New member from Missouri

[TrowtSlayer]

I’m new to hunt talk, I am from Missouri and am just getting into western hunting. I have made a couple of trips to Wyoming and a few to Montana in the last 10 years for Muley’s and Pronghorn. I have been watching and listening for a lot of years but decided to join this morning after my wife pulled a NM mule deer tag in unit 49. Definitely still waiting to pull out first elk tag.

Being from Missouri we chase whitetails and turkeys for the most part but western game has me hooked.

I appreciate any advice I can get along the way and am happy to share the hard lessons I have learned.

 

[rebjfan]

Welcome from Mississippi.
I have made several elk hunts in Colorado and several bear hunts in Arkansas. If I can help you at all with any elk hunting advice I will do all that I can.

 

[homers]

Welcome

 

[Elkhunter24]

Welcome from PA!

 

[LopeHunter]

Welcome and I always suggest going on a guided hunt when is the first time hunting a species.

Pronghorn is easier than whitetail hunting, IMHO. Mule Deer is tougher depending on the terrain and hunting pressure. Elk is a lot tougher IMHO. I prefer pronghorn hunting as I have never had to spend three days carrying a pronghorn out of a canyon three miles from the trailhead which adds up to about 15 miles of packing in total. Actually, wild turkey is a lot more fun when it comes to what is needed after the kill.

Check references and you should have a huge assist up the learning curve of chasing a new species. It is said 20% of the hunters kill 80% of the elk. I have not checked lately but out West I think the Bull elk/Any Sex elk tags run about 20% harvest rates overall. Obviously rifle hunts which are not OTC may have higher harvest rates than archery OTC hunts. Elk hunting in big country has very little in common with white-tail hunting in farm country where is difficult to get two miles from a roadway. I know because I grew up in Mid-MO and hunted a lot. Often would return to a soft bed, warm food and a shower each night of deer season. I had access to private property so rarely battled the crowds though the deer moved between neighboring properties so if you passed up a shot you might hear a boom a few minutes later.

I love being in Big Country far from the crowds with a tag where are not many tags issued. Scenic views. Not much litter. Not much chance run into jackwads hogging camp spots or illegally driving quads up and down the ridges. Is good for the soul.

 

[pabearhunter]

Welcome aboard.

 

[duckhunt]

Welcome from Iowa

 

[shale]

Welcome from Texas

 

[TrowtSlayer]

Welcome and I always suggest going on a guided hunt when is the first time hunting a species.

Pronghorn is easier than whitetail hunting, IMHO. Mule Deer is tougher depending on the terrain and hunting pressure. Elk is a lot tougher IMHO. I prefer pronghorn hunting as I have never had to spend three days carrying a pronghorn out of a canyon three miles from the trailhead which adds up to about 15 miles of packing in total. Actually, wild turkey is a lot more fun when it comes to what is needed after the kill.

Check references and you should have a huge assist up the learning curve of chasing a new species. It is said 20% of the hunters kill 80% of the elk. I have not checked lately but out West I think the Bull elk/Any Sex elk tags run about 20% harvest rates overall. Obviously rifle hunts which are not OTC may have higher harvest rates than archery OTC hunts. Elk hunting in big country has very little in common with white-tail hunting in farm country where is difficult to get two miles from a roadway. I know because I grew up in Mid-MO and hunted a lot. Often would return to a soft bed, warm food and a shower each night of deer season. I had access to private property so rarely battled the crowds though the deer moved between neighboring properties so if you passed up a shot you might hear a boom a few minutes later.

I love being in Big Country far from the crowds with a tag where are not many tags issued. Scenic views. Not much litter. Not much chance run into jackwads hogging camp spots or illegally driving quads up and down the ridges. Is good for the soul.

I have chased the Muleys in Montana a few times now with pretty mixed results. I feel like I learned a lot about the plains mule deer in Montana but I am probably back to the drawing board on New Mexico higher elevation Mule deer. I have definitely considered the idea that I need to go guided or semi guided when it comes to elk.

We still have applications out in Colorado and Wyoming for this year so I guess we will see. I just don’t know that a $7-10k hunt is in the cards for us right now.

I would definitely echo the pronghorn being easier. I am batting 1000 on filling pronghorn tags. I think of them as the gateway drug to western hunting. They are a lot of fun and action packed.

I echo your thoughts on whitetail hunting, I am very fortunate to have access to great private land that is well managed, but I cant get the wide-open spaces with expansive terrain and miles of roadless country out of my head. We have even adapted the family Tahoe for sleeping on the backroads. Can't wait to get back out there.

 

[Rzrbk]

Welcome from NM.