When Was Your Last Time?
Elk
What was the last year you rifle hunted elk? For me it was 1989 best I can recall? I have taken a couple with a MZ between then & now but haven't toted a rifle for some time!
How about ones here, when was your last rifle toting done?
ElkNut1
October 1st, 2015 was the first and only time I elk hunted with a rifle. It was fun but my season only lasted 15 minutes. I'm over it but made the most of an once-in-lifetime tag.
October 2008....I can't say I ever have intentions of doing it again.
1976 was the second time and the last time been Bowhunting the ever since.
I have never been elk hunting period but have see some impressive bull elk while turkey hunting in the NM high country ! I was surprised to see several big bulls still with their head gear in April ! 25 years ago I used to hunt moose with a rifle but then a buddy got me hooked on hunting them during archery season and I could never go back to hunting them with rifle after that !
Never done it.
If I ever draw a ND Elk tag, there might be a first time though! (OIL tag)
Never with a rifle in 23 years in Colorado but 11 elk with the bow.
my best, Paul
I have never rifle hunted elk.
Matter of fact, I hadn't hunted big game with a rifle in over 25 years, until I had a moment of weakness a few months back...these hogs finally drove me to the breaking point!
Best of Luck, Jeff
Appx 1980, maybe 81 but nothing against rifles as I love to shoot coyotes
Jeff, is that a Savage lever .308?
ElkNut1
Never. They have all been with the bow. In fact, the only big game animal that I have ever shot with a rifle was a whitetail buck in Okla. back in the early '80s.
"Never" sounds a bit misleading given my limited elk hunting experience....but all six of my elk tags have been archery only tags.
First elk hunt was 13 years ago at the age of 40....long after I stopped hunting big game with a firearm. Can't envision ever hunting elk with anything else.
Over 35 elk with the bow so far. Got a couple of left over Colorado rifle cow tags and filled the freezer in the years I had struck out in bow season trying to get a big bull. Wasn't near as much fun as bowhunting but sure was an efficient way to kill an elk! Probably last did that in the early 2000s.
Looks like a model 99. I have two in .308.
I bought a late season cow tag in 2000, shot the cow at 30 yds, all I could see through the scope was hair, I had to keep moving the gun around so I could see where I was shooting!
This year I have to apply for rifle or muzzle tags due to a Sept moose hunt, although I may use a bow anyway if I am lucky enough to draw.
Looks like a 99 to me my old man has a 99a in 300 savage.
Started archery hunting elk in 1981, at the ripe old age of 14.
Have never hunted elk with a gun !!
I've hunted whitetail and bear in my home state of PA with a gun. I've been on many other hunts sometimes 3 hunts in a year. Never anything but bow. First elk hunt was about 1990 give or take a year. Only missed 3 or 4 years since then. Some years I did 2 states elk hunting. I got hooked first year in Montana. Stalked a bulging bull for about 400 yards over a little hill with about an inch of snow.
Ed
I've never hunted anything with a gun.
2002 I think
I was going to go this year - can only afford Kansas tag so choosing to go there. Colorado and its hunting economy won't get my $$$$$ this year.
"Jeff, is that a Savage lever .308"?
300 Savage, Paul. Very old, borrowed it from my Dad, but I bought a new scope for it.
Still gets the job done! ;)
Best of Luck, Jeff
2014 I killed my elk with a muzzleloader, but all the other hunts have been bow.
November 2015. Filled my freezer with a nice cow on a leftover tag. Gonna do it again next year.
2012, I try the meat hunt for a cow every once in a while but haven't seen a live elk in a rifle season yet, but I've always used up all my vacation during archery season and never have a lot of time to put into it nor have I ever gone to a real good area and I've always feared for my life at some point during these hunts. Not sure if I'll ever bother again unless I get access to some private land!
Never have, probably never will for elk.
I don't rifle hunt Elk, but I will for wolves.
2014. I'm not a huge fan of rifle hunting for elk, but until I become one of the guys that kills one with a bow every year, I'll keep hiking with the boom stick to try an fill an unused tag. I don't exactly dream about it all year like I do archery, though.
