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Elk hunt in October

Gents- Wanting some insight on where to start with a bull elk hunting trip in October. My wife and I will celebrate 10 glorious years of marriage and she's given the green light on possibly elk hunting together. :) it may be a little late, but any information is greatly appreciated. My gut tells me to go with a guide but I'm not opposed to diy.

Thanks Dustin

Dustin,

A couple of questions? Have you ever hunted Elk Yes= Go have fun. No= Get a guide

If you have hunted Elk were you successful in seeing elk? Yes= Hunt the same place you know it holds Elk No= Get a guide

What state? Colorado is you best option for chance. You will be rifle hunting in October 2nd or 3rd Season . 3rd season is the better option

If you know a state your looking at I might be able to help with New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho or Montana. My best advice though is to hire a guide around Hayden Colorado.

If you've never done it and are unfamiliar with the area your chances of killing one are extremely slim. Unless you've sheep hunted, elk hunting can be the hardest hunt you've ever done. A few years ago, some of the best OTC units in Colorado only had a 17% success rate. I've hunted with a rifle out there since I was 18 on about 7 different hunts and killed 4 bulls. Two of those were with an outfitter. One was with a group of guys that new and lived in the area. The fourth, I just got lucky on opening morning. I've often seen more elk on the last 2 days of season that the whole first week combined. If you do it yourself with camping equipment, you'll have about the same cost that you will have if you just buy a horseback hunt where the outfitter drops you off at a spike camp. Bad thing about those is he leaves you on your own and to get a good price of $1500/person, you will need at least 3-4 people. I and some friends are heading out in either 2nd or 3rd rifle this year. PM me if you want and I could give you pointers

I spotted these elk last year while I was mule deer hunting. They came out of the oak brush on that mountain in the background and were feeding on the cropground at night in lower elevations

If doing with a rifle you can get discounted cow meat hunts for under 1500.00,may be a good way to learn about elk and their habits,then maybe she will let you go on another one

If I were in your shoes, I'd take Habitat's advice on a meat hunt with an outfitter. My brother-in-law has had some good success in CO on diy bow hunts, but he went with a friend who has gone for years, they considered it a success whether they shot a bull or a cow. From what I've heard, a cow is a trophy simply for the very good eats!

Bulls taste just as good and the cow tag application period is over. Most landowner cow tags will be spoken for by now. If you can find an outfitter with a huge ranch, the cow hole nets are often $1500 or less. Whitaker Bros had a really good deal of $1000 year before last because of the several hundred elk coming onto their 20,000 acre ranch.

Watch left over list, and pick up a first rifle season tag if possible since it sounds like you wish to hunt with a firearm over a bow. It's the best season unless you hunt migration areas but those are outside of October.

You can buy your cow tags for late season hunts from the ranchers alot of the time.

Study hard be prepared to work hard, it can be done. I did my first elk hunt last year studied OnX maps all year watched videos. Pick out a otc spot hiked in 7 miles with camp and bow in hand. Planned for 10 days tagged a bull on day 5 that's when the work started. 4 more days and I will be out there trying to go 2 for 2. Good Luck

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