Suffield Elk

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makid

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Folks,

Does anyone here have any first hand experience with the Suffield elk hunts? I have enough points saved up to be drawn in Suffield. Do I want to and what should I now if I do get drawn? Having only driven through the base on the highway, all I know about the hunt is what I've see in hunt reports and in the media. Basically lots of elk that spend most of their time in places you can't hunt. I hunt mostly for the experience but also the meat and sometimes trophies. I'm concerned that the hunt may end up being glorified road hunting, cruising around waiting for a herd to cross a fence line. Hardly an experience worth having let alone spending the points on.

Thanks,
Dean
 
makid said:
Folks,

Does anyone here have any first hand experience with the Suffield elk hunts? I have enough points saved up to be drawn in Suffield. Do I want to and what should I now if I do get drawn? Having only driven through the base on the highway, all I know about the hunt is what I've see in hunt reports and in the media. Basically lots of elk that spend most of their time in places you can't hunt. I hunt mostly for the experience but also the meat and sometimes trophies. I'm concerned that the hunt may end up being glorified road hunting, cruising around waiting for a herd to cross a fence line. Hardly an experience worth having let alone spending the points on.

Thanks,
Dean
Click to expand...


Actually Dean, inside the base guys with "0" priority were drawn for antlerless this year. So, you do have enough priority to get drawn next year. For elk outside the base, "they" say that the antlerless base hunt is keeping the elk inside. If that makes any sense.
Lots of pre-season spotting and permission asking will improve your odds and make your hunt more enjoyable.
 
makid said:
Folks,

Does anyone here have any first hand experience with the Suffield elk hunts? I have enough points saved up to be drawn in Suffield. Do I want to and what should I now if I do get drawn? Having only driven through the base on the highway, all I know about the hunt is what I've see in hunt reports and in the media. Basically lots of elk that spend most of their time in places you can't hunt. I hunt mostly for the experience but also the meat and sometimes trophies. I'm concerned that the hunt may end up being glorified road hunting, cruising around waiting for a herd to cross a fence line. Hardly an experience worth having let alone spending the points on.

Thanks,
Dean
Click to expand...
For several years I have guided for antelope on three sides of the base (north, east, south) and bumped into elk hunters who were generally parked on top of the highest hill spotting for elk. The prairie terrain is hilly with buck brush, rolling grass hills and some coulees. I think that you can hunt elk the same way I guided for antelope which would be spot and stalk, also I've heard hunters commenting on putting on many miles driving around the Suffield Base........that would be quite costly and not the greatest experience for a hunt. You may want to consider a mountain hunt where zone 300 is partly in the prairies and foothills.
 
I don't have any experience inside the base but I may be of some help on the outside. I'm a field operator and my area follows the block fence from the northeast corner to the south SK river (on the outside of the block). It's very nice hilly brush type terrain but in my view it's way over hunted. I see some pretty nice elk and mule deer pretty much year round but it seems like once hunting season is here they disappear into the block. I actually haven't seen an elk in the last 2 months anywhere in my field. At the beginning of hunting season I usually see 4 or 5 trucks cruising the access trails every day but the guys I stop and talk to usually don't have much luck with filling tags. I've worked out there for going on 7 years now and the majority of what I see is just guys road hunting. Pretty rare to see someone out walking. And with so many guys driving around it would be almost pointless to walk anyway. I've never hunted there myself (aside from yotes) since I'm a sask resident but I'm not sure if I would even if I had the chance. Other areas may be better but that's my view of the area I know. Hope that helps.
 
I have talked to a couple guys who have "hunted" in the base for antlerless elk and they got their meat but it was a less than challenging meat hunt. Large herds of cows and calves and young bulls with trucks flanking them and shots fired from time to time when a cow got separated from the herd by a few meters.

The whole idea of the "hunt" is to cull elk and as long as no hunters get shot just about anything goes.
 
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