Ok,  I want to go elk hunting.  I first thought about going to WY, but after looking at the cost aprox. 6k I started to back pedal.  A friend sugested a high fence place for half that amount.  Now I love to hunt and according to the High fence guy your w/i a mile of any 6x6 200-300+ at any given time.  Now my brother in law is atimately against HF and is already giving me heck.  My response to him is well you enjoy col. with your group I have no group and 6k is alot...his response is that they do it for about 2500 each year....think i need to find a Brother in law that would invite me...ANY Comment

couple things.

1. there's a guy on here out of montana that'll do guided for 3400.
2. a DIY in CO where there are OTC tags can be done for 12-1500 if you're willing to shoot any bull.
3. UT nearly always has tags left over, and produced the WR bull.
4. if you want to high fence hunt, go shoot a cow at the neighbours farm, same expereince.

Tell him you want to go . If he says no then do as you and tell him to shove it where the sun dont shine and shut up I WOULD ....

Hi:

I can get you into New Mexico if you are interested.  I have access to leased land near Chama. Guaranteed tag would be $2650 and license cost is $555 for mature bull or cow would be $650 for tag and license is $345. This would be ranch only hunting.

To tell ya the truth, I don't have much respect for anything killed behind a fence. Ya want Elk meat cheap, stay at home and order it on line, and have it delivered to your house from an Elk ranch.
That said;
There are other options. The NAHC has the swap hunt forum, a real cheap way to hunt what ya want. And other members here, my self included, have offered to share hunts where all you have to do is draw the tag, get here and share some of the expenses. I shared one such hunt with members in Idaho and shared a hunt, season before last, in my Elk camp with a member from Michigan. I've found in here you don't have to pay high prices, ya just have to find a buddy. We all love to hunt, why not share it with a friend! JMO

Dean
H2O Elkaholic

Hmmmmm....a High Fence operation irrigardless of size should be outlawed and is like killing cattle in your backyard.....but....C'MERE Deer, Food Plots, pemanent stands,trail cams, Rifle Scopes, rifles that will shoot 600 yds, calling, hunting in the rut.....are all okay.....GMAFB!!!!

Guess we could rope 'em and tie 'em up without the fence and set you out there about 600 yards to stalk him....LOL Just kidding. Seriously, I have said it before, there is hardly ANYPLCE you can hunt anymore in this country that is not fenced. I have seen critters walk 1/2 a mile to go around a 2 ft ditch and further to get to a spot where the cattle fence is down.
Hook up with the good folks here in the club and do some swapping. Some of my best friends (the kind I ain't gotta pay) are from here in this club. Better bunch of folks you won't meet. Get to know some and do some swapping. Stories, stratgies and hunts are just part of it.

I just drew a tag in WY for one of the better units, and found an Outfitter with V.good refernces at a cost of $3500 for 6 days of hunting 8 days in camp. Very good oppurtunity to get 300-350 bulls. It takes points and research in WY.

wishunter1
I was not as lucky as you, didn't get drawn. Now I have 4 points headed into next year, any info on this outfitter would be great. If you don't mind and have the time.
Good Luck this fall!

Posted By H2O Elkaholic on 19 Feb 2011 03:51 AM
To tell ya the truth, I don't have much respect for anything killed behind a fence. Ya want Elk meat cheap, stay at home and order it on line, and have it delivered to your house from an Elk ranch.
That said;
There are other options. The NAHC has the swap hunt forum, a real cheap way to hunt what ya want. And other members here, my self included, have offered to share hunts where all you have to do is draw the tag, get here and share some of the expenses. I shared one such hunt with members in Idaho and shared a hunt, season before last, in my Elk camp with a member from Michigan. I've found in here you don't have to pay high prices, ya just have to find a buddy. We all love to hunt, why not share it with a friend! JMO

Dean
H2O Elkaholic

dean-well said.

the only way i would agree with high fence huntingis if you roped the elk,jumped on its back,and cut its throat while trying to hold on to it.
i hunt elk every year,do i get one every year,no i do not,but what i do get is to spend some quality time with my hunting partner and wife of 20 years,out in the woods for 11 or so days,hunting hard,spending time together with my hunting friends,and some family as well.
getting an annimal is part of the experience,being able to find,track,and just get close to a mature bull,is another part of the experience,spending the time out in the woods,in some of the roughest,meanest,most unforgiving part of this country,is another part of the experience of hunting elk.
my wife said it best,and her quote was-another year older,and another year wiser,and another year lived,we hunted hard,and we go home emptied handed,but we go home happy knowing there is allways next year,and that somewear out in our oregon forrest,there is a bull with her name on it.
if i added up the expense of elk hunting,it would add up to a large some of money,but what me and my wife have spent on elk hunting,we gained back two fold in our time and memorys together,and non of that time was spent chasing a annimal up to a fence so me or my wife could shoot it,
ther are no guarranties in life,just good and bad experiences,along with some happy times.

love all the comments ,I'm hoping to go to Momtana next year. Nerer thought about high fence vs open land

Wishunter:

I was drawn in area 23-1, Rifle hunt, first week of October, where are you headed in Wyoming? If same, do you want to link up? Do you know the outfitter is good, have some previous experience or friend s that have experience with outfitter? No fences as far as I know just some difficulty getting to hunting land without allowable access.

