Truth be told, I hate deer hunting. There is just something about sitting all by my lonesome on a stand or in a blind watching what is usually an empty woodlot or empty field that does not resonate with me. I used to love it. Not anymore. I tell people all the time my favorite hunt is the next species I’ve never hunted before … or the next new hunting experience, whatever that may be.
Unless and until it comes to elk hunting—I’ve done that enough to know I love it. Can’t get enough of it. I can say emphatically it’s my favorite critter to hunt on this continent.
An elk hunt, to me, represents the most egalitarian pursuit of American hunting. It’s true, I think, that hunting in America in general is egalitarian, as practiced under the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, and represented by our whitetail hunting craze that runs almost coast to coast. But it’s also true, I think, that the next big thing any deer hunter with a modicum of experience thinks about is an elk hunt.
If such a hunter makes such a journey, rewards await.
Elk, like trout, congregate in some of the most beautiful places on Earth. Take another look at the photograph above. Soak it in. If you’ve been here before you know. You can hear the cow chirps as those critters cross the river, meandering to … wherever they want. You can remember the bugle you heard from afar, the one that brought you to this moment few people besides hunters ever experience. You knew they’d be here. You’re a hunter, after all. This is elk country, straight out of an Albert Bierstadt painting. Wow. In the shadow of our nation’s 250th birthday, I’m almost choked up thinking about an American’s first elk hunt.
An elk hunting adventure is attainable, surely, which is primarily why I call it egalitarian. Any of us average nimrods, notwithstanding physical limitations, can make an elk hunt with the will and not a lot of money and some planning. And since this is America, we can be assured that many, many elk live on public land—our public land, where one does not need permission from the king to try his hand at this game.
An elk hunt, therefore, is aspirational. It’s the next big thing. It’s America’s thing—and this is precisely why I love it. This month, we celebrate it.
J. Scott Olmsted, Editor in Chief
Photo by Getty Images, mlharing
NRA Hunter’s Code of Ethics
1. I will consider myself an invited guest of the landowner, seeking his permission, and so conducting myself that I may be welcome in the future.
2. I will obey the rules of safe gun handling, and will courteously but firmly insist that others who hunt with me do the same.
3. I will obey all game laws and regulations and will insist that my companions do likewise.
4. I will do my best to acquire those marksmanship skills which ensure clean, sportsmanlike kills.
5. I will support conservation efforts which can ensure good hunting for future generations of Americans.
6. I will pass along to younger hunters the attitudes and skills essential to a true outdoor sportsman.
The editors welcome your letters. Mail them to: Says You, American Hunter, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030-9400. Or email us at [email protected]. Letters may be edited for the sake of brevity.
