Best Elk Hunting in Texas
Most people don’t realize there are free-ranging elk in Texas, but West Texas has a very healthy population of Rocky Mountain Elk and some of the best elk hunting in the country! There are several mountain ranges out in West Texas that have populations of elk. With access to over 500,000 acres I’ve got some great high desert elk hunting in Texas.
Licenses are easily obtained over the counter, no closed season or state drawing for elk tags in Texas, and hunters can hunt with firearms or archery equipment. One of the biggest advantages of elk hunting in Texas is that we are able to rifle hunt during the peak of the rut, while the bulls are bugling. Since there’s no closed season for elk hunting in Texas, they can be hunted year-round, but the best time to hunt elk in Texas is during the rut in September and October.
The demand is so high for my free-range elk hunting in Texas that I’m typically booked at least a year out, if not 2, but I also have elk available on a high fence ranch in the Hill Country. This ranch is 11-1/2 square miles, so it’s not a small ranch, and these elk have a lot of country to roam.
I’ve probably got 200-300 elk on this ranch and all of these elk are born and raised on this ranch. That’s very unique for high fence ranches in Texas with elk because most will buy elk from another ranch and release them every year.
This ranch has several miles of live water, big canyons, large meadows, and big plateaus. The ranch lay out and the number of elk makes for an amazing hunting opportunity! Much like hunting elk in West Texas, we drive around until we locate a big bull elk and it’s a spot and stalk from there. These are big bulls as well, weighing between 900 & 1,300 pounds, providing plenty of organic protein to fill your freezer.
I’m on every Texas Elk Hunt to provide my personal attention/service to your hunt to help ensure your hunt is an experience of a lifetime.
Elk Hunting in Texas – Who is this hunt for:
With the lower elevation, around 4,500′-6500’, and typically better weather than in the Rocky Mountains, elk hunting in Texas isn’t quite as strenuous as you would expect on most elk hunts. No hunt in West Texas is easy, but elk hunts in Texas are typically less strenuous than elk hunting in the higher elevations of some of the other Western States.
My elk hunts in the Hill Country are even less strenuous than in West Texas and you typically have more opportunities at big bull elk than you would in West Texas. Since I do a lot of my hunting out of a vehicle, safari style, my elk hunts are great for hunters that are less physically fit, have health or mobility issues, or just think that they might not be up to the strenuous nature of an elk hunt out West.
Texas Elk Hunts – Prices:
Hunt Fee – Call for Pricing and Availability – 210-602-3118Daily rate – $325/hunter (Daily rate only required for my Hill Country ranch)Deposit – $3000
Make sure to read my FAQs before you book. It has all the details about my hunts.
Included in Texas Elk Hunts:
- 5 days & 4 nights (West Texas Free Range Elk Hunts)
- Meals
- Lodging
- Guide
- Transportation around the ranch
- Field care of your trophy
Not included in all Texas Elk Hunts:
- Valid Texas Hunting License (Non- resident 5 day Special Hunting License – Type 157 – $48)
- Gratuities
- Transportation to ranch
- Skinning, caping, quartering of your trophy
- Drinks besides coffee and water
Additional services available for Texas Elk Hunts:
- Non-hunting guests – $250/person/night
- Javelina – $600/each (West Texas)
- Aoudad – $3750/each (West Texas)
- Axis – $3500 (Hill Country)
- Blackbuck – $2500 (Hill Country)
Rocky Mountain Elk – Animal Specifics:
Elk are one of the largest species of the deer family as well as one of the largest land mammals in North America. Elk stand 4-5 feet tall at the shoulder and a mature bull can weigh as much as 1,300 pounds. Their color typically varies from a copper brown in the summer to a light tan in the fall and winter and they have a light beige, or whitish, rump patch and darker legs and neck. Only bull elk have antlers and they shed them in March and by September they have shed their “velvet” and are “hard horned.”
Elk Hunting in Texas:
The most exciting time to hunt elk is during the rut, or bugling season, which is in September and early October. When the bulls are bugling and trying to round up their harem, they are easier to locate and more receptive to coming in to calls. There’s nothing more exciting than a screaming bull up in a canyon with the loud bugles bouncing off all sides of the canyon as he comes into your cow calls. If the bulls aren’t bugling, or aren’t coming to calls, and it’s hot and dry, sitting over a water hole, or a wallow, also works well. On most elk hunts, covering country and a combination of all of the hunting methods mentioned is typically what it takes to get the job done.
A typical day elk hunting in Texas begins well before daylight with a quick easy breakfast of coffee, fruit, pastries and breakfast bars. After breakfast, we’re in the vehicle to head to an area to listen for bugling bulls. As we locate bulls, we check the wind and start heading in their direction to see if we can get a better look at the bull elk and see if he’s worth going after.
As the day warms, the elk head to their bedding areas and we head back to the lodge for a hearty brunch/lunch and a break from the heat ourselves. Early in the afternoon, we’re back in the field trying to locate a big elk bull as he gets out of his bed. As the afternoon wears on, the elk typically become more vocal and we’re back to listening for bugling bulls, checking the wind and moving in for a better look. After a full day of chasing bugling elk, we head back to the lodge for a great dinner hot off the grill and the chance to re-live the day’s events before heading to bed to do it all again the next day.
Texas Elk Hunting Packing List:
Please note that some of these links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission – at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I use myself and found to be useful.
There’s no closed season for elk hunting in Texas, but I run my elk hunts from September through February. The weather can vary greatly over those 6 months and because of the large temperature swings it’s best to dress in layers. I typically wear a comfortable pair of hiking boots, jeans, or camo pants, and some type of T-shirt adding long sleeves and a jacket/coat in cooler weather. When it gets real cold I’ll wear insulated overalls and a big insulated coat.
For my hunts in the late spring, summer, and early fall (Axis, Blackbuck, late-season Turkey, early-season Elk, etc) one of the products I’ve found to be extremely important is Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent.
We spend a lot of time walking/stalking through tall grass and with Sawyer Permethrin I don’t have to worry about getting chiggers or ticks on me. You spray it on your clothing, and once it dries it’s odorless and colorless. Chiggers itch so bad that they can really ruin a hunt, but with Sawyer Permethrin you don’t have to worry. I LOVE this product, and literally never leave home without it!
Here’s my suggested packing list:
- Valid TX hunting license
- Rain gear
- Backpack – a water bladder in your pack is helpful
- Comfortable boots/shoes
- Snake boots (I typically wear snake boots to keep the cactus/thorns/brush off my legs)
- Binoculars
- Jeans/Pants/Insulated Overalls (Lighter weight pants for the Spring/Summer and heavier weight for the Fall/Winter)
- Camo shirts: Long Sleeve Shirts & Insulated Long Sleeve Shirts
- Jacket/Coat
- Hunting Gloves
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Chapstick
- Insect Repellent Sawyer Permethrin
- Rifle & Ammo or Bow & Arrows
- Uninsulated & Insulated underwear
- Darn tough Hiker Micro Crew Cushion socks are my favorite. They last close to forever!
- Comfortable camp clothes
- Personal Toiletries & Medicines
Also make sure to take a look at my recommended hunting gear list.
Texas Elk Hunting Regions:
The only region in Texas that has free range elk hunting is West Texas. There are numerous game ranches in the Texas Hill Country that have elk that you can hunt, but if you want to hunt free-range elk in Texas you’ve got to go to West Texas.
Rocky Mountain Elk are amazing animals and a great hunt, whether you are a beginner or an experienced hunter. Don’t wait too long, my Texas Elk hunts fill up quickly and you should reserve your spot as soon as possible.
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