Elk hunting tips
10-16-2014, 11:11 AM
#31
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Beautiful Western Montana
Posts: 112
LOL, well that is always the goal anyway. B is the hardest, the rest are not so bad, LOL
10-17-2014, 07:27 PM
#32
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
I just returned from a great 2014 elk hunt in GMU 75 in Colorado. I took a cow elk on the middle day of the Colorado first rifle season. I got sick, pretty seriously sick, sick enough to plan to retreat off the mountain. I stuck it out, and things went well. I AM sick, now home in Texas, with an upper chest cold, but I managed to carry my end of the elk hunt.
New hunting lessons. Pay attention to and remember where you have seen elk in the past. Hunt in those places. If the elk aren't where you expected them to be, consider where they might have moved to, perhaps pushed by some change in the environment this year. In my hunt area this year, some folks camped in the middle of the elk area! Thus, the elk weren't where they usually are. We looked at other places where the elk might have diverted to. My partner and host took a deviated location and shot an cow elk.
I set up an ambush location Monday that was near an area my hunting team has shot elk before. I would have been ready to pull-up stakes and leave about 9:30 AM, assuming the elk movement was over for the day. In this case, however, I noticed there were two hunters in my vicinity: on hunter on a high ridge about 1/2 mile away and another hunter on a high ridge about 1 mile away. Maybe one or another of these hunters would drive elk to me, as a result of their hunting or their movement?
Well, I stuck around, based on that hunch. Total speculation. About 10 AM I decided it was time to pick-up and go back to camp -- about 3 miles away. As I was packing, I saw 2 cow elk come barreling out of a draw, no doubt startled -- pushed -- by some hunter in the area. I sat back down (I had found a location leaning against an evergreen tree, with boughs screening the lower part of my body, shaded by my tree and some other trees in the area).
The cow elk were running -- medium pace, not full-out sprint -- quartering towards my left. I dropped back into position in my cover, retrieved my rifle, and made ready (quietly popped my scope covers off, snapped the safety off). I found the lead cow and followed her in my scope. When she looked directly at me, I decided I couldn't wait any longer and shot. I got three shots off. She gave no sign of having been hit, but surely I hit her! I looked for her for 40 minutes without finding anything. Then I found her in an area that was not consistent with her path when I last saw her (classic game tracking strategy is to distinguish where you shot at the animal, revisit that location, look for sign THERE, and follow up that location -- I didn't do that).
Two of my three shots, at least, landed in nearly ideal location: forwards in the on-shoulder directed to behind the off-shoulder, right through the lungs. The landed shots were relatively close together, which argues for some shooting accuracy. That pleased me. I don't practice running shots. I don't presume to be a marksman. I don't work hard at achieving excellent marksmanship.
Lesson learned? Pay attention to where you see elk. Remember. Those experiences into account in choosing where to hunt elk, going forwards. This only works if you have a deep experience with a hunt area. If you have not hunted the area before, you have no history to mine. Thus, try to stick to an area to deepen you history with a region!
Elk hunting can be learned, and success can be improved by working at it, analyzing, studying, digesting experience, applying the experience.
New hunting lessons. Pay attention to and remember where you have seen elk in the past. Hunt in those places. If the elk aren't where you expected them to be, consider where they might have moved to, perhaps pushed by some change in the environment this year. In my hunt area this year, some folks camped in the middle of the elk area! Thus, the elk weren't where they usually are. We looked at other places where the elk might have diverted to. My partner and host took a deviated location and shot an cow elk.
I set up an ambush location Monday that was near an area my hunting team has shot elk before. I would have been ready to pull-up stakes and leave about 9:30 AM, assuming the elk movement was over for the day. In this case, however, I noticed there were two hunters in my vicinity: on hunter on a high ridge about 1/2 mile away and another hunter on a high ridge about 1 mile away. Maybe one or another of these hunters would drive elk to me, as a result of their hunting or their movement?
Well, I stuck around, based on that hunch. Total speculation. About 10 AM I decided it was time to pick-up and go back to camp -- about 3 miles away. As I was packing, I saw 2 cow elk come barreling out of a draw, no doubt startled -- pushed -- by some hunter in the area. I sat back down (I had found a location leaning against an evergreen tree, with boughs screening the lower part of my body, shaded by my tree and some other trees in the area).
