Top 20 Elk Hunting Topics

[2rocky]

In a quick glance I didn't see anyone mentioning rifle caliber selection. Lay out some parameters for making the deer rifle work ie: premium bullets, shot range and shot placement.

How much meat you are going to get from an elk. What a local processor is going to charge you. What it will cost to ship it. How to package meat for the drive home.

of course Gutless boning...

 

[bobbydean]

I think you need a short discussion on quanity and quality of knives and saws needed. An elk can dull alot of knives. Most deer hunters have the one trusty knife.

 

[lumbergreg]

I grew up in Montana and hunted elk with my dad for years. My family left the state when I was 16 (Missoula). Now 42, I have returned to Montana (Bozeman) with my work. I continued to hunt all the years I was away (Washington and Idaho) and am VERY excited to again hunt Montana. Following are a few thing I have found difficult upon my return...

1. The hunting regs are confusing pertaining to the description of "special hunts" From the best I can tell the special hunt numbering system changes from year to year. I.E.....game unit 380 offers several special hunts. 380-00, 380-10, 380-20, etc etc. When I searched past year draw statistics the numbers were different. Very confusing! A short video on expaining hunt regs would be very helpful.

2. Forest Service road closures. I have struggled obtaining accurate information pertain to what forest service roads are closed and when.

3. Where to start? I'm lucky with now living here and have the oppertunity to get in my truck and start driving. I am quickly gaining information and options with this method, but if I lived hours and hours, if not days away, how would I get started? I know maps and google earth, but we all know its NOTHING like seeing with our own eyes. I don't have the answer here, but I know this is a major hurdle.

4. What to bring? This one I personally have no problem with, but I have seen with my own eyes a real lack of knowledge on proper gear and camping equipment.

 

[2rocky]

This was a pretty good series that Colorado did last year....

http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/ElkHuntingUniversity/Pages/ElkUniversity2011.aspx

 

[StrutNut]

Well, here are a few things that keep a few of us Midwestern Types out of the Western Hunts:

* Vacation - It takes time to hunt, scout and to just plain get there. Other hunts can be done for about the same money but less vacation time.
* Physical Conditioning - In ways Cameron Hines does more to keep people out of the mountains that to bring them in. Hunters are getting a misconception as to what kind of shape they need to be in and are not there so it does not seem like an option to them.
* Predators - The Mtn Lion/Grzz/Wolf/Coyote issue is all over the net. Hunters although may enjoy the MTN experience do still want to have an opportunity at seeing animals. Seeing deer or hogs close to home is almost a given.
* Gear - Most hunters do not have the equipment needed to do a western hunt as most of their gear for stand hunting whitetails wont work as well for western hunts. It can get costly to switch things over and may not be worth it. This can be from camo - (Sitka, Kuiu, etc), boots, firearm, tents, survival, packs, the list goes on and on.
* Application process - yikes. The easier it is the more competition.

Put it all together and it is likely easier to just go through a guide that can scout for you, bring you there by horses, pack it out for you, help you get that shot opportunity but then the price of the hunt just jumped way up. Just plain easier to stick with chasing deer/hogs.

I am one that has done this once and had a blast and trying to get things together to try again. I was able to kill a cow with archery gear on public land in CO. It took time to get vacation saved up and start slowly buying gear and saving money for the trip. Once you get the gear it isnt so bad but taking that initial plunge is a tough pill to swallow for many.

 

[ARCAT]

1. Wear black underwear and throw it away when you get out of the woods.
2. Buy an Elk/Western hunting rifle and learn to shoot it. (no .270 pump with tasco straight 4). Guys who live out west and get to go every year can get by with a small caliber, you may only get to go once and only get one shot at bull in your life. Make it count. Take twice as many bullets as you think you will ever need.
3. Get in the best shape of your life. If you need to go over 4 ridges to get a bull then do it. You don't need to be able to run a marathon but it would be nice of you could.
4. Get the best optics you can afford, and if that means putting off the trip for another year then put it off and save the $ for an elk rifle and great Binoculars.
5. Leave your cell phone at the truck. Who cares what is going on at the office or at home. Your one and only job for 7-10 days is to kill a bull. Tell your family goodbye in town and tell them not to expect to hear from you until the trip is over.
6. If you have a knee or shoulder that is barking at you, get it scoped and rehabed well before you go. No exceuses, you need to be able to hunt when you get there.
7. Learn how to cape, quarter, skin, bone and pack out a bull before you leave home. Dont let your meat or trophy spoil because you don't know what you are doing. U tube has everything on video.
8. Get a GPS and learn how to use it. If you are scared of getting lost you will never go where you need to to kill a bull.
9. Its always twice as far and twice as steep and takes twice as long to get there as you think it will.
10. Take a few small items with you every day and you won't regret it. game bags, lighter, flashlight, parachute cord, bug dope, sunscreen, wet wipes, a few banaids, knife sharperner, and plenty of bullets.
11. Never count the cost. It will cost twice what you think it will. Once you get on the road, forget about expenses. It will ruin your trip. Save up more than you need and expect to come home broke. Don't worry about the price of gas, a motel after the hunt, taxidermy, license and tags, etc. if the hunt starts going south or you get weathered in its easy to count the costs and bag the trip. Thats always a mistake.

