Elk Outfitter experiences?

[HawgBonz]

..Hey guys, the Mrs told me a coupla days ago that she's had enough of my restlessness over it and she's gonna send me out West on an Elk hunt prolly in 2022 if we're still in one piece then. I do plenty of hunting 6 months out of the year around here for Whitetail and the wild pigs that infest our hunt club. But don't have a clue about Elk except that I'm very excited about it. Would like to mebbe take the new-to-me JM Marlin 1895CB in 45-70 once we become better "aquainted". As we understand it takes time to save up cash and somethin called "preference points"(?) or some such anyways.
..So she said to "pick an area" and I took a liking to the Yellowstone-ish general vicinity near where Idaho, Wyoming and Montana meet. But that's based on absolutely nothing but lookin at Google Earth for a topography that I like (hills-n-woods-n-water). So I figured I'd check with you guys and see if anybody may be interested in offering up some advice or to share their recent(ish) experience with this. I've watched a ton of vids on the 'Tube about guys on horseback tramping and hunting about the area. Most of it is absolutely beautiful. All the old trapper/trader books I read on Kindle don't help.
..I'm sure there's a lot to it so hopefully we're gettin an early enough start. With what lookin we've done there's all kinds of hunts and combinations. We have a horse and she grew up with them. My current horse is a Honda Rancher, but I'm givin the critters a try. Jury is till out on their usefulness.
..Don't know that I care all that much if it's a trophy class animal, but "nice" would be good. Fair chase only, of course. The opportunity to do a l'il unfettered tramping would be most excellent.
..Thanks much for any helpful input! d:^)

[garandsrus]

From what I have heard, the wolves have had a huge negative impact on the Elk in the Yellowstone area. I would suggest looking for a Wolf free area.

[trebor44]

First and foremost make sure the 'outfitter' is state licensed and has a permit to operate if the camp is on National Forest. That is not a guarantee but a place to start. Unlicensed outfitters abound and they are willing to take your money. Private property hunts do exist. Out of state tags are allotted to outfitters for their 'clients' by the state F&G agency. Check with past clients for their experience with an outfitter. Some outfitters run a 'quality' program, others run a 'business'. Your hunt should be a memorable one, but not all hunters get to shoot an Elk. Most important is the ability to shoot what you hunt with! You don't necessarily need a magnum caliber but you do need to be very comfortable with the caliber you choose to shoot. Ideal minimun calibers are the .270 win or .30-06 springfield. As for the wolves, they do exist but they do 'migrate' to where the game is. No area is without their impact, they are just another 'full time' predator unlike the seasonal hunter!

[HawgBonz]

..That's why I'm checkin here, bo! ;)

..I figure this is prolly a hive of "more experienced" shooters for the most part who may have some personal insight to share. Looks like a correct assumption thus far. I'll be hard checkin before we decide to go with anyone. I only get one shot at this and I don't want some slick talkin' "businessman" to jack my trip for his profit. I'd much rather go with a "Mom-n-Pop" and try to avoid the dreaded "latrapaza de'tourista". :razz:

..Far as the firearm and my ability to use it, I'm thinkin' Elk are a heckova lot bigger than a groundhog! d;^) If things work out ok with the 45-70/1895CB I'd like to use somethin like that, tho'. I've also got a 308, but a 17s, while fine for piggin', just seems outta place for somethin like this. Push come to shove I'd get something and work it out. Closer with big-n-slow is more appealing. In all honesty I'm thinkin a coupla weeks out wandering the West is gonna be just heavenly with or without an Elk. +1 if Kris and I could meet up somewheres and get in some trail riding. But we'll see.
Thanks much for your input! 8-)

garandsrus-Thanks much. Will try to keep that in mind.


First and foremost make sure the 'outfitter' is state licensed and has a permit to operate if the camp is on National Forest....

[Norske]

My only elk hunt was on public land in MT. I saw more orange jackets than elk. Back then, a resident elk tag was only about $20, so everyone bought one.

