partner managed to miss knocking another one down after emptying his rifle and reloading it once. Adrenaline will do that to you. Mistakenly claimed that a front and a hind quarter from this cow weight 100+ pounds up the hill 1/4 mile back to the truck. Fun memories.

Took a break to get Mangey Moose drunk there in Riverside, WY. Halloween party is a real banger...10/10 recommend.

 

[c0d95]

I’d mention that having solid mentors has the biggest impact on the learning curve.

Mentorship is something that keeps coming up in this thread. Sadly, I don't have a hunting mentor. My dad grew up hunting but stopped before I was old enough to go because Washington hunting sucks and he was tired of tag soup. I started watching MeatEater in ~2017 and did my hunters safety at the end of 2018. Got my first deer tag in 2019 at age 24 and hunted opening weekend with my dad. Didn't see anything but had a great time. 2020 I didn't hunt at all- just fished. 2021, I bought Washington's "Get Outdoors Package" and hunted spring turkey, fall bear, deer and my first year hunting elk. I killed a blacktail doe on Whidbey Island at my in-laws after I came up short for mule deer. 2022 I hunted everything again and same in 2023. That doe is still my only notched tag.

None of it has been done with a mentor- just me and my buddies learning as we go. I've been doing lots of research this off season, watching guys like Samong on Youtube and planning scouting trips for the spring/summer. I'm hoping and praying that I will be blessed with SOMETHING this year. My wife is just as antsy as I am for me to kill something!

 

[perma]

Mentorship is something that keeps coming up in this thread. Sadly, I don't have a hunting mentor. My dad grew up hunting but stopped before I was old enough to go because Washington hunting sucks and he was tired of tag soup. I started watching MeatEater in ~2017 and did my hunters safety at the end of 2018. Got my first deer tag in 2019 at age 24 and hunted opening weekend with my dad. Didn't see anything but had a great time. 2020 I didn't hunt at all- just fished. 2021, I bought Washington's "Get Outdoors Package" and hunted spring turkey, fall bear, deer and my first year hunting elk. I killed a blacktail doe on Whidbey Island at my in-laws after I came up short for mule deer. 2022 I hunted everything again and same in 2023. That doe is still my only notched tag.

None of it has been done with a mentor- just me and my buddies learning as we go. I've been doing lots of research this off season, watching guys like Samong on Youtube and planning scouting trips for the spring/summer. I'm hoping and praying that I will be blessed with SOMETHING this year. My wife is just as antsy as I am for me to kill something!

You and I are cut from the same cloth. I was a bit luckier to have an upbringing at a younger age. I went 11 years without killing anything, then this year I filled every tag that I blew points on. No idea how I did it, but I had a lot of help from some very good people on here. Still looking for a notched elk tag, but I keep getting leftovers and second choice tags that are just hard hunts.

Be patient with yourself is the best advice I can share. Old man always used to say 'good things come to those who wait'.

 

[GearJunky]

I would love to see a picture of that bad boy, if you feel like sharing...

 

[GearJunky]

A little background to the story. It was my birthday that day, last day of a 7 day hunt, and we almost didn't hunt. I had a terrible kidney infection earlier that year that almost killed me. I was on blood pressure medicine, and we didn't know my blood pressure had dropped extremely low. After I shot the bull, it was all I could do to help pack it out. I tell everyone it was like my transmisson was broke, flat ground I was fine, but the minute I tried to go up hill I had no gas.

Probably the only reason I stayed calm and killed the bull was I didn't have any blood pressure to get me excited.

 

[squirrel]

Interesting how some talk in years, some days and some hours/minutes. Probably most accurate measurement is in full days of hunting. Some of you poor bastards apparently don't get out very much for very long due to a variety of factors. When I was dreaming of arrowing an elk the only way to know what an elk sounded like was to actually be on the mountain and hear one. Now things are so much simpler in that regard but the actual hunt is so much more difficult as far as pressure goes. Elk hunting sure has changed

I got 9 in my first 8 years of hunting them, but the days spent either personally hunting them or out tracking/calling/scouting them, helping others to hunt them was somewhat astronomical.

First one was a cow with a bow after about 25 days of hunting. Only a cow but the earth trembled when she fell.

 

[c0d95]

A little background to the story. It was my birthday that day, last day of a 7 day hunt, and we almost didn't hunt. I had a terrible kidney infection earlier that year that almost killed me. I was on blood pressure medicine, and we didn't know my blood pressure had dropped extremely low. After I shot the bull, it was all I could do to help pack it out. I tell everyone it was like my transmisson was broke, flat ground I was fine, but the minute I tried to go up hill I had no gas.

Probably the only reason I stayed calm and killed the bull was I didn't have any blood pressure to get me excited.

