You what's better than bowhunting elk?
Elk
Contributors to this thread:
You know what's better than bowhunting elk?
Yeah, Me neither...
Ummm... I'll tell you about her tomorrow night.
Just wasn't "wife" material. But....wowza....
Man what a trio, looks like the elk don't have a chance! (grin) Way to keep things fun!
ElkNut1
Phew... I was afraid you were going to suggest standing on a rock, reenacting a scene from "Titanic".
;>D
Hunting the wiley whitetail! I love elk and the hard-core athletic aspect of mountain hunting but will always love my whitetail. Hardly another species as flighty, wary, common, accessible or than whitetail. You'll be hard pressed to find an elk that will pick you out of a tree, duck your arrow, travel through brush for no reason, or ghost under pressure while still living in the area.
Glutton for punishment here... Love getting screamed at... By a big bull. Love hiking miles... Love cutting up a bull... Love packing out heavy packs until my legs start shutting down... Then I hate it! Then I love it again after its all said and done.
MichaelArnette
You havent hunted elk enough...
As I remember, bow killing an elk was better than bow hunting them
Other than family? Not one single damn thing!!!
Lou, bringing any pictures? ;-)
bow hunting elk during september is the best thing i have ever done in hunting. awesome.
Almost nothing is better than walking up to your first bow kill bull on the ground. Watching my daughter being born is the only thing better.
"Lou, bringing any pictures? ;-)"
Rob, we will have to rely on Lou's eloquent words and descriptions....
"Whitetails are like cartoons....it's what you watch when nothing else is on."
Woody Sanford
Nothing has ever gotten under my skin like elk hunting has.
"we will have to rely on Lou's eloquent words and descriptions...."
Damn. As usual.
(Kidding, Lou)
I'm ready for the bs and beers tomorrow night, fellas. Lou, we need to hear the story about the strippers at the cabin in Walden.
I'm with MichaelArnette on this one. Elk hunting is a blast, but I'll take whitetails any day, followed by moose with elk in third place.
A couple of you must be drunk typing.
White tails take up time in between elk hunts!
I live in a good whitetail area and guide for whitetails and wts are peanuts compared to elk hunting. I whitetail hunt to keep my skills sharp for elk hunting. I'd rather kill a rag horn bull than a 160" whitetail. Just me 2 cents.
Personally IMHO, bowhunting elk in the rut is the best he in North America.
Whats better than bowhunting elk?
Bowhunting elk with friends.
Nothing is even close!!! Whitetails,mule deer,antelope, moose are all fun but not even in the same league. The guys that say whitetails must be hunting elk like they do for whitetails because when you get in one of those situations with a called in pissed off bull elk it just changes you as a hunter.
Whitetails, Ha! Sit in tree, deer walks by, shoot deer.
Elk: Work your tail off calling a rut crazed bull in so close that he blows snot in your face and bust your ear drums when he bugles. And doing it on your own! No Elknut team needed!
I have to say that bowhunting elk is second in my book to bowhunting moose.
That's why hunting is so awesome is because almost every species is a very different experience. It's the 31 flavors of ice cream example.
I love hunting all species.
Many years ago I killed a few elk with a rifle. It was a blast. Bowhunting deer is fun.... cheap.....normally locally available and WRT whitetails not physically challenging.....
Bowhunting elk..... life changing.......
Someday I'd like to report back on the difference of bowhunting elk, sheep, mt goat and moose...... I still think bowhunting elk in the rut will be right up there....... but even I know ya don't know what ya don't know.....
I've never had a whitetail scream at me in the foggy darkness of the morning and then proceed to disassemble a tree with his antlers in an unseen rage some few yards away. Whitetails are fun but there is nothing like being on the ground, face to face with a fiery bull.
Who's gonna tag that rock? Or how ya gonna pack it?!?!? I chase ELK a little, and think about them a LOT!
cell...Oh I have hunted and killed elk, and love it too! Only because of the mountains though, if I had to hunt elk say in Kentucky or an Oklahoma draw tag it wouldn't be as interesting.
