Bring it on man!!!!

H

hooligan1

New member
Headlines are as follows; The Conservation Commission has directed it's staff to reinitiate plan developement that would permit elk restoration around Peck Ranch Conservation Area, in response to inquiries from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation..... Anyway they talked about this nearly 10 years ago, and decided against it due to Chronic Wasting.. To all of My Fellow Members, I pose this question. Is it a good idea ? I'm talking all the way around now...Or is it a lousy idea??? I'm 47, will there be huntable numbers of wild elk for me to hunt?;)

Thanks for coming!:eek:
 
Where is Peck Ranch??

Elk can live anywhere if they have enough room and the habitat is good. I saw 2 of the biggest bull elk I've ever seen last month when I was on a job in Pennsylvania. The locals say they issue tags, but mighty few and they are hard to get. I know they have huntable populations in Michigan as well, although it is also hard to get a tag there too.

Shooot, if this wolf recovery BS keeps going like it has been, we might be asking Michigan to give us some elk to regenerate the Wyoming elk herds.
 
Peck Ranch is in Carter,Shannon,and Reynolds Counties in southeast Missouri!!!:D Mark Twain National Forest...

Thanks for coming!:cool:
 
Great news!!!!!! At 58 I don't think I will get a chance to hunt them but it is nice to know that we may wind up with a herd in the part of the Ozarks my mom grew up in......

:)
 
give us some elk to regenerate the Wyoming elk herds.
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Umm, FWIW, southern and eastern Wyo does not have these problems. The top two elk kill percentage areas in the state are on the east or including the east side of the Continental Divide. Medicine Bow Nat'l Forest is ruling the state in terms of numbers.
Elkman06
 
-1 elkman,, wer'e talking Missouri on this thread! and sarge it's hard for me to understand about you taking your "big game" money elsewhere, But I do want to. I know there's no elk here in huntable numbers yet, but what if they're comes a day when we can put in for a tag?? Why wouldn't you give MO a GO!!!?????:D
Now let's get the two main questions here answered!!!!!! CWD??Huntable numbers when?????
Thanks for coming!
 
-1 elkman,, wer'e talking Missouri on this thread!
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You know it's funny how people are so quick to snap. Let's list how I might contribute here...
A. I hunt one of the elk richest areas in the U.S.
B. It's right in the middle of one of the biggest CWD areas in the U.S.
C. We have an amazing amount of survival rates in terms of calves.
D. Our winters are much worse than anything you might see in Mo.

But since I don't have anything to contribute and I am the ONLY person to even slightly veer the thread...I won't bother since you chose to single me out..
elkman-06
 
I apologize elkman,(I think I had a little too much coffee)I do want to know what you know about Elk.:o I guess we could try this again. What's the pro's and cons.

Thanks for coming!:cool:
 
Ok, that's allright, anyway. Here's the disclaimer...I am not a biologist, just someone who has spent alot of time in one 50mile x 50 mile area over 32yrs.

1: CWD is a non factor.. There is a fair amount of hysteria around this w/o a lot of reason. I do butcher my animals accordingly but it has a negligible affect on the herds.
2: A healthy herd should be at least 1-10 bull/cow ratio. 2-10 is dandy.
3: My fave area has been producing around 1000-1300 animal harvest for about 8-10 years. It and one other area are the top producers in the state by a fair margin. This herd has about 8-9K animals in it.
4: The herd is continuing to grow even w/ the harvest we are getting.
It leads me to some very unscientific conclusions.
We must be having at least a 30-40% survival rate on our calves.
Predators(coyotes, eagles) take some.
Late spring storms take the rest. If you factor in the number of older dry cows, it still leaves the herd growing quickly.
I have seen the state issue as few as 5tags on a start up herd. Makes me believe that you can start hunting a group fairly quickly after stocking them..Probably 5 yrs to start. Once they get going,,look out, they are very hardy animals, much like the whitetail back east.
All that being said, I wouldn't have a clue as to your predator base, ours is strong but just about anyone out here will have a rifle, and not hesitate to shoot a coyote(very doable since there is so much public land). We do have a strong government trapping effort going on out here as well. Poaching also goes into the equation but w/ the fines and such now days, people have to be pretty hungry to get very carried away. Drunk teenagers are another story.

