How many miles?

[TOGIE]

You can certainly tell rifle hunters from bow hunters in this debate.

most the bow hunters i know hike out and go back to bed if they go a 2000 yards without hearing a bugle. same thing if it's windy out.

 

[SAJ-99]

most the bow hunters i know hike out and go back to bed if they go a 2000 yards without hearing a bugle. same thing if it's windy out.

So you saying i'm doing it wrong? explains a lot.

 

[TOGIE]

So you saying i'm doing it wrong? explains a lot.

oh no, not at all. they never shoot anything.

 

[TheTone]

Yep. This was a legit 20 mile day with 3,000 + up and down in Montana. It was worth the effort.

View attachment 312303

Lotta main beam past that 5th!

 

[Deleted member 28227]

oh no, not at all. they never shoot anything.

*kill

They put more holes in critters than fly fisherman

 

[TOGIE]

*kill

They put more holes in critters than fly fisherman

fact.

but not these guys

 

[Deleted member 52098]

*kill

They put more holes in critters than fly fisherman

just tossing grenades and waltzing out of the room lol

 

[Deleted member 28227]

just tossing grenades and waltzing out of the room lol

 

[c0d95]

This year was my first season archery hunting and I think I hiked maybe 5 miles- it was freezing cold where we were and there was very little sign. Stayed around camp mostly. Last year I didn't really elk hunt and the year before I think we hiked ~15 miles. Have yet to kill an elk but have gotten into them just about every time I go out. Just never anything legal for where I'm at.

 

[tjones]

Yep. This was a legit 20 mile day with 3,000 + up and down in Montana. It was worth the effort.

View attachment 312303

Holy crap Paul, you were just a pup.

How long ago was this?

 

[BigHornRam]

Holy crap Paul, you were just a pup.

How long ago was this?

Back when Montana still had some elk.

 

[mxracer317]

Yes, have you heard of the High Uintas? Some good elk areas can be 20 miles away from the trailhead, of course in that situation you would use horses to pack the meat out.

Sure have. The Wasatch range is in my backyard. Most of the elk I've taken is 3-5 miles away from the truck.

 

[Dan-06]

We have been hunting elk with archery gear for 20 years now in the wilderness of Wyoming. When we leave our tracker on we typically cover just under 8 miles a day at or above 10000 feet. It can take some kind of exercise commitment during the summer.

 

[Spedray]

I average in the teens most days. To be fair we parallel a road usually. No more than a few miles off the road. It might be a long walk back to the truck when something is down but then we can drive much closer. Can't remember a time in recent history were we haven't shot one opening weekend.

 

[jtm307]

Sometimes 10+ miles. Sometimes under 1/2 mile.

 

[Bluffgruff]

My range is 0-22 miles per day, typically 6-14, average is probably 9 if I don't count the zero days. I can do that in 4 hours in elk terrain. I CAN hit 4mph if I need to get to the only restaurant in town before it closes, but 1.5-2.5mph is a typical pace between glassing stops.

 

[MTLabrador]

My favorite spot is a little over a mile of a pretty tough climb with deadfall, rocks, etc. before you get to the good stuff. I’ve done 7-8 trail miles in and hunted from there, but that doesn’t do much to weed out the competition. I think the farthest elk I’ve killed was 4ish miles in and my last two bulls were around a mile or maybe a hair under. There’s a big difference between covering miles to get to a spot and actually hunting.

 

[Straight Arrow]

It can take some kind of exercise commitment during the summer.

Yeah for sure ... after my wife takes me on backpack trips to the wilderness, then many day hikes up mountains during the summers ... hunting hiking is a breeze.
(I even get to stop for awhile for a breather to glass when I'm hunting!)

 

[Westelker - W. Colorado]

I have a spot I can be into bulls 1/2 mile in or less… and watch and listen to the cars and horse trailers go up and down the main FS road. Steep… yeah. But from car to elk in like 20 minutes. Downhill packout if ya get one.

That's exactly the strategy I am referring to and have employed for years. Several places in CO I have got lucky and figured out via Google earth that hold elk close to roads; and, a couple spots I discovered where elk crossed the road in snow in places where I thought was unusual locations and the herd was not migrating. I'll also add to this thread that just because a hunter may walk X miles does not necessarily mean he's/she's that far from camp or truck.

 

[Westelker - W. Colorado]

We all agree that Janice in accounting is a beast!

I average about 6-7 miles. A little more on the front end of a trip when I am looking and a little less on the back end when my plan is a little more firm. Max is probably 12-15 and I really have to be seeing and hearing nothing to move that far and fast.

I will add to your calc that I typically average less than 2mph. I guess If I'm walking a road or trail I can get to 4mph, but going up hill makes it hard, and the gear, and wanting to stop and listen and look. Going in the dark slows me down too. Nothing worse than a stick in the face.

You can certainly tell rifle hunters from bow hunters in this debate.

The rifle guys are really fast! Good on them! I've never figured out how one can walk 4mph, glass and listen all at the same time. Is that hunting?