Anyone in Georgia want to go Elk Hunt?

[Swampdonkey47]

You might want to post on GON forum in Ga also. I lived in Cumming for 18years before moving to Texas in late 2016. Elk hunted every year in Colorado since 05 with my bow, one of my buddies lives in Cumming and goes also. Dont wait, go alone if you have, too. Serious elk hunting buddies are hard to find, but they exist.

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I've considered going alone but would never hear the end of it if I did. I have family and some good fishing holes in Cumming . The goal is to start going every year.

 

[Swampdonkey47]

Colorado dropped bear tags to $100 this year, I strongly suggest those going get one. The majority of bears out there are colorphase, bear of a lifetime for most. Some big blacks out there too.

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That is amazing. That one under the stand

 

[Deltahuntr]

Thanks for that information. I had not considered hunting black bear on this trip. I have fed enough corn, cameras, atv seats, the list goes on, to their southern cousins that I would definitely enjoy that sweet revenge.

 

[Scoutman]

Does anyone think an elk hunt could be done this cheap?http://www.rmef.org/TheHunt/Before/PlanforGrand.aspx

Colorado tags are $664 or so for either sex elk. If you had partners to split gas, food,etc, you might could do it for 1k but iffy. I spend over that just in tags every year but I get either-sex, cow elk and a bear tag.

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[Swampdonkey47]

Colorado Is on top of our list. The availability of OTC tags and amount of public land makes it appealing for the DIY hunt. We would prefer the September archery season.

Same here for archery. Where in Louisiana are y'all at?

 

[Scoutman]

I've considered going alone but would never hear the end of it if I did. I have family and some good fishing holes in Cumming . The goal is to start going every year.

The gon forum may help you, I found one of my best elk partners on there. We met hiking with weighted packs at Sawnee park in Cumming.

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[mattsteg]

Colorado tags are $664 or so for either sex elk. If you had partners to split gas, food,etc, you might could do it for 1k but iffy. I spend over that just in tags every year but I get either-sex, cow elk and a bear tag.

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It's basically just an accounting trick. "You always eat so food is free, you own everything you need and can self-process for cheap".

 

[Deltahuntr]

Same here for archery. Where in Louisiana are y'all at?

We are all in the Baton Rouge area.

 

[Swampdonkey47]

The gon forum may help you, I found one of my best elk partners on there. We met hiking with weighted packs at Sawnee park in Cumming.

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I'll give that a try on gon , weighted pack on the trail should find someone too.

 

[EricS]

I don’t know what your schedule is like. For me first rifle doesn’t work in Colorado. I did it one time before. Basically first rifle starts on Saturday and ends on Wednesday. So if your vacation runs m-f like mine that doesn’t work well. The great thing about Colorado is you can go every year. If you do ever fly out it’s cheaper to fly into Denver and rentals are cheaper in Denver vs Montana or Wyoming. There are no stupid laws like Wyoming has preventing you from hunting a wilderness area without a guide. It’s about the closest with exception to states like Kentucky which are long shots but I enter their elk lotto every year. Gunnison Colorado is a 24 hour drive from Georgia. Three guys can drive that straight through but otherwise it takes two days on each end of your week. All of a sudden a nine day hunt turns into 5. If you kill one More than a few miles in change that two four days of hunting. Not trying to discourage you from going just keeping things real. I passed a 4x4 bull on my first trip to Colorado. I have since been told by many that you never pass a legal bull in Colorado. Also get in the best shape you can. Living in Georgia and hunting 10-12k in elevation will wear you out but it’s the good feeling wore out.

 

[Swampdonkey47]

I don’t know what your schedule is like. For me first rifle doesn’t work in Colorado. I did it one time before. Basically first rifle starts on Saturday and ends on Wednesday. So if your vacation runs m-f like mine that doesn’t work well. The great thing about Colorado is you can go every year. If you do ever fly out it’s cheaper to fly into Denver and rentals are cheaper in Denver vs Montana or Wyoming. There are no stupid laws like Wyoming has preventing you from hunting a wilderness area without a guide. It’s about the closest with exception to states like Kentucky which are long shots but I enter their elk lotto every year. Gunnison Colorado is a 24 hour drive from Georgia. Three guys can drive that straight through but otherwise it takes two days on each end of your week. All of a sudden a nine day hunt turns into 5. If you kill one More than a few miles in change that two four days of hunting. Not trying to discourage you from going just keeping things real. I passed a 4x4 bull on my first trip to Colorado. I have since been told by many that you never pass a legal bull in Colorado. Also get in the best shape you can. Living in Georgia and hunting 10-12k in elevation will wear you out but it’s the good feeling wore out.

I'm not opposed to flying just dislike all the airport shuffle, never done it with gear so don't know how much of a hassle it is. I like roadtrips and seeing the country along the way . As long as I plan for it I could be out there as long as I would need for taking time off work. I've never been out elk hunting so if it's a small bull a big one or a cow would make my day. My invite that is near Gunnison/ Hotchkiss area but when searching it looked like it's a draw area for bulls ,and that whole plan is on hold till further notice from my friend.
No discouragement taken . I'd gladly take all advice from anyone more experienced. Where in Georgia are you ?

 

[EricS]

I’m in Fitzgerald. I hunted the Gunnison/Crested Butte area of the West Elk Wilderness. It’s a draw area for first rifle then otc for second rifle. If you find an area you are interested in check the draw odds even when you want otc. Some of the draw areas you won’t need points to draw in. The only thing I didn’t like about the area I hunted was it was as thick as the woods here. Not many places to sit and glass. It just wasn’t what I had in mind for a hunt out west. I definitely won’t do another backpack way in and hunt in Colorado. I may make camp a mile off the road but no seriously deep camp. You just get closer to the horse hunters. It’s easier to get away from the crowd going a mile through difficult terrain than five miles on an established trail. I’m not even close to an expert. I have only actually hunted them once and hiked around them a few times. Coming from Georgia it was a learning experience.