The cow elk were running -- medium pace, not full-out sprint -- quartering towards my left. I dropped back into position in my cover, retrieved my rifle, and made ready (quietly popped my scope covers off, snapped the safety off). I found the lead cow and followed her in my scope. When she looked directly at me, I decided I couldn't wait any longer and shot. I got three shots off. She gave no sign of having been hit, but surely I hit her! I looked for her for 40 minutes without finding anything. Then I found her in an area that was not consistent with her path when I last saw her (classic game tracking strategy is to distinguish where you shot at the animal, revisit that location, look for sign THERE, and follow up that location -- I didn't do that).
Two of my three shots, at least, landed in nearly ideal location: forwards in the on-shoulder directed to behind the off-shoulder, right through the lungs. The landed shots were relatively close together, which argues for some shooting accuracy. That pleased me. I don't practice running shots. I don't presume to be a marksman. I don't work hard at achieving excellent marksmanship.
Lesson learned? Pay attention to where you see elk. Remember. Those experiences into account in choosing where to hunt elk, going forwards. This only works if you have a deep experience with a hunt area. If you have not hunted the area before, you have no history to mine. Thus, try to stick to an area to deepen you history with a region!
Elk hunting can be learned, and success can be improved by working at it, analyzing, studying, digesting experience, applying the experience.
Last edited by Alsatian; 10-18-2014 at 06:14 PM.
10-21-2014, 07:28 AM
#33
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
After returning from my successful 2014 elk hunt (took a cow elk), I have some further thoughts.
1. Don't be intimidated. I always feel intimidated in elk country. The hills are so high, I'm afraid I won't be able to climb as fast or as far as I need to. The elk is so big, I'm afraid I'll run out of strength before I get it all cut up or get it all packed out. Don't let your mind go down this path. Just do it. This (letting yourself be intimidated) can diminish your hunting if you let it, for example leading you to do a half-assed effort. This does NOT mean, however, that you shouldn't take practical considerations into your plans. DON'T shoot an elk 1,000' below the trail. DON'T shoot an elk in the middle of a jumbled mess of big blow downs. I used to be intimidated because I was at least partly afraid that I would get lost. I have overcome that fear. Generally if you keep your wits about you, getting back is usually pretty easy. If you went uphill from the trail; walking downhill will lead you to intercept the trail. That kind of rough orienteering goes a long ways to getting you back to where you started from. For further insurance, take a GPS and mark your starting points.
2. If there are other hunters in the area, take them into consideration. I normally leave my morning hunting spot by 9:30 AM. When I shot my cow elk, I had seen two hunters -- one about 1/2 mile away on a high ridge a second about 1 mile away on a high ridge. I absent mindedly decided to hang out longer, on speculation they might push an elk to me. I was just standing up at 10 AM to pack up when two cow elk came barreling out of a draw, quartering towards me. I dropped down, made my rifle ready, took three shots on the lead cow (at least two shots were good hits), and the cow died. Someone -- probably one of those two hunters dropping off those ridges -- scared up those cows and drove them my way. One of my partners shot a cow the day before me. There had been six elk with his cow. The bull in that group of elk was pushed to another hunter not part of our group, and that hunter took that bull. I'm not sure what specific, operational guidance to give in this area . . . but just take that into mind: other hunters can change the game. Keeping the elk moving may change the game. Breaking large groups of elk up into small groups of elk may be part of the result also.
3. Try to practice good game trailing techniques. I looked for my dead cow for 40 minutes before I found her. I did not observe good game trailing techniques. Be aware of where you first shot at your animal. Go to that spot. Look for blood sign or tracks. In my case, there was some light snow on the ground. Had I done this, I could have gone to that initial shooting spot, find the tracks, follow the tracks to the dead elk. There are probably other techniques. Learn them and use them. The two elk I've shot before dropped very close to where I shot them and were easily found. The cow I shot this year was running, gave no visible sign of being hit, disappeared out of my sight behind a screen of trees, and then deviated about 90 degrees from her established heading. The two shots I landed were very well placed: forwards on the shoulder towards me and angling back through the lungs to pass out behind the shoulder away from me. Either shot probably was enough to kill that elk. STILL she ran out of sight, veered 90 degrees, and covered probably 50-100 yards before dropping. They can be tough animals. Maybe the fact that she had been spooked and was running gave her increased toughness, I don't know.
