Aaronpaul14
Well-Known Member
I joined rokslide a few weeks ago and have been reading a lot! Tons of good information! I am in need of boots and a decent hauling pack. Was eyeing a few boots on there in the classifieds.
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Looking for advice on First ElK trip 2021
- Thread starter Aaronpaul14
- Start date
I joined rokslide a few weeks ago and have been reading a lot! Tons of good information! I am in need of boots and a decent hauling pack. Was eyeing a few boots on there in the classifieds.
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- Oct 2, 2020
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If you are from Kansas, then Colorado is a good OTC hunt. Things have changed here over the last 10 years and it’s crowded but there is still very good hunting. If you are OTC then I tell people to stay mobile. If you have GoHunt then grab several spots in different units. When I hunt OTC I could very well drive 1000 miles looking for the active elk. Train and get in shape but come with knowing that the mountain is going to kick your ass. I will not give you any spots but if you have any questions about areas you are researching, give me a holler. I’m no pro but spend about 40 days a year chasing elk.
Oh, first season rifle is a draw but there usually is some rut activity for the second estrus.
Boots and Packs are super important but don’t get in over your head. Rokslide is good info but sometimes those guys are a little overwhelming. There are a ton of budget options for gear. Camofire has had Kifaru frames and packs for a nice discount and people will start upgrading with tax returns. You will start finding deals soon. Good luck
Oh, first season rifle is a draw but there usually is some rut activity for the second estrus.
Boots and Packs are super important but don’t get in over your head. Rokslide is good info but sometimes those guys are a little overwhelming. There are a ton of budget options for gear. Camofire has had Kifaru frames and packs for a nice discount and people will start upgrading with tax returns. You will start finding deals soon. Good luck
Aaronpaul14
Well-Known Member
Just an update: we drew 1st rifle Colorado tags. My CC just got hit! We are going out the end of June for 10 days to scout and get familiar with the unit!
Yep the county lake is the best hill around. You can do the whole trail around in 3hr or so. We only hunted a few hours and got smoked out when we tried to go. Heres what I learned. You need to red line yourself not just lose some weight if your not use to the altitude. We were only 6k and it sure aint KS!
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Congrats on the tag!
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I am planning on a CO OTC DIY hunt this fall. Spent last week in CO hiking around the front range with new boots and pack (filled with rocks) to get an idea of how bad I am going to hurt. I've done some mtn hiking in the past but never climbed with a loaded pack. It hurt. Mostly struggled with the breathing. Happy with boots and pack. Only brought one trekking pole and wished I had brought both. Descending in rocky terrain is harder than climbing.
Scouting went really well. Found this great spot with lots of fresh elk sign in Estes Park. Just need to set up a ground blind in the Sinclair gas station and weight for traffic to clear.
Scouting went really well. Found this great spot with lots of fresh elk sign in Estes Park. Just need to set up a ground blind in the Sinclair gas station and weight for traffic to clear.
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Ummm, hunting Sampson. That usually goes well. Plus you get laws named after your trophy kill. It’s an all around win.
Aaronpaul14
Well-Known Member
nice!!! Maybe hang a saddle from a light pole!Luckily the unit we drew I have a co worker that is going otc during Archery and his friends family has been hunting the unit during Muzzleloader for a decade. So we got a few pointers of areas. Then they will be hunting it mid-late Sept and hopefully can give us some more in season tips.
Our plan is to spend 4-5 days in that area and then a few days looking for some lower elevation spots in case of severe weather.
Good luck on your trip!!
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d2ma4c
New Member
@Aaronpaul14 So, what did you learn? Any tips or pointers for those that are in your situation last year, today?
I go every September, DIY (New Mexico the last 2 years). If you're interested in New Mexico, and don't mind spending a little extra, look at buying a unit wide landowner tag. Unit 53 landowner tags aren't bad. The terrain is horrendous in 53 though (that's why you can get landowner tags with a reasonable chance), if you're in good shape you can outwork a lot of people in that Unit and kill something. We are not going back there this year so I would share some scouting insight if you end up there.
You're first year you will pack way too much crap and yes, good lightweight frame packs are worth the money.
I'm (most likely) doing a draw unit in CO this year that I have hunted before when it was an OTC unit.
You're first year you will pack way too much crap and yes, good lightweight frame packs are worth the money.
I'm (most likely) doing a draw unit in CO this year that I have hunted before when it was an OTC unit.
