Seeking Elk hunting/draw/preparing advice

Hey guys, thought I would pick your brain about a dream I've had for awhile now. So I'm 18 years old and just went on my first western hunting trip last year and successfully harvested an antelope. I soon realized that this is a part of the country that I love and want to go back and hunt more game. I am enrolled at Indiana University and will be starting my freshman year on Monday. To put my hunt into perspective, I also just received a full ride scholarship so a hunt after my senior year would kinda be a celebration before entering the job market. I know that getting drawn for elk is significantly more difficult than Wyoming antelope so I will need to build up points, correct? I also would not be picky on what kind of elk i harvested for my first one, so a 400" bull isn't something that I'm going after unless the opportunity presents itself. I would be interested in any of the states that would allow me to get drawn, but I'm very fond of Montana. I also have a 6.5 CM, 300 wby, muzzleloader and bow, but I would mostly be interested in a rifle hunt. How difficult would a DIY public land hunt be, and how much would I be looking to spend if I did hire a guide. Or for a DIY hunt? Would you recommend starting to put in for the draw ASAP? Thank you!

Colorado might be where you'd want to focus on. Plenty of over the counter tags available. Though you'll mostly be hunting with lots of other folks. You can also put in for tags in a drawing for cow/calf/any elk.
Go to the Co Parks and Wildlife website and study on the maps and on the success rates. Some of the 'fringe' areas aren't too heavily hunted in the 2nd season and you just might be able to get a legal bull with your OTC tag.
Guided hunts can run anywhere from $2500-ish for a drop camp to as much as you will make your first year out of college.
Enjoy IU and Bloomington. Nice little city when I lived there.

Bbear said:

Colorado might be where you'd want to focus on. Plenty of over the counter tags available. Though you'll mostly be hunting with lots of other folks. You can also put in for tags in a drawing for cow/calf/any elk.
Go to the Co Parks and Wildlife website and study on the maps and on the success rates. Some of the 'fringe' areas aren't too heavily hunted in the 2nd season and you just might be able to get a legal bull with your OTC tag.
Guided hunts can run anywhere from $2500-ish for a drop camp to as much as you will make your first year out of college.
Enjoy IU and Bloomington. Nice little city when I lived there.

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Thank you for the advice, I've heard other place that Colorado might be my best bet as well. Bloomington is still a nice little town, tons of liberals and hippies though!

Idaho has some really nice OTC elk opportunities. As far as I know, though, all the really good OTC stuff is backpacking into wilderness areas. I don't know anything about guide costs.

Also, don't put in for the Idaho draw unless you can hunt that year. Idaho doesn't have any bonus point system.

It sounds like the OP has time on his side if he's "shooting" for doing this hunt in 4 years.

OP - you could apply in all the possible states you're interested in and get points building up. Then when the time comes you can choose where you would like to go.

During the next four years keep asking questions and researching the various states harvest statistics. A guided hunt will run $5k and up.

ShtrRdy said:

It sounds like the OP has time on his side if he's "shooting" for doing this hunt in 4 years.

OP - you could apply in all the possible states you're interested in and get points building up. Then when the time comes you can choose where you would like to go.

During the next four years keep asking questions and researching the various states harvest statistics. A guided hunt will run $5k and up.

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I do have a lot of time, but I wanted to be sure that when the time is here I have a tag available. Would trying to tackle a public land unguided hunt be a terrible idea, without knowing the land very well, and never having deboned and packed an elk out? Thank you for the advice!

The think the only way to really be sure you have a tag available is to buy OTC.

This is only my opinion, so take it for what it's worth:
If this hunt is something you are interested in, you can always learn the land. Take the time, come out early and/or often, and do some scouting. Read up on elk behavior and effective hunting techniques. Get yourself in decent shape to be able to cover a lot of rugged terrain in a short amount of time.

As far as field dressing and packing are concerned, the anatomy of an elk isn't much different than other big game. It's just a matter of scale. Assuming you handled the antelope you shot, there's no reason you can't handle the elk. It can be a lot more work, depending on how far you traveled to find the animal, but assuming you harvest, it's just a matter of time and sweat at that point.

Bottom line: you have some time between now and when you plan to hunt. Use it to get yourself ready, and there's no reason you couldn't do a DIY Western States elk hunt. Though I would recommend at least finding a hunting buddy. Going solo is not something I care to do.

I suggest you do your homework on where you would like to DRAW a tag first, but also spend an equal amount of time on a OTC unit as a Plan B, which will guaranty you an ELK hunt after graduation.

If you are not wanting to build preference points, I would suggest trying to draw a tag in New Mexico w/ the minimal guide service option, which is around $1500 (only if you draw) with the benefits being (i) guide pool has ~2x better odds, and (ii) you will be provided a knowledgeable guide for 2 of the 5 days of your hunt, and someone to correspond with prior to your hunt to make sure you are fully prepared. Elk #'s are very solid in NM and success rates are high. Draw success in the outfitter pool can also be very good in the northern part of the state and with three options, you can try to draw a premium tag in other parts of the state (Units 34, 36, 16, etc.), with a fall back in the northern part of the state like Unit 2 or 52 (very strong Elk #s).

But if NM is not your cup of tea, Wyoming (suggest you buy a $50 preference point each year) and Montana are also viable options to draw a tag.

As indicated above, I would stick to Idaho and Colorado OTC units as your Plan B......but know what unit you want to hunt a year in advance so you can do your research and be ready, which will significantly increase your odds.

djfriesen said:

The think the only way to really be sure you have a tag available is to buy OTC.

This is only my opinion, so take it for what it's worth:
If this hunt is something you are interested in, you can always learn the land. Take the time, come out early and/or often, and do some scouting. Read up on elk behavior and effective hunting techniques. Get yourself in decent shape to be able to cover a lot of rugged terrain in a short amount of time.

As far as field dressing and packing are concerned, the anatomy of an elk isn't much different than other big game. It's just a matter of scale. Assuming you handled the antelope you shot, there's no reason you can't handle the elk. It can be a lot more work, depending on how far you traveled to find the animal, but assuming you harvest, it's just a matter of time and sweat at that point.

Bottom line: you have some time between now and when you plan to hunt. Use it to get yourself ready, and there's no reason you couldn't do a DIY Western States elk hunt. Though I would recommend at least finding a hunting buddy. Going solo is not something I care to do.

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I would most certainly go with at least my dad, and maybe my brother as well. I really appreciate the information!