Elk Hunting Guide to Success

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Backcountry Elk Hunts

Every hunter needs to experience a traditional elk hunt in the West at least once in their life. Hunting from horses, based out of wall tents in the backcountry is something you’ll never forget. We have a number of traditional hunts in some great areas. Check out this Idaho elk hunt in the Frank Church Wilderness area; we also have a number of backcountry elk hunts in Colorado; and New Mexico.

Pack-in with Horses and Mules

Pack-in hunts will start out on horseback with a ride into the backcountry. All of the stock will be well trained, and experienced backcountry animals. Once at camp, accommodations will most often be very comfortable, large wall tents (usually with a cook tent, hunter tent, guide tent, and tack tent), cots complete with foam pads, lanterns, wood stoves, tableware, first aid kit, applicable safety equipment and more. Camp sizes will range in size from one hunter to a maximum of four hunters on most hunts. Often these hunts are guided 2:1 unless you specify that you want to have your own guide.

Typical Itinerary on a Pack-in Style Elk Hunt

Most mornings start off with breakfast while guides/wranglers catch and saddle horses for the morning ride. The rides in the morning will vary in length and difficulty depending on where the elk are holding. Untampered and untamed, this is nature at its core; be sure to prepare for the physical challenge of steep, rugged terrain on this hunt.

Most hunters prefer to spend the entire day trying to locate your dream bull, and you’ll eat lunch up on the mountain. Bulls on these hunts will most likely range from 260″ to 320″ with good potential of seeing bigger bulls.

• You might fly into a backcountry airstrip, or pack into camp from a trailhead with horses and mules. *On some of our hunts, you’ll do both.
• On most of these hunts, camps will be wall tents.
• You will typically have a camp cook with good, home-style food.
• Usually you’ll be hunting from horseback, and on foot.
• Unpressured bulls in remote, backcountry on public land is the game.

Archery Elk Hunts

I ended up arrowhead a 333″ bull at 12 yards at about 9,700 feet. Awesome experience and would love to do it all over again.

ARBI AYVAZIAN, Outdoors International Client

If you’re a bowhunter, you’re gonna want to hunt in September. There are tons of awesome options available for you! If you go unguided, do your research. We can speed up the learning process for you by putting you with a guide or a good drop hunt in a great area. Rifle hunters are usually hunting the general season or going late, but we do have some great options during the rut for you as well! Muzzleloader hunters are almost always limited to the late season. Let us know if you want help finding a great elk hunt. We’d love to help, and remember our service is free to you.

Calling in a screaming bull is an intense experience, and you should do it…Archery hunting for elk is fun! Also, 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. Get ahold of us so we can find the right one for you.

We offer some great archery elk hunts in almost all of the well known elk states and provinces. Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon and British Columbia for Roosevelt elk, Montana and more…

• 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, or hunt over water in a stand or from a blind.
• Our outfitters run over 40% success on their bowhunts, which is very good.

Drop Camps

On unguided, drop camp elk hunts, you’ll most likely be packed into the backcountry with horses and mules and “dropped” at a camp that has already been set up by the outfitter. These types of hunts are called “drop camps”.

Your outfitter will pack in all the supplies you need to enter the wilderness. You’ll cover steep country and have the option to set up mini-camps in your search for high mountain backcountry game. The areas you will be hunting have only seen a small amount of human pressure due to the lack of access and rugged terrain. This type of hunt will have you camping on high ridges so you can start glassing at first light.

You’ll need to be in very good shape!

Elevations usually range from 8,000 to 10,000 ft. Horse support will most often be available to pack out harvested animals. You will see elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep and mountain goats. This type of hunt is a true adventure…if you’re prepared.

Russ Meyer, one of the owners of Outdoors International is the most consistently successful hunter I know. In this podcast I asked Russ how he has so been so consistently successful in his 30 years of bowhunting elk. There are some gems in this one folks. Russ is a wealth of bowhunting information.

STEVE SPECK, EXO Mountain Gear

Trophy Expectations

In just about any area, if you see a bull like this…you should probably shoot!

If you’re in a good area, (and we do our best to put you in a GREAT area) you can usually expect to see elk almost daily, and on most of our hunts, you could expect an opportunity at a mature bull. A mature bull can be anything from a five-point up to that 400-inch monster that everybody dreams about….EVERYBODY wants a 400-inch bull, but that isn’t really a realistic expectation. You can up your odds by having a great elk tag, choosing a great area, and usually, by writing a big check.

