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Why We Hunt Elk

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Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Swede » 01 03, 2020 •  [Post 1]

I suppose every one of us has our own reason for being an elk hunter and the most are great. I think the guy that believes he or she will lower their grocery bill is delusional, if they are going to operate legally. Also, I like big bulls as much as the next guy, but the bonehead that thinks getting a big bull will make them a hero or something special is nuts. You do not need to kill elk every year to be a part of the fraternity of people known as elk hunters.
What you need to do is stay off the sidelines, and in the action as often as you reasonably can. Don't brag on and on about the one elk you got, but look with anticipation to the next. I believe for most elk hunters it is more of a challenge and a spiritual renewal while being out in some of the most incredible land God made, that keeps us going back every chance we get. I think that is why, at this time of year we yearn for September to return and a time to get away for the routine of work, and the common place things of life. The call of the wild is sure screaming loudly in my mind right now. I just looked at my new 2020 calendar and September is an awfully long time away.
What is your elk hunting plan for the future and what are you doing now to make it that special event you are looking forward too?
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Tigger » 01 03, 2020 •  [Post 2]

Well stated. It is in my blood. They say men think about sex every 7 seconds. So combined with 2 out of 7 for elk hunting, that only leaves 4 out of 7 seconds for the rest of my life!! :o

Close your eyes. Can you smell the wet aspen leaves? Can you hear the gentle breeze through the pines? Can you see the beautiful array of colors from a lookout over a canyon? Did you just hear that far off bugle? I can and I cannot wait to experience it again.
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby saddlesore » 01 03, 2020 •  [Post 3]

I wish I knew. livestock, feed, tack, stock trailer , camper ,truck big enough to pull it all ,rifle,ammo, licenses, gear on and on and on. Sometimes sitting on top of mountain in a blinding snow storm freezing my butt off, I think about it then more so than usual. Try to convince myself I am having fun. It feels like some thing I have to do.

First year, in about 1966, we killed three bulls in about 5 minutes. Worked all day processing them and getting the heads back to camp. Another two days packing them on two big percherons down to the trail head. It took me two years to convince myself to go again only to have a repeat performance. I lived in NM for ten years and I didn't draw a tag every year,so I missed a few seasons. I moved to Colorado in January, 1974 and have not missed a season since.The last ten years, with being able to buy two elk tags for two different seasons, I have gone on two 12 day hunts each year. That is close to 60 hunts for me and I still wonder why.
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Lefty » 01 03, 2020 •  [Post 4]

Swede elk are my passion in September.
Why do I hunt elk, September as a kid in Minnesota was about squirrel hunting. For 20 year Septembers was ATv riding and hunting grouse and great dates to to spend with my wife.
It is so easy to enjoy September elk in the woods,.. and a we bit of adrenaline as a bull bugles closer,
And any day the silence is broken by a bugle it sends shivers up and down my spine

Tigger wrote: So combined with 2 out of 7 for elk hunting, that only leaves 4 out of 7 seconds for the rest of my life!! :o .

As you get older there is more time to think about elk :lol:
It feels like some thing I have to do.
I fall into that category also
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby 7mmfan » 01 04, 2020 •  [Post 5]

I honestly can't say why I elk hunt still. I started elk hunting when I was 15, didn't harvest my first until close to 20 and then not again until close to 30. 2 elk in 15 years. In that time though I saw so many amazing things, and had so many amazing experiences. For me, the time in the woods and the things I saw and experienced solidified my need to be there. By being there every year, and surrounding myself with others that are passionate about the hunt, I've learned and become a more proficient hunter, killing 4 elk in 5 years.

My wife and I have talked about the cost associated with elk and deer hunting, and how we could purchase so much more meat for that money. However, it's the quality that means more to me. I'm happy to keep my son eating wild game and fish I catch instead of 80/20 ground beef and tilapia. We're all better for it.

