Any Elk?

C

cnelk

New member
Mar 23, 2017
5,542
Recently I have been seeing the reference of hunting \'any elk\'.

I know many hunt \'any elk\' and others dont.
So I am curious as to why a hunter picks one or the other?

If you hunt \'ANY ELK\' please explain why
If you DONT hunt \'any elk\' please explain why.

Maybe there is a transition period?

I am hoping some of the newbies and oldies chime in with their thoughts
 
I have been an any elk hunter. I like the meat and can\'t pass on any legal animal. I would say that after some more experience and knowledge about how to hunt them I might switch to a bull hunter. If the end of the season or my trip was drawing near I would go back to an any elk hunter.
 
I don\'t hunt any elk. I always target the mature bulls. The ones that go off by themselves after the rut. Not because i\'m a trophy hunter. Far from it, and i\'ve mentioned many times I don\'t keep the antlers.

I hunt for mature bulls, because they have the most experience. They didn\'t get old by being stupid. They offer me the greatest challenge. They have also had their day. They did all a bull is suppose to do. Breed many cows. Fight other bulls. Survived the elements, predators, and the greatest predator.... man.

So, I let the young bulls alone to have their day, and go after their dad.
 
I don\'t think \"Any Elk\" is what I\'m after as I really don\'t think I\'d like to take a calf at this time. I\'m in the \"First Legal Mature Elk\" category.

I LOVE elk and deer meat.

For me, this year was a huge success with my first ever big game animal ever taken, my doe. It taught me real world blood trailing, patience, comradery, field dressing, meat hauling, respect, and of course...butchering.

I learned a lot about myself and a lot about my son in the 24 hours it took from the shot to the final package of meat we put into the freezer.

The memories from the hunts, and the camping this year will be some of my most favorite memories of all time. I spent most of them with my son but had one weekend with some good friends and met up with AFrith from this site and had a blast.

Being only my second year of hunting and the experience and exposure I gained from that one animal, I can only imagine what lies ahead.

First legal mature animal.
 
I would say that I hunt any elk, but typically I have to declare what sex I am going for beforehand being a rifle hunter. I am thinking of changing that and hunting an area at a time when I can get either sex tags. To me, I enjoy filling the freezer and don\'t need to be chasing antlers every year. After multiple years of seeing the opposite sex of what tag I have, the either sex tag really intrigues me... :D
 
Even though I haven\'t killed an elk, my goal is a 5 on one side. I finally got to eat elk and loved it (thanks Terry). Maybe at the end of my hunt I would shoot a cow so I could take home some meat but for me I really want to call in a bull. I\'m just drawn to the idea of calling in a bull and having one bugle up close and personal. I haven\'t got to experience that yet but that\'s what I think of when I think about elk hunting. Maybe that\'s a tall order for someone that\'s never killed an elk but if passing cows is what it takes to get in on a bugling bull is what it takes, I\'m prepared to do so.
 
I would be in the group of any elk. I have not been elk hunting before so any legal elk would be my goal. Hope that happens this year! If I lived where the elk roam that might be a different story. ( more time to spend in the elk woods)


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I lean more to the any elk side. I don\'t care that much about the antlers. I like a good set of antlers, but am more into good eating. I pass on calves and wait for a more mature animal.
 
Our unit is bull only. Like Pete I\'ve taken many elk and now choose to target mature bulls.

If you are a shooter in front of me, you\'d better take any bull I call in. :D

Personal choice on what to take and I support those that take any elk. Exception, I frown at shooting shoot calfs. :agg: :D
 
I did change to \"Any elk\" last year, and now I\'m back to \"Bull only\".

Why? Because I now have access to private land for rifle cows! Why pack one out of the hills when you can drive up to her?

Plus ... last year I shot a cow on day 3 of a weeklong hunt and I was bummed immediately ... I would have to leave the hills, and that\'s not good.
 
Any mature elk for me. I live buy the saying that you don\'t pass one on day one that you would shoot on the last day.
 
Tick, buddy. You don\'t have to leave your hunting area when you fill your tag. You are not done. After a successful kill, you are free to learn new things and new areas. Have you go calling down pat? Do you know all of the elk wallows and trails? Are there some new areas that demand exploration. After your tag is filled is a great time to just enjoy the greatness of God\'s handiwork.
 
Any elk will do but the yearlings get a pass. Come to think of it, I have yet to have a shot opportunity at a cow....the way I hunt is typically hunting for bulls but if I get a chance at a cow I wont pass it up.
 
Im an any elk hunter.
I live 12 hours from where we elk hunt.
Been elk hunting twice. Taken one elk.
When I do get to go its for about a week so im not passing up a cow or small bull
I wouldn\'t shoot a calf due to less meat but I dont see anything wrong with it.
 
\"Swede\" said:
Tick, buddy. You don\'t have to leave your hunting area when you fill your tag. You are not done. After a successful kill, you are free to learn new things and new areas. Have you go calling down pat? Do you know all of the elk wallows and trails? Are there some new areas that demand exploration. After your tag is filled is a great time to just enjoy the greatness of God\'s handiwork.
Click to expand...

Well, there\'s a lot of work getting the elk out of the woods, and that needs to be done fairly quickly (or did last year -- it was hot) ... and to go back, well, that would be tough, too. I opted for spending some time with my wife and cutting up elk.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone
Here is my take. My family heritage is hunting. In the 60s and 70s I was taught to hunt in the fall to provide meat for the winter. I didn?t have a choice to see if it had ?big enough antlers?, or try to out-smart a certain animal. If I did shoot something with antlers that was a bonus.

I like to eat wild game. I rely on it. And growing up the way I did, I still try to fill the freezer first and foremost. And it is nice to use gear that comes with shooting an animal, i.e. packs, saws, meat processing, etc. If I don?t shoot something, these items go un-used.

Sure there have been times I have hunted for ?antlers only?, and I will do it again someday. But I consider it a luxury to be able to do that.
It is very convenient that some states give hunters the opportunity to harvest 2 elk. To me that is the best of both worlds. You can fill your freezer with one tag and hunt for antlers with the other if you wish.
 
I know you weren\'t talking about me Brad. I just want to make it clear I don\'t hunt for antlers. I have no bias for anybody who trophy hunts, but it goes against everything I stand for if I did it.
 
I\'ve taken multiple elk with a rifle but just started focusing on archery the past 2 seasons and have yet to arrow one. So for the time being I am an \"any elk\" guy. I truly think any elk with a bow is a special one and will be tickled with anything I can stick an arrow in.
 
\"cnelk\" said:
Thanks for the replies everyone
Here is my take. My family heritage is hunting. In the 60s and 70s I was taught to hunt in the fall to provide meat for the winter. I didn?t have a choice to see if it had ?big enough antlers?, or try to out-smart a certain animal. If I did shoot something with antlers that was a bonus.
Click to expand...

I was raised the same way, Brad. Nowadays, if I fail to fill the freezer, my Wife can get very hard to live with. :crazy:

I consider myself a \"realist\"...I\'ve passed on opportunities to shoot a cow in the past, only to regret it at the end of the Season. Some Seasons may only bring a couple of encounters...and the chances of shooting much more than a raghorn bull in my area are very low. I have only seen a handful of bulls over 320 over the years in that area.

So, the first good shot opportunity gets an arrow! :upthumb:
 
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