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My daughter, after years of me trying, has finally decided to start bow hunting. Next year will be her first year of actual hunting. She is 21. I want to do a public land diy elk hunt with her. I'm looking maybe 2 to 3 years down the road. Where does a guy from the east start? I'm looking more for the experience and time together more so than a kill. Any idea's would be appreciated. thanks
I'm not looking for people to tell me where to hunt, I just don't know where to start to get this thing moving.
"Where does a guy from the east start?"
Pennsylvania whitetails would be my suggestion.
Avoid the hoard and hunt Wy or Mt.
I'd say Colorado. OTC tags, no Grizzlies, lots of public land. I've done a few drop camps in Colorado and it's been a classic elk experience in classic elk country!
If you are looking for an elk hunt in a few years, you have LOTS of options. An obvious choice would be one of the OTC or very easy to draw states/units. Colorado has plenty of OTC options, and Idaho and Wyoming have some great options that you could be hunting in a short period of time as well. Montana would be an easy draw for a general tag, as there were leftovers the last couple of years (no promises for 3 years from now, though).
Probably the best place to start is to really start refining what kind of experience you are looking for. Do you want a wilderness camp experience, roughing it in the woods, or would you like to have a hotel room with a hot shower each day and a short drive to get into some beautiful country? Lots of hiking, or more of a relaxed and less strenuous hunt? Park the truck an hour before dawn and not see it again until after dark, or drive forest roads and take little 2 mile walks in likely areas?
This is a conversation that you might need to have with your daughter, to see what kind of experience she envisions...
Then there is the additional sights to see (Glacier, Yellowstone, do some flyfishing, blast a few prairie dogs with a rifle, take in some local culture, etc). Might as well make a complete vacation out of it.... Once you determine what kind of experience you both want, then you can start figuring out which areas can provide that experience.
As far as tags, once you know the general area you want to hunt, most of the licenses are not that tough to figure out, and there are plenty of options that you can hunt with few or no points and have a great time!
Don't suggest starting on elk.
I think he said the elk wasn't for a few more years? Lots of time to get some bowhunting in under the belt and even build points for a few low point draw areas.
Honestly every state has it's good side, advantages and disadvantages. What glacier said... depends on what you want, how you want to do it. Decide that and then you can go from there.
Bowsite is a great place to start. Do a few searches on specific questions you may have and settle in for some reading. Each state has a fish and wildlife dept website, most have a good deal of info on their units, success rates, hunter numbers, seasons, draws, etc. Some a person can even understand.. =D
In the meantime while putting in the homework you folks can work on putting a few other critters on the ground.
Co otc would be really tough.
Get a couple points and do wy general after 2 years.
Easier to draw nm tags would be much better than co otc as well.
I would suggest going on a family vacation next summer to the area you want to hunt and do some scouting. My wife likes to sleep late, so I get up and go scouting. Trailhead by dawn, back at camp before noon and we are both happy! Maybe your daughter can come along too. I realize you won't hunt there for a couple of years, but it will give you a starting place. Luckily, my wife likes to go every summer!
Two to three years, you could get started acquiring preference points in Colorado and get a draw unit that way you won't be meeting the hordes PTaft mentioned. If you want to backpack in to a wilderness you will probably have to get a draw unit anyways, if your looking for a back to camp every night kind of thing there are a lot of options, Flat Tops might be a good choice and I still recommend a draw unit versus OTC. Good luck!
Thanks for all of your input. I'm hoping this archery bug sticks with her. This is why I posted this here. Now I know the types of questions I have to ask her. Thanks again
Where to start?
1) Get a bow arrows and accessories
2) learn to shoot well
3) learn to hunt deer/turkey/black bear where you live
4) start looking for elk hunting spots
5) get in shape
