General or Archery Elk Location Decision

[BigJoeXD]

Hey guys,

So, I’m at a bit of a loss right now. Pretty new to the western hunting. Myself and a few buddies had been planning our first MT elk hunt for months, general rifle elk tags. One friend’s family member was going to guide for us, however this past week two buddies backed out (week before apps due). So with no connection for a spot or pseudo guide anymore, it’s back to the drawing board for me and one other friend who will be accompanying me on this adventure.

I’ve been looking, reading, researching, and trying to make sense of regulations; everything I can trying to determine where would best but could use some other opinions or helpful direction. I’m still considering applying for MT, or just buying OTC in CO, ID, or UT. At this point I was planning for rifle but wouldn’t be opposed to archery either. I’m to looking to get the best experience possible, wanting to be in the elk, and away from other hunters. Not necessarily looking for trophies, I’ll be more than happy with any branch antlered bull that presents itself, if I even get the opportunity. This first year is more about the experience. From what I’ve been able to read it sounds like MT or UT might be best, a little less traffic and better size potential than CO for general units. Still considering a drop camp but we’re primarily focused on backpacking in to cut overall costs down.

Not asking for honey holes but some opinions or general direction would be extremely helpful! Probably joining GoHunt tonight to keep researching units, odds, etc. MT app is due Thursday...

 

[idahohikker]

MT, CO, and ID would likely be a good opportunity. Just don't pick Utah because their general totally sucks. I'm from Idaho and living in Utah temporarily. Many people I know from Utah won't hunt it and that's the consensus here that it's bad.

With some research and learning about elk habitat and behaviors, you should be able to find a place that elk could be. It'll take a few years of experience in an area before your odds of harvest start rising to decent levels. Read everything you can here and from Randy Newberg.

 

[CorbLand]

I agree with the above. I would highly suggest Idaho, Montana or Colorado over Utah. The general season in Utah gets crowded, especially for rifle. Idaho has some good season dates and you could do archery in the middle of September.

 

[2ski]

I don't know anything about the draw odds or quality of elk hunt/amount of elk but look at the Snowies in MT. I've only hiked and camped there in the summer. No roads. So you probably won't see a ton of people. Check it out on Google earth. It's an area that kind of intrigued me. But it's not a huge area so it shouldn't be too daunting your first time.

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[timekiller13]

Apply to wherever you think you will spend most of your time hunting. If you think you will be returning to Montana year after year, then apply there, build points and hunt on a general tag every year. If you think you are going to hunt Colorado every year, then build points there and take advantage of the dozens and dozens of OTC units. Idaho doesn't have a points system. The only way I would apply there is if I knew I was going to hunt OTC if I didnt draw a LE tag. Utah OTC should not even be on your radar. Some quick research shows its a crap shoot at best.

 

[FlyGuy]

Big_JoeXD,

Sorry to hear that your buddies left you in a tough spot, but glad to see you aren't throwing in the towel. The decision you are trying to make can absolutely feel overwhelming when you are starting out and I can relate. My group didn't draw WY and with only a few days to go we are spinning out trying to make a group decision between the next 3 states who's applications overlap. In the end, this will most likely turn out to be a very good thing for you to have experienced, b/c it forces you into the role of actively researching and deciding your own hunt, vs your previous plan of relying on the experience if others and tagging along.

goHUNT is a great research tool, as is Rokslide so you are already ahead of the game.

I have only hunted WY and CO, so what I'm about to tell you should be fact checked before you make any key decisions, but in my limited research into MT it looks to me like the most all of the general units overlap pretty dang well with Grizzly territory. I had some filters on when I saw this (I think >25% public land and archery, but can't swear to it). That may not matter to you, but as 1st time hunters trying to backpack in, I would encourage you to look for units w/o Grizzly. There are going to be a million things floating around in your head trying to talk you off the mountain, but that one could be a pretty powerful one to have nagging at you that might just have you back at the truck 3 days earlier than planned. I'm doing my 1st hunt in Grizzly territory in May, and it just brings with it a whole different level of complexity that I would discourage 1st timers from doing.

Again, double check what I said before completely writing off a MT general tag though. No grizzly bears in CO. ID does have them, but I've never looked at hunting there so they may have plenty of OTC or easy draw units outside of bear country (like WY).

If you've already ruled out UT, then you factor out Griz units, now you've eliminated probably 65% of the field. Focus your research around the remaining 35% and it gets a little easier and a little less overwhelming. Drive time should also be an important consideration, especially as this could be a unit you go back to year after year, so that could knock out another 30-50% of the remaining units.

Once you have it narrowed down that far, I would just go with a "gut" feel. There is really no OTC unit out there that is perfect. If it has a lot of elk, then it has a lot of hunters. If it has very few hunters, then it has very few elk. Just pick one that you like, even if you don't know why, and go. Don't over think it. At that point, the difference between arrowing a bull or not even seeing an elk will have very little to do with picking the "right" unit; and much more to do with how much you put into your training, elk knowledge, calling, gear... (oh, and some luck).

To sum all this up, don't worry so much about finding a unit with "lots of elk". With very few exceptions that are fairly easy to rule out, they pretty much all have elk. Instead, I would encourage you to look for a unit that is the best fit for YOU. It should fit your current level of ability and provide the experience you are looking for. If you have that then you'll have more fun, you'll hunt harder and you will feel more confident. Then all you need is a little luck!

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[maninthemaze]

Don't forget, with a Montana general elk tag, you are allowed to hunt archery and if you aren't successful, come back and hunt rifle. In Colorado it's one or the other, not both.

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[austinphps]

You can get an Antlerless archery tag for CO; and then come back and get the OTC rifle tag - which is bull only.
This is how I did it the past year

 

[austinphps]

Not concerned with rifle; get the Either sex archery tag

 

[tommymo]

First timer, I would strongly consider a unit that is not overly high in elevation. If you have never been out West be prepared for HOW BIG IT IS!

 

[Mi_fiveo]

My elk hunting buddy pussed out on me this year. I decided I’m still going anyway. I put in for Montana deer/elk combo and we shall see what happens. I opted to keep the deer tag and surrender the elk tag if I don’t draw the limited unit I put in for. Will be much easier to hunt deer alone anyway. If I end up drawing the tag I’ll make it work somehow. Sometimes you just have to get after it. Good luck.


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[sneaky]

There's plenty of general areas in Montana that aren't in grizzly country. It's not like there's one behind every tree.

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[BigJoeXD]

Thanks guys for all the replies. Even though it was my top choice, I opted not to apply for MT. I’ll get there some day. I’m going to CO in Fall of ‘19 so I figured maybe best to go to CO this year to learn as much as I can and if time allows hunt more than one unit. It’s also closer to me so the shortened drive time helps. Now to narrow down to a couple decent CO OTC units...