Not sure if this helps but I would think that if they get going on it, you should be able to hunt some before you croak. If not, it's 300clams for a cow tag out here.
Good luck
elkman06

elkman.
 
We have a small elk herd somewhere close to me in south west MO.

A buddy of mine was deer hunting and had a big 5x5 or so elk come under his stand and smell his deer scent then the thing just lays down 25 yards from him. He just watched it till it left.

Then he called the gamewarden and said you are not going to believe me but, and the game warden interupted him and said you saw a bull elk. My buddy said yeah and he said they had some other reports about him.

I think it would be great but I think it will take a long time until they have a good enough population to hunt.
 
elkman06,

You are dead on right about your observations regarding elk relocations,start up herds.
I watched the CA. Dept Fish and Game over a 25 years period go from having 2 seperate herds of Tule Elk,Buttonwillow and Los Banos those herds were behind fences and every fall they would relocate elk all over the state in suitable habitat.CA has all 3 species of No. American Elk all have huntable populations.CA has a significant predator base,gazillions of lions, coyotes and eagles,the elk herds absolutely thrive.Every year for the past 5 years CA DF&G has added new hunts they are extremely conservative in issuing tags but your chances of a tag get better each year.
I had applied every year for 25 years and finally drew a M/L cow tag for a Tule elk.Best hunting experience I have ever had anywhere in the west.It took more time to kill a cow because the bulls were in the way and the cows stayed bunched up and hard to get one you want to shoot singled out,I could have killed 7 bulls 6 pts or better in the first 6 hours of hunting.My tag was for the Owens Valley,most of the elk run on private property and CA F&G has worked with landowners for elk hunters to hunt the private land.
I had concerns with DF&G relocating on private land, but it turned out to be the best to build the herds quickly and landowners have been very cooperative with access.As with most of the elk herds in the U.S. populations are on the rise in most areas and new areas are being repopulated continually.
 
give us some elk to regenerate the Wyoming elk herds.


Umm, FWIW, southern and eastern Wyo does not have these problems.
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YET.....................They are coming. Already sightings in the Big Horns.
 
I can't see too many landowners in southern Mo. being opened-armed.. I do think that landowners would welcome elk, but not welcome hunters.:( I also would like some info pertaining to vehicle vs.elk scenarios. Deer in missouri represent high numbers of accident claims as well as emergency claims. This country in which I speak is woodland forest mostly with a few main interstates passing through it, along with a generous amount of rural roads. Although this land is generally sparsely inhabited, the elk will be encountered by humans' in everyday life.. Some elk would not see a human or traffic, but what about the nomads... It all boils down to what the citizens of this area will bear, torn up gardens, vehicle accidents involving elk, territorial invasion, and so on. I happen to live in the northwestern side of Mo., and I probably won't have any conflicting views against this idea, the only thing I as a Missouri resident and deer-hunter, is the CWD.:o And if it offers no real threat I say BRING IT ON!!!!! My biggest dream/ goal in my hunting life is to hunt Elk.. (and get a big one):rolleyes: I could only hope to, one day, hunt them in my home state:)
 
I live in the mountains of North Carolina.

Elk were native to this area, but were wiped out by the White man.
Ten years ago they brought in 25 elk to a park about 80 miles west of here.
This herd is thriving, and is up to 110 animals.
I haven't heard of any problems with Chronic Wasting down here.

Eight months ago a hill billy was driving through the park, and he shot a bull elk, and then drove off.
He got 8 months in jail, and they confiscated his Richard Petty autographed Browning .270

I don't know if/when they will begin to allow hunting, they haven't said anything about that yet.
 
but what about the nomads...
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You probably have a real concern there. Elk are nomads, they are known for trotting many miles on a given day just to get to a favorite meadow/feeding area. I typically see them move upwards of 5miles a night for water/food etc. in the areas that I hunt.
elkman06
 
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