Is this as good as it gets?

[elk-n-walleye]

After reading thru some threads I started wondering... is this (elk hunting) as good as it gets?

Right now, for me, I feel like it is and will always be. I grew up hunting with my dad. Mostly it was a source of meat to feed a family of 8 and mule deer and white tail were our most available resource. Successful hunts meant food on the table at an affordable price. I think about those years hunting deer in the forest and I enjoyed the hunt just as much as I enjoy hunting elk now and for the same reasons.

However, after I was introduced to elk hunting I never looked at hunting deer the same. Now deer hunting is an after thought.

I know many of you hunt other species but do you see Elk as the ultimate prize?

[Swede]

For me elk are easily #1 when it come to hunting. I will shoot a buck deer if it presents itself, but I rarely hunt for one. I think deer are fun, but elk are the ultimate prize and that includes a nice fat cow. As far as other critters are concerned, they are not even close. Still, I think I would enjoy a moose hunt someday.

[Willie makit]

Ill let you know after this September.

[timberland]

I would the experience of hunting other species. Variety is the spice of life. Elk fill my need to chase something in the mountains because I can't afford a Marco Polo sheep. Elk is definitely at the top of my can-do's.

[cnelk]

I know many of you hunt other species but do you see Elk as the ultimate prize?

NO. Its not the ultimate prize.
I approach being a successful elk hunter as a goal.
The same if I was hunting deer, moose or any game animal Im pursuing at that time.
I make a goal and try to achieve it

Is this as good as it gets?
Yes.
IMO These are 'The good ol' days'
Right here, right now

[elk-n-walleye]

I know many of you hunt other species but do you see Elk as the ultimate prize?

NO. Its not the ultimate prize.
I approach being a successful elk hunter as a goal.
The same if I was hunting deer, moose or any game animal Im pursuing at that time.
I make a goal and try to achieve it

Sure, but taking "once in a lifetime hunts" out of the equation would you rather be hunting Elk, Deer, Bear, Turkey, etc? That was the intent of the thread.

[WapitiTalk1]

Yes . Love hunting them big, 'vocal', galoots.

[Wapiti]

Absolutely !! Elk are number 1 and when my wife who is also my best friend and hunting partner comes along there is no better place on earth !!

[BarW]

Whitetails in Texas are still top of the list for me. I'd like to hunt as many animals as possible in my life and I love the mountains and chasing elk, but just something about a big ol elusive Pineywoods ten point.

[cnelk]

Yes. Elk consume most of my time

[msd1228]

Elk are definitely #1 in my books, but I also hold a special place for rutting bull moose and spot and stalk trophy mule deer.

[dreamhunter]

Before elk hunting, I hunted the Kansas Whitetail .Last year I didn't even buy a hunting license. All I bought was my OTC elk tag and spent 10 days in the elk woods.I didn't miss deer hunting at all. I did try to see if I could muster up the desire but it never showed . This year I am still with this African Safari on my plate along with my fall elk hunt in Colorado.I sit down tomorrow and talk to my friend and put pencil to paper to see just what can happen. My juices got going again yesterday when I went with him to pick up a gun collection he purchased. These people had so many animals from around the world,it was super impressive. A lot of African game. However,here in the good ol USA ,it's ELK for me.

[Huntrgathr]

I'm with cnelk on this one. I approach every hunt with the same tenacity and relish each species as a worthy ( and usually superior) adversary. I don't think an elk is "better" than a deer or a bear or a sheep. Each one is " as good as it gets" in its own way. For me, the " ultimate prize" is to hunt every day I can, regardless of the quarry. You gotta remember, I get off on hunting mushrooms and stinging nettles and stuff like that... I'm some kind of caveman or something....

[elk-n-walleye]

I'm with cnelk on this one. I approach every hunt with the same tenacity and relish each species as a worthy ( and usually superior) adversary. I don't think an elk is "better" than a deer or a bear or a sheep. Each one is " as good as it gets" in its own way. For me, the " ultimate prize" is to hunt every day I can, regardless of the quarry. You gotta remember, I get off on hunting mushrooms and stinging nettles and stuff like that... I'm some kind of caveman or something....

cnelk did say in a later post he spends more time on elk, however.
I am impressed regarding the range of quarry you seek and with passion! The only other species I chase with any degree of passion is Walleye and that is more of a hobby.
Your name is fitting. I could learn a lot from you. I've wanted to but haven't yet picked up a book on edible plants.

[Sneaky]

I can't think of nothing better, this side of Heaven.

[Wyo67]

Yup. Elk are #1 for me. Sure it's fun to spot and stalk a nice antelope buck and there are few things better than watching that buck deer come in to range. But... when you hear the early morning bugles and begin match wits with a herd bull, for me there is nothing better.

[Csrbowhunter]

For 15 years there was nothing better than being in a tree in November waiting on a rutting whitetail to come by. Then I went elk hunting the first time! I really didn't know what I was doing but man it was a challenge just to find the elk and when that first bull came in screaming from then on I was hooked!!!! The next time I was in a tree in November I kept thinking"I'd wish I'd hear a bugle. Since I hunt Ohio there was no chance in that but at that time I knew whitetail hunting just wasn't as fun anymore. Turkey hunting kind of is the same fun but since their are not as big and for me there are no mtns to look at it's just not the same.
I spend more time getting ready for elk hunting then anything else I do. I work out for nine months just to hunt two weeks and love every minute of it. September can't come fast enough!

[Trophyhill]

I say yes. I doe rank open country rutting mulies a close second though. trying to sneak past a bunch of does to get close enough to a 300 lb mulie buck for a shot really gets my blood pumping when you have very limited cover to work with.

[bnsafe]

if I could ever call to one an have him answer an come it prob would be. in two years of hunting them I have heard them bugle at nite but prob not more that 10-20 bugles during the day total. its awesome for sure, but I feel like im missing something.

[Trophyhill]

if I could ever call to one an have him answer an come it prob would be. in two years of hunting them I have heard them bugle at nite but prob not more that 10-20 bugles during the day total. its awesome for sure, but I feel like im missing something.

I think having one scream in your face at 10 yards ought to do the trick

[mrganser]

Elk are the pinnacle species and pursuit! The meat they provide, the highs and lows of the hunt, the country that they are hunted in...yes this IS as good as it gets!

[bnsafe]

no question dave, that would do it. course wetting myself shouldn't be the pinnacle of my life, but hey

[zpd307]

I can relate to this question! the minute I was on the mountain in Utah and had a 300+ plus walk by me at 130 yards through a sage pasture, I knew I would do this every year! I bet most of you can imagine what I felt the first time I heard a bugle in person..... I didn't even buy a deer tag this last fall. I don't have a lot of time and I just don't have the enthusiasm for it anymore. I want to hunt other things as well; grand slam for turkeys, Wyoming antelope, Canada moose, bighorn sheep if I can find somebody crazy enough to do it with me. but I want to feel that rush of my very first bull with a bow to boot before I do any of those other hunts.