Planning first hunt...research and questions.

[gooseblitz]

One of my main questions is Archery, Muzzleloader or Rifle for first hunt.

I will ramble some here as I have been searching and reading for a while. Things to consider....
Never hunted the west.
I am an avid archery hunter.
I am 51 and workout 4+ times per week
I have 3 HS aged sons.
I have an uncle who is Colorado resident that hunts rifle elk with less success than would like if I lived there 30 years myself.
Experience is important to me I want to see the big Mts. I really would like to be there when they are bugling.
Originally I though OTC Archery do my homework (I am incessant about that) go early mid-sept and bust my ass to see if I can find Elk. Would I have much better chance of success if I go Muzzleloader draw? Or OTC Rifle. Originally I was looking early season before weather got bad...bad weather effecting a hunt planned for a year scares me. On the fence about taking my sons one or more than one. Not sure they crave the back country adventure hunt like dad and the very very real prospect of coming him empty handed would not help their appreciation of the experience.
I have a couple buddies (one who hunted Montana more than 10 years ago rifle for elk) that would likely go along if I decide not to take sons.

If I archery hunt I'd go 5 days and success would be hearing/seeing Elk.
If I go Rifle or Muzzleloader would I have that much more chance to connect on a bull?

 

[AGPank]

5 days never seems like enough for an archery hunt, unless it was guided. Especially if you factor in packing out/processing time.

I hunt private land on an area I grew up hunting and I try to get 2 weeks off and that gives 8-10 days to hunt.




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[wytx]

Hunt Wyoming for better success and less pressure, general areas are not bad.
I agree that more days are needed for an archery hunt.

 

[gooseblitz]

Hunt Wyoming for better success and less pressure, general areas are not bad.
I agree that more days are needed for an archery hunt.

I haven't looked into other states yet. I will add that to my research!

 

[Indian Summer]

If you have 3 sons and want them to join you some day you should get started in the right place. If you come home beat to pieces with no elk a couple times it could be tough to get them excited about it.

It will take you 3 days to shake the elevation adjustment. 10 days is minimum if you care about killing an elk. Even if you’re just looking to have fun getting your feet wet you have to hunt for 7.

 

[jeremyjensen13185]

Nice man


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[87TT]

Hard to get someone to get the "fire" for hunting. I would spend at least as much time learning about elk hunting as where to hunt them. Better chance of seeing elk during archery IMO. Even at that 5 days probably won't be enough. Do any of the boys archery hunt now? I only really started elk hunting all of 4 years ago. I saw elk all over in the spring and summer but hunted hard in September for two weeks without seeing a hair. I got lucky and got a tip from an old cowboy on where he saw some elk. I got on them and was hooked for life even though no elk were harmed. Just find and area with elk, learn to call and go get schooled.

 

[elkstabber]

You've got an interesting dilemma. You say you are an avid archery hunter. I will assume that you've had success with archery deer in PA (your profile pic looks like a gun kill). How would you feel about archery hunting public land two or three states away and killing a buck on the first day? That would be about your odds of killing an elk with only 5 days in an OTC elk area.

Since you're undecided on the weapon and undecided on who to take with you maybe you should just go solo. You will definitely see the big mountains, hopefully not too far away. If you acclimate well, are physically fit, and are a proficient backpack camper you should definitely hear/see elk in 5 days during archery season. Which is what you said you would consider success. If you are staying in a hotel and dayhunting each day you are less likely to have success, at least until you've done it a few years.

Flying out and renting a car for that short of a time period isn't too expensive. Flying backpack hunting gear isn't too hard to do. So you should be able to do it.

Then, if you find the success that you were looking for you could decide who to bring next time.

 

[gooseblitz]

You've got an interesting dilemma. You say you are an avid archery hunter. I will assume that you've had success with archery deer in PA (your profile pic looks like a gun kill). How would you feel about archery hunting public land two or three states away and killing a buck on the first day? That would be about your odds of killing an elk with only 5 days in an OTC elk area.