The outfitter I have used in past is very good in finding game and has contacts for land access in 23-1, but his cost is 30% higher than your quote for a 5 day Trophy camp. He is very reliable, works as predator control as well as other special projects for WFGD. His extra wranglers are WFGD contractors. I know it will be a success if i do my part. I have four mounts at home from his leadership

Let me know if you have any interest in teaming up on the Wyoming Elk hunt if your tag allows the same area as mine, if your outfitter has an opening, etc..

HUNTME, great post!
Amen bro!!!

We live in a free country, do what you want, I wouldn't call it "hunting" though. I have hunted Colorado 4 times (2004-2007) and am planning on going this year for the 5th, our costs were close to $800 to $1000 each including tags and driving from Wisconsin. I have the break down on the costs if your interested in seeing them, the last year we rented a camper so the cost was near the $1k but the three other years we didn't rent the camper so closer to the $800. The camper was about $800 divided four ways, well, you do the math. These costs didn't include any gear, most of which we all already owned, but if you need new boots or something, that is not divided, like food, fuel, hotels, camp supplies, etc.

It,s better to have hunted and not killed than to have killed and not hunted.

If the "fenced" place offers a 100% guarantee or no pay or a menu of prices for different size animals, you can bet your sweet azz that very limited, if any, "fair chase" hunting will be involved.
That said, I have hunted high fence areas in RSA....min size was around 15,000 ac.....Took me 3 1/2 days focussing on one animal to put it down.

Posted By horndog on 06 Mar 2011 11:07 PM
It,s better to have hunted and not killed than to have killed and not hunted.

Yep!!!  What he said!!!
JMO

Dean
H2O Elkaholic

Personally I wouldn't allow an elk that was shot behind a high fence to pollute either the back of my hunting rig or my freezer.

If all you want is an elk to hang on the wall andto call yourself an elk hunter, then go oin EBAY and buy a head already mounted. If you did that, you'd be just as much an elk hunter as you would if you shot one behind a fence. That is not hunting! That is shooting and killing and the practice of doing such things goes a very long ways to making hunters look bad in the public eye.

You can hunt elk in any state that has them for a lot less than $6K. Most of these states have a huge amount of public land, good numbers of available tags and a plethora of info available on how to hunt if someone is willing to invest a little time. You may not get an elk every year hunting on your own. Hell, I grew up in elk country and I haven't filled every elk tag I've carried. But at least you'll be hunting elk and not shooting a glorified angus cow.

I've never hunted in a high fence area for anything.  I'm too old and out of shape to climb a high fence with all my hunting gear.

Depends on what the size of the fenced area is. 640 square acres is 1 sq mile so if the acreage is say 6400 acres you are talking about 10 sq miles which is more than fair chase. It's the small fenced areas that I have a problem with as there is no where the animals can run to and make it an actual hunt instead of simply shooting a standing animal with no means of avoiding you.

As far as Elk go, I don't think 10 sq miles, is big enough to be considered free ranging critters. Even in Washington on the coast, where Elk don't migrate much, they frequently moved in and out of any given 10 sq mile area. Rag horn bulls can move a hundred miles or more looking for cows and a new place to call home. A high fence is just that, a high fence. It prevents movement and inter breeding. They are captive animals, like at the zoo.

JMO
Dean
H2O

you might as well just pay some rancher to let you shoot one of his cows.just as sporting and IMHObetter eating

No high fence hunting in Montana. It was outlawed several years ago.

I am a big fan of free range. I have lived on a farm my entire life and the only things that are fenced in is livestock. Its just my opinion though. For me I want to tell people about a story of a great hunt that I went on and I cant imagine a good story being told with any mention of a high fence. Same goes for BAITING. Should be banned every where for all species.

Thanks for all the comments. I enjoyed reading all the high fence remarks..lol...I brought it up to see what kind of reaction I would get and I sure got some. I hope to go Elk hunting next Fall 2013 somewhere and hope to contact several of you as to what your thoughts are as to best locations. If any on you have an opinion on where you think the best place to go Elk hunting PLEASE let me know so I can start preparing. ALSO... I hunt SOUTHERN ILLINOIS Whitetail and would be willing to discuss sharing my farm that I lease with someone willing to share there Elk spot.

Everyone uses bait of some type if they hunt. It might consist of a watering hole, agricultural field, mast trees, ridge lines, fence rows, using attractor scents, calls, or hunting during the rut. Planting food plots or putting out corn isn't any different if it's legal and required to draw the animals out of areas where it's impossible to get into. Down in my area, we also use dogs as well, but that's a tradition that goes back to the native Americans who were here first.

As for the high fence operations, I am against the ones where you have tagged, pen raised animals released for someone to kill. Large acreages such as are located in Texas and other areas that have a natural animal population with plenty of land mass to roam and hide don't pose any problems in my view.