Elk Hunting Guide: Skills, Gear, and Insight

by Tom Airhart

A thorough, informative guide to the growing sport of elk hunting with in-depth coverage of current equipment and gear Techniques for tracking elk and staying safe in the wilderness Advice on choosing guides and outfitters With the popularity of elk hunting on the rise, many beginners have been left wanting information that goes beyond conventional wisdom and the same old tips and techniques. In his Elk Hunting Guide, Tom Airhart rises to the occasion, providing an in-depth, wide-ranging, but never dull introduction to the sport that draws on his more than thirty years of experience taking elk. This comprehensive book covers every aspect of the hunt in extensive detail, from gearing up and navigating the terrain to stalking elk and making the kill. Also included is specific advice for some of the most popular elk hunting regions in the country, as well as some rules of thumb for choosing reputable guides. And spread throughout the book are the author's lively "Elk Hunting Tales" - instructive stories that are the next best thing to sharing a campfire with an expert the night before a big hunt.

432 pages, Paperback

First published July 10, 2005

Reviews

[Elwin Kline · Rating 1 out of 5]

"I did not like it."

This book absolutely 100% has the agenda to push the reader towards paying thousands of dollars to be spoon fed an elk through the 'pay to win' methodology of outfitters and guided hunts.

In pretty much every single chapter there is some sort of reference to a guide/outfitter and constant hype about hunting trophy elk. Even towards the back end of the book, there is a detailed (opinion based) analysis of how much you spend equals what your success rate is. He brushes off that spending 3-4 thousand dollars is no big deal, even up to $10,000... and then keeps beating the dead horse of how great outfitters are, the experience and service provided, so on and so forth. He even mentions a $30,000 tribal land trophy elk hunt!

What's hilarious too... is he concludes with basically, you spend your money and if you don't get anything, well... that's 'luck for ya!' He even defends the high costs of outfitters and guides, talking about how "oh, the poor outfitters have to spend money on horse shoes year round! You should not only willing pay thousands of dollars for a weekend with them... don't forget to tip!" He even goes on saying that if your outfitter experience is poor, just suck it up and deal with it, enjoy the outdoors and understand that it's only money... just enjoy the experience and make the best of it!

This whole pay to win hunting category of people really give me a lot of distaste. Why not just have your animal tied down on chains and you just drive up in your truck and shoot them from your drivers seat with a smart gun that aims for you, then go ahead and have a team of professional game butchers clean and package your meat on the spot, and then have your personal chef cook it up for you. I mean, if you've got 10-30k to drop on a 3-7 days of walking around in the woods.... why hold anything else back?

I would rather get my animal with my own skill and tenacity, pay my $56 for a resident elk tag, and actually hunt and earn my animal. Even if I went years without getting an animal, when I finally did get one, it would just have so much more meaning than the total meaningless empty experience that the wealthy and lazy people who actually support books like this actually go for.

If you actually call yourself a hunter... stay as far away from the book as possible.

If you have thousands of dollars to burn and want to put a dead animal's head on your wall that you didn't actually earn but will vigorously brag about it when your hosting house parties.... here ya go!