All of those things combined will keep me in the elk woods every year, doing my best to bring that meat home.
I hunt therefore I am. I fish therefore I lie.
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Indian Summer » 01 05, 2020 •  [Post 6]

Swede I could write a book on this subject. We all have similarities but also different things motivate different people. Proof that it is a noteworthy subject lies in the fact that for years the last article in the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Bugle magazine was titled “Good Hunting” by Dan Crockett. I would skip the entire magazine and flip straight to the back and read that article first. Dan’s perspectives on the subject were of why we hunt are so profound and spot on that his writings would have you taking a look in the mirror possibly realizing things about yourself and hunters in general that never crossed your mind.

To me there are a few short statements that I think hold true for most hunters. They don’t necessarily pertain specifically to elk hunting. The primary reason we hunt is for fun! Fun can be defined differently by individuals. Look at what a mountain hunter calls fun! Sleep deprivation followed by pushing ourselves to the limits of both physical and mental perseverance. Sore muscles, aching bones and the occasional injury. Not exactly the idea of fun in lots of people’s book and that’s why it’s not for everyone. I have friends and family who think that the greatest joy in life is to walk around in funny looking clothes chasing a little white ball until they can roll it into a little hole in the ground with a really expensive club. They apparently think that golf is fun but I shake my head at them... as they do at me and you. To each his own right!

I think it’s safe to assume that most human beings like mountains. Some look at pictures of them and see them on tv and comment on how beautiful they are. Some are inspired enough to actually take a trip to go see them in the form of a vacation to Yellowstone or the like. They might even get out of their car and take a little hike and enjoy the smell of mountain country. Others who are a little more adventurous and enjoy a little more primitive lifestyle enjoy a thing called camping. I find that to be MUCH more enjoyable than the golf thing and campers and hunters seem to have a bit more in common than people who prefer grass to be manicured to an even height of 1 inch where roughing it means their balls land in a manmade pile of sand. Lol

Then there are those of us who enjoy completely immersing themselves in the mountains regardless of the hardships. Not for money. Not for the meat that they have a 20% chance of taking home at about $150 per pound. Not to impress anyone else. Just to be there in a place they love.

Some of us are goal oriented. That’d be me. Achieving a goal means having a plan. I love the planning aspect of a good elk hunt. No plan is perfect. Whoever wins the super bowl this year will have lost a few along the way. Every game has different circumstances. Different challenges to overcome. For that reason planning is a perpetual thing. I sit there and eat elk while looking at elk on the wall as I plan my next elk hunt. I would not be exaggerating if I told you that I work on my elk hunting plans EVERY SINGLE DAY!

I’ve been working on a mule deer plan for about a year now that I might do in 2021. Not just dreaming about it either. Looking over maps and sat images. In about 2 weeks I’m driving over to Ohio to talk to a guy that has guided the area I intend to hunt. In the end if I achieve my goal my prehunt efforts will have been as much of a factor in my success as my actual hunting efforts. I have a business composing and selling plans to other hunters and to me their success is extremely rewarding because in great part it’s due to my obsessive planning. That aspect of elk hunting truly makes it a year round thing for me. A way of life.

I don’t really think there’s a hero factor when it comes to any kind of hunting. In my opinion it’s harder to kill a big whitetail buck than a bull elk. Some people think killing a bull elk is easier to kill and carry off of a mountain than say.... carrying around a bag of clubs and getting a hole in one! Some hunters will just say wow that guy sure is lucky. I do believe that there is a bit of an aspect of respect. Young hunters respect older ones and fellow hunters who know what it takes to be consistent respect each other. I don’t really have any heroes but there are certainly lots of people I have a great respect for in the world of hunting.

Other than that I cannot deny that like lots of other hunters including our Native American Indians and the mountain men of yesteryear I am a bone collector. I love a nice set of dark elk antlers with ivory tips! If opossums had horns like that and lived in high mountain places I might be an opossum hunter! :lol:
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Lefty » 01 05, 2020 •  [Post 7]

Well written Joe

7mm, My wife hasn't complained about the cost of getting fish or game. She has reminded me how much gas, or decoys or how little meat is in the freezer.

