Some of my favorite memories involve hunting elk either by myself or with friends in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. We were often successful, usually because we were willing to backpack or ride our own horses into the remote areas that elk prefer. The first seven bulls I killed were the following distances from the closest road: nine miles, two miles, 24 miles, 20 miles, 13 miles and two at seven miles. All were killed in different areas, and I was with a guide only twice. In both cases, I had requested a guide who knew next to nothing about hunting elk so that I could call the shots.

Most of my do-it-yourself elk hunting was done with a bow during September rut seasons, when it's far easier to locate and hunt big bulls. I also have drawn three good rifle tags over the years along with a great archery tag that I "almost" was able to tie onto a big 7x7 that I had called into 10 yards before having my arrow deflected by a branch I thought I could avoid.

One of our New Mexico outfitters offers a semi-guided hunt that allows his customers apply for tags allocated just for hunters who have contracted with an outfitter.

So I naturally have learned a great deal about hunting elk without a guide or with minimal help from a guide. If you want to be successful on semi-guided or self-guided elk hunts, you would be wise to learn some basic facts the easy way (from others) rather than the hard way (through your own experience, earned in the school of hard knocks through trial and error).

The first thing you should know is that elk are a lot like Canada geese in that they seek out areas where they are seldom bothered. Just as you'll see lots of geese on a golf course or the local community park, so will you find elk in refuge areas. That's true whether the refuge is a small private ranch or public wildlife area that is entirely closed to hunting or a remote wilderness forest far from roads or even well-used trails. Mature bulls particularly are good at finding refuges where they're never or seldom bothered by hunters. By the time a bull elk gets old enough to grow a bragging-size rack, 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 years old, he knows how and where to avoid hunters. So you must go into his hideouts and use effective hunting methods in order to maximize your chances of putting his meat in your freezer and his antlers on your wall.

Many hunters want to drive to Colorado or another western state, put up a tent camp, and hunt on foot from camp. That is seldom effective unless you hunt an area where hunting pressure is limited by the state or by a landowner. You can often hunt mule deer from a roadside camp, but if the elk are pressured much you won't find them within easy walking distance of a road.

Elk won't be on the other side of the mountain you can see, either.  They'll be at least two ridges away from anyplace you can drive. There are certainly exceptions, but if you want to be successful on public land with over-the-counter tags, you must plan to get far from other hunters.

And then you must be prepared to pack out the meat. Until you have a mature bull elk on the ground, it's hard to imagine how difficult it is to pack the meat, cape and antlers several miles to a road. It takes about five round trips of carrying heavy loads to get a deboned elk, cape and antlers to the road. And if you have any physical problems, such as a bad knee or a bad back, such as I have, plan on six or seven trips to keep the weight down to a manageable level.

It took five trips to get my first bull out. Each of my two hunting partners carried a load, and I made three round trips myself. Since that bull was nine miles from the road, each round trip was 18 miles for a grand total of 54 miles just for myself, and that doesn't include the round trip to carry our camping gear in and out. Even though I'm still a good hiker more than 25 years later, I doubt I would enjoy repeating that experience.

If you own horses or if you're young enough, energetic enough or adventurous enough to backpack several miles, there are certainly many opportunities available to you. But few hunters have the time, knowledge, skill and energy to be successful consistently on such hunts.

So what should you do if you want to get a nice bull but can't afford the cost of a blue-ribbon guided trip?

First, consider trying to draw a tag in a zone where the state limits the number of tags available to both resident and non-residents. You'll have to enter a state-run permit lottery along with thousands of other hopefuls. It is extremely difficult to draw a tag in the best areas and for the best hunt dates, so consider applying for less-coveted seasons and areas.

In some states each unsuccessful applicant is awarded a preference point or bonus point, which increases the chances of drawing a permit in the future. Colorado issues true preference points, which means you're guaranteed a tag if you apply in a zone where no other applicants have more preference points than you do. Utah issues half its tags to the applicants who have more preference points than others.

In New Mexico 11 percent of all elk tags are issued to hunters who have contracted to hire an outfitter, while 9 percent of tags go to non-residents who have not done so. Since free-lance hunters or those who have not yet selected an outfitter greatly outnumber guided hunters, the odds of drawing a tag in the outfitter allocation are much better than drawing an at-large permit. Since the outfitter does not have to pay for a lease when you draw a tag in New Mexico, the cost of a guided hunt or a semi-guided hunt on quality public land is minimal when compared with a semi-guided or self-guided hunt on a private ranch with comparable hunting in another state. We have one outfitter who offers what he calls a semi-guided hunt in order to keep the cost down. He hires one guide per three or four hunters and provides tent quarters and meals. That means his customers qualify to apply for ther tags allocated to outfitter customers.

Hunting elk during the rut is fun and much easier because the bulls are often vocal and, thus, easy to locate. But most self-guided and semi-guided hunting opportunities take place after the rut. In some areas an average hunter is better off hunting during the rut with a muzzleloader or bow than after the rut with a rifle. Post-rut bull elk can be just as elusive as pre-rut or post-rut whitetail bucks.

Second, consider buying a landowner permit or voucher for a private ranch or public unit that is managed for quality hunting. Vouchers that allow you to buy a tag for the top-level management units are extremely expensive, but you can often buy a permit to hunt a lesser-known area for an affordable price.

Landowner vouchers are available in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, and if you lease a ranch in Idaho you can sometimes get a transferable landowner permit. Your best bet is probably in New Mexico. The top-rated trophy units command the most money, while some of the northern units are considerably less expensive. Most landowners want more for their vouchers in the winter and spring than they do just before the season opens.