Less than 3 days remained in the general archery elk season, and I had yet to be afforded a shot despite hunting portions of every week of September. My latest strategy involved watching an isolated, timber waterhole where I stumbled across a trio of raghorn bulls a few days earlier. Despite seeing the elk every day, I could not slip up on them. They had gone silent with the rut winding down. A hide by the waterhole was my last stand.

As the sun set with only minutes left of shooting light on the second-to-last day of the season, a lone 5-point bull appeared. Nervous, but flicking its tongue in obvious thirst, he slowly made his way to the water. I crouched even further down into the deadfall blind I constructed hoping for a 20-yard shot. Almost there, the bull suddenly veered in an obvious attempt to get downwind. As the bull walked behind timber, I stood, drew and swiveled in one motion. His sixth sense activated, but the pause was perfect and my arrow buried deep at 36 yards. He bolted, but crashed in sight as a wave of weary satisfaction flooded my emotions. 

That hunt ranks as one of my longer DIY, public land seasons, but certainly will not be the last. Ironically, while filming for a TV show 2 weeks prior on a guided ranch hunt in southern Colorado, I tagged out in a mere 3 days. Teaming up with a guide who knew the country and hunting elk that were not pressured by public land crowds quickly led to success. 

Elk hunting continues to be a bucket-list event for many of you. For those who live in elk country, it remains a mainstay of fall, attracting individuals who enjoy the mountain challenge of hunting these vocal giants. The majority of bowhunters pursue elk on public lands with a DIY mindset, but whether you are checking off an elk hunt on your bucket list or live in the West with occasional opportunities to hunt, ask yourself: Do you hunt on your own or employ the assistance of a guide?

After more than 3 decades of hunting DIY and using guide services while filming hunts, I can tell you each has its own merits. My very first archery elk hunt resulted from a DIY effort and it was not until I teamed up with several outdoor media companies did the door open for outfitter services. I have preferences, but my opinion is based heavily on personal satisfaction in the hunt, not always the best gauge after waiting years to land a tag. If you struggle with whether to go it alone or spend your hard-earned dollar on a guide, consider these facts based on years of chasing elk.

The DIY Elk Life — Pros

Nearly all my archery elk have been tagged on DIY, public land hunts and most by myself. It sounds grueling and yes, it is, but there are positives to a DIY approach. Begin with freedom. It is an American thing, so embrace it. The moment you team with a guide you give up your freedoms. Hunting on your own provides you with the ability to hunt in your style, switch tactics in a heartbeat and follow your intuition. I cannot tell you how many times my gut sense led me into an elk encounter. Having elk run to your calls is not as common as yesteryear. Educated, savvy elk often circle wide, approach downwind or arrive silently. Being adaptable aids in your success. 

Time also comes into play. You have the option to extend your hunt for as long as needed provided it fits your personal schedule. Over the years, my typical DIY archery elk hunt lasts 8 to 12 days. Most guided hunts last 5 or 6 days. Those extra days boost your chance for encounters, allow you to prospect when elk activity vanishes, and even give you a morning or two to recharge if needed. 

The prospecting factor has merit as elk move. Hunting pressure, breeding frenzies, weather and seasonal herd patterns all can move an entire herd of elk overnight leaving you with a quiet basin the next morning. Preparing for this in advance with research gives you the option to move with the elk in hopes of finding them again. 

DIY hunting costs less. Have you priced an outfitted elk hunt lately? They used to average approximately $6,000, but after the pandemic they skyrocketed to $10,000 and up for a hunt, not even an advertised trophy hunt. Depending on your license cost and distance to hunt with a fuel expense, you might have $3,000 tied up in a DIY elk adventure that doesn’t include gear you likely own and food you need to eat regardless. Be frugal and you can hunt elk cheap on your own.

Finally, a big pro for me includes the satisfaction of doing it yourself. I’ve hunted on several continents including Africa, spent time in Alaska and exhausted way too many hours in the whitetail woods, but my DIY elk hunts still stand out as the best memories. I recall one afternoon as I reached camp with my final load of meat, plus the rack of a mature bull elk, the drained satisfaction surging in my veins. Sunset arrived and I watched the mountains bathed in a yellow glow overlooking the massive rack. It was beyond stirring.