My father in law grew up in a house starting at age ten, all the meat he had to kill it or catch it.

As a working man he said he was would no longer eat game. As a cattleman it was only beef.
My wife grew up making nice catches of fish and deer with lots of horn. They gave it all away.
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Elkhunttoo » 01 05, 2020 •  [Post 8]

And all of this time I thought it was to take a nap on a mountain in September ;)
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby >>>---WW----> » 01 06, 2020 •  [Post 9]

My hunting days are pretty much over. The knees and shoulders just don't work like they used too. :cry: But I used to hunt elk almost exclusively. Mainly because I could call them in. I always said if I couldn't call them, I wouldn't bother hunting them. There is just something special about talking to elk and beating them at their own game on their own turf.
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby saddlesore » 01 06, 2020 •  [Post 10]

>>>---WW----> wrote:My hunting days are pretty much over. The knees and shoulders just don't work like they used too. :cry: But I used to hunt elk almost exclusively. Mainly because I could call them in. I always said if I couldn't call them, I wouldn't bother hunting them. There is just something special about talking to elk and beating them at their own game on their own turf.


I'm not too far behind you Bill
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Magic » 01 10, 2020 •  [Post 11]

My first Elk hunt was in 1973 when I was 30 years old. Since that hunt I have made many, most without a kill, but that has never been the motivation. My hunts now are accompanying or being accompanied by my Son. We now alternate hunting and "guiding" and we both have guided the other to a bull kill. It doesn't get any better than that.

I am now 77 years old, recovering from Total Knee Replacement surgery and will have Rotator Cuff surgery as soon as it can be scheduled, but we plan on being in Colorado in October. I know that I stated here on this forum a few years ago that I would never Elk hunt again.....but I lied.

Why We Hunt Elk? That question is impossible to answer to a non hunter, but you guys know the answer. ;)
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Indian Summer » 01 11, 2020 •  [Post 12]

Maybe this is the answer!
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby saddlesore » 01 11, 2020 •  [Post 13]

Magic wrote:My first Elk hunt was in 1973 when I was 30 years old. Since that hunt I have made many, most without a kill, but that has never been the motivation. My hunts now are accompanying or being accompanied by my Son. We now alternate hunting and "guiding" and we both have guided the other to a bull kill. It doesn't get any better than that.

I am now 77 years old, recovering from Total Knee Replacement surgery and will have Rotator Cuff surgery as soon as it can be scheduled, but we plan on being in Colorado in October. I know that I stated here on this forum a few years ago that I would never Elk hunt again.....but I lied.

Why We Hunt Elk? That question is impossible to answer to a non hunter, but you guys know the answer. ;)


My first elk hunt was in 1966 . I wish I could hunt with my son, but it wasn't meant to be I guess.

Hope it s not your right shoulder, or you won't be the shooter this fall, or you have some thing with a brake on it. Shoulder surgery might slow you down. I am 1 year behind you and I also thought two years ago was my last hunt. This fall I will hopefully be doing a ML hunt if I draw, a crossbow archery hunt ,and maybe a late elk rifle hunt. I will probably be shoeing my mule sonly2 feet a day whereas I use to do two mules a day. Though as the saying goes: When I die , I want to slide into home plate thinking it was a helluva ride, not laying in some hospital bed drooling and wearing diapers
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Magic » 01 13, 2020 •  [Post 14]

saddlesore wrote: Hope it s not your right shoulder, or you won't be the shooter this fall

Yes, it is my right shoulder but this year my Son will be the hunter and I will be the "guide". I have an appointment with the shoulder surgeon on the 23rd to see what is next.

Thankfully my Total Knee Replacement surgery on November 18th was a complete success and I was discharged this past Friday with no limitations nor restrictions. Amazing!!
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby ishy » 01 22, 2020 •  [Post 15]

Magic you should watch "The Bugler" series on youtube. He shot a bull with a mouth tab this year. I remember Pete Shepley (PSE) doing it years ago too. Not sure what they use but it is doable with one arm. Sure with 8 months head start you could make it happen.

