Well, I'm home

We got totally skunked.
Outfitter blamed the failure on weather. No snow, warm weather, full moon, fairy dust on the roof--you name it. Basically, they are dependent on snow to move elk into the valley and it didn't happen yet. I've never hunted elk in barn lots and backyards until this time. Chalk it up to a learning experience.

Sounds like my 2019 trip. Similar occurrence. Warm weather,, & almost no elk movement into our area. The week before we got there,, activity,, and 2 weeks after a LOT of activity.

It just lets us know that God is still in control of a few things.

Guess I've become a bit spoiled with success over the past 36 years.
3 DIY elk hunts in Montana resulted in a cow and a 320 class bull.
One trip to Wyoming brought home a big cow on the first morning out.
2 guided rifle trips to Colorado brought home 2 decent bulls with only a day or two of hunting each time but a week of DIY muzzleloader hunting was unsuccessful.
My first 3 trips to NM netted a filled tag within a day or two each time but 2021 was different. Ten hunters in camp and not a single shot fired. Eight cow hunters didn't even see an elk. I'll be looking for a different spot for next year.

Bummer! Sorry you came up empty. You learned, which is a good thing - although it would have been much nicer if y'all were eating some great elk meat this winter.
Hopefully the whitetails on your place will cooperate to let you fill the freezer.

You had 10 hunters & on my trip, we had 9. ALL skunked. Plus,, another group nearby, of 6 more hunters, skunked.
I too have enjoyed good success on my previous hunts. My first hunt, DIY, public land, in Colorado, out by myself, and scored a 4x5 bull. (And a 5x5 mulie on that trip.) Second hunt, more of a high fence operation, and while I still put in some serious walking & such, (at least for one day,) my cow was an easy, (comparatively) one to take. So, my 3rd trip, 2019,, getting skunked,, wasn't a total waste. I still had a fun trip, saw many other things, enjoyed some friends & fellowship, and in general,, had a good time.
I'd like to do a trip in 2022,, so I'm going to be looking around myself.

Sorry to hear that. I've booked a cow elk and mule deer hunt at the V7 Ranch near Raton, NM for 2023. They boast a 100% success rate on cow elk and it was certainly that way for the 7-8 hunters in camp while we were there; two mulie hunters took nice bucks in addition to their cows. Join me...

Hey Matt, PM sent.

On my DIY bull elk hunts I used to wonder if they were higher than me or lower. I decided to start high, as high as I could get & then I only had to look below. Usually hunters down below will drive them up towards you. And the pack out is always downhill. Seemed to work for me.