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I just took Onx's MasterClass as an elite member with Huntin' Fool and Elk Shape last week going over all of the states and the differences relative to OTC, etc. I'm mostly interested in CO or OR as I have relatives that live in both states but I am absolutely clueless. Not something I can plan this year but in the next couple of years I'm really wanting to do this!!
gjs4
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Hall17
Well-Known Member
I will first admit I know nothing about Elk hunting. I have a friend who lives in Redstone which makes my life SUPER easy in planning and what I take with me. I fly since I don't take much more than boots and clothing. I learned a few things
#1 Good boots were worth the money. First year my feet were destroyed and it wasn't fun. Like not fun AT ALL
#2 Good packs make a big difference. First year hauling meat sucked with the cheapo pack he gave me. Packing meat out (depending on where you are) always sucks but when its done you look back and think that was def. worth it. While you are in it, its not fun at least for me LOL. He also never takes me to the easy places, he makes me work for my rewards.
#3 Dress much lighter than you think you need to. I got dressed the first day and he basically laughed at me and was like nope take all that off. You might be freezing when we get out of the truck but you'll be good in about 60 seconds of walking. But, take nice lightweight packable layers
#4 I workout every single day except weekends. No matter how much I train when I get there it always kicks my butt. The altitude will get you no matter what but seriously train with a weighted pack for months prior to going. I quickly realized I thought I was in good shape but the guys who live there and do it are athletes and there is no joking around about that. Again, I have not hunted some of these nice ranches he shows me where its much flatter and you can drive a truck to pick up your animal. Two miles in here in Pennsylvania is a joke compared to two miles in CO where I've hunted.
There are clearly guys on here that know a lot more than me but as a 'flatlander' those are my takeaways. I hope the both of you have great success and find it rewarding. Take a moment often to look around at the beauty and smile. You are doing something with a buddy that a lot of guys don't do or simply can't do. Be happy in the moment and enjoy the adventure!
#1 Good boots were worth the money. First year my feet were destroyed and it wasn't fun. Like not fun AT ALL
#2 Good packs make a big difference. First year hauling meat sucked with the cheapo pack he gave me. Packing meat out (depending on where you are) always sucks but when its done you look back and think that was def. worth it. While you are in it, its not fun at least for me LOL. He also never takes me to the easy places, he makes me work for my rewards.
#3 Dress much lighter than you think you need to. I got dressed the first day and he basically laughed at me and was like nope take all that off. You might be freezing when we get out of the truck but you'll be good in about 60 seconds of walking. But, take nice lightweight packable layers
#4 I workout every single day except weekends. No matter how much I train when I get there it always kicks my butt. The altitude will get you no matter what but seriously train with a weighted pack for months prior to going. I quickly realized I thought I was in good shape but the guys who live there and do it are athletes and there is no joking around about that. Again, I have not hunted some of these nice ranches he shows me where its much flatter and you can drive a truck to pick up your animal. Two miles in here in Pennsylvania is a joke compared to two miles in CO where I've hunted.
There are clearly guys on here that know a lot more than me but as a 'flatlander' those are my takeaways. I hope the both of you have great success and find it rewarding. Take a moment often to look around at the beauty and smile. You are doing something with a buddy that a lot of guys don't do or simply can't do. Be happy in the moment and enjoy the adventure!
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It was actually quite good but there's so much information they have to pack in an hour that your head kind of spins. Huntin' Fool specializes in helping with that so eventually you have a plan to be able to hunt Elk every year. My problem is I'm not sure what to consider to budget for it in my planning. Those guys were very knowledgeable though from what I could tell. They said CO is the place to go if you want to be assured of a branch antlered bull and they do offer OTC but they keep changing WMU's that are on and off the OTC list so that gets a little tedious to manage that I would think. A couple of states have initial costs that are way higher up front but you pretty much get a hunt like NM and I think NV too. Utah may be in that category as well. I don't know it just makes my head spin but that's why I've slowly, gradually started to look into this stuff so I can begin the whole learning process. My plan is to start actually hunting in the next couple of years but to begin the planning, escouting etc. now. I think.
