western US big game hunting

+1 on DIY Colorado. Lots of places to hunt with an RV as a base camp. Plus you can get tags over the counter.

I go to Colorado almost every year archery elk hunting. We do it ourselves and save quite a bit of money. It isn't as hard as a lot of people make it out to be.

It can be expensive, but if that is something you want to do, don't wait until you can't enjoy the trip.

Thanks for all of the replies. After looking at some of the outfitter pages, I will need to let the piggy bank fill up a little more before I go.

Pinedale, Wyoming. Wind River Mnts or Gros Vente. Sort of bias to the area as I was a guide there for 10 years. Lots of open range for mulies plus you could get a antalope at the same time and wouldn't need to pay guide service. That way you could do a guided trip just for Elk. Lots of outfitters in Pinedale/Cora area.

Check out the outfitters in Central Idaho. Many years ago that was a great place for deer / elk. Don't know about now. All are very expensive as are the out of state license fees. I lived near Yellowstone in Idaho back in the 70's. Hunting w/o a guide or someone with local knowledge is very difficult. I was lucky to work with a long time resident and dedicated sportsman. Never got an elk but did get a mountain goat which is pretty rare. Happy hunting!!

My very elderly dad used to saddle up the horse and a pack horse and spend a week or so in the fall back in the West Elk Wilderness Area, not that far from their farm. Great hunting (and some harrowing close-calls, too). The man was amazing with his 270: Open sights and never missed. After many years of this, though, he tired of the whole spiel, got himself a decent camera and lens, and, so he said, enjoyed himself a lot more. No hunting season, no licenses, no limits, no dawn to dusk rules, but much more stealth required. (Well, if you want spend a week with a camera in the West Elk, you should still register. If you don't return, they'll try to find you, and with a great deal of luck, they might be successful at finding more than just bits of your corpse.)

http://www.coloradowilderness.com/wildpages/westelk.html

:)
Lynn

Trophy Ridge Outfitters. Elk, Deer, Antelope & Oryx (Afican Antelope) in New Mexico...........LINK

US Outfitters........AZ, NM, UT,NV, KS, WY.......LINK


Bring your BIG wallet.
Ain't nothing cheap

And you will need to find your own camping spot.

pinesman wrote:
Sometime before I get too old to enjoy it, I would like to pull the fiver out west and do some elk or mule deer hunting. I am not really sure which state I want to go to (I'm in Virginia) but would like to find an outfitter/guide service with RV facilities. Do any of our western friends know of any such place? Thanks.

North of Reserve, N.M. a lot of outfitters, lot of large Elk. Fly to Alb. N. M.