Oct 1992.
My first elk tag ever. Took me 5 years to draw it as a resident. Back then, there was no % allotted to residents, so it was pretty much 100% draw percentage for non-res (higher revenue to the state, and no laws that said they couldn't give every non-res a tag if they wanted), as was evident by a friend who had non-res on his application and he drew 8 out of 8 years at that same time period, same unit, same hunt (at least until legislation was finally passed later in the 90's, then they all got blanked in the draw pretty regularly).
Anyway, after all those years trying to draw, we didn't even see a legal elk the entire hunt. So we switched back to archery in '93 (had been hunting archery deer since '86). Mostly because it was much easier to draw, and also because we decided Sept. was a much better time to hunt.
At this point, I'd hunt with whatever was legal (slingshot, spear, bow, rifle, M203 grenade launcher), don't care much about what I'm carrying, as long as it is during the Sept. hunt!
I never have, but I've only elk hunted 6 trips.
I'd actually like to snipe one with a rifle. It's not high on my to-do list, but it's something I'd like to experience some day
Bake
Every year,"A" tag in the archery season,"b" tag 2nd rifle,I just like to hunt doesn't matter the weapon plus I have good friends that don't bowhunt,I hunt a otc rifle unit that's overcrowded and full of 4 wheelers running up and down the road,amazing how many elk we see going 7 to 8 miles in a roadless area with horses and mules,
Like Muleman.... A tag every year for archery and a B tag every year for Rifle. One is fun (A tag) B tag is for meat...
I however have never shot a bull with a gun. All 0f my bulls have been killed by bow. I have also never killed a cow with a bow....
I have never shot anything with a rifle. I dont even own one although I would like to take up some varmit hunting one day.
Never did hunt elk with a gun. Bow huntin elk since 82. Wow, when did the time go!
Jeff & Others, thanks! I used to have that savage in .300 & .308. Sold them somewhere down the line! (grin)
ELKMAN X2!!
Nothing wrong with being an equal opportunity hunter! (grin)
ElkNut1
Killed a cow with my .270 on my wife's first elk hunt in Unit 23N AZ 2013. She did a little shooting over the first few days, but didn't connect. After about 4 days she said it was my turn to shoot. Had one down less than 5 minutes from walking out of camp that morning. It was a positive experience for both of us since I got to provide my family with some elk meat and she got to see how the whole thing was done. She had a great time and is itching to go back, so I must have done something right. Hopefully she gets drawn again this year.
2006, wyoming. would love to go again sometime.
Jeff & Paul, I thought I was the only one that had even heard of a .300 Savage! lol!
I have my dad's bolt-action .300 Savage that I actually killed my first deer with back in the late 60's. I also have my grandpa's lever-action that I honestly would be afraid to shoot!
Other than a backslide in '93, I haven't shot a rifle since '84. Won't ever shoot another one. Nice thing about shooting a bow is the mild kick. Pretty easy to reload my own ammo as well! ;-)
Nevermind... was going a totally different direction....
2014. And again this year if I draw the license.
I have nothing against guns. To each his own is my cardinal rule of life.
My hearing is sooo bad that I'm lucky to hear a bugle over 100 yards away and I haven't heard in cow chirp in a long long time. Imagine bow hunting totally silent elk. Pretty frustrating at times.
But I think I'm going to start doing the bull bow hunt/late rifle cow hunt like others have mentioned. If I knew I was going to fill the freezer I wouldn't get as bummed out about not hearing the elk in September.
My biggest bulls to date are bow kills.
TD, leave it up to you! (big grin)
Hey Rob, that 300 savage was my first gun too from my Dad, it was an old bolt action & looked military. Wish I would have kept it! I took down a few CA blacktails with it!
ElkNut1
I got this bull in AZ a few years back on a late Rifle hunt. Can't take off the whole month of Sept to hunt archery in multiple states like some people so I spread out my hunts over the fall. That means I may hunt muzzy or rifle in another state depending on the year and draws.