[HawgBonz]

Same thing on public land here in the East (Locally, the Uwharrie NF). I avoid it like the plague.
But I hear that can be somewhat negated by making the effort into the wild interior.
It's good to have a decent hunt club to tramp about on.
A big playground for boys grown old. 8-)


My only elk hunt was on public land in MT. I saw more orange jackets than elk. Back then, a resident elk tag was only about $20, so everyone bought one.

[Randy Bohannon]

Look at any of the outfitters in the Meetetsee area of Wyoming if Wood River Ranch is still offering hunts call them. Not all areas are trophy units and some general areas are damn good for a general tag. Be in the best shape you can possibly be in. I work for outfitters in Wyoming and see more money wasted because the hunter can’t get to where their dream Bull lives.

[BobT]

If you are looking for the quintessential "Mom & Pop" operation I can recommend Scott and Angie Denny, owners of Table Mountain Outfitters based in Cheyenne Wyoming. Give them a call and check out their operation.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

You might look into Colorado. Yeah, I left due to politics, BUT elk tags are easier to get, with many areas having over counter bull tags. Don't know about outfitters, but plenty of good elk country there. My elk hunting in WY has been south central or the Bighorns, so don't know about the Yellowstone area. Know nothing about guides. I have taken many elk with a Marlin 1895 45-70. I have used a 300 gr Barnes Original at 2200 fps. Flatter trajectory and less recoil than heavier bullets. Most bullets have exited or found under shoulder hide when whenshot quartering away, after going though shoulder. I still use the rifle and still prefer the 300 grain Barnes Original(pure lead with thick pure copper jacket) for elk. Practice with the 300 grain RCBS gas check flatnose, or the 'cheap' Hornady or Sierra jacketed hollowpoints. The Hornady and Sierra hollowpoints work fine on stuff smaller than elk.

[MT Gianni]

Ask your outfitter when you book if you would have better chances with a 45/70 or a 308. If you're in deep timber it is one thing, if you need to be able to connect at 450 yards it is another. The local I know who both works for an outfitter and shoots big bulls after the outfitter shuts down has his 7 rem Mag with a quick adjust scope from 400-900 yards. I don't hunt that way but cannot argue with success.
It sounds like this isn't going to be a once a year thing, best do it right and not wonder later. I would look at Lewistown, Montana, Ennis Montana and South of Dillon MT if I were to hunt MT.

[HawgBonz]

Mom-n-Pop musta done good for themselves. They've got a TV show and corporate sponsors! [smilie=1::mrgreen:


If you are looking for the quintessential "Mom & Pop" operation I can recommend Scott and Angie Denny, owners of Table Mountain Outfitters based in Cheyenne Wyoming. Give them a call and check out their operation.

Randy Bohannon-I can hold my own once I get my hunt legs back every year down at the club in those lil hills. While I'm sure y'all's hills are much bigger I feel somewhat confident I could haul this rotund carcass up there eventually. If the thin air don't knock me down. Tho' I'll never claim to be able to hang with those upland bird hunters that go all day at almost a trot. :grin:
..I'll check out that area. Went to the Wood River site last night. Will be checkin into that more. :grin:

MostlyLeverGuns-I'll be sure to check that area out as well. I've been avoiding it mostly because of politics. But I can't say much from NC (Cooper **spit**) We have the same problem they do. But that's another subject.
I've never had much luck gettin the Barnes to shoot well in anything I've tried it in but they were the all copper offerings. Although it did make "minute of pig" and was effective for common encounters. :smile:

MT Gianni- I'll def be consulting with the outfitter/guide. My preference is strongly for timber and hills over the wide open. I've done the long shooting thing to death over the years between varmints and hunt club cutovers. I'd like to go with somethin a l'il more "traditional". Specially with this kindof hunt and quarry. Will def check out those areas you mentioned.

Side note: Paisano of Mt?

[MT Gianni]

Mom-n-Pop musta done good for themselves. They've got a TV show and corporate sponsors! [smilie=1::mrgreen:





Side note: Paisano of Mt?

No just a phonetic spelling of Johnny.