The DIY Elk Life — Cons

Do not pack the camping trailer just yet. With the good of DIY comes the bad. Think back to the freedom you just read. All that falls on you. You are responsible for researching a unit, scouting it, locating a campsite, finding elk, deciding on a strategy, and if you are successful, extracting a horse-sized animal out of an unforgiving landscape. Let all that sink in. Four loads of meat may eventually bring upon satisfaction, but expect a double dose of Tylenol to quell the torture first.

Now consider that success rarely exceeds 20 percent for any elk hunt and quickly decreases for DIY, public land hunts. A high success rate tops out at 15 percent. Many of the general units I spend time in average 11 to 13 percent success. A friend and I were researching a new unit the other day that boasted a 40 percent archery success rate. Our jaws dropped until we pulled up the area on HuntStand and saw that most of the unit was privately-owned. Further research revealed a plethora of outfitters leasing those lands.

Those low success rates, driven by challenging DIY, public land pursuits, equal crowded hunting areas in popular units. Despite the West being immense with most states consisting of 50 percent or more of publicly owned property, elk environments make up just a portion of that, and another portion of that exists on private lands. Then add in the fact that accessing much of that country is logistically impossible without horses and extended time. In brief, expect crowds that pressure elk. Quiet elk and herds fleeing to private sanctuaries are common today. 

Depression, despair and hopelessness invade many DIY elk hunts. A day or two of great elk action followed by 5 days of quiet mountains crashes your hopes quickly. In 2021 I hunted a general, over-the-counter (OTC) unit in Colorado for approximately 10 days. The hunt started off with a bang, but rapidly deteriorated into an expensive 2-week camping trip as I moved to various locations to look for elk that once lived on the mountain. The big herds abandoned the public ground for private, and with an impending snowstorm, I packed up and turned my truck toward home.

That depression even has more weight if you hunt solo without someone giving you a pep talk every morning. At least on a guided hunt the guide traditionally arrives jolly and with hope for the day. By yourself, you may be pressed to even get out of your sleeping bag.

The Guided Elk Life — Pros

Worries be gone. You will not necessarily be able to shirk all hunt responsibilities, but with a vetted outfitter, expect them to handle the main hunting duties. If you arrive with proper gear, skills practiced and in fair physical shape, you can turn over the reins to the outfitter and guide. And even before you arrive, an outfitter could make your life simpler with help during the application period. Nowadays you require an attorney to even apply for most elk licenses. 

Those factors alone make the payment worthwhile, particularly for those of you who also may be elk knowledge challenged. Although part of the deer family, elk act and behave differently than their distant cousin the whitetail. Some mannerisms stand out easily while other behavior can make your head spin if you do regularly spend time in elk country. Your guide can, well, guide you. 

Your outfitter and guide traditionally oversee major hunt tasks. On most hunts, they pre-scout, provide access to any private lands, supply transportation, pack extraction gear, set up lodging and offer food. And you may tailor a hunt to your budget depending on the outfitter. Some outfitters offer just guide services and some offer the Taj Mahal, but with a top-notch guide you should receive elk action.

An obvious bonus of booking with a trusted outfitter is the previously mentioned access to leased land in many situations. As more properties across elk country are being purchased and shut down to general hunting via a knock on the door, outfitters step in to lease them for hunting. This unintentionally creates refuge for elk. Public land hunters far outnumber those allowed pay-for-play access to private lands and herds quickly adapt to the new sanctuaries.

As a solo hunter, I routinely wish I had a hunting partner by my side. Tag-teaming works in elk country, especially during the rut. Splitting up and having one person stay back 100-200 yards to call, plus operate a decoy, focuses a bull’s attention elsewhere besides the location of the shooter. And with most success rates surging with the use of a high-quality guide service, having that extra person — or four — around for extraction makes the price well worth it. 

