My Dad is being retired by his company at the ripe age of 68. He would like to go hunting with me and I believe an elk hunt is what he wants. Im not talking about a B&C trophy animal here. A rag horn bull or cow elk would be perfect. Im looking for suggestions on a state, guide service, etc. Keep in mind his age. He is in good shape and we can both do a fair amount of hiking but neither one us can pack out an elk very far. I spend too much time working on guns to be in great shape and Dad has spent most of his life as a computer programmer. We are not Marlboro men to put it bluntly and would need the guide to help pack out the animals. Where would you suggest we start looking for a guide?

give Kevin a call @ diamondj oufitters. They hunt out of Big Piney WY. Nice camp, good food, and some dang nice elk. website is www.diamondjoutfitters.com

I went on a moose there this past October. They will work their tail off for you. Good stock----mules mostly. They will take the uphill hike to get to the elk. CB

you might contact jim brown of cherry creek outfitters in keene, north dakota. i know that he used to elk hunts with great results and i'm pretty sure that he still does.

the hunt would be fairly close and jim will take good care of you.

tell him that his cousin ron said howdy!

another suggestion would be to contact larry surber of LS adventures in chinook, montana for hunting elk in the bear paw mountains of north-central montana. larry is great peaople and will treat you right. i'm not his cousin, but tell him that ron (who used to work for the enwspaper) said howdy.

if you can find a good outfitter for the missouri breaks area (larry might work in that area too, ask him), you'll have no trouble filling tags.

I'd get ahold of Elkhorn Outfitters. They have a website of the same name. They control the hunting rights on a really big chunck of northwest Colorado and have special rights to hunt since it is mostly Ranching for Wildlife. The Ranching for Wildlife program mostly benefits the residents of Colorado, but Elkhorn has a special situation.

The elk herd is way over the desired population the Division of Wildlife wants in the area. So, they get an elk season that runs almost 100 days and he gets a butt load of extra cow tags for the property. A bull hunt will cost an arm and a leg, but a cow would probably be dirt cheap.

Another good thing abut the hunt is that for the most part it takes place in the low country on the sagebrush flats. Easier walking and easier packing to get on into the back of the truck.

Cheers

Mac

Ranching for Wildlife Program does not include 'out of staters'.
from the CO DOW website -
Some Elements of the RFW Program Have Not Changed:

Public RFW licenses are available only to residents of Colorado.
A minimum of 12,000 private contiguous acres.
Equal access to all parts of the ranch that are hunted by private hunters.
Wildlife habitat improvement and management elements built into a plan of action for each ranch.
Quality hunting experience at lower hunter densities on most ranches.
No liability to the state for game damage payments for species under contract.

There are plenty of public access hunting areas in CO that do not require a "guide", have reasonable access for those with limited mobility, provide good numbers of huntable game and are not overcrowded with ahunter behind every tree.

The Timbers at Chama, NM. Great people, Great accommodation's, lots of elk. I took a nice 6x6 300 class bull this Oct. www.thetimbersatchama.com Bill and Rhonda Glisson run a class operation.

SKB2706,

You are correct, but as I stated Elkhorn has a special circumstance.I used to think all cow/doe tags were for residents, but there are exceptions.

Go to the DOW site and look for the regulations covering the license allocation. You find that under the Guidelines page, not the Ranching for Wildlife page.

Because the elk herd in Northwest Colorado is so far over the desired levels. Elkhorn is given several hundred extra cow tags beyond the tags given for the Public Ranching for Wildlife tags. They can do as they wish with these tags and most go to their clents.

So, by using these special cow tags, non-residents can hunt a Ranching for Wildlife property for cows. I don't agree with the policy, but it is there and would be a good thing for Bill Soverns to check into if he so desires.

Mac

You should check with www.backcountryoutfitter.net. I went with them this year and had a great hunt. I will hunt with them again. They are in Steamboat Colorado

I've hunted quiet a few of the RFW areas here in CO, my favorite being Wolf Springs Ranch. Located in Westcliffe, CO they have some amazing Elk and Mule deer there. RFW tags are only for Colorado residents. The great part of the RFW is that CO residents get access to some prime hunting property for the cost of the big game tag of the animal they want to hunt.

