Elk hunting is fantastic. It’s also tough. I consider killing a bull elk on public ground to be one of the most challenging tasks in all of hunting. You’ll have to battle weather, extreme terrain, your brain and body, and an incredibly savvy ungulate.
Don’t let the paragraph above detour you. I kill bull elk on public ground every year, and so do lots of guys and gals I know. Here’s an excellent elk hunting guide filled with elk hunting tips to get you started.
Tag Applications
If you want to find yourself in the elk woods every single year, and trust me, you do, you have to play the application game. It’s expensive and frustrating, but such is life. Over-the-counter elk days are gone! Colorado and Idaho were the remaining holdouts; locals nonresidents could go every single year. Idaho went to an OTC with CAPS system. This means that in most of the state’s 28 designated elk zones, with 99 Game Management Units (GMUs), a set number of nonresident elk permits has been allocated for each GMU. In 2024, those tags were available via phone, online, and at Idaho license sales agents on December 10, 2024. Most units sell out in hours. In 2026, Idaho is going to an all-draw tag allocation system.
In 2025, Colorado transitioned to an all-draw nonresident system for archery. However, second- and third-rifle season tags are still available in over 70 percent of the state’s GMUs, at least for the time being. In 2028, Colorado is transitioning to a random draw system, similar to New Mexico’s. If you’ve got Centennial State elk points and have been waiting to cash them in, don’t wait too much longer.
I write this to emphasize the importance of staying on top of each state’s ever-changing draw system. I suggest subscribing to as many state hunting newsletters, such as Game & Fish and DNR, as you can to stay informed. Staying informed is half the battle. I also recommend saving each state’s website as a favorite so you can visit them regularly. Set draw-date deadlines in your cell phone calendar and reminders that ping you at least two weeks before the deadline. You don’t want to be applying for your elk tag on deadline day.
If you’re a serious elk hunter, you want to apply in as many states as possible. To ensure I hunt elk several times between September and November, I apply for multiple premium limited draw units in kingpin elk states like Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. In other states, such as Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, I apply for opportunity units… those that require fewer points to draw but typically have a lower hunter success rate and bulls that usally won’t require a measuring tape. As a resident of Colorado, I can purchase my elk tags over the counter for archery and second- and third-rifle seasons and can still bank a preference point.
Many states also have leftover draw dates, elk tags in units after the primary drawing. Be aware of when these licenses go on sale. Stay informed!
Elk Hunting Gear
Elk hunting is expensive. I don’t want to give you a list that’ll drive up your credit card balance, but there are some non-negotiable items you can’t go into the elk woods without.
Naturally, you need your weapon: bow, rifle, muzzleloader, or crossbow, and bullets, arrows, etc. Every elk hunter knows that. However, if you’re rifle hunting, I highly recommend the 6.8 Western, 7mm PRC, 280 Ackley Improved, and 300 Win. Mag. for elk. If you’re bowhunting and can pull 70 pounds, I recommend a mid-weight arrow around 435 grains and a quality 100-grain hybrid-style broadhead like SEVR’s Ti 1.5 4-Blade Hybrid.
I will provide the to-come gear you may not have thought about, but you’ll thank me later.
ALPS Elite Frame +3800 Pack
This 500D Nylon Cordura PU-coated, highly water-resistant frame and pack combo is worth every penny. I still have the prototype ALPS sent me in 2022. I’ve packed out 12 bulls with it; some mine and some for family and friends. It’s comfortable, durable, and the absolute best frame and backpack combo I have ever worn on my back.
The pack attaches to the frame via a series of compression straps and hook-and-tab loops. The frame features a meat shelf, and the main pack boasts a full-access main compartment zipper, allowing you to quickly and quietly access the main compartment and retrieve what you need. I love the contoured lumbar design and the breathable 3D air mesh suspension, which features an anti-slip lumbar pad.
Build A Kill Kit
Elk are big animals, and you’ll be thankful you put together a quality kill kit when you get a 700-plus-pound bull on the ground. First, you need a storage bag. I use Marsupial’s Zipperoo Pouch (Large) in Blaze Orange. I want to see the bag in my pack and on the ground.
