Help with semi guided or drop camp elk hunt

[Mnovak73]

Hello group,
I have a group of 5 guys wanting to find a decent place to hunt elk. Prefer to do a drop camp or semi guided due to cost. Also prefer private land hunts if possible. I find several on line opportunities but I'm looking for feedback from someone who has used a ranch or guide service or knows someone they can recommend. Trying not to go in blind if possible. We're looking at Colorado, Wyoming or Montana due to OTC and high draw result opportunity. Again, if you know something I don't please share. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
Mike

 

[midnightmalloy]

Montana for sure!

 

[Mnovak73]

Montana for sure!

Ok, that's a start. Any recommendations or contacts you could share?

 

[midnightmalloy]

I don't have a specific guide recommendation but montana is the best place for 5 guys to get drawn on a group tag. Also Montana has mostly lower elevations than colorado or Wyoming so easier to deal with if you're not used to it.

 

[Mnovak73]

I don't have a specific guide recommendation but montana is the best place for 5 guys to get drawn on a group tag. Also Montana has mostly lower elevations than colorado or Wyoming so easier to deal with if you're not used to it.

Does Montana do party hunt draws, so if one draws the group all gets tags? This is all helpful information, greatly appreciated. Any certain region or area in Montana to Target?

 

[midnightmalloy]

How much per person are you wanting to spend? That's the big question.

 

[Mnovak73]

How much per person are you wanting to spend? That's the big question.

Really depends, I know the non resident tags in Montana are almost a grand a piece. We haven't set a limit per say but I think not including tags we were looking at $2500ish a piece for a spike camp or semi guided set up.

 

[midnightmalloy]

They do party tags in Montana.

One word of caution is if your wanting to do a spike camp with 5 guys you would likely want to be very far in and also everyone should be in good shape as it's a very hard hunt anywhere in the west. If you are looking for private land that is decent I would say you need to double that price per person for an area that has decent elk hunting. $1500-2500 is around the price most private ranches charge for semi guided cow hunts.

Semi guided or spike camp on public land is doable for that price. Private land I would say no.

Are the guys going in good shape?

 

[Mnovak73]

They do party tags in Montana.

One word of caution is if your wanting to do a spike camp with 5 guys you would likely want to be very far in and also everyone should be in good shape as it's a very hard hunt anywhere in the west. If you are looking for private land that is decent I would say you need to double that price per person for an area that has decent elk hunting. $1500-2500 is around the price most private ranches charge for semi guided cow hunts.

Semi guided or spike camp on public land is doable for that price. Private land I would say no.

Are the guys going in good shape?

We are all in decent condition. I hunted Montana in 2004 on a guided hunt so I'm familiar with the terrain. I also deer hunt in Wyoming every November which is fairly challenging as well.
We have been trying to determine the best options and opportunities. We have a connection in New Mexico but hard to draw tags and highly unlikely more than one of us would draw.
Do you think the public land is worth the effort? If we are going to get into $5-$7k a piece we might just as well do a fully guided hunt.
We were leaning toward Colorado simply due to elk herd numbers.
At this point I'm not sure what we will do? That's why I'm seeking input and help from experienced elk hunters.

 

[midnightmalloy]

Biggest problem with colorado is you have a very short season and the woods are packed. I hunt a lot of the western states and if your a mile off the road your pretty much to yourself....in colorado that's not the case ever. I routinely run into other serious hunters 5+ miles back in roadless areas! Also I think colorado is one of the most expensive places to book a guide due to the short seasons. Montana has a 4-5 week rifle elk season so the pressure is spread out. More elk doesn't equal more opportunity.

 

[midnightmalloy]

If you are all in decent shape just do a diy hunt. Have a couple guys drive out with all the gear and meet the rest at the airport.

DIY in Montana and use the cash to buy a decent group setup so you can go more often.

 

[Mnovak73]

Biggest problem with colorado is you have a very short season and the woods are packed. I hunt a lot of the western states and if your a mile off the road your pretty much to yourself....in colorado that's not the case ever. I routinely run into other serious hunters 5+ miles back in roadless areas! Also I think colorado is one of the most expensive places to book a guide due to the short seasons. Montana has a 4-5 week rifle elk season so the pressure is spread out. More elk doesn't equal more opportunity.

That makes since, we will definitely consider Montana. Maybe another member on here will have a contact, wishful thinking lol. It's so frustrating that hunting has been made so business oriented and costly. It's hard for the average joe to afford an opportunity.

 

[Mnovak73]

That's what we would like to do, but we may need some guidance on the first go around. None of us will know the area, I know when I went on my guided hunt we took horses back and up several miles. That's why we were thinking a semi guided spike camp where we could pack in to a base camp.

 

[midnightmalloy]

That makes since, we will definitely consider Montana. Maybe another member on here will have a contact, wishful thinking lol. It's so frustrating that hunting has been made so business oriented and costly. It's hard for the average joe to afford an opportunity.

Yea man. Onxmaps and boot leather.