Elk observation!!

Ok, I truly love this forum! As a bona fide HT troller, I must share an observation that I am sure many of you share, but just aren't nearly as bored to squint and type!!! I have noticed an uptick in negativity in posts primarily as they pertain to Elk hunting. Tags are too limited, elk are hard to find, too many folks in a unit trying to do exactly what I am, too many trees, etc.!! Come on people, we share a passion that our health allows us to share! If chasing elk through some of the most beautiful country in the world brings anything less than goose bumps and smiles, maybe it's time to reconsider. I know the frustrations of trying to figure out all facets from licensing to permits, statistics etc.! Everyone wants to harvest an elk out west. It has taken me 10 years of continual donations to the FWP to just get a handle on the licensing aspect! Imagine how boring life would be if I gave up after 2 because draw rates were low or other hunters were in my cyber scouted area. Every year so much is learned by getting out there and pushing myself to the full exhaustion, not by complaining about something that I have no control over!! If this amazing game that we all get selected to play annually were easy, there wouldn't be anything left to chase!! Get out there and find your little slice of heaven. I betcha there will be elk there!!!!!! Sorry for rambling!

I agree. I've never drawn a tag I applied for once. All the elk I have harvested or the close calls I have had have been on public land with over the counter tags. There's a lot of elk out there, you just have to find them.

Good observation. Elk hunting on public land in the Rocky Mountains (MT, WY, and CO) is definitely my "slice of heaven" and I love every minute of it!

I've been fortunately enough to hunt elk the last three years. 2015 in Montana on a combo tag where I harvested my first mule deer. 2016 on a limited draw New Mexico hunt with several close calls but no filled tag. Both of these hunts were on public land and I was fortunate enough to see elk both times, although I didn't fill my elk tag. This past fall, I was able to go on a guided hunt with my father in New Mexico on private land. I saw hundreds of elk, and although I harvested a smaller bull, it was a great experience.

The fall of 2018, I will be hunting public land again. Hopefully, I'll be fortunate enough to draw one of the New Mexico tags I am putting in for. If not, maybe I will be in Montana again or maybe I'll be in Colorado. Either way, I know it will be a tough hunt and I'll probably never see the hundreds of private land elk I saw in Chama this past fall. It doesn't matter though. It's all about being there, putting in the effort to the best of your ability and maybe, just maybe, a bull will be in your sights. A little adversity is to be expected and is all part of the experience. If anyone doesn't want that, they probably shouldn't be on public land chasing elk. Drawing the tag is just the first bit of adversity. Good observation, and I wish you the best of luck in the upcoming draws and season.

Huh, don't absorb that negativity. I appreciate reading the feedback from other hunters. Sometimes it is obviously just sour grapes and sometimes I find it useful. Elk hunting public land can be difficult. Those that don't appreciate the splendor and time outdoors won't keep at it very long anyway. Finding those guys in Elk Camp, well that's a different story!

We hear from lots of sour grapes. Usually they are out of state hunter who have applied for 5-10 years for a "premium" unit in whatever state they chose only to find there aren't giant bucks or bulls waiting behind every 100 yards from the road. AND egads there are other hunters there too. I think unreal expectations are the cause of a lot of disappointment.
Just go out and hunt and make sure you have fun doing it.

Gr8bawana said:

We hear from lots of sour grapes. Usually they are out of state hunter who have applied for 5-10 years for a "premium" unit in whatever state they chose only to find there aren't giant bucks or bulls waiting behind every 100 yards from the road. AND egads there are other hunters there too. I think unreal expectations are the cause of a lot of disappointment.
Just go out and hunt and make sure you have fun doing it.

Click to expand...

Yep...for sure.

People that wait decades for a tag seem to feel entitled...

Gr8bawana said:

We hear from lots of sour grapes. Usually they are out of state hunter who have applied for 5-10 years for a "premium" unit in whatever state they chose only to find there aren't giant bucks or bulls waiting behind every 100 yards from the road. AND egads there are other hunters there too. I think unreal expectations are the cause of a lot of disappointment.
Just go out and hunt and make sure you have fun doing it.

Click to expand...

Yep, you're absolutely correct.

Gr8bawana said:

I think unreal expectations are the cause of a lot of disappointment.
Just go out and hunt and make sure you have fun doing it.

Click to expand...

Yep!

Gr8bawana said:

We hear from lots of sour grapes. Usually they are out of state hunter who have applied for 5-10 years for a "premium" unit in whatever state they chose only to find there aren't giant bucks or bulls waiting behind every 100 yards from the road. AND egads there are other hunters there too. I think unreal expectations are the cause of a lot of disappointment.
Just go out and hunt and make sure you have fun doing it.

Click to expand...

You pays your money and you take your chances. Like Vegas. No guarantees and for many units, as is known in Vegas, the odds are against you the player. In the case of elk hunting, the odds in many units are against you harvesting even a representative bull. Lots of units with sub-50% harvest odds.

In 2016 for Colorado for all elk tags including cow tags and all method of take the harvest rate was 18% with an average of 5 days hunted. Heck, CO RFW was under 70% harvest and those are about as easy a hunt as can arrange out West for wild elk. 2016 Montana elk harvest at 14%. 2016 WY elk harvest at 48%...house still wins.

Not sure what rock someone has been living under to think they will pick up a bull elk tag and will be packing out a bull each year, especially on public land in a unit that offers lots of tags. Maybe an outfitter spun a tale of gold that resulted in flawed expectations. Buyer beware. The adventure is almost guaranteed. Filling the tag is not.

Lots of limited entry hunts run at the same time as unrelated hunts. You might draw the elk tag of a lifetime only to find general season deer hunters in the area, or bear hunters, or lions, sheep, goats, whatever. Or maybe a draw cow elk season that runs at the same time. Bird hunters, fishermen, looky-Lou’s, outdoor enthusiasts etc. you might be the only holder of a bull tag but lots of folks use public land.
Talk to them, make friends. Dark days of winter we all get a bit crabby, elk hunters are no different. Soon it will warm up and we will start fishing or trapping rats.

Everyone wants a wife like Christie Brinkley, and to kill a 6 point bull every year.