That's wild! Glad you made it out to tell the story! That's a beautiful bull. Congratulations

 

[RevJim]

Bowhunted elk, 1979. Arrow deflected on unseen branch on a cow. (26yrs old)
Next year bowhunt, no shots on spike & cow at 90yds.
FF to moved to Utah 1990. All rifle hunts. Hunted Spike Only 92. Saw only cows.
1993 killed first cow on a CCW cow hunt. (40yrs old)
1997 killed 2nd cow, same place. (44 yrs old)
2002 killed 3rd cow, CCW hunt. (49 yrs old)
2022 killed last cow, Landowner Tag (68yrs old)
Lord Willing I'll get another Cow hunt next November or December. (71)

Never saw a legal bull whenever I've had a Tag! ha "Any Elk on the Ground is a Good One" (ancient Chinese proverb!)

 

[pawhitetail]

36 years and counting lol. In all seriousness I've lurked here for years. Pretty envious of alot of these elk pics and success stories. Ive put in for the PA draw for the last 12 years or so but no dice there. Always wanted to but could never get anyone to fully commit to leave pa and head west for 2 weeks. Well that's all gonna change this year. My son is going to be 12 end of August and we're going to be heading to Colorado for the 2nd season. All I gotta do is figure out where to take him lol. That's the hard part. So hopefully in November I can say we got really lucky but the official counter will start then I guess.

 

[thusby]

The right unit in Wyoming and it was a couple hours to locate and kill some cows. Those desert units are something special.

 

[Wyhunter]

I started hunting elk for the first time in 2008. I always grew up bird hunting and fishing. My dad never had a great sense of big game so I had to figure things out alone after I became an adult. Like a few of you guys on here, I didnt have a true mentor. I learned by making a lot of mistakes and changing my habits. Other than the short stint I spent in Idaho, I have always hunted big game solo. Elk hunting has turned into one of my biggest passions. All of the big game species, actually. I had luck my first year, then came some gaps.
2008- 6 point (Montana)
2009-2013- in the USMC (didnt hunt)
2014-2015- tag soup (Idaho)
2016- 6 point (Idaho)
2017-2020 tag soup (Idaho)
2021- 5 point (wyoming)
2022- 5 point (wyoming)
2023- 6 point (wyoming)

I feel like Im finally starting to understand elk after a decade of hunting them. Things have come together pretty well in the last few years.

 

[c0d95]

I feel like Im finally starting to understand elk after a decade of hunting them. Things have come together pretty well in the last few years.

That’s got to be a great feeling. You have a great story behind your progress and it sounds like you have some great elk! I’d love to see some pictures if you feel like sharing!

 

[44hunter45]

I killed my first elk my second season out. Last light of the last day. My partner and I spent all night processing and packing to roll out in the morning.

There was a five year gap between my first and second elk hunts. We had a young family and had not yet moved to Idaho. Financially it was a big deal to do an out of state hunt for us.

When I got more experienced I realized I was in elk the first year too and didn't know it. I was seeing legal bulls in my 8x binos, but didn't know what I was looking at on the next ridge over. Nowadays you would already have it ranged.

I don't know if you can compare 1986 or 1991 to today. I actually don't know how many I've killed. But I have the advantage of buying a resident tag over the counter and being in the woods in 30 minutes later.

I get into elk every year now, but choose not to shoot unless everything is as I want it to be. It is still just as exciting and a lot less work. Even if it were a monster bull, I am always thinking about the meat care and quality. Shoot/Don't Shoot decision varies with weather conditions, retrieval difficulty, etc. I will shoot down in a hell hole if the temps are trending down. I mostly hunt solo, so it is at least 4 trips back to the truck for pack out.

That is all in my perfect world. The truth is I can still get elk crazy and dump an elk where and when I should not. All you can do is start cutting it up and deal with it.

Elk #1 1991 - I wish I had kept that "Samson" patch off that RMEF hat. Still have that hoodie.

 

[44hunter45]

Day 2, near tollgate Oregon, was 12. Bayonet distance 30/06

Damn near bounced a cow off my hood making the Athena to Enterprise run a few years ago. Great country .

 

[mountainlaurel3]

Got my first, a cow, this year. Fifth year, fifth tag, hunted every day of each season (until this one), but they're short Colorado rifle seasons. Hadn't ever hunted before that first otc bull tag, and no mentor, so it has been a steep learning curve.

 

[44hunter45]

I want to hear @Greenhorn 's story. Come on Kurt.

 

[Wyhunter]

That’s got to be a great feeling. You have a great story behind your progress and it sounds like you have some great elk! I’d love to see some pictures if you feel like sharing!

I seem to be great at getting raghorns. Nothing big, yet. Here are some of the bulls. I dont have a picture of my Montana bull on my phone.

Idaho muzzloader

Wyoming rifle

Wyoming rifle


Wyoming archery