That may not be what you need but its all i got for now.

 

[drahthaar]

I think StrutNut brings up a good point, at least I understand exactly what he is saying. Its seems the buzz word now is EXTREME this EXTREME that, hence the marathon running Hanes stuff, etc etc. I gotta say, a lot of that is kind of bunk too. You need to be in pretty good shape, but it can be done without being in marathon shape. I couldn't run 26 miles for anything. In fact, my motto is "Run Only When Chased". But I can hike with most of them, at least i can hike far enough to get away from most anyone. You need to just set your mind to it, and get it done. A lot of it is mental.

Yes, the predator issue is a big deal. If you read the internet, there isn't an elk left in western MT, because wolves ate them all. Good topic for discussion, with maybe some stats to show there are still elk to be had.

Gear. Again, I can totally see where some guy sitting at home in the east would think he needs thousands of dollars worth of EXTREME camo clothes. Maybe an episode of all the options of synthetic camo hunting garb. I will probably get banned for this, but, it needs to be known there are other good options other than Sitka gear. I think they are waaaaayyyy to proud of that stuff, pricewise. I for one just love microtex from Cabela's. The stuff is tough as heck, dries super fast, and its light. I don't own a single piece of Sitka, and I get into some pretty crazy places, back in the basins around here.

Also, a guy could spend a whole episode of ways you can hunt our national forests. In and out of a hotel, pickup camping at closed gates or campgrounds. Pull a camper out here and park it in the woods, and just hike in and out every night. Or do one or two nighters then back to a camper or motel. Or get EXTREME and pack everything in for 7 to 10 days without coming out. But again, it needs to be known, that you can kill elk without marching a whole camp back into neverland for 7 to 10 days.

 

[pseshooter300]

This has been a really good thread.

 

[d-bone20917]

This has been a really good thread.

I agree. Keep them coming.

 

[6speed]

ARCAT I have to disagree on a couple of your points. Giving up a chance to go hunting in order to afford high priced glass is crazy. I think a better topic would be about the gear you can get and still have enough left for the hunt. It may be a good idea to leave the cell phone in the truck but if the goal is to get more people out here to hunt not having communication with family isn't going to be a big seller for a lot of people. I would think a little info on ways to stay in touch would actually help. When I go out for a week it goes a long way knowing my wife and kids can track me with my SPOT. I think with the two biggest hurdles for a lot of would be elk hunters being money and family that's where I would focus. My uncle shoots a pump 270 and has for a long time. Its not what I would use but it is deadly on elk. If you have a 30-30 and a pair of Tasco 8x32s and just enough money for gas, food and tags that's all you really need.

 

[jones39]

Very good thread and great information from all. When are the videos supposed to come out or be on the website?

 

[Big Fin]

Very good thread and great information from all. When are the videos supposed to come out or be on the website?

These will all be web based videos.

 

[sweetnectar]

I think you should use this quote from Happy Gilmore: "You can do it!"

 

[6speed]

Here's my twenty:
1 Where to start? Picking a state to hunt.
2 Understanding the regs.
3 How to apply
4 Tag and license fees
5 Research - Who to call and what to ask
6 Research - Web scouting
7 Research - Maps and how to read them
8 Animal behavior pre rut
9 Animal behavior rut
10 Animal behavior post rut
11 Fitness
12 Weapon selection
13 Camping vs Motels
14 Gear - What do you really need
15 Gear - What else do you need
16 Basic survival
17 Navigation
18 Animal care - now the work begins
19 Animal care - meat preservation
20 Photography - share the memories

 

[kansasdad]

What 6speed just said, as he outlined the process a new guy would go through, chronologically speaking. Then, with the added emphasis that Fin does so well, that everything we do in the process should be done, with "enjoying-the-Adventure". The whole ball of wax is an adventure. Learning new things, relearning old things, enduring the tough stuff, whooping and hollering at the great stuff.....its all a part of the party. If the new guy brings the right mental attitude to the process, the enjoyment is much more tangible.

Maybe the webseries should be titled something like ...."Making an elk adventure a reality"

 

[Gerald Martin]

A lot of good suggestions here. Some thoughts I have about relevant topics. I don't know how good a video some of these will make but need to be thought out before a hunt.

