Do you archery hunt for elk?

[gemihur]

Not many elk in oztralia.
James

But you're a lot closer to New Zealand where the hunting is golden if you have the gold!
I'd love to be on that island with my bow!
Be sure to pack yer vegemite!

 

[J.james]

But you're a lot closer to New Zealand where the hunting is golden if you have the gold!
I'd love to be on that island with my bow!
Be sure to pack yer vegemite!

Very true but the most of the elk in NZ are hybrids of red deer and elk making them on average 60% smaller then the elk you guys get America and Europe. I'm sure there just as fun to hunt though.
New Zealand is a beautiful country, and a few people I know have compared it to the remote alpine retches of Canada.

 

[gemihur]

JJ,
I'll concede that. I'm relegated to hunt the miniature variety, Cervus nippon (Japanese), found on Assateague Is. They average about 45 lbs. dressed. A red stag would seem a monster there!
Annually, a set of lotteries for bow and gun allows hunters on the NWR at Chincoteague, VA. Been doin' it for 35 yrs and have really enjoyed it.
Ek meat beats deer meat every time!

 

[Shoot 708]

I got our son the first bow in the family 2 years ago. In Utah, youth hunters can hunt deer all 3 seasons using their rifle tag. We thought it would be good to give archery a try, no extra tag needed. He's become a good shooter. Unlike me, this kid has NO buck fever no matter the situation. At 15, I will give him first shot at anything we are going after. He got a good chance at a nice mule deer this year we had put the stalk on. We came around some brush into a clearing and there was the deer we had seen earlier. Pretty buck in the velvet, glowing in the evening sun. My job was running the range finder, the buck was looking straight at us, I didn't think he would give me time to range him. So I'm whispering "get on him, get on him". My son's whispering "range him, range him" as he draws back. I guess 35 yards, "use your second pin, if he turns shoot". The buck took a couple steps away from us but kept his eyes on us. That gave a pretty good broadside presentation, my son sends the arrow. We hear the arrow bounce through the brush Behind the deer. Deer runs off. I gather my senses, take a couple steps forward and range the oak bush behind where the deer was standing. 25 yards. We look for blood, we look for the arrow. Can't find either. I'm in trouble for not doing my job, my son can't believe he missed. We decide it must have just barely gone high over the back. I'm still shaking, my sons not at all. 3 weeks later my son gets his deer with the muzzle loader, not as big as the archery buck but a challenging 80 yard shot through a thick aspen grove. 8 weeks later I redeem myself with a nice buck opening morning of the rifle hunt. It's not til a few days later that we discover, while processing the head for an European mount that I shot the same deer he had taken the shot at. He didn't miss after all. I need to figure out how to load pics and should do our hunt experience as its own thread. But it looks like we need to "stick with it" and put archery elk on the bucket list now.

 

[Greystone]

I have in the past and been successful but the last several years went back to the rifle. Arthritis makes bow hunting difficult with the fingers aching.

 

[backstrape]

Yes. And I think archery season is the best time to be out west hunting.I killed my biggest bull with a bow last year. Which wasn't a monster but it was a big one to me 272" montana bull DIY

 

[NoTasker]

I do hunt with a bow when I can, however in Arizona the odds of getting drawn are better for rifle than archery. Yes - a rifle tag is easier to draw than an archery tag.

 

[iowaelkbum]

I have only shot elk with a bow. One of these days I will use a rifle.

 

[RockyRandy]

If i only had one opportunity to hunt elk, it would be with the bow.

SO many less hunters, and the aobility to listen to a bugling bull coming into your calls is amazing.

I've shot 4 bulls with my bow. MANY with the rifle, i dont get the excitement out of rifle hunting.

Long range shooting is more of a hobby for me.

I couldn't agree with you more. I grew up hunting with a rifle and love everything about guns and then about 15 years ago picked up a bow and have never looked back. There isn't anything more thrilling then listen to a Elk bugle back to you and then being about to call him into bow range is second to none. About 7 years ago I drew a antelope rifle tag in the same area that i hunt elk with a bow so I had a rifle in one hand and a bow in the other, I chased a buck around for about a hour trying to get close enough to get a shot with my bow and finally gave up realizing I was never going to get any closer then 350 yards so i laid down with my rifle and shot him at 350 yards and he dropped in his tracks. I remember standing up and saying to myself (that was way to easy). So today I love to ring steel with my rifle and hunt Deer and Elk with my Bow. But thats just me, take it for what it's worth.

 

[Deleted member 107796]

My favorite spot for elk archery is around Lower Cataract lake in the Gore Range. You have a great view of Mt Powell and there are falls from the upper lakes.

 

[WYOHTF]

I've harvested 13 of the elk I've taken with a bow. Both bulls and cows. Those numbers are bulls-6 cows-7. Horns don't eat to good when you are raising kids. For lots of years I shot the first legal elk I saw, didn't have time like I do now.