 

[GCTerpfan]

Does anyone think an elk hunt could be done this cheap?http://www.rmef.org/TheHunt/Before/PlanforGrand.aspx

I went in 2004. Back then an elk tag was $500 (I think), we had 15 guys going and when it was all said and done, food, gas , everything, it cost each man a little over $400.

I also drew a mule deer tag that year and bought some gear so I spent another $600-$700 on that but, if you already had the gear you needed and like to eat a lot of PB&J you could probably still come close to that cost.

Forgot to mention that was a two week trip.

 

[EricS]

I'm not opposed to flying just dislike all the airport shuffle, never done it with gear so don't know how much of a hassle it is. I like roadtrips and seeing the country along the way . As long as I plan for it I could be out there as long as I would need for taking time off work. I've never been out elk hunting so if it's a small bull a big one or a cow would make my day. My invite that is near Gunnison/ Hotchkiss area but when searching it looked like it's a draw area for bulls ,and that whole plan is on hold till further notice from my friend.
No discouragement taken . I'd gladly take all advice from anyone more experienced. Where in Georgia are you ?

On the airport shuffle it isn’t that bad. If you fly you have to plan for time on the tail end of the trip to freeze meat. It has to be frozen to take it as checked baggage and you don’t want to pay to ship it overnight. That’s why I passed on my small bull because it would have been as much work to get him off the mountain and frozen on the airplane as a big bull. If you can get two more guys you can trust and drive straight through only stopping for gas and brakes it’s worth driving. I went solo and gas would have cost more than a plane ticket but I still had to rent a vehicle once there. It was mainly a time issue that had me flying.

 

[jbogg]

The gon forum may help you, I found one of my best elk partners on there. We met hiking with weighted packs at Sawnee park in Cumming.

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I hike Sawnee Mountain a couple of times a week with a weighted pack to keep my legs in shape for hunting the north Georgia mountains. Couple of weeks ago I bumped into another crazy guy doing the same thing. His name was Larry and he says he goes out west every year. In the several years I’ve been hiking those trails I don’t bump into many other hunters. Is Larry your buddy?

 

[mattsteg]

On the airport shuffle it isn’t that bad. If you fly you have to plan for time on the tail end of the trip to freeze meat. It has to be frozen to take it as checked baggage and you don’t want to pay to ship it overnight. That’s why I passed on my small bull because it would have been as much work to get him off the mountain and frozen on the airplane as a big bull. If you can get two more guys you can trust and drive straight through only stopping for gas and brakes it’s worth driving. I went solo and gas would have cost more than a plane ticket but I still had to rent a vehicle once there. It was mainly a time issue that had me flying.

What are the logistics of acquiring freezer space to freeze meat?

 

[Deltahuntr]

I went in 2004. Back then an elk tag was $500 (I think), we had 15 guys going and when it was all said and done, food, gas , everything, it cost each man a little over $400.

I also drew a mule deer tag that year and bought some gear so I spent another $600-$700 on that but, if you already had the gear you needed and like to eat a lot of PB&J you could probably still come close to that cost.

Forgot to mention that was a two week trip.

That’s reassuring to hear the +\- $1000 trip was possible before the tag price increase. Considering the cost of tags, fewer hunters, etc $1500 sounds possible. We have most of the gear so it’s just the actual trip cost. Two full weeks is a stretch but I would imagine you need 10 days with driving time to make the trip worthwhile.

 

[Scoutman]

I hike Sawnee Mountain a couple of times a week with a weighted pack to keep my legs in shape for hunting the north Georgia mountains. Couple of weeks ago I bumped into another crazy guy doing the same thing. His name was Larry and he says he goes out west every year. In the several years I’ve been hiking those trails I don’t bump into many other hunters. Is Larry your buddy?

No, dont know Larry, my buddy is Matt. There is also a sheep hunter named Shane who hikes out there also. I used to run there 5 days a week, oh to be 50 again,lol.

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[Swampdonkey47]

On the airport shuffle it isn’t that bad. If you fly you have to plan for time on the tail end of the trip to freeze meat. It has to be frozen to take it as checked baggage and you don’t want to pay to ship it overnight. That’s why I passed on my small bull because it would have been as much work to get him off the mountain and frozen on the airplane as a big bull. If you can get two more guys you can trust and drive straight through only stopping for gas and brakes it’s worth driving. I went solo and gas would have cost more than a plane ticket but I still had to rent a vehicle once there. It was mainly a time issue that had me flying.

That is good to know about the flying , I travel with my work gear and they always rummage through it so it just has me wondering if they would with archery equipment and mess something up. I've done a trip to Colorado like that in an old van before that could barely do 75 downhill and made some great time .

 

[Scoutman]

That’s reassuring to hear the +\- $1000 trip was possible before the tag price increase. Considering the cost of tags, fewer hunters, etc $1500 sounds possible. We have most of the gear so it’s just the actual trip cost. Two full weeks is a stretch but I would imagine you need 10 days with driving time to make the trip worthwhile.

Not sure about fewer hunters, they changed preference point rules last year, thousands of more people in pool= point creep increase. I have 16 points for mule deer in my unit and will take 20+ now. Saving points is making less since unless you are young, 30 and younger. Don't discount OTC units, big elk there, just not behind every tree, we see 340+ plus bulls every year, just don't tag em.

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