Elk - Rifle vs Bow odds on public .

[Northwoods]

I’ve possessed two elk tags in my life. I’m 1-1 with a rifle and 0-1 with a bow. A bull elk with a bow is a huge goal of mine.

 

[Bigjav]

Public land elk are harder than hell to kill no mater what season!! Based on your question it sounds like you have very few if any points so drawing a good tag will be difficult if not close to impossible, which would lead you to OTC units likely in CO or ID. I’ve never hunted ID but have heard it similar to CO. I’ve hunted CO and skunked on all occasions both in archery and rifle. You’re right as soon as they get any pressure whatsoever they’re on private in either. Also be prepared to eat a few tags tags trying to figure them out in a unit which could get expensive by the time you get one on the ground.

 

[Ben Long]

I remember back in the 1980s Dwight Schuh made a ruckus stating that an archer who knew what he was doing hunting the rut had a better chance of tagging a mature bull than a rifle hunter hunting post-rut. A few years ago I saw stats that, at least in Idaho, bow season kill success percentages were higher than rifle success. The rut is that kind of equalizer. Plus, as others have said, hunting the rut is a fine time. So I would say if you are competent with a bow, there's reason not to hunt elk with it. yes, the learning curve is steep, but its steep no matter what.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Everything is a trade-off and you can only beat the learning curve with luck once in a while. Good hunters regularly have shot opportunities on elk, regardless of their weapon choice. I'd just pick the style of hunt and terrain you like and roll with it.

 

[isu22andy]

I honestly think killing a mature whitetail in Iowa is easier with a bow during the rut then a mature buck during the gun seasons here . The only upset to that would be if you have a large farm built for deer hunting with box blinds and food plots but for the average joe Iowa whietail rut hunt with a bow is your best odds. I do have 3-4 points in Wyoming but im debating burning those points on my first trip elk hunting ...

 

[kwyeewyk]

If you have 3 points you could almost certainly draw a general tag and be able to hunt archery and rifle and either sex. You wouldn't waste any points that way. If you have 4 points, you'll be burning an extra point on the general most likely (not a huge deal, but something to consider). You could go for a cow tag and give yourself a chance to build some confidence with elk, and then try to draw a limited quota tag in future years, or just burn some extra points on the general. You won't lose your points on a cow tag. I haven't researched any of the mid-point range LQ tags since I'm content with general tags so don't have much advice to offer there. But if you're worried about burning your points on your first elk hunt, I'd concentrate on cows in Wyoming rather than an OTC Colorado tag. The success rate is generally much higher and gives you a chance to start to learn Wyoming, which can be quite different than Colorado. The Type 6 tags are tough to get in the general units in the SE part of WY, so might not work out to scout a general unit while hunting cows, but you could get some basic experience with a cow tag in another area.

I personally wouldn't be able to resist going for the general with 3-4 points, but I also grew up in the mountains and have many years of experience with elk, so I understand your hesitancy. You definitely don't want to underestimate the mountains or the difficulty of hauling out an elk by yourself. A cow is about half the work in that department, but still quite a pile of work, especially if you're above 8000 feet.

Either way you go, having points in your pocket for Wyoming is a good place to be.

 

[Bowhuntrben]

I’d burn the points and go. Building points just gets you in the mindset of trying to catch units. If I were to start over I wouldn’t build points any more than necessary

 

[Maxxis31]

There are lots of areas where you could go without burning your points. Personally, if it were me I would build a couple more points and go do some OTC elk hunting and get familiar with hunting them. Finding elk is a very small piece of the puzzle that has to layout to harvest one with a bow. I have a good friend who has come out 4 years since 2015 from PA to hunt and has yet to fill his tag, we did Sept. Rifle in ID the first year and OTC Archery in OR every other year, there are just somethings that experience teaches you, when to move, when to hold still, when to draw your bow and what you can get away within close proximity to elk, my buddy from PA is a phenomenal whitetail hunter and is very successful, a lot of the tendencies that lead to him being successful in the whitetail woods actually hinder him in the elk woods. He has been in bow range every year of an elk though and had lots of encounters with bulls bugling in his face. He's always jacked to come back and finally fill that tag.

My buddy and I that live out here and hunt every year have a 50% success rate since starting bow hunting for elk.

I wouldn't worry about private, everyone saying the elk end up on the private after being hunted too close to the private in easy to hunt low land country. There are a lot of places to hunt elk where they would have to run for hours on end to make it to private ground. ID, OR and CO all have OTC elk tags you can get every year, CO has the highest numbers in the US followed by OR, ID has the steepest nastiest terrain and you will see way fewer people there than the other two states. You can be in great hunting in OR just a couple hours from the BOI airport in ID and even quicker flying into CO, it really doesn't matter which state you chose, elk are in elk country and that will be similar in whichever state you chose. They like, water, food, and security, sometimes that's right next to the interstate in a steep nasty hole and sometimes it's 5 miles back, they go where they are consistently not bothered and all their needs are met.