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Mountain Beaverhead-Deer Lodge: The forest outside of Dillon, spanning several mountain ranges, offers numerous access points for hunters while also providing safety cover for elk. Fifty percent of the elk crop comes from Region 3 in the southwestern part of the state.
Colorado White River: It is heavily hunted, but there is a plentiful elk population and good access. Some larger bulls live in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area of this stretch, but it’s all thin air and you can get a lot of snow very quickly here.
Idaho Saint Joseph: This forest in the southern Panhandle is among the best places in any state to score with a bow, the adjoining Clearwater National Forest is just as good. You will need a GPS and a good map to avoid getting lost in these deep forests. Don’t worry about transferring.
Wyoming Bridger Teton: Near Jackson, the forest allows access to some of the most beautiful alpine basin countries in the world. Offering an abundant supply of elk.
Wyoming Shoshone: Beartooth Mountains offers classic wild elk hunting. There are good bull populations in the large territories along the North Fork of the Shoshone River and Sunlight Basin.
Arizona Coconino: Pine Grove and Rattlesnake Quiet zones on 6A offer what are some of the largest bulls on the planet. This is the foot travel zone. No Motor Vehicles.
Washington Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness: Bull elk proportions are finally on the rise in the famed Blue Mountains of southeast Washington. The tags restrict hunters to quills, but if you land a coveted tag on any bull, you’ll have a chance at a trophy in the roadless areas in this area of the Umatilla National Forest.
Utah Ashley National Forest: The state lives with Arizona for the best elk hunting on public land, and residents sometimes find a large number of undrawn tags, including bull permits. The Uinta Mountain area in this forest is a great choice among any bull area.
Oregon Siuslaw National Forest:Western Oregon. The Siuslaw and Alsea units in the Siuslaw National Forest offer good opportunities for hunters who are willing to put up with a lot of rain to do a little legwork.
New Mexico Cibola National Forest, Santa Fe: Low percentage, limited draw hunts are the rule in New Mexico, but big bulls are the prize. The labels for the Zuni Mountains and Mount Taylor areas in Cibola and in the Jemez area of Santa Fe are a bit easier to draw than the coveted labels in the Gila National Forest to the south.