What’s the good thing with US is that it has a lot of public lands to choose for our hunting trip destination. What’s bad is that we tend to be confused where we should take our trip. Where sometimes, after the long hours of travel heading to the public land of a state, we end up regretting that we should have gone to another land. A problem that most hunters tend to face, especially to those who dare to experience new places.
But I guess, let’s just set that problem aside. I have gathered a list of the best public lands for elk hunting courtesy of fieldandstream.com. Just look at the list below and you might have found your place to consider.
1. Oregon. Siuslaw National Forest: Roosevelt elk are overlooked by most hunters, but there are plenty of over-the-counter tags available for two seasons in western Oregon. The Siuslaw and Alsea units in the Siuslaw National Forest present good chances for hunters who are willing to do a little legwork and put up with a lot of rain.
2. Montana. Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest: Fifty percent of the elk harvest comes from Region 3 in the southwest part of the state. The forest outside Dillon, which encompasses several mountain ranges, affords elk security cover while also providing numerous hunter-access points.
3. Colorado. White River National Forest: It’s heavily hunted, but there’s good access and a healthy elk population. Some bigger bulls live in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area of this tract, but it’s all thin air and you can get snow up to your knickers very quickly here.
4. New Mexico. Cibola National Forest, Santa Fe National Forest: Low-percentage, limited-draw hunts are the rule in New Mexico, but big bulls are the prize. Tags for the Zuni Mountains and Mount Taylor areas in Cibola and in the Jemez area in Santa Fe are a bit easier to draw than the coveted tags in the Gila National Forest to the south.
5. Idaho. St. Joe National Forest: Historically, this forest in the southern Panhandle region is among the best places in any state to score with a bow, with the adjoining Clearwater National Forest just as good. You’ll need either a GPS or a lot of iron in your brain to keep from getting lost in these deep woods, but you won’t have to worry about trespassing.
6. Wyoming. Bridger-Teton National Forest: Near Jackson, the forest allows access to some of the prettiest alpine basin country in the world. And there are elk here, too, lots of them. Good lungs and bear spray are prerequisites.
7. Wyoming. Shoshone National Forest: Also in the Cowboy State, the Beartooth Mountains offer classic wilderness elk hunting. There are good populations of bulls in big country all along the North Fork of the Shoshone River and Sunlight Basin.
