Solo Elk Hunting

[durandja11]

Well 2020 has rolled around I am possibly on the verge of my first ever solo archery elk hunting experience.....for other solo hunters - What is the one tip, strategy, suggestion you wished someone would have told you prior experiencing your hunt? What was the most surprising thing you just never thought of during the hunt? Whether it was mentally, physically or that one make or break piece of equipment. Just trying to prepare myself with as much knowledge as I can.

 

[Muley_Stalker]

My biggest shock was walking up on my first elk and seeing how big it was. I was a young teenager and had only hunted for whitetails.

 

[Salmonchaser]

I’ve done an awful lot of solo hunting, once had an elk die as it jumped over a root wad, had another die on a hill side so steep and above a cliff, I tied us both off. So dealing with an elk that drops in a bad spot. You’re not going to move them very much by yourself. Just be prepared to think out side the box, you may just have to start whittling.
I love hunting by myself, no plan to follow, modern tools like In Reach make it possible you may get rescued if you fall and break a leg kinda thing. Im a little less adventurous at 65 then I was at 35. But I still love doing it.

 

[klwinter921]

Well 2020 has rolled around I am possibly on the verge of my first ever solo archery elk hunting experience.....for other solo hunters - What is the one tip, strategy, suggestion you wished someone would have told you prior experiencing your hunt? What was the most surprising thing you just never thought of during the hunt? Whether it was mentally, physically or that one make or break piece of equipment. Just trying to prepare myself with as much knowledge as I can.

Most on here will offer you very good tips and suggestions so I will just offer this....know your physical and mental limitations. Elk are huge and it is easy to get caught up in the pursuit and find yourself with an elk down beyond your ability to haul him out. If you are the type of person that can muster up that extra effort when the going get tough it will serve you well on an elk hunt. Of course this depends on where you are hunting. Some elk live in more forgiving country....not the ones I hunt so my experience may differ from others. Hunting elk is easy....finding elk is hard....killing an elk is harder....hauling one out by yourself falls somewhere in the hard to harder range. my $0.01

 

[Bigjay73]

Its hiking with a weapon, dont overthink it. Get the best gear that you can afford, be in decent shape, and practice shooting as much as possible. Elk hunting isn't that hard, It's not rocket surgery, or a triathalon.

 

[Sask hunter]

Can be done just need proper equipment and tools. If legal where you are and you can get an atv close or as close as possible that helps a lot

My solo OTC moose hunt from last fall

 

[durandja11]

My biggest shock was walking up on my first elk and seeing how big it was. I was a young teenager and had only hunted for whitetails.

Thanks! In 2018 I elk hunted where my partner shot a bull, so I am aware of that however I would agree with my first experience walking up on them it is crazy to see how big it was especially comparing them to my typical whitetail!

 

[durandja11]

I’ve done an awful lot of solo hunting, once had an elk die as it jumped over a root wad, had another die on a hill side so steep and above a cliff, I tied us both off. So dealing with an elk that drops in a bad spot. You’re not going to move them very much by yourself. Just be prepared to think out side the box, you may just have to start whittling.
I love hunting by myself, no plan to follow, modern tools like In Reach make it possible you may get rescued if you fall and break a leg kinda thing. Im a little less adventurous at 65 then I was at 35. But I still love doing it.

I do have an in-reach and wont leave home without it. I've planned on bringing extra paracord and possibly a pulley system to help on this aspect of taking care of a down elk. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Getting over your fear of doing things in the dark.

Hiking in the dark, and packing in the dark.

You are way more likely to kill an elk if you walk into/out of your hunting spot in the dark. Meat care is much easier if you pack it out in the dark.

 

[durandja11]

Most on here will offer you very good tips and suggestions so I will just offer this....know your physical and mental limitations. Elk are huge and it is easy to get caught up in the pursuit and find yourself with an elk down beyond your ability to haul him out. If you are the type of person that can muster up that extra effort when the going get tough it will serve you well on an elk hunt. Of course this depends on where you are hunting. Some elk live in more forgiving country....not the ones I hunt so my experience may differ from others. Hunting elk is easy....finding elk is hard....killing an elk is harder....hauling one out by yourself falls somewhere in the hard to harder range. my $0.01

Thanks for the feedback! I'm just not sure what I can do to get mentally prepared. I have a plan to camp solo a couple weekends over the summer to help prepare, bring my pack and do day hikes/training while I'm out there. My first elk experience with a group, I was nervous all around but really gained a lot of confidence and agree with Sauk Hunter to not over complicate it, take one step in front of the other and take it slow and easy. I'll be keeping some "cash" on me in case there are any horse back "passerbyers" willing to help.