I have asked myself this a lot over the years, trying to give perspective to loved ones that just don't get it. I always say I put God and family first...they have interpreted some of my choices as hunting might be above both. I vividly remember at 14 years old scouting for my first rifle hunt. We stepped out of the rig at sunrise in a LE unit in Utah and the canyon was going crazy with bugles and antlers crashing. It's been 30 years since then and I haven't been the same since witnessing that majesty that morning, it was beyond anything else I had or would yet experience in my life. I don't even care if I have a bow in hand (first choice obviously) or just a camera, I'm just driven to be around elk especially in September. My family has had it's share of difficulties including loosing my only son to Epilepsy. I went to a grief camp for families that have lost children and many there lost any desire to do anything after their loss. I only made it two weeks and I was back in the woods trying to find some solace. I don't have the literary ability to express what elk hunting has given me. Even on a cold Jan day I can get on WT and feel a connection with this great group that gets it!
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Elkduds » 01 23, 2020 •  [Post 16]

>>>---WW----> wrote:My hunting days are pretty much over. The knees and shoulders just don't work like they used too. :cry: But I used to hunt elk almost exclusively. Mainly because I could call them in. I always said if I couldn't call them, I wouldn't bother hunting them. There is just something special about talking to elk and beating them at their own game on their own turf.

Sorry to hear it. You have made a difference in my elk hunting and I appreciate it. After facing the realities of what a solo senior hunter could face after the shot last Nov, I decided to chase elk w a camera this fall.
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Swede » 01 23, 2020 •  [Post 17]

Elkduds, I certainly agree that WW has made a difference in my hunting and I pay attention when he writes as he is an authority on elk hunting. I wish I knew about how to stop an elk years before I first read it on WW post.
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby Magic » 01 23, 2020 •  [Post 18]

I had my appointment with the shoulder surgeon today. Yup probably a torn rotator cuff, but we won't know for sure until an MRI is done probably next week. I will then move forward with whatever it takes to get my right arm back to working again, but no matter what, my plans are still to be in Colorado in October.
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Re: Why We Hunt Elk

Postby jmorr » 01 24, 2020 •  [Post 19]

ishy wrote:
I have asked myself this a lot over the years, trying to give perspective to loved ones that just don't get it. I always say I put God and family first...they have interpreted some of my choices as hunting might be above both. I vividly remember at 14 years old scouting for my first rifle hunt. We stepped out of the rig at sunrise in a LE unit in Utah and the canyon was going crazy with bugles and antlers crashing. It's been 30 years since then and I haven't been the same since witnessing that majesty that morning, it was beyond anything else I had or would yet experience in my life. I don't even care if I have a bow in hand (first choice obviously) or just a camera, I'm just driven to be around elk especially in September. My family has had it's share of difficulties including loosing my only son to Epilepsy. I went to a grief camp for families that have lost children and many there lost any desire to do anything after their loss. I only made it two weeks and I was back in the woods trying to find some solace. I don't have the literary ability to express what elk hunting has given me. Even on a cold Jan day I can get on WT and feel a connection with this great group that gets it!


This is a great post. I had a similar experience, only later in life. My 4th year of dental school I drew a great unit as a resident in Nevada for archery bull elk. We had just moved to Washington state, we were largely broke, I had just started my career, etc. I had no business taking a week off to go elk hunting but somehow my wife let me go. After the first night of sleeping under the stars and falling asleep to the song of bugling bulls, followed by crashing antlers and screaming elk the next morning, I was hopelessly addicted. It's true, those that have never experienced this just don't get it, my wife included. I too try to put God and family first but at times it seems my obsession mixes the order of my priorities. My greatest desire is for my wife and kids to somehow experience a morning like I did in Nevada. I feel closer to God when I am in the woods. It would be incredible to have my family there as well..
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