Use Outfitter or Not?

[SPDSpappy]

I'd say that if you want to kill an elk then go guided. But don't expect it to really help you when you go on your own. You'll most likely be hunting on a private ranch or wilderness that won't be accessible to you as a DIYer. If you want to hunt elk, then DIY

The place I'm looking at hunts a mix of public and private in CO. It's actually fairly close to where I went DIY this past October.

 

[mtmiller]

Minority here.

If you have the $$, don't live in elk country and limited experience, I think a guided hunt might be pretty cool. Give it a shot and see if it is something you want to do on your own again in the future. If you go the guided route, I hope you find one that gives a real elk hunting experience.

rveen experience looks pretty cool.

 

[SPDSpappy]

Keep going DIY. Once you figure it out, you'll have it figured out. Going on a guided hunt will show you how one guys does (or doesn't) in an area you may or may never hunt again. Every habitat is different, hunting pressure is different, etc. IMO it takes years to learn how to hunt an animal successfully, and even longer if you bounce all over the place.

I understand about hunting an area more than once. I've experienced this deer hunting as well as turkey hunting. I have plans on hitting the same place in CO I went to last year to try and get one down.

Going on an outfitted hunt doesn't mean you will kill one either...

That's true, but this place has a 90%+ opportunity rate.

Elk are pretty predicable, once you figure out what they like. They may not be in the right spot at the right time, but you hit enough of their haunts and you'll put one down. Personally, having hunted a lot of different animals in a lot of different places. Elk hunting can either be the easiest thing you've ever hunted or the most frustrating.

Do more research, and get after it. It will be that much more rewarding in the end.

I believe the only big gap in my research is calling people like the local biologist and taxidermy folks. I have an extensive set of notes from a number of sources. I plan to remedy the calling very shortly...

I've been trying to kill a lynx this winter, and haven't found one yet, but I will. I have no friggn clue what I'm doing, but it will come together at some point and I'll kill a cat.

Good luck out there, I wish you the best of success!!

 

[SPDSpappy]

If you got it spend it being your not hunting in your own state. If you feel it’s a lack of gear that had you falling short buy the best gear and give it a go. I’m not opposed to a guided hunt myself but I only hunt my home state. Good luck and give it your best either way none of us are getting younger.

Thanks! I'm good with gear, except for maybe a wall tent with a stove. Thankfully, my CO hunting partner has that covered on our DIY hunts. Like you said, we're not getting any younger and I don't want to be sitting here in front of my laptop typing about trying to get my first elk 5-7 years from now...

 

[SPDSpappy]

Minority here.

If you have the $$, don't live in elk country and limited experience, I think a guided hunt might be pretty cool. Give it a shot and see if it is something you want to do on your own again in the future. If you go the guided route, I hope you find one that gives a real elk hunting experience.

rveen experience looks pretty cool.

Thank you!! My buddy is a hunting concierge through Outdoors International/GotHunts.com and they do all the research to find good outfitters and ensure they have what I'm looking for in terms of an experience and a price within my budget.

 

[LopeHunter]

Hunting with a guide/ outfitter can shorten the learning curve, but that experience comes with a high price tag.

I think rifle success for bull elk hunts is around 20% out West. I have heard said 80% of the bull elk are killed by about the same 20% of all elk hunters. So, if that is true then 80% of tags are tag soup, 16% of tags are filled by the same hunters year after year and the other 80% of hunters kill 4% of the bull elk.

That is a steep learning curve. I think an Eastern hunter can get up to speed on pronghorn hunting on public land in a season or two. Mule deer on public land might take 5-10 years.

Elk can take more years than a hunter is willing to try. I suggest a first time bull elk hunter on public land to hire an outfitter to get up the learning curve. Decide what season you want to hunt and make that your focus for the next several elk hunts so maybe is pre-rut or rut or post-rut or late hunt. Rut hunts will be hardest to draw if using a rifle, though. By focusing on a specific season then can focus on learning how elk behave at that time of the season though weather and temperatures can significantly alter behavior in the same mountain drainage during the same week from year to year.

Good luck.

 

[dcopas78]

My dad and I had been DIY a few times with no harvest when a well-to-do friend of his decided he wanted to do something for dad that dad normally wouldn't be able to afford. That "something" ended up being a guided hunt to New Mexico for me and dad. I was reluctant at first, but saw dad really wanted to do it, so I agreed. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I saw more elk in a day than many people see in their lives. I'd say go for it if you have the money.

 

[SPDSpappy]

I think rifle success for bull elk hunts is around 20% out West. I have heard said 80% of the bull elk are killed by about the same 20% of all elk hunters. So, if that is true then 80% of tags are tag soup, 16% of tags are filled by the same hunters year after year and the other 80% of hunters kill 4% of the bull elk.

That is a steep learning curve. I think an Eastern hunter can get up to speed on pronghorn hunting on public land in a season or two. Mule deer on public land might take 5-10 years.

Elk can take more years than a hunter is willing to try. I suggest a first time bull elk hunter on public land to hire an outfitter to get up the learning curve. Decide what season you want to hunt and make that your focus for the next several elk hunts so maybe is pre-rut or rut or post-rut or late hunt. Rut hunts will be hardest to draw if using a rifle, though. By focusing on a specific season then can focus on learning how elk behave at that time of the season though weather and temperatures can significantly alter behavior in the same mountain drainage during the same week from year to year.

Good luck.

Thank you for your insight!! The hunt I’m looking at includes pronghorn, muley, and elk in the timeframe for elk I’m interested in hunting with a rifle. I’d like to get into bow hunting out West, but the whole reason I’m getting this influx of cash is from an accident that jacked up my shoulder leading to surgery and I can’t even lift my bow right now, let alone shoot it...

