$500 for tag. $300 in fuel. $200 in food. Money for gear you don't have like a camp stove or big tent, quality sleeping bag etc. There's a lot going into it. For example, how are you getting that animal out if it dies 5 miles from camp? When I hunted in a group of 4 we packed it out. In my 20s I could carry an elk hind quarter for miles. Today . . . I would want to hire it out it it were far from the road.
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Oh yeah it'd be tough by yourself!! I've been talking to few folks though and I think I have a few buddies that will go. A group of 3-4 would be perfect for splitting expenses and helping pack meat out. We'll just see how it goes.
Burro Mountain in the White River National Forest is swoll with elk year round...except when the Rifle Season Opening Day Parade of ATVs comes buzzing up the mountain.
Some people just have different priorities! 99% of the time, if I can't kill it with my longbow, I really don't care if I kill it or not. There is nothing wrong with being all trad, or part trad and part compound, or all rifle for that matter. Just do whatever floats your boat, and let the next guy do the same!
$500 for tag. $300 in fuel. $200 in food. Money for gear you don't have like a camp stove or big tent, quality sleeping bag etc. There's a lot going into it. For example, how are you getting that animal out if it dies 5 miles from camp? When I hunted in a group of 4 we packed it out. In my 20s I could carry an elk hind quarter for miles. Today . . . I would want to hire it out it it were far from the road.
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Split gas with a buddy and its half that. You have to eat no matter where you are so you cant count that. Gear costs something but its an investment. All in besides gear you can do Colorado for less than $800. Plenty of guys spending more to sit over a feeder for a weekend in Texas.
If you debone, two guys can pack out an elk in one trip then go back and get camp.
OP I cant recommend a guide but I feel like you will put yourself waay ahead of the pack by hiring one or finding someone to go with who you could donate a little cash to. Its just hard to figure out backpacking and elk hunting at the same time and only have a week to get it done.
Better be two helluva men to be able to pack out the meat of a bull in one trip. I've packed out three and it was not a two man job. If you are packing in dehydrated meals work best. They are pricey but will do the trick. I've only done that once on an elk trip and it was tough. The other three we camped in a location near the road and made daily hikes into the hunting area. Averaged e to 5 miles from camp daily. If you can call in turkeys, ducks or grunt in a deer you can learn to call elk. Cow calling is more important that bugling. Get a call with a CD and practice. It's great on your own but it's work and there is a learning curve. Use the wind. Learn to use the thermals. Elk graze in meadows at night and bed in timber in the day. Glass them and ambush them. Funnels between rock chutes and open areas are good ambush points. That's where prescouting or having someone with knowledge of the area pays off.
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