[waksupi]

If I were looking for an outfitter, I would try to find one on the Musselshell River, in eastern Montana. Going in cold on a do-it-yourself hunt is generally a dead end, without knowing the country and the elks habits.
Bonus points are a scam, after so many years everyone has the same amount of points, putting you back to square one.
I would advise taking a cow, rather than a bull. Easier to come by, and lots better eating.
Out in that country, you may want a rifle with a flatter trajectory.
I'd sure advise hunting open country. Up here in the jungle of NW Montana it is a death march to hunt elk. You need to be able to follow a herd if you locate them. You can put in a lot of miles in a day.
If you think you are in shape for it, you probably aren't! Especially if you try to pack one out by yourself,

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Yeah, the Barnes Solid Copper X-Bullets have not worked for me in the 45-70, it is specifically the pure lead core pure copper jacket, the Barnes Original I am talking about. Nosler had a short lived 300 grain 45-70 Partition, couldn't get them to shoot either. Like Waksupi said, you might want to consider a cow elk first time out, Colorado does have many, many cow elk. The folks in the hunting country are very different than the Front Range Fort Collins - Denver - Colorado Springs people, the Colofornicators that have ruined the state. Things got strange after Columbine, we left 2005, retiring to a free state where mostly everyone owns a gun. The 300 grain at 2200 gives about 30-30 trajectory but twice as much punch, with practice it is a legitimate 300 yard rifle, trajectory is more of a problem than power. An elk on the ground is just the start of a real workout. Folks from the east can be bothered by altitude, people who live here are acclimatized, a fat old high-country guy can walk an east coast flatlander into altitude sickness, so take care.

[HawgBonz]

..It may very well turn out that physical limitations confine me to an open country hunt. It's just not my preference if I could have my d'ruthers concerning topography and shooting scenarios. With the kindof money that ends up plunked down for such an undertaking, I wouldn't think it'd hurt to ask. Got no plans to go in blind, that's one of the many reasons I'm lookin for advice on outfitters. If they're anything like ol' "Cap'n" on the coast, some input on folk's experience and/or local knowledge is invaluable. In my mind "outfitter" means a group of folks with accommodations, gear and manpower to handle the more tedious parts of a hunt. But I may be mistaken. I get enough of dragging-n-butchering-n-cookin here. Albeit not quite the "truckload" that an Elk surely entails! :lol: But 4 or 5 pigs out of a sounder will getya ta gruntin-n-sweatin au plenty and weigh just as much sometimes! :mrgreen: Can't say as ta which may smell worse..
..I have no issues trampin all over the hunt club with a pack, rifle and other truck associated with a day afield. But at nearly 60 and a slightly disabled vet with knee and foot issues, I ain't haulin out an Elk. Even if I could, I ain't without beast or machine. I'll hafta pay somebody for that detail. My macho days went out with my last hernia surgery. :lol:
..If it was somethin I thought I was gonna be able to do more than once and a cow hunt was wayyyy cheaper then yeah, that'd be great for a preliminary outing to see how things really work. Heck, if it could be done cheap enough it'd be preferred! But best I currently can tell I've got one shot at this. The thought of that being out in a semi-flat treeless pasture after a cow with another boltgun for a mere $10k or so after all is said and done kinda dulls the luster of the venture. But then reality is like that sometimes. :p
..I'm curious about those preference or bonus points for sure and I'll hafta read up on that. Kris was who brought'em up after her initial checking into this thing. I'd never heard of such prior to. Strange stuff that kinda reeks of .gov. Like a lottery, mebbe it's a tax on peeps bad at math? :wink:
Haven't looked at Eastern Montana, but I will. Thanks!



If I were looking for an outfitter, I would try to find one on the Musselshell River, in eastern Montana. Going in cold on a do-it-yourself hunt is generally a dead end, without knowing the country and the elks habits.