Since you're undecided on the weapon and undecided on who to take with you maybe you should just go solo. You will definitely see the big mountains, hopefully not too far away. If you acclimate well, are physically fit, and are a proficient backpack camper you should definitely hear/see elk in 5 days during archery season. Which is what you said you would consider success. If you are staying in a hotel and dayhunting each day you are less likely to have success, at least until you've done it a few years.

Flying out and renting a car for that short of a time period isn't too expensive. Flying backpack hunting gear isn't too hard to do. So you should be able to do it.

Then, if you find the success that you were looking for you could decide who to bring next time.

I would be driving in and backpacking. I lean towards solo or one of my buddies if they want to come along. I am aware of the odds and think I should not bring my boys until I have a better grasp. Seeing and hearing them would be worth the trip for sure. I enjoy the hard work sometimes the pay off is the time spent in the outdoors. Anything more a bonus. I could swing 7-10 or even 14 days if needed.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

I have one hunt to call experience. We arrived two days before the 5 day 1st rifle season, with two full days to scout. We were going to have to cut one day of the season out for travel.

I got lucky at the 11th hour. With soooo many variables, including terrain, body acclimatization and then weather, you’ll want more than 5 days.

We saw elk all but 2 days. Drew the tag with no points. I enjoy archery hunting as well, but a rifle evens the odds up a bit. Snow and single to negative digit temps helped some too but took a toll on the old carcass. And I was only 31 at the time

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[Crowmangler]

Respectfully, here's my recommendation: do a guided hunt. Fly out & typically the guide will arrange for travel to & from the airport. The logistics of just getting there & back with your gear can be overwhelming the first time. Focus on enjoying the experience, not worrying about how every detail will be executed. Learn from the people who have it down to a science. Learn what stuff you really need & what you don't, how your body handles the terrain & elevation. More than likely you're gonna figure out after the first day or 2 that you have way too much clothes & gear.
You'll have a much better experience this way instead of getting your teeth kicked in the whole time.
Even better, take one of the boys with you so they too can share the experience & now you have a reason to go back at least 2 more years!
Consider doing a 2-1 guided hunt. Who knows, you both might be successful. Some guides will even let him tag along as a non hunter for a small fee.
Considering the time & $$ you'll be investing try rifle the first time. You can have a legitimate chance to harvest getting to within 400 yards instead of 40.
Whatever you decide, just GO! I wish I'd started 20 years ago.
Good luck!

 

[Beendare]

Devils advocate here;

1) Can you hump a 50# pack full speed up the steepest hill in your area for 3 hours straight?

FYI, thats about the kind of shape a guy needs to be in to hunt western mountains 8,000' plus effectively. Literally a guy can't be in too good of shape to hunt elk. Yes, many- including myself- are not in that kind of shape....and that first 12 miler with 6,000' in elevation change going up over 11,500' tears me up.

There is a lot of threads like this here you can search that have all kinds of good advice for new to western elk hunting guys.....the best advice is; Do it!

.....

 

[gooseblitz]

Performing physically at elevation is a concern for sure. No way to tell. I do train with weighted pack twice a week. Not at elevation and not with the size of a hill/mt I will encounter. Highest I have been is a week skiing at Whistler BC. That tops our at 7160' I believe. Skiing hard run after run I noticed no difference but that isn't carry gear on my back and that isn't 10 or 11K feet. All that said I will be ready as I can be from a physical end.

I don't see me using a guide. I did take a guided trip to Africa and take my son and wife. The experience was incredible and perfect but part of what I like about hunting is doing it myself whether my tag gets filled or not. I researched that for a couple years to make sure I made the right choices. Only thing I would chance is how many animals I got mounted!
I really appreciate all the info, opinions and experience shared from forum members. I feel like I should hunt both Archery and Rifle! Either way doing all the homework and planning and executing a hunt will be my obsession for a while....thanks for any info you all contribute.

