Not all elk seasons are created equal. Each time of year has its own pros and cons. Everybody wants to hunt elk in September, during the rut, and for good reason. YOU NEED TO EXPERIENCE THE ELK RUT! Calling in a bull is an amazing experience, and if you’re a bowhunter, it’s almost the only way to go in our opinion. Rut hunts are in high demand, and for that reason, often more expensive and harder to get a tag. We can help you get a tag by the way. Early season hunts are mostly archery, but we do have some rifle elk hunts during the rut.
General Elk Seasons
General season offers the bulk of the rifle elk hunting opportunity.
While it is usually considered the least desirable time to hunt, you can have a great experience this time of year if you do your homework, or consult with us. Bulls don’t often respond as well to calling during the general season…but sometimes they do if you’re hunting an area with less pressure. Every year, our hunters take some huge bulls during the general season. General season hunts are also, almost always combo hunts with mule deer. We even have a hunt in Colorado that we call “The Trifecta” where you can hunt elk, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope!
Late Season Hunts
Late season elk hunts are interesting…and can sometimes be hit or miss.
Most late elk seasons are weather dependent, and if you don’t get snow in the high country, you might not see a single elk on your hunt. That sucks. However, if you do get snow, it can be the best hunt of your life! If you choose a late season hunt, go in with eyes wide open, and willing to come home and eat tag soup. Your gear can be a huge deal on these hunts.
Archery Elk Seasons
A September elk hunt is the stuff of bowhunting dreams.
We can speed up the learning process for you by putting you with a guide or a good drop hunt in a great area. There are tons of awesome options available for you!
- Calling in bulls is the game on these hunts.
- These are usually run-and-gun hunts where you’ll be covering country to find a bugling bull.
- Some hunts can be over water, in a tree stand or from a blind.
- Our outfitters run over 40% success on their bowhunts, which is very good.
Calling in a screaming bull is an intense experience!
Archery hunting for elk is fun AND bowhunts tend to be a bit more affordable on average than rifle hunts. Most bowhunters focus on success and fun hunting over trophy quality…but we do have high quality trophy archery elk hunts as well. We offer some great archery elk hunts in almost all of the well known elk states and provinces.
- Age class bulls bugle more and later in the day. I hunt a lot past 10AM.
- I shut up and sneak in on them once they bed. Especially a little bit later in the season. After the second week. Because it is tough to pull those bulls away from cows.
- Know the country that you are hunting. It is about time spent in that area.
- Sometimes I’ll sit down for an hour, and all of the sudden you’ll hear a small growl. Those herd bulls just like to talk. There is no reason for that elk to leave. He’s there and he’s going to stay there. I’m going to sneak in close, just outside of his kitchen and wait for him to talk again.
- You need to go into the woods with a positive attitude and a sense of adventure. A dead animal at the end of the hunt is a bonus.
- The only way to learn how to kill an elk with a bow, is to kill an elk with a bow.
- It all comes down to time, working hard and experience. Capitalize on opportunity. The guys that can capitalize on opportunity are guys who can control their emotion.
- Don’t make excuses. Be honest with yourself and get better. It comes down to personality, tenacity and time.
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My hunt was absolutely top notch.
The outfitter is a fantastic man and incredibly hard working and knowledgeable, there is no doubt he will do everything within his power to make peoples hunts successful and enjoyable. I plan to do it again with him next year for sure.Wade Zuver
The outfitter handled everything perfectly.
We were thankful that Outdoors International hooked us up with a great outfitter because they were able to find us an acceptable alternate on short notice. Overall the two year process to get this float in was seamless and worry free. Just like it should be.Stan Masneri
Second time I’ve done this particular trip.
The steelhead run was awesome! The food was even better than the first time, which is hard to imagine, and our guide is the best there is! If catching big fish is your thing I highly recommend booking through Outdoors International.Jim C.
