Newbie here

[bigbubba]

Hi all my name is Bubba and i'm from southern Missouri I'm 30 soon to be 31 and have hunted white tail,wild turkey and fished all my life never been on an Elk hunt,But my family is trying to get a hunt together for next fall.Will be Me my uncle and his 3 boys another nephew and my grandfather we are thinking wyoming but not chiseled in stone.Anybody got some suggestions?where to go?What do we need to do to prepare?BTW love this forum just found it today but i think i've read almost all of it so far

[AGCHAWK]

Welcome to MuleyMadness Bubba! Glad to have ya aboard.

Sorry, I'm not much help on the elk request. Hopefully someone here will be able to help ya out a bit though. Stick around, and if ya got any, post some pics. We have a Whitetail forum here on the site and love to see the successful Whitetail hunts also.

[AGCHAWK]

Also, there is a "MuleyMadness Roll Call" in the Mule Deer forum. If ya got a few minutes, please check it out and introduce yourself.

[bigbubba]

Thanks ACG i'll hunt up the roll call

[kinzysdad]

Welcome to the site. You'll have a great time here. I know I have.

Justin

[m gardner]

Welcome Bubba. If you want to hunt elk Colorado has the most animals and opportunities. They manage for highest yield not highest quality though. The best hunts in my opinion are the early bow hunts during the rut which is usually mid september. Most of the state is OTC (over the counter) so getting a tag is easy. The next best is the 4th season either sex hunts in mid november. It's all draw but not hard to get. Elk are extremely hard to hunt!! You need to be in great shape physically and mentally. They are smarter than whitetails and think nothing of putting 5 miles between you and them. I always encourage people to come hunt mule deer first so they have a chance of being sucessful and not get too beat up while they get a feel for the country. It's not like on the videos unless you like to watch Cameron Hanes from Eastman's suffer. Good luck.
Mark

[MuleyMadness]

to the Madness.

[ABert]

to the site and a new addiction. Once you come out west you will not want to hunt any where else!

As far as elk go, please do not go into it thinking it is like deer hunting. You will work your butt off just to get to the elk, in most cases. You do not need to carry a cannon to drop an elk like most do on the hunting shows. Try to get in shape before you come out, try to get a scouting trip or four before coming out, try to talk to the locals (lots of knowledge there).

Wyoming has plenty of elk, though Colorado has the most and tags are pretty liberal in most units. Toughest choice you have right now is choosing what unit in which state you want to hunt.

Check out the various states DOW websites to find out harvest rates by unit. Though most don't produce the results from the previous year until after application deadlines, previous years will give you an idea of where to hunt.

Though most folks on here don't use guides, I would recommend one for a first time elk hunter, unless you have a friend that can help you out. You will spend a few dollars on the hunt itself, a few more to learn how to hunt elk, IMHO, is a good investment. My hunting party has had a few first timers over the years in our camp. Unfortunately, most felt they needed no help as they had hunted whitetails for years in the east or south. So, they hunted on their own, declined any help, went home empty handed. They have never come back to hunt. The few that would listen to us and learn have come back and have had success.

Best advice, research, scout, ask lots of questions, scout, listen and learn, scout. This site is full of very knowledgable folks more than happy to help you out. Oh, and don't forget to scout!

[sneekeepete]

Bubba I'm sure you will pleanty of tips on where to go and how to plan so I will keep this short. Keep us posted on your plans though!

[Hiker]

bigbubba!