re: Colorado Elk opens today. Who is out there?

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Add in tags, transportation, a lease, lodging, etc…I assume it’ll be $10k+

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What would you be leasing?
Why would you pay for lodging?

You can easily spend $30k on a turn key elk hunt, and you could easily spend $50k on one, or if you REALLY wanted to go a coonass could theoretically kill an OTC bull elk and get back home fir about $1500. Take the wife's car to save gas, use shite you already own, etc.

You dont need to go by a bunch of stone glacier and kuiu shite to have a chance at getting one.

Usually 2 of us driving out from central MS to western CO. Get off work, leave MS at 7pm, drive straight through. Spend night in hotel in Delta or montrose, CO then spend the next 7-8 nights in a hammock 5 miles from the truck. Drive straight through coming back, though sometimes we spend the night somewhere around dalhart, TX. Since we already have gear I’d say our trips are between $1,500-$2,000. Our hunts are the last week of archery season (start the last Friday of muzzleloader season).

Im not arguing that it can’t be done cheaper. If I was younger, didn’t have kids, and had done it a couple times before I’d be all about a budget hunt. But at this stage in life, if I’m taking 10 days away from my kids, I’m trying to stack the deck a little in my favor.

next week muzzleloader. Cow tag, buck tag. Need groceries.

It’s just 2 of us. Tags and fuel. Tent camp at a trailhead or in the woods. Eat free dried foods from Foundation Outdoors and Peak. Stay hydrated and energized with water, liquid IV, pre workout. I’ll bring some deer burritos for dinner. Occasionally run into town after a few days if we want a midday meal and coffee.

We decided on bringing a 4 wheeler this year which will allow us to access some hard to get areas that don’t have nearby trailheads.

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Total Cost of an ELK hunt.

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Are you talking about going on public land yourself for archery?

If so, you'll spend a good bit on good gear in the first year.
$100 for light merino shirt.
$150-200 for heavier merino quarter zip
$200 for a good rain coat
$200 for some good pants
$200 for some good lightweight waterproof boots
another $200 in other stuff like gaiters, gloves, headwear, good socks.
$400 for a good pack
$100 for water crap
$100 for food
$200 for a good sleeping bag
$100 for a good sleeping pad or cot
$100-$200 for a good tent (I suggest a tipi tent, not those small arse coffins).


That's just off the top of my head, and the majority of those expenses are just needed the first year, and you may have some of it already. What i just listed is just over $2,000

The tag is almost $1,000
We probably spend $1,000 in gas and 2 nights at a hotel (first night and last night)

Alot of things you think you don't need to spend on but then you get out there and realize it's worth it to spend extra on certain things, like a really good pair of paints that wicks moisture away and more importantly, dries quickly. When you're walking at 5am down a trail there is wet grass all over the place and your legs can get soaked, but a good pair of pants will have it dried out in no time. A good pair of LIGHTWEIGHT boots are important. You would not believe the difference in boots that weight 13 ounces and 20 ounces. At the end of a day where you hiked 8 miles up and down all day, those 20 ounce boots felt like bricks on my feet. Huge difference once i got some nicer lightweight ones.
To me, sleeping is important. I want to be warm, and I want to be as comfortable as i can (for sleeping on a cold arse mountain). I carry a cot and a sleeping pad, and i bring a small pillow, and when i say a pillow, i don't mean the blow up ones, i mean an actual cotton filled pillow. It's small, smaller than the size of my packed sleeping bag, but for me, having a pillow like that makes a huge difference in my sleep. It weighs hardly anything, so the only inconvenience is that it takes up a good bit of space on my pack.


A lot of this stuff you just have to be looking for year round from different places, and you can find good deals on things. Sucks that the camofire website stopped. Just got that $20 headlamp that had been posted here on the OB and it seems awesome, especially for $20.

If you’re spending $10k and not going on a guided hunt, you’re doing it wrong.

I’ve got 2K in a Wyoming Special Draw elk tag.
$200 trespass fee on a ranch that also opens up a lot of public to me. I’m dragging my SxS out there, so gas costs will be a little high. I’ll have a motel stay coming and going.
I’m guessing I’ll be around $3,500 all said and done.