 

[87TT]

I used to live and work construction at 7000 ft and 10,000 ft and up was way different, It takes a couple of days or more to acclimate. The hunting part is easy, the hard part is if you kill one. That's where the work starts. You don't have to be miles and miles from a road to hunt. And if you do go far, remember if you're by yourself, how many trips it will take to get one out. 5 miles in could be 40 to 50 out.
Not trying to scare you but just a heads up from a 66 year old solo hunter.

 

[gooseblitz]

yeah reading about elevation and the struggles of weather are a concern for sure when it comes to pack out...if I get lucky. I can travel to places where I do business at will. I may look to start adding project work in Colorado just so I can make a few trips in off season. I will usually be in town for 3 days and just a few hour long meetings....rest of the time is my own.

 

[wytx]

We have areas you can hunt at high altitude but no real elevation differences to deal with while hunting or packing.

 

[gooseblitz]

We have areas you can hunt at high altitude but no real elevation differences to deal with while hunting or packing.

Specific to Wyoming? I know I need to look at the steep and deep terrain when narrowing my E-scouting focus. Although I will suffer the hard hike to have better chances.

 

[Lefty26]

I don't have as much experience as most on here but I can give you my perspective from my first trip west....

I live about an hour from you (MD) and I'm 42 and in decent shape. Decided in 2018 I wanted to elk hunt in the fall of 2019. Really wanted to archery hunt but my one buddy talked me into rifle for our first time out. Started training on the app trail 2 months prior to the trip. Did long day hikes with 50lb packs and a few overnighters to test all my camping gear. Elevation out west was my biggest concern so the plan was to get out there early and take it easy for the first few days.

Drove straight through from MD to WY, 28 hour ride. Drank as much water as our bodies could handle on the way out. First day in the mtns a little warm up scouting hike turned into 14 miles round trip, so much for taking it easy!!! Went from 7k to over 10k on that hike and it kicked my butt big time. But the next day I felt like a million bucks and spent the rest of the trips running around the mtns with no issues. I took 2 weeks off work but was only gone for 10 days, we would have stayed longer but a big snow storm chased us out of the back country a little early.

Biggest thing I learned is elk are where you find them, not where you think they will be. None of the spots I e-scouted ahead of time had elk or elk sign. Ended up finding 50-75 elk in an unlikely area about a mile from a trail head. I ended up killing a bull right around 2 miles from the truck. With 2 guys it took us 2 trips to get him out, but that was with some really heavy packs, 90-100lbs each (weighed with scale at truck). Realistically if I was solo I would have probably broken that up to 5 or 6 trips.

Biggest advice is gather up your gear and go!!! I wish I would have started this adventure 10 years ago. Once you get out there you will want to get back every chance you can get. And chasing whitetails wont be the same either. I will be somewhere out west with my bow this fall and every fall thereafter as long my body will let me.

 

[PhlyanPan]

I've been struggling with this myself. I'm not as avid of a bow hunter as you. Only killed 2 whitetails over 10 years. I just don't find the time to do it that much. I sorta landed on muzzleloader as a good option but maybe I should rethink that.

 

[CBECK61]

I would look at doing a drop camp somewhere. I think this is a great value to get started as it will eliminate a lot of gear that you may or may not have. You also won't need to worry about packing elk out of the back country as most drop camps either include the pack out or will do it for an up charge. You can still do it unguided but it will add to your hunt time and you will get started in a decent area. This also makes flying much more of an option because you won't need nearly as much gear. Personally I would look at the archery hunt for three reason. Weather will typically be much better, bugling bulls are awesome, and you will see more elk. The OTC archery tags across the west are better units than the OTC rifle hunts IMO. I personally think the 3rd week of Sept is your best bet in most states. This year most states the rut hadn't taken off yet until the forth week even into Oct.