I live in whitetail country. Same state as Michael. But if you look up the definition of HUNTING in the Oxford dictionary I'm guessing it is ELK HUNTING WITH A BOW.
I shot this buck this morning with my longbow and I was happy. But when I shot my first elk (spike) with a bow I almost cried. I can remember every single minute of that day which was the last day of our hunt that year. No comparison.
Nothing in hunting. Elk hunting blows sheep hunting off the map. Whitetail hunting is great but it is a ussually a private land hunt from a tree vs a public land hunt on your feet.
Ground squirrels are a blast. LOL
Elk hunting with a bow in my hands changed a lot of priorities in my life. First time out was about 7 years ago, my obsession runs year round now. My wife can attest to that. There is NOTHING better then September in the elk woods in my opinion. Other hunting is fun but it aint ELK!!!! Who's gonna start the countdown thread?? Only 8 months left!!! Of course we can shed hunt, turkey then bear to keep busy in the meantime. And maybe poke a wolf this winter? Good reason to be out anyways.
If whitetails screamed, roared and pissed on themselves, weighed 800 pounds, had antlers five feet tall, traveled two miles each way from bedding to feeding through some of the most rugged country in North America, ran two miles after being spooked, and lived in the gorgeous places where elk live, I could get equally jazzed about hunting them too....
The only things I've ever hunted that were as dramatic and adrenaline-inducing as elk were free-range wilderness red stags during the peak roar. And that was about equal on the awesomeness scale.
I too live in the Midwest....where bowhunting whitetails is King. I'm 55 now and been chasing whitetails with a bow since my teenage years.
That said, at age 40, I made the "mistake" of driving west to Colorado for September elk. There is nothing...and I mean absolutely nothing...like having a screaming bull elk in your face.
Today, my whitetail treestands are where I go to "recover" from elk season!
Yes I agree there is nothing like hunting elk but one thing harder than hunting them is living in Wyoming and not drawing a tag year after year. Whitetail hunting is my backup and love it.
What's better than bowhunting elk?
Nothing, unless you clothes are off!!!
Best part of whitetail hunting is I will hunt them this year from 9/3 until 1/12. Elk is great fun but darn season is so short. Talking favorite specie is like talking broadheads!
(Posted live from a tree in Illinois:) Hunt every day that you can! It's later than you think!
"Lou, bringing any pictures? ;-)"
Rob, we will have to rely on Lou's eloquent words and descriptions....
UPDATE: Great party, Brad! And, by golly, we even got to see a picture or two from Lou of "what's better". What more can you ask?
There is nothing like hunting elk. What's not to like about them they live in beautiful country and bugle. Other species are nice, but I love my elk.
As long as I'm doing it with the ones I love... Nothing
"Yes I agree there is nothing like hunting elk but one thing harder than hunting them is living in Wyoming and not drawing a tag year after year."
Stryker, you get a GEN tag every year as a resident don't you? Way better than AZ or NM where the residents aren't guaranteed a tag. I love Wyoming...such friendly and helpful residents.
I've had some pretty amazing experiences hunting whitetails and elk hard to choose. But as far as an overall experience it's hard to beat an 800 pound beast screaming in your face in some of the most beautiful country on the face of the earth.
Nothing better than hunting the high country with your best buds!
Nothing better than hunting the high country with your best buds!
Agree with midwest! If a resident misses an elk season, that's by choice, not circumstance.
I've never applied for a limited quota elk tag in my life. I can run down to Walmart on 31 Aug, buy a general elk license, conservation stamp, and archery license, head to the hills and enjoy the entire month of Sep chasing the wily wapiti. It just don't get no better than that!!!
+1 Deertick on Brad's great party for some local Bowsiters last night.
At one point in that one little room I think there were right around 150 dead elk between us. Maybe more. We did talk about whitetails a little after DirtyD brought in that giant deadhead his son found.
So whitetail tree squirrels take heart - it ain't always all about elk! Just mostly...
