I'm 51, live in the Midwest and have never hunted elk. I grew up thinking the closest I'd ever get to an elk was in the stacks of hunting magazines I read and re-read.
15 years ago, a work buddy talked me into beginning to apply for a Utah LE tag. He?s an avid elk hunter with quite a few hunts and a couple of nice bulls under his belt......so for him this tag has always been about shooting the biggest bull on the mountain. I guess he's the type of guy those units are meant to cater to.
I'm not that guy.
When I close my eyes and think about my ?some day? perfect elk hunt, I honestly don't picture sitting behind a huge bull. My mind goes to things like wall tents, horses, fall colors, watching the sun come up, good food, good company.......stuff like that.
My hunt will definitely be guided, and I want that person to teach me to hunt for a bull, as opposed to taking me to a bull. Does that make sense?
I don't want to hunt in the wide open desert and I don't want to sit on water holes in a tree stand. I want to get out and see some country. Most of all, I'd like to be as far away from the ?crowd? as possible and I'd like to be able to book at least 7 days of hunting. I'm willing to pay what it takes to accomplish that last part.
I want to wake up each morning in an elk camp, not a hotel. I want to park my truck and not see it again for a week or more and hopefully when I do, I'm loading it up with tasty elk meat. My perfect hunt would be working hard for a week or so learning, and killing one on the last day.
I'm able to make this hunt archery (wheels or Trad), rifle, or ML.........but if it's archery my limits are about 25 and 50 yards respectively.
Any bull i?d Be lucky enough to kill is 100% going on my wall too!! Not because of how big he is, but because of the memories I'll have (see above) of what will likely be the only elk hunt of my life.
So, knowing the information above and that my only harvest expectation is a chance at a representative bull and steaks, can anyone point me in the right direction Unit-wise with 14 points in 2018? Does anyone know any outfitters that cater to the hunt I want?
Thank you in advance for any advice!
CNF
15 years ago, a work buddy talked me into beginning to apply for a Utah LE tag. He?s an avid elk hunter with quite a few hunts and a couple of nice bulls under his belt......so for him this tag has always been about shooting the biggest bull on the mountain. I guess he's the type of guy those units are meant to cater to.
I'm not that guy.
When I close my eyes and think about my ?some day? perfect elk hunt, I honestly don't picture sitting behind a huge bull. My mind goes to things like wall tents, horses, fall colors, watching the sun come up, good food, good company.......stuff like that.
My hunt will definitely be guided, and I want that person to teach me to hunt for a bull, as opposed to taking me to a bull. Does that make sense?
I don't want to hunt in the wide open desert and I don't want to sit on water holes in a tree stand. I want to get out and see some country. Most of all, I'd like to be as far away from the ?crowd? as possible and I'd like to be able to book at least 7 days of hunting. I'm willing to pay what it takes to accomplish that last part.
I want to wake up each morning in an elk camp, not a hotel. I want to park my truck and not see it again for a week or more and hopefully when I do, I'm loading it up with tasty elk meat. My perfect hunt would be working hard for a week or so learning, and killing one on the last day.
I'm able to make this hunt archery (wheels or Trad), rifle, or ML.........but if it's archery my limits are about 25 and 50 yards respectively.
Any bull i?d Be lucky enough to kill is 100% going on my wall too!! Not because of how big he is, but because of the memories I'll have (see above) of what will likely be the only elk hunt of my life.
So, knowing the information above and that my only harvest expectation is a chance at a representative bull and steaks, can anyone point me in the right direction Unit-wise with 14 points in 2018? Does anyone know any outfitters that cater to the hunt I want?
Thank you in advance for any advice!
CNF