 

[durandja11]

Getting over your fear of doing things in the dark.

Hiking in the dark, and packing in the dark.

You are way more likely to kill an elk if you walk into/out of your hunting spot in the dark. Meat care is much easier if you pack it out in the dark.

One good thing on this is my only time to train is after I put the kids to bed. I normally hike 2-3 miles with my pack and 60 lbs of sand nightly in the dark and hopefully to increase weight over time. This has helped significantly with getting comfortable on this front. This did take a little bit to get used to especially when I walked into a group of 10-15 racoons. The amount of eyes staring at me really took my by surprise! lol I had a good laugh after that.

 

[SAJ-99]

I'm just not sure what I can do to get mentally prepared.

Usually the "fear" is overcome pretty quickly. Your biggest struggle (it's mine) will be staying in the game mentally if you are not finding elk. There is no one to bounce ideas off of and you second guess yourself a lot. Make sure you have a plan A, B, and C laid out in advance. Plan A fails more times than it works, for me at least.

 

[wannakillabigbull]

The key for me is to do a trial run every year, like a solo scouting trip. Every decision is magnified when you're solo hunting for elk so becoming comfortable by yourself, with your gear, with your surroundings is key. Typically I feel much better each time I go out every year. I solo archery hunted a long ways back this past year; the first scouting trip was a trainwreck, the second went great, and the hunt went even better.

 

[Bigjay73]

If you go into it with the bar being set at having a great few days in the mountain, then you dont need to be "mentally prepared" as much. If you see elk, or fill a tag then that's just icing on the cake. Keep the expectations low, and stress will be low. Be realistic, success rates are pretty low for OTC archery, doesn't mean it cant be an amazing trip.

 

[MT Bound]

The mountains look alot different from your boots than they do from Google Earth.......meaning no matter how much time you spend doing on-line scouting, things will unfold & look differently once you put boots on the ground.

 

[klwinter921]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm just not sure what I can do to get mentally prepared. I have a plan to camp solo a couple weekends over the summer to help prepare, bring my pack and do day hikes/training while I'm out there. My first elk experience with a group, I was nervous all around but really gained a lot of confidence and agree with Sauk Hunter to not over complicate it, take one step in front of the other and take it slow and easy. I'll be keeping some "cash" on me in case there are any horse back "passerbyers" willing to help.

I am of the philosophy that you don't know what you are capable of until you are forced to do something. Few people curl up into the fetal position after getting an elk down and realizing its going to be a big job. We just go to work and I'm sure that's what you will do too. Bottom line is I don't believe you can "train" for how you will respond mentally to an elk hunt. Just do it and stay positive while you are doing it! after all, you're elk hunting!

 

[cedahm]

Despite the #keephammering messaging you see on IG, etc - make sure to get enough rest/downtime. Especially in the early weeks of most archery seasons, those are LONG days if you are hunting all legal hours, Don't be afraid to take naps or rest/break as the day goes on. It will wear on you mentally and physically.

My typical day opening week starts at 3:30 (time for coffee, a bar or bagel, short drive, ~1-2h hike to be in the zone before first light) and ends at 11ish (last light usually about 8pm, ~1h hike out and drive/dinner/camp stuff). 4-5 hours sleep at most and at my age I can't sustain that for very long. Hell - I couldn't sustain that for long when I was 30.

If you're going for a big chunk (a week or so), I would even suggest taking a morning or evening off every now and then.

 

[elkduds]

"What's the one thing...?"

As long as you are safe, you are succeeding. Every minute in the field is worth an hour online. Know that you mostly don't know, be about learning. If your expectation is to learn as much as you can, you will.

The odds heavily favor the elk.

 

[Slm864]

Slow down and be alert while hiking. Don’t blow through miles of good elk country just to get to a spot you have marked on the map. I blew a decent herd off the mountain one year because I was so focused on getting to a particular spot. It taught me to take my time a lot more. Too many years of walking through fields to get to tree stands hunting whitetails and it created bad habits.

 

[daltrix99]

Biggest realization/wakeup call for me was importance of the wind. It rules all. The only exception is if you can get a bull literally running in to a cow call or bugle; I've seen them do this into bad wind, then you have a split second when they stop to make your shot before they bolt.