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My problem is I'm not sure if I want to do DIY whitetail road trips or Elk. Before the 2019 season, I had never ever hunted out of state or gone on a guided hunt or anything. I did hunt PA for the first time in 2019 (archery only) on nearby state game lands and it was a fun experience, but I didn't connect. The last two seasons I was after a monster on the private land I hunt near my home and he was killed this last November so its made me really start to look into optimizing more buck hunting opportunities but I am not getting any younger and I don't want to spend the money on a guided hunt and know that I need to start planning for something like this sooner rather than later. @Hall17 I think you hit the nail right on the head from what I can gather. It both intimidates and infatuates me. I do pushups every day and have a pretty physical lifestyle (except at work) as I have an office job but I can't stand going to the gym. I would rather go on hikes and hunts and work out that way.
I have no significant data to back this up. Just a lot of thought, wasted time and money, and my own experience:
You're going to spend a minimum of about 10,000.00 to kill your first elk. Minimum.
You have many different ways to write the check, but you're writing the check.
You can spend hundreds of hours trying to analyze the problem from your couch on the internet. Time you could be spending working earning money, spending time with family, chores, etc. Or you can spend dozens of hours, plus travel costs, to go any place you might hunt to scout, build a network, plan logistics, etc. No matter how you cut it, you will spend thousands of dollars in time or actual dollars doing this.
You can spend hundreds of hours getting in good enough shape to be terrible at elk hunting. Or you can spend hundreds of hours on the mountain being out of shape while being terrible at elk hunting. If you're going to do it on your own, these are the only two options. Either way, you'll be spending thousands of dollars in time or actual dollars doing this.
I could go on and on about all the gear, time, effort, thought, etc. that pile up to go kill an elk. But just those two examples above are going to be at least several thousands dollars in real costs to you. Then tack on the others.
You can of course ignore these realities and convince yourself that the only real costs are the tags, new sitka suit, light tent, and dehydrated meals. The rest is "fun" and nowhere near as consuming as I've described.
Or, You might be in the very small percentage of folks who are really smart, focused, physically fit, and capable of going execute an extremely dynamic mission with zero knowledge of the topic, in 10% of the time it takes everyone else.
Or, You could admit to yourself you really don't want to kill an elk as bad as you think you do, or for the reasons you tell yourself. And if you're honest with yourself, you can talk yourself into paying a guide roughly the same amount of money to short circuit all that comes with a DIY hunt.
That's really the options:
Be brilliant (you ain't asking interweb strangers how to elk hunt.)
Lie to yourself.
Be honest about your actual desires, and pay a guide.
Or, go in eyes wide open. Think about how much time and effort it takes you to earn 10,000.00 doing your day job. Then recognize that you're going to be way, way, way less efficient at earning 10,000.00 of "elk hunting". Then make a decision if that time/money investment is going to be worth it to you tomorrow. Then ask if it will still be worth it in a month from now. 6month from now. A year from now. Ten years from now. When you retire. When you die.
I can honestly say, after devoting thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours, and significant mental and emotional investment, and bearing significant opportunity costs giving up other options, and killing an elk - I like elk hunting about 3/4 as much as I thought I would before I took the first major steps towards doing it. Enough to make it worth it. Enough to look at that investment, which is now a sunk cost, and decide to continue devoting more resources to killing a second elk.
And I can look back and say that if I didn't want to kill another one after all of this, the better choice would have been to pay a guide from go.
So if you view it as a bucket list item, pay a guide. If you're right, you will have saved a ridiculous amount of time and effort to check the box. If you're wrong, you will start your DIY elk hunting journey on much firmer footing, and save a bunch of time and money in the process.
If you're sure you want to go elk hunting, but aren't sure if it would be a one time thing, or something you'll want to continue doing, then consider all I've said above.
You're going to spend a minimum of about 10,000.00 to kill your first elk. Minimum.
You have many different ways to write the check, but you're writing the check.
You can spend hundreds of hours trying to analyze the problem from your couch on the internet. Time you could be spending working earning money, spending time with family, chores, etc. Or you can spend dozens of hours, plus travel costs, to go any place you might hunt to scout, build a network, plan logistics, etc. No matter how you cut it, you will spend thousands of dollars in time or actual dollars doing this.
You can spend hundreds of hours getting in good enough shape to be terrible at elk hunting. Or you can spend hundreds of hours on the mountain being out of shape while being terrible at elk hunting. If you're going to do it on your own, these are the only two options. Either way, you'll be spending thousands of dollars in time or actual dollars doing this.
I could go on and on about all the gear, time, effort, thought, etc. that pile up to go kill an elk. But just those two examples above are going to be at least several thousands dollars in real costs to you. Then tack on the others.
You can of course ignore these realities and convince yourself that the only real costs are the tags, new sitka suit, light tent, and dehydrated meals. The rest is "fun" and nowhere near as consuming as I've described.