Yep. Good times were had last night.
Stories galore.
This is the remnants of the evening
Amen Jaq! Brad's hospitality was awesome! It was great to finally meet the faces behind the handles! In addition to Brad, a special shoutout to Matt (DirtyD) for the copy of his book...can't wait to start reading it!
"So whitetail tree squirrels take heart - it ain't always all about elk! Just mostly..."
And sometimes just talking about elk is almost as fun as hunting them....almost. At times I don't know which was flowing more, the beer or the BS! Either way, there were a few of each that died last night! LOL!!!
Nothing better in hunting. In life, https://youtu.be/FbBEVjqntNw I was lucky to go twice and plan on going again.
I love to hunt whitetails. But, they are no comparison to elk hunting in anyway. I hunt them similar ways too. On the ground moving, etc... But, when the does herd up and, starting calling back and forth to each other and, when the bucks starting bugling and running around, I might reconsider. Until then, my only complaint has been my limited time to elk hunt. If I could do it every year during the rut, in exchange for the three months I chase deer, I'd never gut another deer. Give me spring Gobbler season and elk hunting and, I'll fish the rest of the time. And, I'd be totally content with it as well. God Bless
That one Bud Light looks lonely there in the middle! (grin) Glad you guys had a great time, we have a similar get together here in Idaho & agree they're a blast & look forward to them every year! Good luck in 2017
ElkNut1
There are a few things better than elk hunting. But nothing I have ever done as far as hunting comes close although calling coyotes on the high desert is close.
God bless, Steve
what else is there that would drive a man to work out every day of the year way past his prime; push himself up steep inclines in the 100f heat while everyone sits in the AC so that he can play when it comes show-time; starve his bank account so that he can enter every elk lottery out west; drive a 1000 miles each way with a fully loaded horse trailer and gear; with nothing but a hope and prayer......... and then get to hunt in the most amazing country God ever touched..... you think maybe I am elk crazy too?
We can buy a gen tag and hunt elk so maybe I should change the statement to say I would love to hunt elk in an area I love to hunt. Like many of you 38 has always been my preferred place to hunt elk and have hunted 37 gen many times because of not drawing a tag in my preferred area. There is no comparison on the quality of the experience of the hunt with these two areas as 37 has declined greatly in the past years. I know some will disagree with this but when you have 1000 head of elk on private land before September in different locations in 37 that does make a difference. The title to this thread was What is better than elk hunting and my opinion is drawing a tag where I grew up hunting and love to hunt and spend time.
Elk are way over rated ;)
Blacktail deer are way more addicting !!
Willieboat, when elk come as easy as they do to you, I can see how it would get boring after awhile!
I guess I'd say if you think there's anything better.... you're obviously not doing it right.
I've elk hunted 6 times. I've killed 3 elk (2 bulls and a cow). Every time I come back, I always say... "whitetail hunting is easy compared to this". Then... I became addicted to killing mature whitetail bucks. Elk hunting is fun, I agree. I wish I had the time and money to go every year, but I don't. But hunting and killing a mature whitetail buck still gets the nod for me. If I lived in elk country, my opinion would most likely be different.
Guess I need to move to Ft. Collins. :)
Don't do it Rick. Only stoners and homos in Ft Collins...
There was this girl in college that could...wait...was that a bugle?
IdyllwildArcher says the fella in california.......
nothing! but the funny part is the last 8 or so years I`ve hunted them like you would a white tail! 95% of the time I sit in blinds or old barns and wait for them to come to me! almost too easy! and that seems to take something away from the pride of doing PL hunts and getting it done like others mention .. minus the back breaking work lol... it is urban hunting at its finist and my freezer is always full and the cost is significantly lower then back country trips, heck I can clock out at work and be in a boxblind or an old barn in less then an hour and I work in Seattle !.. But thats not back country hunting which I did for a long time and love doing but Id use a bow now...brother and I were just saying at xmas we need to start doing that again .. so whats better then Elk hunting nothing no matter how you get it done MikeC