The Guided Elk Life — Cons

Yep, it is pay-to-play, and although that fee comes with a complete pack-out crew, it still is eye opening with most full-service hunts at or above $10,000. For those average-income individuals who might go on only one or two outfitted hunts in a lifetime, the savings could be justified. If you want to hunt elk every year or every other on an average salary, the costs could quickly jeopardize your retirement.

Next, you will not have the freedom to hunt the way you desire. Most outfitters and guides hunt in a strict regimen to ensure they don’t pressure elk too much and don’t educate them. With clients arriving every 5 or 6 days, they must guarantee the next client has an equally exciting experience. Suggesting an alternative hunting strategy on the fly to your guide could be out of the question. Read your guide first to see if they might be open to strategy suggestions if their attack plan lacks elk returns.

Let’s say those elk feel the burn and move. On a DIY hunt, you could possibly follow them to the next mountain range. Been there, done that. On the other hand, outfitters may be corralled to a certain area and not able to leave due to leases, or National Forest hunting permits. It could lead to slim pickings fast.

Guided Again

Last season I drew a long-awaited Arizona archery tag in a top unit. I work with Worldwide Trophy Adventures (WTA) for my application services, and if you draw, they also offer outfitter suggestions. I always figured I would hunt the state in DIY fashion with my background, but two factors played into considering a guide. First, WTA immediately suggested the services of a small outfitter in the unit that tailored hunts to your request when possible. Secondly, I was in rehabilitation on a leg injury with questionable full recovery by the hunt. A second person would come in handy if successful and looking at a pile of meat to pack out.

Justin Erhart of Premium Hunts was my contact, and I booked a 5-day hunt that included only guide and extraction services. I would be responsible for lodging and meals. It would be my first guided elk hunt in a decade.

I then went into overdrive to plan a DIY follow-up to hunt the remaining 2-week season in case I failed in the first 5 days. In addition to getting research help from elk peers, I arrived 4 days early to scout on my own. The unit did not disappoint, and my confidence soared with all the preseason encounters. 

Surprisingly, on the first morning of the guided hunt, we walked out after a long morning of chasing bugles to within 100 yards of where I camped while scouting. My guide Kyran Walker was first class, and on the fourth day we still-hunted into range of a herd. Some other hunters on the opposite side of the herd bumped them and the elk overran us in their exit haste. A well-executed cow call by Kyran paused the bull at 52 yards, and my arrow double-lunged to set the stage for a long pack out in the Arizona backcountry.

Sidebar: HuntStand Partnership

Being successful in the vastness of elk country requires scouting, and once there you need solid navigational tools to maneuver to elk herds. Hunting apps such as HuntStand give you a toolbox of features to scout from home, scout on the hunt, navigate safely and foresee weather events that could affect your hunt. HuntStand is free, but subscriptions to HuntStand Pro or HuntStand Whitetail Pro give you access to even more helpful features. These include map overlays, such as 3D Map to view your Hunt Area illustrated by the terrain you can expect to tackle. Property Info and Hunting Lands overlays provide in-depth information on landowner details. 

Compass, measurement tools, map markers, trail camera management and informational sharing between hunting partners all are included in the subscriptions. If you do not go guided, employ an economical hunting partner in the form of HuntStand. 

Sidebar: Worldwide Trophy Adventure Licensing Assistance

A huge element that you need to consider whether going it alone or DIY is licensing. Premium elk licenses are harder to come by than bipartisan bills passed in Congress. Limited license availability aside, the mere act of applying for licenses requires rigid scheduling for deadlines, unit research, application understandings, and the ability to avoid license gaffes. Those can set you back years in losing preference points.

All the above does not happen magically with the help of the Tooth Fairy. It takes copious amounts of time. You may not have that time with family and career obligations. I use a hybrid system. In states I know meticulously, I handle all applications, preference point management and payment. In states where I may be lacking on unit knowledge and the entire application process, I use a consulting service. Worldwide Trophy Adventures oversees the application paperwork, hits deadlines and even floats money for application fees. 

My personal hunt planning includes applying for a handful of premium hunts annually and while waiting patiently, I hunt researched general units. It is a frugal approach that keeps me in elk country every season.

Photos by Mark Kayser