Inside my kill kit is Argali’s Guide Series Large Game M.O.B. Game Bag Set. You can’t beat the lightweight, durable nature of these game bags, and I love the included TAG label, so you always know where your tag and the evidence of sex are. You’ll also want plenty of nylon cord. When you kill a bull on a steep slope, and you’re solo, you’ll need to tie legs out of your way so you can work. You’ll also use the cord to hang your meat in trees to cool it and keep it away from bears.
I use Caribou Gear’s Hunters Tarp Orange to keep my meat off the ground. Lastly, I have some zip ties, my trusty Browning Primal Scalpel, and plenty of replaceable blades. If you’re good at quartering game and can pop the atlas joint and remove the head from the spine like a pro, a removable-blade knife is all you’ll need. If you struggle to find and cut around hip and leg joints, as well as the atlas joint, consider carrying a fixed-blade knife with a slightly thicker blade. I also carry my tag in my kill kit.
Rain Gear
There’s a difference between waterproof and water-resistant. You’ll want a quality set of rain gear when you’re chasing elk. The hunting rain gear I’ve found is Sitka’s Dew Point Pro Jacket and Dew Point Pant. I used both in Alaska in August of 2025 while fishing for silver salmon, and they kept me dry and comfortable.
Boots
There is elk gear that you can opt for on a budget. Elk hunting boots isn’t one on them. Your feet are your best asset in the mountains. I have seen hunters hobble off the hill with Coke-can-sized blisters after two days of hunting. I have seen hunters sit with their feet in a cold stream because their boots are so uncomfortable. My current go-to boots are from Meindl and Zamberlan. Neither brand has failed me, and I’ve put them through pure hell. When it’s cold, I like the Meindl’s Comfort Fit Hunter 400s. The boots stand 9.25 inches tall, weigh a tick over four pounds, and are ultra-comfortable. They are 100 percent waterproof and built on the Comfort Fit. Lastly, these boots have more room in the toe box, but they can be paired with the heels for a customized fit.
I run Zamberlan’s Baltoro Lite TX RR boots during archery and early rifle seasons. Last year, in early October, I was riding my colt, who was very green, into a public land honey hole. While walking her down a steep, rocky incline, she spooked, bucked, and broke my cinch. I usually carry a spare, but on this day, I didn’t. Over two days, I walked 32 miles; I measured the distance on my Garmin Instinct 2 Solar watch and helped my buddy kill bull. Two days later, I replaced the cinch, rode 16 miles, killed a public land bull, and walked my young filly out. These boots are incredible. The mid-8-inch height is perfect, and the 620-gram weight is insanely light. The boots offer excellent support and are 100 percent waterproof.
Scouting
While boots-on-the-ground scouting is always the best approach, it’s not always feasible. Don’t panic. Many an elk-honey hole have been discovered through today’s top-tier digital hunting map apps. HuntStand and onX are the top two.
When e-scouting for elk, the first thing I look for concerning early-season elk is deep, dark drainages that run down the mountain. The more drainages, the better, as you can jump from one drainage to another. I also switch my HuntStand app to Terrain or Topo mode and look for flat spots on the land that separate the drainages. Western elk hunters call these benches. Elk love benches; remember that. Most of these drainages will have water where bulls can drink and wallow. If the area is dotted with small, isolated meadows, all the better. Be sure to note north-facing timber areas where elk can escape the heat as well.
Post-rut bulls, especially big bulls, tend to leave the cows. They can and will bachelor up at times, but some bulls go solo. If you’re hunting post-rut bulls with a rifle on public land, I like to pinpoint fringe areas where bulls may have been pushed to by hunting pressure. Elk are where you find them, and if a big bull finds a gnarly hole away from primary elk habitat that keeps him hidden, and has water and food nearby, that’s enough to hang that bull or bulls up. I have discovered large bulls on the fringes of typical mountain habitats, living in a grassy-bottomed canyon dotted with cedars and ponderosa pines.
