Nevada Bull

[Shootin4fun]

Not much different here in Oregon. A good bull tag takes 20 years as a resident, bow or rifle. Just plain stupid if you ask me. Tired of this no good liberal state, cant wait to get TF out of here.

So it sounds like what you guys are saying is that if you are over 50, you'll probably never get to go elk hunting in the wild. Unless you pay a gazillion dollars to a guide and large tract private land owner. Or you can go to a ranch in Texas where they breed them and shoot one for under $8K.

Is the difficulty in getting a tag on public because of so many people applying, or has the elk population dropped dramatically over the years?

 

[Shootin4fun]

...Meanwhile, some guys on here have killed a dozen or more elk. How does that work? Soon I will have the time to go, but if the wait is 10 - 20 years years I probably won't live long enough to draw a tag since I'm over 60. Since I didn't start applying 20 years ago, I propose a senior's preference tag class. ;-)

 

[lilharcher]

Is the difficulty in getting a tag on public because of so many people applying, or has the elk population dropped dramatically over the years?

Other than Colorado, the populations are stable to increasing in most western states, but demand on tags (ie - more hunters) are at an all time high......so demand is high, and supply is relatively low. If you are a WY resident, you are probably hunting elk every 2-5 years, or if you are hunting OTC in Colorado and know your unit well, you can hunt elk every year and harvest most years (again, if you know the unit well). Montana and Idaho have some good OTC or easy to draw units too. Don't even bother with Utah or NV, which manage most units for trophy quality, which translates to 15+ years. You will never draw the top units in ANY state in 5-10 years unless you are very lucky, but plenty of states/units to hunt regularly if you are willing to put in the work.

 

[Gater]

Other than Colorado, the populations are stable to increasing in most western states, but demand on tags (ie - more hunters) are at an all time high......so demand is high, and supply is relatively low. If you are a WY resident, you are probably hunting elk every 2-5 years, or if you are hunting OTC in Colorado and know your unit well, you can hunt elk every year and harvest most years (again, if you know the unit well). Montana and Idaho have some good OTC or easy to draw units too. Don't even bother with Utah or NV, which manage most units for trophy quality, which translates to 15+ years. You will never draw the top units in ANY state in 5-10 years unless you are very lucky, but plenty of states/units to hunt regularly if you are willing to put in the work.

The family and friends we have in Wyoming are getting elk every year. A friend and his wife both filled their tags my wife's family filled 4 out of 4 tags but they are meat hunters they don't care about antlers