Hi everybody! I am new to bowhunting and new to the forum but I was curious if anyone knew anything about elk hunting in Minnesota? I harvested my first whitetail with a bow this year and I have always wanted to chase elk, now with my bow! I was doing a little research and found that they offer up a few tags to hunt elk in the northwest part of Minnesota. I thought this would be a great and cheap way to get some elk hunting experience but looking at the DNR website they don't give out a whole lot of information. So if anyone has any information that would be appreciated! Thanks, Spencer
Spencer yes there is limited Elk hunting in Minnesota I have been up there to Kittson County not to hunt but for other things like fire and search and rescue. My understanding in the Elk hunting area it is like wildnerness hunting no mechanical means are allowed to get the elk out, meaning man power.
Thanks for the response that is really interesting! I am excited to find more about it. I know that it is a once in a lifetime tag, if you draw one you are not getting another whether you fill the tag or not.
Hey buddy welcome to the site! As far as elk hunting goes, I would strongly suggest starting with another state for a few reasons. First, the number of people drawn each year is very very low which means you will liekly be waiting multiple years to start your elk hutning adventure. I would suggest trying and OTC state or a preference point state first to get you started faster since I am guessing once you start you will be addicted! Second, since it is a once in a lifetime tag, I would suggest trying to get drawn once you have a bunch of elk hunting experience. There are some great bulls in MN but I believe the total herd size is about 200 animals so that is a limited number of opportunities. I would suggest Colorado or Wyoming to start your elk hunting in, and then move on to a more difficult tag such as MN. Good luck!
Are you implying that man power is not what most people carry elk out with? I don't know if horses could go where we were elk hunting in MT, much less fourwheelers
Thanks for replying! You make a good point about trying a different state first. The only reason that I thought trying Minnesota first would be a good idea is because it would be a lot closer/cheaper trip. The tag doesn't cost as much and I wouldn't have to drive very far. So for those reasons I thought it would be cool to get an elk hunt under my belt (the experience and hopefully a bull) before going out west. That way when I do get the time and money to go, I would have some what of an idea of what I am doing. But your input does put another way at looking at it. Thanks
I completely understand the time and money aspect, elk hunting is not a cheap endeavor and can easily break the bank if you choose to make it that way. If you are looking for experience elk hunting try getting in contact with people in your area that have gone and possibly are planning to go again. Talk with them about things that work and things that dont. There is a great amount of learning that can be done at home before getting to the mountain! If you plan on bow hunting, make sure to practice calling as much as you can as it is very useful. Check out elk nut.com and read his material! One suggestion I may make is learning the lottery/application game out west and preparing yourself to go out west while applying for MN. Should you have the opportunity to go out west before you get drawn in MN take that advantage and go out there. Randy Newberg has some great material out there on the application processes for each state.
Thanks for all of the great information, it has been a lot of help and will be a great place to start learning. I haven't even seen an elk in person before (let alone hunt them) and I am already obssessed!
Welcome to the site. If you want to hunt elk in MN, I suggest starting to put in for a tag. This fall there were only 7 tags issued. So, the likelihood of you drawing is not that great. I started putting in this past year. I think the best and cheapest way to get into elk hunting is in Colorado.