 

[rveen]

I think rifle success for bull elk hunts is around 20% out West. I have heard said 80% of the bull elk are killed by about the same 20% of all elk hunters. So, if that is true then 80% of tags are tag soup, 16% of tags are filled by the same hunters year after year and the other 80% of hunters kill 4% of the bull elk.

Some of the nonresident success rates in wilderness areas in Wyoming are over 50% thanks in part to guides.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Hunting/Harvest%20Reports/HR2017_Elk.pdf

 

[SPDSpappy]

My dad and I had been DIY a few times with no harvest when a well-to-do friend of his decided he wanted to do something for dad that dad normally wouldn't be able to afford. That "something" ended up being a guided hunt to New Mexico for me and dad. I was reluctant at first, but saw dad really wanted to do it, so I agreed. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I saw more elk in a day than many people see in their lives. I'd say go for it if you have the money.

That’s awesome!!! I’m guessing this was on private property? I have another option of doing an elk hunt on private property in UT https://outdoors-international.com/rkhc3/. This hunt is quite a bit more expensive ($9-15k for an elk vs. $12.5k for an elk, muley, and pronghorn), but is 100% private and allows hunters to hunt w/ a rifle during any time. This is a 5-star place and you drive and glass, see if you find something, and repeat. While it would be cool to hunt during the rut w/ a rifle, I don’t think this is really the experience I’m looking for.

In case anyone is interested in the trifecta I’m talking about, information can be found at https://outdoors-international.com/colorado-trifecta/. My buddy Mat is my hunting concierge there and his e-mail is [email protected].

 

[VikingsGuy]

Seems like the forum you chose to ask this question in presupposed the answer - a little like posting on Martha Stewart's site and asking if a Kleenex Cozy is really worth the effort - an easily predicted outcome given the audience (HT is a DIY public land forum)

 

[SPDSpappy]

Some of the nonresident success rates in wilderness areas in Wyoming are over 50% thanks in part to guides.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Hunting/Harvest%20Reports/HR2017_Elk.pdf

Wow!!

 

[SPDSpappy]

Seems like the forum you chose to ask this question in presupposed the answer - a little like posting on Martha Stewart's site and asking if a Kleenex Cozy is really worth the effort - an easily predicted outcome given the audience (HT is a DIY public land forum)

LOL! Very true..... Maybe Bowsite would have been a better place for this question!

 

[dcopas78]

That’s awesome!!! I’m guessing this was on private property? I have another option of doing an elk hunt on private property in UT https://outdoors-international.com/rkhc3/. This hunt is quite a bit more expensive ($9-15k for an elk vs. $12.5k for an elk, muley, and pronghorn), but is 100% private and allows hunters to hunt w/ a rifle during any time. This is a 5-star place and you drive and glass, see if you find something, and repeat. While it would be cool to hunt during the rut w/ a rifle, I don’t think this is really the experience I’m looking for.

In case anyone is interested in the trifecta I’m talking about, information can be found at https://outdoors-international.com/colorado-trifecta/. My buddy Mat is my hunting concierge there and his e-mail is [email protected].

Yes, private land Chama, NM. We drove in so far and hiked in the rest of the way. Nothing like public land hunting though. You can pick any time from archery season September, rifle October 1 clear through Dec. 31. 5 day hunt, unit 4 private land only. It was no where near that cost though. About $6600. We chose a December 1 migration hunt, minus the migration! Weather was a bit warm and no snow up high. Still saw 2-300 elk daily, though big bills were reluctant to get out of the high country. One thing you may want to consider too is if you get one down now with the injured shoulder, how you are going to get it out, unless you have a packer.

 

[Steelhead]

I say... on your own adventures

 

[rveen]

I say... on your own adventures

True... but sometimes a guided hunt leads to "on your own adventures". At least in my case. Some of us need a jump start .

 

[VikingsGuy]

FWIW - if you have the cash, I would do outfitted first and then take the learnings (I know they will not be the same, but if you are new to hunting there will be many transferable learnings) and then hunt a lifetime DIY public. YMMV

 

[beginnerhunter]

As a noob, I do worry I'll give up before I figure it out. Fortunately I usually have success hunting whitetails locally so maybe that will help buffer the disappointment. A guided hunt would probably be beneficial but I'm not going to wait around for 5 years saving money to hunt elk. I'll just take my lumps on the unused tags and consider them camping and hiking trips with a gun.

 

[Guy]

Speaking in general here, not just elk.

I've done mostly DIY hunts, but have spent the money a few times for a guided hunt. Many of my DIY hunts have resulted in notching a tag, filling the freezer, putting some antlers on the wall.

All of my guided hunts have resulted in notching that tag.

I take great satisfaction in a good DIY hunt. Am 62 years old, been hunting quite some time. I know what to do for my local mule deer, and have largely been successful at taking them. There is a tremendous satisfaction from planning your own hunt, making it happen, particularly when it ends up with meat in the freezer.

A guided hunt sometimes offers a unique opportunity to see some interesting places, difficult to reach otherwise. To meet and hunt with some fellows (your guides) who really know the area and the animal. Can pick up an awful lot of good info from them. The accommodations are generally pretty decent; a big tent with a wood stove is awfully nice compared to my backpacking tent!

I've found that the hunting can be equally strenuous and demanding. Either way I'm climbing steep ridges, I'm up before dawn, I'm cold, I'm hot, I'm hungry or thirsty. Guided or unguided, I've worked just as hard. Except on the pack-out... I will admit that it's been real nice to have a young, strong guide there to help get the meat, antlers, hide, etc back to camp.

Take a look at the guided option, it might well be one heck of a hunt, and if your experience mirrors mine, you're quite likely to take game.

Regards, Guy

 

[brockel]

Sounds like you have already talked yourself into the guided hunt so I say just go for it