The Old Man and the Elk

Flatlander14

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Feb 3, 2018
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I know this post will come across like I am looking for some undeserved advice to some, but my hope is not to get anything except some general guidance.

My father and I have been elk hunting the last 2 years, last season in Montana's Beaverhead Deer Lodge for late rifle and this season in the Nez Perce in Idaho during the first week of October. He was hunting one other time in the 90's around Craig, CO with a large group. He is 68 years old and has not taken an elk yet, nor have I for the record but that is meaningless to me as I have many more years of climbing ahead of me hopefully. The last 2 seasons I have made it my goal to get him a bull, a legal one is the only requirement, score and age is meaningless to us. It is about the adventure and the time together, and he would tell you nothing different, but I have a goal of getting him one before he becomes too old for these mountain hunts. He is 68 and great health, we hiked anywhere from 7-13 miles a day this season in the Selway-Bitteroot, he did great and I imagine he has a few more years of climbing in him, but there was an obvious difference in speed and pace from last year to this one. We currently have 1 point each in CO and WY, and he only rifle hunts at this point in his life. Any suggestions on where to focus my efforts to get his tag punched? Are there areas that may not be as "rough" as he gets older. The Selway was some thick and steep country, and he handled it well. Just not sure if he will next year. We either go complete DIY or a semi-guided deal, we like to hunt on our own as it is a challenge to learn the lay of the land and animals and makes for a more rewarding experience. Being from NJ it isn't possible to do scouting trips, I completely rely on Google earth, OnX and the internet for all of my research. Thanks in advance for any tips, I know elk hunting isn't easy and there is no magic trick or spot, which is what makes so great to me. Just looking for a nudge in the right direction, Thanks.
 
I'd recommend doing a drop camp. You get your camp packed in, get to stay in a wall tent, they tell you where the elk are, and they pack it out for you. I'd start doing some research on reputable outfitters. There are some great ones, good ones, and terrible ones. Do a ton of research and then call the ones you are interested in after hunting season slows down. Right now most are extremely busy. Tell them your situation. They should have a list of references of both being successful and not being successful. I'd start researching outfitters in areas that you can with one point in both WY and CO. Some of the great ones are already booked for 2019, so doing your research thoroughly and somewhat quickly may get your foot in the door before others. Best of luck!
 
In terms of research, I'm sure other states do this too but I know that Colorado has some nice data reports that could be a good place to start. I only hunt rifle seasons too, but I'm strongly considering trying to get into Muzzleloader. In CO, the regs are surprisingly friendly to muzzle hunters and it seems to me to be one of the best ways to fill a tag.

The fill rates seem to bear this out, but if he isn't too old of a dog to learn a new trick (muzzle), then that could be a good way to go.

https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/Statistics-Elk.aspx

The link above is for the general statistics page. I'd focus on population estimates but especially on the "estimated harvest" for tag fill rates.
 
Is he interested in archery at all? A lot easier, in my opinion, to find them during archery season, plus there are warmer temps, closer encounters, and you get to experience the rut, which is something I will never grow tired of. If he would be interested in that, it also opens up some more areas of opportunity for him. Just a thought.
 
Is he interested in archery at all? A lot easier, in my opinion, to find them during archery season, plus there are warmer temps, closer encounters, and you get to experience the rut, which is something I will never grow tired of. If he would be interested in that, it also opens up some more areas of opportunity for him. Just a thought.

That's the beauty of the muzzle season in CO for this type of hunter, IMO. At least this year, it ran 9/8-916, which overlaps the archery season. You can hit the rut and have many of those same types of experiences as archery, but with a little more range and less skill necessary.
 
There's a lot of first rifle tags in CO that you can get with no or one point that can be good hunts, generally the elk are rutting pretty hard up to opening day, get there a couple days early and it makes the scouting way easier, have a good opening day plan and it can be as good as OTC areas get...

do some research on the terrain you want to hunt and apply accordingly, there are plenty of areas where you would be hunting at 11,000ft right up to and above timberline, and also options where you would be hunting low elevation oak.
 
Thanks guys, I'll be looking in to muzzy seasons. Not sure if I can convince him to take up bow hunting again as it has been 20+ years since he set it down. I agree on the drop camp type hunts, not having to worry about him packing an elk out is a huge plus. This past season we did a semi-guided hunt from an outfitters base camp, we would come up with a plan the evening before and go over topo maps and aerials then go off on our own the next day. It was great, the elk just had different plans.
 

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