Regardless of the time of year you hunt elk, you should pin no less than 10 easy areas before your hunt. By easy regions, I mean those you can bounce into and out of quickly. Too many elk hunters go too deep. They walk by elk to get to what they hope will be more elk. I don’t walk by elk. When I find fresh elk sign, I hunt the elk that are there. I don’t care if those elk are only 1/4 mile off a major trailhead. I also recommend pinning a couple of go-deep areas, locales no less than 4 miles from a trailhead, and the more rugged the terrain, the better.
Another no-matter-what-time-of-year e-scouting tip is to pin glassing points that allow you to watch as much good elk dirt as possible. If you can bounce from glassing point to glassing point and put your optics to work, you have a good chance of finding and killing elk.
Fitness
I run ultramarathons. I’ve completed four 100-mile mountain foot races, a handful of 50-mile races, and several 60K races. I love to run, but I started running to get in better shape for the upcoming fall season. The better shape I got in, the longer I could hunt and the further I could go. The ultras also taught me to suffer, to develop mental toughness, to push past my comfort zone. Elk hunting is all about pushing past your comfort zone. I’ve been hunting elk for three decades, and there are still times when I will go six or seven days without hearing or seeing an elk. I don’t panic. I don’t get mad. Instead, I just keep moving to the various areas pinned on my digital scouting app.
You don’t have to be an ultramarathon runner to kill elk. You don’t have to run to kill elk. However, if you want to be a public land elk assassin, you better do something to boost your cardio and get you out of your comfort zone, and you need to do it a lot as you prepare to do battle with a Rocky Mountain wapiti.
Hunting Strategies
When bowhunting, I get aggressive with elk. I bugle to locate bulls and then move close. Sometimes, a single bugle is all I need to kill a bull. Learn a locator bugle and learn to do it with a read call. I like bugle tubes from Phelps, Rocky Mountain Hunting Calls, and Slayer. Slayer reeds, specifically the Lochsa Elk Reed for bull talk and the Isabella Creek for cow and calf talk. Once you learn a locator bugle, learn a challenge bull. Testosterone-filled bulls that want to bugle don’t like a bull coming right over the top of them with a deep, guttural scream.
If a bull is bugling on his own, don’t make a sound. Keep the wind and thermals in your favor, your eyes up, and creep in and put an arrow through his lungs.
Sit-and-Wait
Whitetail hunters make excellent elk hunters. Whitetail hunters are patient, and if you have a rifle tag and a rifle/optic combo that you know you can use to punch lungs out to 500 yards, sit and wait for bulls. Use your optics and spend time learning where elk bed and where they feed. If left undisturbed, elk are patternable. Get the wind in your face and kill a bull as soon as he pops out of the timber and comes into an opening to fill his belly.
Spot-and-Stalk
No matter what weapon you have, you can always spot and stalk elk. However, if you don’t know where elk are, I don’t recommend roaming the public land woods, spotting and stalking. All you’ll be doing is spooking. I never try to spot-and-stalk elk unless I know where they are or where they’re going.
Last year, my wife drew a premium muzzleloader tag in Colorado. I called a bull to 300 yards, but he had cows, a lot of cows. Knowing the area and taking careful notice of the direction the herd was moving, we paralleled them, got in front of them, and my wife made a perfect shot when the bull stepped between two pines.
I Killed! Now What?
Though I enjoy cleaning and packing elk, it’s incredibly hard work. Use the items in your kill kit, take your time, and quarter the bull out. After you remove the four quarters from the bull, remove the backstraps, tenderloins, neck meat, etc. If you’re solo, a long way from camp, and it’s early in the season, you’re screwed. Please remember this. Never kill a bull. If you doubt, you can get that bull out without spoilage. I use horses and mules, but that’s only because I’ve gotten older and wiser. I’ve packed over 30 elk out on my back.
Horse packers are an excellent option. Do your homework and find a good packer ahead of time. Contact them, and you can make plans for them to get your elk. It will be your job to get the meat to a trail the horses can access.
That’s it! You’re ready to kill an elk. I wish you the best this fall. Grind to the end, and you’ll earn your opportunity.
