Elk Hunting conundrum

[glennw89]

Looking to tap into the collective knowledge here again. I posted two weeks ago about the initial research I was doing for a non-resident elk hunt in the fall of 2021. Unfortunately, financial circumstances have meant that I've had to cancel that semester long leave from work (high school teacher). This was a pretty bitter pill as an elk hunt remains something I have wanted to pursue since I was a youngster (39 years old now).

Being a high school teacher I don't have the option of taking time off work in typical September, October, and November time frames. I would be able to hunt late summer till September 1 and again in late December till early January (my Christmas Holiday break).

I know the Roosevelt elk season in Washington State is open in late August and from what I know there are some southwestern states (Arizona I think) that offer late December hunts.

Any other options that folks are aware of?

I hunt with rifle, bow, and muzzleloader and would consider any of the three. Ideally I would be hunting bull elk, but trophy size is not a consideration to me. I'm perfectly at home in the backcountry so a more remote/physical hunt would be fine.

Thanks for any assistance in advance.

 

[Chester]

Negative on the Washington season, opens September 8 .

 

[Muskeez]

Late Season Cow elk in Wyoming? We did a cow hunt over Christmas/New Years break one time. Probably plenty of other cow seasons across the West that time of the year.

 

[Colorado kid]

Colorado archery elk opens August 25th. (At least this year it does) unlimited OTC either sex.

 

[Idhikker]

Yeah, basically early archery. Utah is another option there. Or late cow in many states.

 

[Yellowstoner]

Late cow depredation hunts in MT go until February in some areas.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Oregon opens in August.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Yeah best bet will be Arizona... maybe 1 or 2 units in NM
https://s3.amazonaws.com/azgfd-port...409/2018-pronghorn-and-elk-regulations_F4.pdf

Also private land cow elk hunts in MT and CO.

... and if you can’t make any of those happen, and you have the money... you could always hunt Texas, it would be on private land but they are considered exotics so there is no closed season.

 

[rtraverdavis]

I'm a teacher too, and I know how tough it can be. I take all of my yearly allotted personal time and usually some unpaid days to be able to hunt. But it's always worth it. Always. I'm not sure where in the country you'd be coming from, but if you were able to take five days, book-ended by a couple weekends, you could have a decent little chunk of time to hunt.

As said above, there are tons of late season cow hunts across the west that would coincide with your winter break. Late cow hunts are lots of fun. There are some good cow hunts in Oregon that run the length of Thanksgiving break. Try to match up the hunts you apply for with dates you will already have off. gohunt/insider makes finding hunt dates that will work for you really easy.

 

[glennw89]

I'm a teacher too, and I know how tough it can be. I take all of my yearly allotted personal time and usually some unpaid days to be able to hunt. But it's always worth it. Always. I'm not sure where in the country you'd be coming from, but if you were able to take five days, book-ended by a couple weekends, you could have a decent little chunk of time to hunt.

As said above, there are tons of late season cow hunts across the west that would coincide with your winter break. Late cow hunts are lots of fun. There are some good cow hunts in Oregon that run the length of Thanksgiving break. Try to match up the hunts you apply for with dates you will already have off. gohunt/insider makes finding hunt dates that will work for you really easy.

I'll be coming from Canada and in the province I work (Ontario) we don't have any personal days, etc. so I'm pretty fixed to the late summer or Christmas/New Year's time frame.

 

[LCH]

Do teachers never get sick for a week? No fall break?

But, if it must be during the dates you outlined above, there's always early archery like some folks pointed out. Good luck!


Edit: I see you're Canadian, which would take out Thanksgiving for you.

 

[Mountainguide]

Yep, there are a lot of cow hunts in Wyoming that go til the end of January, could be a good option for you to go over winter break

 

[el unit]

Career change maybe? The Elk Bug has infected me so severely that elk dictate where I live and work.

 

[Rdog]

Utah archery started August 18 this year and usually starts sometime around then every year. Tags don't sell out for archery so you can always get one every year. OTC any bull in Utah hunting might not be the best around but it gives you a few weeks to at least have the chance at chasing some bulls around. There is plenty of opportunity to backpack in somewhere and the nice thing is you don't have to worry much about crazy weather this time of year.

 

[PrairieHunter]

Cow hunt in Wyoming. Lots of good opportunities on HMA's, and walk in properties during your break in December.

And if you tag out early and want to hunt some more go chase a Mule Deer in Nebraska as all December is Muzzleloader season.

If you want to hunt bulls consider taking a couple days off work to make thanksgiving a 9 day break and hunt Montana.

 

[BAKPAKR]

You might want to check out the Idaho regulations. Idaho has some hunts that run through December 31, both general zone and controlled. Unfortunately for you, only a couple of those are either sex.

 

[lastlight]

New Mexico Units 5B, 28, 48, and 51 A and B all have December rifle or muzzy hunts. However, difficult to draw (around 12-20% odds for non resident depending on the unit).

 

[dirtclod Az.]

AZGF.GOV should get you some good info.Regs.do change from year to year.Keep the website open.Big bulls lurking...P>S take me with.

 

[glennw89]

Thanks everyone - some awesome info there. I've had some hope restored that an elk hunt (while not a rut hunt) could still be in my immediate future.

 

[805Bowhunter]

Thanks everyone - some awesome info there. I've had some hope restored that an elk hunt (while not a rut hunt) could still be in my immediate future.

I teach high school as well, albeit in California (dont freak out everyone...that doesnt mean I am helping spread communism). Im not sure how your contract works but I am able to hunt elk every year in the rut. I take between 5-7 days off each fall as we are given 10 sick days each year. I leave for wherever I am going on Friday night and depending on the state, try to be hunting by Saturday evening or Sunday morning. If its OTC, I typically hunt until successful or the following Saturday night, then marathon drive back to the house by Sunday night. If its a draw tag, which is not as often, I typically will work my days off to support a couple extra days off. No days off essentially for the rest of the year unless some type of emergency. PM me if you want more info. You can totally do it, its just different than how a lot of other people hunt. I get my one week to make it happen and thats it which I am ok with.