Or, You might be in the very small percentage of folks who are really smart, focused, physically fit, and capable of going execute an extremely dynamic mission with zero knowledge of the topic, in 10% of the time it takes everyone else.
Or, You could admit to yourself you really don't want to kill an elk as bad as you think you do, or for the reasons you tell yourself. And if you're honest with yourself, you can talk yourself into paying a guide roughly the same amount of money to short circuit all that comes with a DIY hunt.
That's really the options:
Be brilliant (you ain't asking interweb strangers how to elk hunt.)
Lie to yourself.
Be honest about your actual desires, and pay a guide.
Or, go in eyes wide open. Think about how much time and effort it takes you to earn 10,000.00 doing your day job. Then recognize that you're going to be way, way, way less efficient at earning 10,000.00 of "elk hunting". Then make a decision if that time/money investment is going to be worth it to you tomorrow. Then ask if it will still be worth it in a month from now. 6month from now. A year from now. Ten years from now. When you retire. When you die.
I can honestly say, after devoting thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours, and significant mental and emotional investment, and bearing significant opportunity costs giving up other options, and killing an elk - I like elk hunting about 3/4 as much as I thought I would before I took the first major steps towards doing it. Enough to make it worth it. Enough to look at that investment, which is now a sunk cost, and decide to continue devoting more resources to killing a second elk.
And I can look back and say that if I didn't want to kill another one after all of this, the better choice would have been to pay a guide from go.
So if you view it as a bucket list item, pay a guide. If you're right, you will have saved a ridiculous amount of time and effort to check the box. If you're wrong, you will start your DIY elk hunting journey on much firmer footing, and save a bunch of time and money in the process.
If you're sure you want to go elk hunting, but aren't sure if it would be a one time thing, or something you'll want to continue doing, then consider all I've said above.
Those are all solid points and match my experience exactly. I wore long underwear on day one my first year, it was 28 degrees when I crawled out of the tent. It was 65 degrees by 11AM and it was brutal climbing a mountain at 9000 feet with all the extra clothes and gear I didn't need. Sometimes I don't even carry my single stack 9mm now. I also bring 2 packs, one ready to go for spike camps away from day base camp and a day pack that I can toss on my frame if I am hunting from base camp.
It has always been DIY for myself and my group. My first (and only) elk so far was on my third trip.
kyler1945 has a lot of good points but I have to point out that going on a guided doesn't guarantee anything. You might get an elk, you might get a great elk 101 class out of it without killing an elk or worst case scenario you go with the wrong outfit and don't an education or an elk.
Yup. Speaking very generally. My assumption is that a fella would do some homework and pick a guide based on what they want out of the trip, and how sure that guide makes them feel they'll get it. Nothing is guaranteed for sure!
And you can say the same thing about "go DIY you'll learn HOW to elk hunt". I can confidently say half the dudes who started the hunting trip I go on with have learned absolutely nothing. Some people are terrible at learning or don't want to. Ten years of 1000.00 spent on a tag, thousands of dollars/time in hours of vacation week taken, all the gear to go on the trip could easily amount to the same investment as an unsuccessful guide trip, and similar results. But the time savings of a guide will win every time.
I only break that down so wordily because it's not like whitetail hunting. You can spend about 3 hours on the internet and in a pawn shop, and a few hundred bucks, and have what you need to go suck at whitetail hunting. And there's likely tens of thousands of acres within a couple hours of your house to go suck at it. The investment to head west as a flatlander to chase elk on a fragmented elevated landscape in 2022 is significant.
I don't say it to scare or discourage people. I say it to hopefully encourage folks to find the angle that puts them in front. Find a buddy who's got it licked. Buy a place there. Pay a guide. Whatever can increase your odds before you ever step foot on the mountain. If you go in blind, deaf and dumb, you better like hiking and sleeping on the ground!
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@kyler1945 and others who have done it now and have had some success, besides the logistics of licensing, tags, locations, access, pressure, fitness and densities, what specific things would you say are the most important things to concentrate or fixate about to up your odds? I’m thinking once you identify a decent area with a lot of the issues above factored out, what’s left with the equation? I would think once you have the area for the most part to concentrate on, most likely identifying those OTC states for opportunities every other year or so…. Learning that decent area and staying with it is probably a better overall investment of your time correct? Or what things surprised you the most or that you may have not considered until you were actually there engaged in the hunt?