MostlyLeverGuns-

Folks from the east can be bothered by altitude, people who live here are acclimatized, a fat old high-country guy can walk an east coast flatlander into altitude sickness, so take care.
Yup, our only hope when y'all come out here is to melt ya in the humidity or drown ya inna swamp!! :lol: :wink:
Trajectory is easy. Rangefinder, quality glass, drop chart, lotsa lead downrange and the zen 'o' da wind.. :mrgreen:
But yeah, if I ended up in the flat open, a nice 6.5-284AI (just cause it's sexy), on a Stiller RBLP action, bedded down in one of Fatboy's stocks, a 2oz Jewell topped by a nice piece of Euro-glass with dependable turrets or some such may be in order..
:Bright idea: Heyyyy! An excuse for a new bean-field rifle! Some luster returns! Yayyyyy!! d;^)

[waksupi]

..It may very well turn out that physical limitations confine me to an open country hunt. It's just not my preference if I could have my d'ruthers concerning topography and shooting scenarios. With the kindof money that ends up plunked down for such an undertaking, I wouldn't think it'd hurt to ask. Got no plans to go in blind, that's one of the many reasons I'm lookin for advice on outfitters. If they're anything like ol' "Cap'n" on the coast, some input on folk's experience and/or local knowledge is invaluable. In my mind "outfitter" means a group of folks with accommodations, gear and manpower to handle the more tedious parts of a hunt. But I may be mistaken. I get enough of dragging-n-butchering-n-cookin here. Albeit not quite the "truckload" that an Elk surely entails! :lol: But 4 or 5 pigs out of a sounder will getya ta gruntin-n-sweatin au plenty and weigh just as much sometimes! :mrgreen: Can't say as ta which may smell worse..
..I have no issues trampin all over the hunt club with a pack, rifle and other truck associated with a day afield. But at nearly 60 and a slightly disabled vet with knee and foot issues, I ain't haulin out an Elk. Even if I could, I ain't without beast or machine. I'll hafta pay somebody for that detail. My macho days went out with my last hernia surgery. :lol:
..If it was somethin I thought I was gonna be able to do more than once and a cow hunt was wayyyy cheaper then yeah, that'd be great for a preliminary outing to see how things really work. Heck, if it could be done cheap enough it'd be preferred! But best I currently can tell I've got one shot at this. The thought of that being out in a semi-flat treeless pasture after a cow with another boltgun for a mere $10k or so after all is said and done kinda dulls the luster of the venture. But then reality is like that sometimes. :p
..I'm curious about those preference or bonus points for sure and I'll hafta read up on that. Kris was who brought'em up after her initial checking into this thing. I'd never heard of such prior to. Strange stuff that kinda reeks of .gov. Like a lottery, mebbe it's a tax on peeps bad at math? :wink:
Haven't looked at Eastern Montana, but I will. Thanks!




MostlyLeverGuns-

Yup, our only hope when y'all come out here is to melt ya in the humidity or drown ya inna swamp!! :lol: :wink:
Trajectory is easy. Rangefinder, quality glass, drop chart, lotsa lead downrange and the zen 'o' da wind.. :mrgreen:
But yeah, if I ended up in the flat open, a nice 6.5-284AI (just cause it's sexy), on a Stiller RBLP action, bedded down in one of Fatboy's stocks, a 2oz Jewell topped by a nice piece of Euro-glass with dependable turrets or some such may be in order..
:Bright idea: Heyyyy! An excuse for a new bean-field rifle! Some luster returns! Yayyyyy!! d;^)

When I say open country, I'm not necessarily saying on the flats. The area I recommended definitely has some hills to climb, with quite a bit of interspersed timber. Just not the solid tangle of black timber like the elk live in here.

A four wheeler may be nice to reach a jump off point, but illegal to use off road on most public land even for game retrieval, and driving off road on a private ranch will not turn out well for you. Those tracks that disappear back east in a few days, last for years in the west. That means grass, and grass is all a rancher has to sell, in the form of beef.

[HawgBonz]

Aaaight then. I'll check with a few outfits in that area as well and see what they have ta say.
Thanks much for your recommendations. :smile:


When I say open country, I'm not necessarily saying on the flats. The area I recommended definitely has some hills to climb, with quite a bit of interspersed timber. Just not the solid tangle of black timber like the elk live in here.

[reloader28]

Id say try the Craig Colorado area. Lots of elk the last time I was thru there.

