Posted: 9/9/2026 8:12:45 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Aimless][Edited]
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https://processbasedhunter.com/ So up front this was a public land bow I hunt I went on. I didn't get an elk and only two guys got elk in my group got elk. One guy took his elk on private land which required a small fee to access and a significantly more money once he took a bull. There are raffles for more desirable hunting areas and over the counter archery tags that are easy to get. There are also over the counter bear tags. I don't think you guys would care about mule deer but you can get mule deer otc tags. I was there a week. We stayed in large tents with cots. I brought my own car camping type tent and cot but the outfitter's accommodations were fine. Food was provided. The first two days were started out with classroom lectures in tent on glassing, calling snd shooting elk. At the end two of the guides quartered an elk and cut off the head. We shot a little, everyone was a good shot so not much time was spent on that beyond what shots to take. We went out the morning of the first day to practice glassing from a mountain top. I think we went out hunting the afternoon of the second day. We split up into three groups of three or four guys and a guide. We started out glassing from peaks mostly with spotting scopes and also with binoculars trying to locate elk. We did see elk from a distance and then would drive up closer and get out and walk closer. After we got within distance we waited to see if they could be called in. I didn't really hear elk bugling. I think it was a little early. One guy in my group shot at a bull but went low. I'd shot with him at camp and he's a good shot and experienced deer hunter. I wasn't with him when this happened. The last day one of the guys in my group Paid the small fee to hunt some private land that had a higher concentration of elk. I went with him and two guides. One guide and I climbed a ridge while the second guide and the hunter went to the edge of a field to hide in some brush. The hunter had a doctor's note so he was hunting with a crossbow. Some coyotes started howling and flushed some elk cows from the woods and they kind of half ran to the end of the field closer to the guide and hunter. The bull came out in the open to investigate. The guide called to stop the bull elk. He stopped and looked towards where the guide and hunter were, but didn't seem to take notice of them. The hunter shot the elk at about 45 yards with a side in shot. The bolt passed through the elk and travelled maybe another 40-60 yards. We found it later. The elk looked around like he wasn't sure what had hit him. He started walking but was quickly light headed from blood loss, laid down and died. The two guides cut the hide off and cut off the quarters, meat and head without gutting the elk. They also got out the heart, meat around the ribs steaks etc. They got the quarters and head off and had all the meat off the torso or whatever you want to call it in under 40 minutes while explaining what they were doing and bullshitting. -oops- more later  I have to head out for a bit and don't want to retype allthis. lol I better edit it also ha ha   I have to resize the elk photos. I didn't take many pictures anyway |
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Western public land hunting for elk is a low percentage hunt. Bow hunting really limits your range. Most of us were getting within rifle range. I only went bow hunting because there are spots available, I'd rather have gone rifle hunting. If you really will be disappointed at taking a long trip to do some kind go tough hunting and not get anything you should consider rifle hunting or talk to Tate (the owner) about the cost of doing some private land hunting. I had a lot of fun. The hunters in my group were all great guys. Everyone was willing to work together, didn't complain. People weren't up drinking or farting around. I was up at 4am and back after dark most days. Once we got hunting it was all day in the field glassing and stalking. When I was in NY I knew guys who talked about going elk hunting and some guys I knew did drive out and do it. I don't know if there are better locations. I guess there's more elk in Colorado. I also heard Colorado and other places including parts of Utah are swamped with hunters. I never saw another hunter in the field other than the guys in my group. On Friday and Saturday I did see trucks and guys on ATVs moving around on the roads. This outfitter I used and his guides were great guys. If you want to take a swing at a challenging hunt it's 100% doable. It's not that expensive. I think having a mindset that you're going to learn to do something challenging is the most important thing. If you're thinking (very reasonably) "If I'm going to take a week off I'm coming back with a full cooler for sure" you need to talk to Tate about that. The hunting was out and walking around a lot and in loose steep inclines. I definitely should have been working out before I went, but whatever off I went. A guy I hunted with was 67 and smoking younger hunters. I bought a used Matthews bow that's maybe 10 years old. You'd want binoculars and a chest rig to carry them and a range finder. I really think a spotting scope and tripod would be a big plus. No one I saw had fancy spotting scopes, they had Simmons, Redfield and Vortex. You'd want a phone with OnX. A phone with satellite texting would help, but some of the guides didn't have them and used mine. You don't need new fancy camouflage clothes. Whatever boots and outdoor and rain clothes you have are probably fine. A regular day pack would be fine. It would be better if it could be used to pack out the elk but you don't really need that, there's enough people around. You'd fly into Salt Lake and it's maybe a four hour drive. You could rent a cheap sedan and ride with other people who have trucks or side by sides. If you plan on driving off road your vehicle is going to be at risk of being scratched up, although some guys had really nice raptors and they looked fine. The meat can be processed and shipped back. It's a lot of meat to bring back on a plane in a cooler. The guides know local processing places. The two elk that were taken were cut up in camp and driven home. One guy drove out with his wife and she went and visited tourist spots while he hunted. The guides have occasionally hunters whose wives come along. You for sure could bring a wife if she was fit enough for the hiking and climbing around. You can open or conceal carry in Utah and you can carry a handgun while bow hunting. There are no grizzlies and really no wolves in Utah. There are black bears and mountain lions, but you could skip carrying a pistol. I've never seen one but there are rattlesnakes. I didn't see any this time but there are moose and they can be assholes. |
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I'm having problems upholding photos. I'll add some more later if there's any interest. The same outfitter had drop camps where he'll provide a tent in a decent hunting area and help with tags, then you're on your own. That'd be a really reasonable hunt. You wouldn't need to fly out with a tent. You could order food and pick it up at a Wal mart. Oh you'd want some calls. A diaphragm call you and use while having both hands free on your bow would be a minimum. You could also hunt bear, mountain lions and coyotes. I saw a bunch of mule deer. There were wild horses (unfortunately you can't hunt those). I didn't see them but there were three mountain lions outside camp |
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There was a hunter from NYC in my group. he got interested in hunting, bought a bow and taught himself how to shoot. He's taken some deer on Long Island. He and some buddies processed the deer on their own. He flew to Utah, got a ride to hunting camp and went hunting for a week. He was a good shot, he was with the guy who shot and missed. Too bad he didn't get anything. |