1. For an enjoyable hunt. Choose your partner(s) wisely. I know a lot of guys I'm friends with that I wouldn't want to take on an out of state elk hunt with me. Some have different goals than myself, either too competitive, or not serious enough. Some guys depend totally on their partner to do things for them they should have already done for themselves. Some guys don't know how to soldier through bad luck or bad conditions with a postive attitude. They give up way too easy.
Don't take too many people with you. Elk cover a lot of country when spooked. If guys from your camp are covering the availible ground every day, it will only take a couple of days before the elk are too far from camp to hunt effectively. I like to have multiple spots within walking distance from camp that get rested every day, so if I bugger the animals out of one drainage, I have a rested spot to hunt the next day. It took me a couple of trips to realize that 4-6 guys are too many. Now I like to hunt with 1 or 2 others. That's enough guys to make packing easy and still not run all the elk out of the country.
2. Your elk hunt rarely happens like you fantasize that it will. Learn to adapt, stay postive, stay focused and confident. I'm willing to bet the consistently successful elk hunters on here are the ones that have the attitude that a bull could be right around the corner, the whole time they are hunting.

3. Are you a killer with other species? If you can adapt an be successful with other species, you can kill an elk. You'll figure out what it takes and make it happen. If you aren't a killer, you probably won't.

4. Time in the woods where elk are living is the most important factor to a successful hunt. Most of the equipment beyond a weapon and an elk tag just make your hunt more comfortable and efficient. I'd take a ten day hunt in a quality area with Cabela's Microtex clothing, ($100) a pair of Theron binos ($175?) a non camo'ed Kelty pack frame ($50) and a $15 gerber folding knife, over a five day hunt in the same area with all the most expensive gear availible.

Success on an elk hunt depends formost on the amount of time you can spend where elk are and what kind of attitude you have the entire time you are hunting.

 

[mtelkhntr78]

Here's my twenty:
1 Where to start? Picking a state to hunt.
2 Understanding the regs.
3 How to apply
4 Tag and license fees
5 Research - Who to call and what to ask
6 Research - Web scouting
7 Research - Maps and how to read them
8 Animal behavior pre rut
9 Animal behavior rut
10 Animal behavior post rut
11 Fitness
12 Weapon selection
13 Camping vs Motels
14 Gear - What do you really need
15 Gear - What else do you need
16 Basic survival
17 Navigation
18 Animal care - now the work begins
19 Animal care - meat preservation
20 Photography - share the memories

Thats a good list! The novice guys I talk too put #18 at the top of their list and I would include animal transportation in that. Its a pretty daunting task once you get one on the ground. Even more so if you have never have done it.

 

[ARCAT]

6 speed, we may just be looking at it from different viewpoints. My experience comes from 10 years full time guiding on the middle fork in Idaho from 89- 98. I wrote my tips based on what I saw with guys who come from the east once or twice in a lifetime to hunt elk. Many a trip has been ruined or dimished becase of inferior gear and guns. If you can't glass all day because of $40 bino's you can't hunt effectively. If you are limited by your fitness or shooting ability you success rate goes way down. I am talking about a guy who cant go every year. I'm sure your uncle can kill a bull every year with a .270 but a guy going one time is better off with a .300 win that he knows how to shoot. Many a guy who lives in the mountains or works outside can out out hike most marathon runners but you can still never be in too good of shape to hunt Elk.

One the cell phone thing I'll stand by that. Talking to family and the office really don't help you stay focused on killing a bull. I had a friend climb everest and he took the SPOT. that was really great for all us back to home to track him and his progress but he wasn't calling home every night or checking in with the office. These are just my opinions, I can see where you are coming from, I just think we are looking at it from a different view point.

 

[6speed]

I've actually been thinking about this quite a bit lately. One of my nephews asked me to take him hunting this year, I figure if I take him I will probably end up taking my other nephew as well. I have plenty of books and magazines about killing trophies but there isn't much out there for a beginner. Especially a beginner with a lawn mowing budget. I'm excited Fin is doing this. I will have them watch it, probably a couple times, and then we can go over everything. Who knows I may even get my brothers back out in the forest.

 

[6speed]

ARCAT I see your point and for guys laying out big money for a guided hunt I agree to a point. Anger frustration and disappointment all stem from unmet expectations. If someone is shelling out enough for a guided hunt they most likely have higher expectations than a first time diy hunter. Perhaps that should be topic number 1. What to expect. A first timer should have realistic expectations or odds are they will not return home excited and ready for next season. With that in mind a guy with cheap gear who goes out and gets experience can buy better gear later. A guy who saves up and buys all the best gear can't buy the experience and is more at risk to have unmet expectations if he missed out on a year or two of hunting. The target is to get hunters in the field for more than a once in a lifetime trip.

As for the cell phone issue. I never said anything about calling the office. If you call work while hunting you need a different job. Unless of course you have a TV show and run a hunting web site.