Re: I am interested in an Elk hunt. Questions/
Wow! Ask a simple question and you go off the edge - and without answering the question. I did not ask how big, although you keep showing us that same photo with the musket in it, and the same other few photos followed up with LOTS of BS quality info thrown in.
fwiw - You do not know me, or understand basic management principles if you think I'm "score happy." I focus on mature deer, and population numbers, not necessarily the biggest. I am proud to be able to take a big mature deer, but equally enjoy helping cull deer where I hunt. Would I like to take a huge wallhanger? If it is mature and time for it, yes. But to me, the score is not the end goal, but it can be a good indicator of the quality of how well a property is managing its habitat for wildlife - and managing its hunters.
Among other places, yes, I do hunt on a ranch for which I do pay for access as is the norm for most areas within driving distance of where I live, but I also help with the culling at the end of the season. I also go there to survey the bird populations, which are otherwise beyond the reach of normal survey access. I take home many, and eat deer meat in some form almost every day of the year. I've taken 20 over the last two years. A couple of real nice mature ones, and all were for management purposes within an overall management plan. Before you twist up into a knot, the properties have management permits, so the permit not license tags control the number to be taken - it is a management issue.
Also, I do hunt on public lands, not for score, but for habitat management. Maybe you'll also find it interesting that this year, my wife and I will also hunt on a bird sanctuary helping cull deer there to improve the habitat for an endangered songbird. The "bird" in my handle is not my name, but from my passion for bird conservation, which is what brought me back to hunting and shooting a few years ago. Hunting is a very important habitat management tool, and my primary motivation for hunting, although I do enjoy the deer meat.
There are many more reasons to hunt than you read in your ancient tales of African safaris and the hunting rags to which you so often refer (rather than your first hand experience), and the purpose often determines the tool to be used. So yes, I do use a 308 with 175 SMK's or a 7wsm with match bullets to hunt. I pick my shots carefully and try to drop them where they stand. And yes, depending on the when, where, and why, bait is used so that the deer can be analyzed for age, health, and so that a controlled shot can be taken after time for observation, rather than charging into their bedding areas and shooting them in the ass as they run off as you indicate you do.
Just as a bit of trivia to dispel your misguided impressions, I have a wildlife sanctuary named after me for my conservation work.