The trade off for the landowner enrolled and accepted in RFW is that they get more than the normal quota of vouchers for hunting animals to sell. Most RFW participants sell their tags through outfitters for a premium well above the actual cost of the tag for a Non-Resident. Look on the CO DOW website; it will give you the contact information for the ranches participating in RFW. Call them and see which outfitter you would have to use to access their property.

My other suggestion is find out what outfitters are working in the area you want to hunt; most States will have a list of licensed guide/outfitters. Ask them what kind of packages they offer, some do a simple pack in/out all the way to 1 on 1 type hunt. Get a customer list with contact information and do some phone calling/email to find out how satisfied they are.

ID has lots of antlerless hunts in agricultural areas. Most of the time, landowners are looking for people to take elk off their property. Fish and game will provide landowner contacts und usually its a turkey shoot. My wife got her cow that way. Call up ID F&G for more info.

Bill,

You might find someone willing to trade some of your excellent gunsmith work for an easy hunt. Montana has better and easier Elk hunts in general than Idaho. I have hunted them both and lately, Montana has better and easier hunts.

The Idaho landowner hunts require that you have written permission in hand when applying for the very limited hunts.

Elk numbers are over the goal in 60% of the game units in Montana. That's good odds. Montana also has a private land access program.

Good luck to you and your Dad.
Dave

Bill,

Colorado has the largest elk population of any state. The state is known for emphasizing harvest numbers, not antler management. Prices will be reasonable.

quote:

Originally posted by skb2706:
Ranching for Wildlife Program does not include 'out of staters'.
from the CO DOW website -
Some Elements of the RFW Program Have Not Changed:

Public RFW licenses are available only to residents of Colorado.
A minimum of 12,000 private contiguous acres.
Equal access to all parts of the ranch that are hunted by private hunters.
Wildlife habitat improvement and management elements built into a plan of action for each ranch.
Quality hunting experience at lower hunter densities on most ranches.
No liability to the state for game damage payments for species under contract.

There are plenty of public access hunting areas in CO that do not require a "guide", have reasonable access for those with limited mobility, provide good numbers of huntable game and are not overcrowded with ahunter behind every tree.

This is great but for an out of stater we know of none of these easy to find easy access not overcrowded areas and most that are in the know wont tell.... whould anyone tell Bill a couple areas or three he can check out

quote:

Originally posted by Sierra_Dave:
Bill,

You might find someone willing to trade some of your excellent gunsmith work for an easy hunt. Montana has better and easier Elk hunts in general than Idaho. I have hunted them both and lately, Montana has better and easier hunts.

The Idaho landowner hunts require that you have written permission in hand when applying for the very limited hunts.

Elk numbers are over the goal in 60% of the game units in Montana. That's good odds. Montana also has a private land access program.

Good luck to you and your Dad.
Dave

mmmm, no. There's several OTC tags that have an anyweapons antlerless season as long as its outside NF boundaires.

Bill,
Check out John at San Juan River and Livery in New Mexico. I just used them for a mule deer hunt but they do elk hunts too. John is first class and has horses and mules for packing out the animals. They take some VERY nice elk and he suggested I come back for an Elk hunt first. They have a great balance of comfortable tents and camp and old school classic camp feel.

http://www.sjroutfitters.com/

Tri-State outfitters Raton, New Mexico

They hunt three states.

I recommend that you check out Kiowa Hunting Services in Raton, NM.
qualityhunt.com
I've gone on 6 cow elk hunts with this outfit and have just returned from my first bull elk hunt. All hunts have been successful. (Maybe too successful. I'm spoiled now!) You do not need to be in great physical condition for these hunts.

Don't look down on the idea of a guided cow elk hunt. The price is reasonable ($950 +$350 license) the scenery is great and success is all but assured. You'll get experience that will be very helpful if/when it comes time to consider a bull elk hunt.

Here's what it looks like: