How long did you hunt before you went for an elk?

[ORJoe]

Hunted deer for 5 years never seeing anything. (Bought three "deer" rifles in that time)
"If I'm just going to hike a rifle around the woods, I might as well go to some different woods. NE Oregon looks nice. Deer tags are controlled, but there's an OTC elk tag for spikes only"
Buy an elk rifle.
Go out elk hunting in NE Oregon.
Shoot a cougar.
"Hey I like this place, even the consolation prizes are great!"

 

[sodaksooner]

Shot my first muley buck at 12 in 1979. Didn't hunt elk until 2003 at 36 years old. We had elk in SD but hard to get a tag and low population. My dad shot a spike when I was in HS and we thought it was the coolest thing.

 

[Boone-In-Wall]

30+ years before I went elk hunting.

 

[tntrker]

40yrs before I got to travel out West for an elk..

 

[Danny Hoey]

Started deer hunting at 12. First elk hunt was probably when I was 23 or 23. Didn't get serious until 29.

 

[5MilesBack]

I can’t imagine hearing a bugle at 14.

The first bugles that I can remember hearing was when I was 2, and we were camping up on the Upper Green in WY in September of '67. My dad was a flyfisherman, but I knew exactly what I wanted to be after hearing those bugles. Elk was the first big game animal I went after as soon as I could get a tag. I had a deer tag that year too, but elk were my passion........and still are. Started out with a rifle, but switched to archery and haven't looked back. There's nothing like September elk.

 

[MallardSX2]

I started hunting as a very young kid (legally age 12) and went elk hunting for the first time when I was 18 and could finally afford the overpriced tag. It was $475 at that point, and I was making $9.25/hour and gas cost as much as it does now, and my job was a half hour from my house. I ate Romen the entire time I was in Colorado until I killed my elk. Then I ate 2 pounds of steak a day. lol

 

[Crowmangler]

started hunting anything I could around 12 years old... friend & I applied a few times in MT back in mid 90's but never drew a tag & kinda just gave up on trying. Job, kids, life happened & finally went in 2018 & now go every year. I really regret missing out on those 20ish years

 

[InkedElkSlayer]

I stuck a WT doe with my bow at 12. About a month later during rifle season I shot a mulie and antelope in E MT. Later that fall, I killed my first elk.

12 years old was far from my first “hunt” though. I grew up following my parents and older brother through the woods.

 

[doc holiday13]

hunted whitetail rabbit and squirrel since I was 15. I hunt more animals and i'm almost 40 now. I'll be doing my first Elk hunt next year

 

[WillS24]

Went to the bob Marshall when I was 16 on a horseback hunt

 

[mncoolbeans]

I hunted for 35 years before I did the Elk Hunt thing! Glad I did it, was one of my most memorable hunts in my life. My Father and I had always talked about going out west to do an Elk Hunt but never pulled the trigger on it. He passed away and the very next year I did it by myself. He was with me though on that hunt.

 

[coyote_out]

I think you just need to go and do it. There are no criteria that control access to the experience.

 

[timekiller13]

I was 31 when I went on my first elk hunt.

Been hunting whitetails in the east since I was 13.

 

[black dawg]

First time i went hunting about 7 years old, saw a 6pt, a spike and a cow all die in a matter of about 2 minutes.
First time hunting at 12 was for elk. Had several chances to kill a bull, but lacking experience and still hunting dark timber didnt work out the best. Killed one the next year though.

hunting was always for elk. If a deer happened to be close enough to the truck we would kill them, unless there were elk close by.

 

[rideold]

First big game hunt I went on was for elk. Didn't connect but I was hooked.

 

[Lowedown]

My first year hunting big game at age 14 I was blessed to take a 4pt Muley and a 6pt bull, both with a model 99 300 savage built in 1941. It had a 2 1/2 power Lyman Alaskan scope on it.
I have since taken bulls with a bow, and some cows with my rifle. They are big critters and a lot of work so be prepared. There is nothing like the experience of being close to them and talking with them Get a tag, find a mentor if you can, prepare your fitness, shooting, calling, and gear, and get in the elk woods.

 

[lastsamurai00]

first animal i downed was an elk.

 

[hereinaz]

My first tag and hunt was for cow elk as a late onset hunter. She tasted so good.

Took a few years to go on a bull hunt.

 

[LongWayAround]

I grew up reading my dad's Bugle magazines and dreaming of hunting elk. I was 25 when I finally put it together myself and killed one that first year. Since then, I have been fortunate to put one in the freezer every year.

Now it's time to plan for next year already.