elk refuge

[patea]

i saw the elk refuge has hunts available by drawing near jackson hole. it says anyone with a valid elk license can apply. i was thinking about taking my son. is the hunting any good and which season would be the best. they have it broken down a week at a time from sept thru nov.

 

[440sixpack]

Never hunted it myself but I've seen lots of guys doing it and talked to them. looks like a clustershag to me.
















Stay thirsty my friends

 

[llamapacker]

Depends on your definition of success. Many do shoot a cow. It can be a bit of a circus, and weather dependant. But many elk are harvested.
Bill

 

[mulecreek]

From what I have heard and seen, never experienced myself, those hunts can be more circus than they are hunting experience. May not be the best choice for a youngster or new hunter. If you are just looking to kill an elk then it will do just fine.

 

[Zeke]

I did it....ONCE, several years ago (circa 1990). Now I know better than to try something like that ever again
What the others have said sums it up pretty well.
Zeke

 

[mntnguide]

the refuge hunt is entirely weather based...there are zero elk on it all fall until the snows start pushing them out of the mountains. . any person with a general tag can go hunt it as well if they havent filled there tag yet...It is not necessarily an easy hunt, but if you hit the weather right you can get a cow. . the hunt that is in grand teton park, is definitely a circus. I feel bad for the elk getting pushed around by road hunters all over the valley, it doesnt exactly give hunting a good view and many anti's get plenty of ammo to use from some of the crap that happens during that hunt. I would say you are better off getting a general tag or applying for a cow tag in a unit, and it would be a better hunt to take your son on.. On the refuge it is a race against other hunters to get to the elk first

 

[TOPGUN]

I'm glad to hear the comments from the other members because what they have stated is exactly what I've read and heard on other sites. I'd take the boy on an actual hunt for a positive experience even if you get skunked, as that's what real hunting is all about. The Refuge and Teton "hunts" are really just attempts at culling a herd and not what most would classify as true, legitimate elk hunting.

 

[patea]

thanks guys i have a gen elk permit but had no idea what the refuge hunt was like . guess ill take my research in another direction

 

[mulecreek]

Those Gen areas on the western side of the state that have any elk and antlerless seasons well into Nov are like that for a reason. They have lots of elk. Pick one, pick a drainage and go hunt an elk. You will not be disappointed.

 

[BuzzH]

mulecreek gave you great advice...take it.

 

[patea]

thanks i will

 

[pymulies]

I haven't hunted the refuge, but have hunted the park tag. Pretty easy if you go late and hike up blacktail. the elk are pretty dumb.
Due to me harvesting on the park, i didn't hunt the refuge, but one other guy i was with did. Pretty much everyone else has summed that up very well above.

py