Drew a Kentucky Elk tag
- Thread starter badbowtie15
- Start date
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dogbuster0006
Well-Known Member
Wish y'all best of luck!!! I've been making my donation since it started and still no love.
You hit the lottery, good luck on your hunt.
CanisLupus
Well-Known Member
Would love to hear an update on how this turned out.
badbowtie15
Active Member
Not sure there's enough room in this thread… but I will try! So after drawing your initial tag, KY holds a secondary draw to determine zones/restricted areas that hunters can hunt in. Most outfitters operate the same in which you can reserve a spot with their outfit and also get advice on what to put in for your top 5 preferences for this secondary draw. I paid a deposit with a well known outfitter and put in our preferences based on their suggestion. We did not get any of our top 5 choices and were thrown in a less desirable unit with lower elk density than others. The outfitter told us he was sorry and couldn't help us in that unit and kept our deposit. In hindsight, this outfitter had us put in for difficult to draw preferences and I felt like we were done wrong by them. Very very disappointed in how the went about that. So I decided to secure another outfitter that would take us in that unit. Now just from conversation with the guides and my personal experience, it is very apparent that the Kentucky elk herd is hurting compared to what it was 10 years ago. I think the state completely overestimates it's elk population and there is little evidence to show they are doing much to improve it or their habitat. The locals/guides agree that the state is doing very little and do not see any positive contributions from the money generated by this limited draw. We hunted hard for 5 days (the entire first rifle season) and did not see an elk. Mind you this is with the assistance of a local outfitter that knows the land and knows how to hunt elk. We did have one encounter with a bull on the last day that we got fired up, but never could reel him into visibility. Most of the bulls that were killed this year that I was aware of were spike bulls. The guides are very frustrated with the current state of the elk herd. It's tough hunting conditions. The hills and hollers of eastern Kentucky are no joke. Drastic 1,000 foot elevation changes with all the foliage on the trees in September. Our average shot each place we set up would have been 75-100 yds max. There is no glassing in this terrain. Just hope you get a bull fired up and he comes charging in… which was no easy task. The remnants of strip mine operations that created mountain top meadows full of fresh grasses for the elk to graze are few and far between and everything was completely overgrown with invasive species. This alludes to my point about the state not putting any effort back into the elk herd. To me, there needs to be a ton of habitat management in addition to adjusting the harvest quotas in order to get the herd back to an enjoyable hunting opportunity. Our outfitter and guide busted their butt to get us on elk and my wife and I had the experience of a lifetime. No regrets from me. I just can't say I'll be donating anymore money to this lottery system in the near future. I recommend you look at the elk harvest reports and negative trends over the last 5-10 years that back up my observations. I'm not trying to bash anyone as a result of our unsuccessful hunt, I've been on plenty… that's hunting. Im just sharing my personal experience and opinion.
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CanisLupus
Well-Known Member
@badbowtie15 ... thanks for the intel on the Kentucky elk situation. I have not heard this side of the story and I'll be looking into the harvest reports to learn more. I appreciate you for sharing your experience and I'm glad that you and your wife had the experience of a lifetime after everything was done.
Wow thats a bummer. My niece has a bad experience with a bad outfitter in Kentucky as well. She won a hunt for a bull elk through a charity raffle of some sort. On the first day of the hunt they told her the bulls were few and far between and she would be better off to shoot a cow. They had her shoot the first elk that they found within 15 minutes of the first morning. She did get a freezer full of meat out of the deal but I feel she got screwed. Glad you had a good time though and it sounds like the second outfitter was a decent outfit to hunt with.