Hunting has not been good around Yellowstone for years. The Gardner area used to be world renowned and I dont even think they have a season anymore. Between griz and wolves it really sucks east of the park

[HawgBonz]

Saw a Bearcat Outfitters in that area. They got more good reviews than any of the others I saw.
Will check into that.. Thanks! d:^)

Id say try the Craig Colorado area. Lots of elk the last time I was thru there.

[reloader28]

Saw a Bearcat Outfitters in that area. They got more good reviews than any of the others I saw.
Will check into that.. Thanks! d:^)

They'er talking of putting a BUNCH of wolves into that area so dont wait to long

[Ozark mike]

Wy id and mt youll have a harder time i don't know about co but caribou are gone we used to have some here but no more elk moose deer and more are on the decline. The east side might be a little better like waksupi said i dont know. They got lots of antelope though i know that. And i dont think co has much for wolves but im not sure

[MT Gianni]

Consider that the Eastern MT flat lands only give you 1200-2000 ft of elevation change per hill instead of the 3-4000 you get in the west. Be in the best shape you ever considered and able to out walk most 25 year olds.

[BobT]

Mom-n-Pop musta done good for themselves. They've got a TV show and corporate sponsors! [smilie=1::mrgreen:


I met the Denny's long before any TV show existed and before Dave Watson started hunting with them. I don't know about the sponsors but the TV shows came along because they are very good at what they do. Something that caught my interest before I ever hunted with them was the fact that they try to get you the largest animal possible with no sliding fee based on size. I never felt pressured to shoot at an animal I didn't want and looked over several before pulling the trigger. They offer fair chase hunts in good areas and the prices are no higher than comparable outfits and much lower than some. I recommended them to a gentleman I know last year and he had a very successful hunt and had nothing but good to say, I thought it was a pretty good endorsement coming from a well respected Professional Hunter in Tanzania.

When all is said and done you pays your money and takes your chances just make sure you do your homework and check references for any outfitter you select and you will get a quality hunt whether you kill an elk or not.

[HawgBonz]

When all is said and done you pays your money and takes your chances just make sure you do your homework and check references for any outfitter you select and you will get a quality hunt whether you kill an elk or not.
..Good ta know. Doin my homework a coupla years in advance! Hehehe. I'll be calling these folks as well on your recommendation.
Thanks much for your input. d:^)

..Left a message at Wood River Ranch in Meeteetse, Wy. Haven't heard back just yet but looks like a nice gig.
And steeeeaakkkssss.. I bet there's somebody there who knows how to do a proper "Pittsburg"... warm. :-P

..Talked to Seth at Bearcat Outfitters in Craig, Co. Super nice guy. Very down to Earth and helpful best I can tell from one call. Not a "salesman" at all. I think they operate out of a home base type setup that ya run out of. I believe the hunt is considered fulfilled once ya get one. Is that SOP for most?

..Also talked with Alesha at Flying J who operates in Utah and Idaho. She was a pleasure to talk with as well. Best I can tell IIRC their hunts seem to be 4 or 5 days at a base camp whether ya get something on day one or not at all. Kindofa combined horseback riding/hunting gig. Nice, in theory.

..The ones I'm looking at now use horses to get into the areas they hunt. And as I understand they use them to pack out anything ya may get. It'd def be +1 if there was an opportunity to do some wandering combined with this. Kris might have me up to speed with ol' Tuck by then so's mebbe I can refrain from annoying a good horse. :wink:

266604

[MostlyLeverGuns]

You might look up RMEF (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation). They publish a monthly magazine called Bugle with many outfitters listed. I think annual membership is $35(?). Some bookstores with magazine racks carry Bugle magazine. Organization is like Ducks Unlimited for elk.

[HawgBonz]

..That'd prolly be more inline with the Blue Ridge, which I'm used to and that's where my "old" family is from. Got a general area in mind that's considered "eastern" Wyo with the elevation changes described? It's hard ta tell much from the sat view. Thanks..


Consider that the Eastern MT flat lands only give you 1200-2000 ft of elevation change per hill instead of the 3-4000 you get in the west. Be in the best shape you ever considered and able to out walk most 25 year olds.

Ozark Mike- Thanks for your input..