I have literally never hunted elk with a rifle. Not against it at all, but rarely apply and have never been drawn.
I think about 1982. Love the bow so much but should have hunted a few more rifle seasons with my dad before he passed.
Cool bull, wildwilderness!
Technically in 2014, but it was with my bow on opening day of rifle season in Wyoming. I never did shoot it. Heard 41 shots opening morning and never saw an elk. Figured I'd stick with the bow seasons after that.
Before that it was in 1983 if I remember correctly :)
Cheers, Pete
November of 2015. Actually, last year I killed all three of my animals with a rifle.
Yes sir, a pretty mixed bag of users, nothing wrong with that!
Wildwilderness, very nice, what mass!!
c3, photo of the day! (grin)
ElkNut1
This past year. My mom passed away in the middle of my archery hunt, and I wasn't able to get back out until after gun season had already started. When I finally got back home, I promptly got the gun sighted in, and was very fortunate to tag out on this bull.
I hate unfilled tags even more than I dislike gun season. I really love putting arrows through animals, but I also love elk meat. If I can't finish the job with bow, you can bet I'll be out there with a gun!
I've taken all my ELK with a bow but didn't get started hunting them until 1987. My last non archery deer hunt was 1974 in OK with a shotgun slug.
I do it every year! I get my Colorado either sex archery tag then I get a leftover rifle cow tag. Put meat in my freezer and I love the taste of it every time I eat. No reason to take a " better than you " attitude by using a rifle. It is called hunting and even using a rifle is harder than hunting during the archery season due to crowding by the rest of the guys that do not use a bow! Just my opinion. One does not make you a better hunter. Archery hunting in Colorado does not get less crowded every year! I would assume rifle season is a constant. I get the leftover tag because I like a change and any chance to fill the freezer I take. Archery hunters as a whole are a different group of people that I am part of. The general population falls in the rest of the population. I do both and I consider me an opportunistic hunter. Gotta just love being able to participate in something we all love doing.
Killed my first ever rifle bull this year!!! 16th bull total but my first with a rifle!
Geez Gil.... what rifle was it that did that??
Obliterated em..... hehehehehh....
1972 I missed the first bow season the year I moved to Montana. I didn't become a resident till Oct. 19th killed and elk on the 20th first and last with a gun.
I rifle hunted Colorado in 2015 with a cow tag for the first time in around 5 years. I opted to because my Arhery Elk hunt last year was all but non-existent only making it up for a few days. Coincidentally my rifle hunt was also cut short due to family issues. I will say this, the rifle hunt was a whole different experience compared to Archery season.
My first elk tag was in 1980 and they have all been archery. I have never even applied for a non-archery elk hunt.
I imagine as I get older and unable to hunt like I do now, might eventually apply for a rifle hunt. I will probably just drive around in truck with a thermos of coffee so I can say am hunting.
I hunt archery deer but still apply for quality rifle deer tags.
Went just a couple of weeks ago with this young man. It was a great time. I also killed my 2015 elk with a gun. I love elk meat also. Hunt
TD I was so excited that I shot an elk I could drive a truck to I forgot to take photos until I was almost done quartering him!
Utah 372". Rifle hunting isn't all bad but the thing to remember is it's not about how far away you can shoot one but how close you can get and shoot one. This applies to bow or rifle hunting! I bow hunt with my recurve and let 3 nice bucks get away last year inside 20 yards so I didn't kill a buck in my home state but I had more fun than most!
Utah 372". Rifle hunting isn't all bad but the thing to remember is it's not about how far away you can shoot one but how close you can get and shoot one. This applies to bow or rifle hunting! I bow hunt with my recurve and let 3 nice bucks get away last year inside 20 yards so I didn't kill a buck in my home state but I had more fun than most! Edited to add 2014
Nothing against guys with guns. But I have never used a rifle on any of our state hunt. I just enjoy bowhunting so much that it is all I do.
Last year. All forms of hunting have their + n -. To each his/her own,