Most hunters don’t realize how big a 400 inch bull really is. This great bull is well under 350.

Realistic Trophy Quality

A more realistic “top end” bull in most areas is 320-340 inches, but 250-320″ is a more realistic expectation on most hunts. We try to put our hunters with areas that have a 75% or higher success rate on rifle hunts, and 40% or more on archery hunts.

If you want a really good chance at a true monster, be sure to let us know. We do have those types of hunts available, but we need to do some legwork to get you on them.

Choose Your Elk Hunting Season

When it comes to elk hunting, not all 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 Season

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 hunts are interesting…and can sometimes be hit or miss. Most late season elk hunts are weather dependant, 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.

Where do you want to go?

Colorado Elk Hunting

Talk with 10 guys who want to go elk hunting, and probably eight of them will say they want to go to Colorado…for good reason. There are tons of elk in Colorado, and there are TONS of choices when you hunt elk in Colorado with one of our outfitters! We have over-the-counter rifle elk hunts; archery elk hunts; elk hunting on private land; cow hunts, and limited entry trophy elk hunts in Colorado.  Success rates and trophy quality are both very good for over-the-counter elk hunting units.

Elk Hunting in Idaho

Idaho has some great backcountry elk hunting, and OTC tags.

Idaho has some spectacular elk hunting opportunities. If you’re after a 350″+ bull, you’ll probably be disappointed. Idaho does hold a good number of solid mature bulls, and every year a few B&C bulls are taken. Our hunters continue to have great success year after year with our Idaho outfitters.

• OTC archery tags.
• Some good remote units with little hunting pressure.
• Rifle rut hunts in some of the wilderness areas.
• Outfitter allocated tags can guarantee you a great tag in controlled units without drawing.
• Solid drop hunt options.

New Mexico

Most New Mexico elk hunts take place in Pinyon pine and juniper thickets at fairly high elevation. In most units, a 330 inch or better bull is the goal, but in the best units, you can have a decent chance at 370-400+ inch monsters! The terrain in New Mexico isn’t usually all that strenuous, especially when you compare it to some other elk hunting destinations such as Idaho or British Columbia.

If you’re looking to go elk hunting in New Mexico, we have several options available, depending on your preferences. From fully guided trophy hunts to wilderness drop camps.

Utah Elk Hunts

Elk were nearly wiped out in Utah due to excessive hunting, so much so that elk hunting season was discontinued in 1898. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources underwent a successful reintroduction program, moving elk from neighboring Yellowstone National Park to the mountains. Today paints a different picture entirely, elk are flourishing in northern Utah. In fact, Utah has more record bull harvests that any other western state.

We work with an incredible Utah outfitter that knocks it out of the park for our hunters year after year. All hunts are on private ground on over 600,000 acres spread between 13 different ranches. Most of the ranches are in the CWMU program AKA Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit. As a result, you are able to obtain your tags directly from the outfitter. There is no hassle and worry of whether you will draw out or not.

Elk Hunting in Wyoming

If you’re not applying for elk in Wyoming, you’re missing out…but we have some options for you with little or no points. Our backcountry outfitter has solid success year over year on good bulls at an affordable price. If you want a more plush experience, check our beautiful Wyoming lodge hunt.

Don’t forget about Elk Hunting in Canada

You shouldn’t discount Canada when you’re thinking about booking an elk hunt. Canadian elk hunts have begun to become more popular, and the Canadian Rocky Mountains have some great bulls. Plus, most areas, have elk hunts during the rut, such as this Alberta, Peace River hunt. There is also some great Roosevelt elk hunting along the British Columbia coast.

Estate Hunts

Free ranging bulls of 350+ caliber will cost from $15,000 to $25,000 most of the time. You can find that quality on lower cost hunts, but if you want to up your odds, get ready to stroke a serious check…or you can hunt those bulls for $7-$10,000 on a high fence place. There are some very good, big property high fence elk hunts out west. We know some properties where you are going to have a very challenging hunt to get a bull.

We have high fence elk hunting options in the following areas:

• Saskatchewan Elk Hunts on a Private Estate
• Utah
• New Mexico
• Colorado