1. Don't be intimidated. I always feel intimidated in elk country. The hills are so high, I'm afraid I won't be able to climb as fast or as far as I need to. The elk is so big, I'm afraid I'll run out of strength before I get it all cut up or get it all packed out. Don't let your mind go down this path. Just do it. This (letting yourself be intimidated) can diminish your hunting if you let it, for example leading you to do a half-assed effort. This does NOT mean, however, that you shouldn't take practical considerations into your plans. DON'T shoot an elk 1,000' below the trail. DON'T shoot an elk in the middle of a jumbled mess of big blow downs. I used to be intimidated because I was at least partly afraid that I would get lost. I have overcome that fear. Generally if you keep your wits about you, getting back is usually pretty easy. If you went uphill from the trail; walking downhill will lead you to intercept the trail. That kind of rough orienteering goes a long ways to getting you back to where you started from. For further insurance, take a GPS and mark your starting points.
2. If there are other hunters in the area, take them into consideration. I normally leave my morning hunting spot by 9:30 AM. When I shot my cow elk, I had seen two hunters -- one about 1/2 mile away on a high ridge a second about 1 mile away on a high ridge. I absent mindedly decided to hang out longer, on speculation they might push an elk to me. I was just standing up at 10 AM to pack up when two cow elk came barreling out of a draw, quartering towards me. I dropped down, made my rifle ready, took three shots on the lead cow (at least two shots were good hits), and the cow died. Someone -- probably one of those two hunters dropping off those ridges -- scared up those cows and drove them my way. One of my partners shot a cow the day before me. There had been six elk with his cow. The bull in that group of elk was pushed to another hunter not part of our group, and that hunter took that bull. I'm not sure what specific, operational guidance to give in this area . . . but just take that into mind: other hunters can change the game. Keeping the elk moving may change the game. Breaking large groups of elk up into small groups of elk may be part of the result also.
3. Try to practice good game trailing techniques. I looked for my dead cow for 40 minutes before I found her. I did not observe good game trailing techniques. Be aware of where you first shot at your animal. Go to that spot. Look for blood sign or tracks. In my case, there was some light snow on the ground. Had I done this, I could have gone to that initial shooting spot, find the tracks, follow the tracks to the dead elk. There are probably other techniques. Learn them and use them. The two elk I've shot before dropped very close to where I shot them and were easily found. The cow I shot this year was running, gave no visible sign of being hit, disappeared out of my sight behind a screen of trees, and then deviated about 90 degrees from her established heading. The two shots I landed were very well placed: forwards on the shoulder towards me and angling back through the lungs to pass out behind the shoulder away from me. Either shot probably was enough to kill that elk. STILL she ran out of sight, veered 90 degrees, and covered probably 50-100 yards before dropping. They can be tough animals. Maybe the fact that she had been spooked and was running gave her increased toughness, I don't know.
Last edited by Alsatian; 10-21-2014 at 07:36 AM.
10-22-2014, 08:53 PM
#34
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: North Idaho
Posts: 1,071
The one thing that I learned and started getting me into the elk more was not thinking about how miserable it would be if I shot an elk however far I was from my Jeep. Find the elk, get one down and then worry about getting it out. I see too many guys turning around because they think about how hard it would be to pack one out before they even get into the elk.
10-28-2014, 04:30 AM
#35
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
Packing elk out can be easier if the trails are solid -- not muddy or sloppy with mushy snow. Depending on the situation, it can be a good idea to hike out to the kill site and begin packing the elk out in the pre-dawn hours, when the ground is still frozen. Just something to consider. My hunting partner wisely coached us to use this strategy this year. When we got the elk packed back to camp at 9:30 AM the trail was getting muddy and squishy. If we had slept in until we just normally woke up the pack out would have been considerably more difficult as we would have been packing heavy packs on muddy trails.
10-28-2014, 11:50 AM
#36
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Alberta Canada
Posts: 1,081
I prefer hunting benches with valleys running off them. The more you hunt the same area, the better you will know it. The elk are creatures of habit, and this has worked for me for almost half a century. Use your eyes and ears, and you will be successful.
10-28-2014, 06:20 PM
#37
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
As a corollary or extension of that idea. There are reasons why elk go where they go and do what they do. We may not know WHY the elk show up at the same place over and over again, but there is some reason. So . . . hunting the same area over time you begin to see repeating behaviors. That knowledge is like money in your elk hunting bank. What is interesting is that these reasons persist even when elk die and are replaced by other elk. The same factors that lead the elk to go where they go and do what they do may still be operative 20 years from now, and hence the elk will be doing the same things at the same time. Of course, sometimes something changes the environment so the factors are altered.
Last edited by Alsatian; 10-28-2014 at 06:27 PM.
10-30-2014, 10:54 AM
#38
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: North Idaho
Posts: 1,071
As a corollary or extension of that idea. There are reasons why elk go where they go and do what they do. We may not know WHY the elk show up at the same place over and over again, but there is some reason. So . . . hunting the same area over time you begin to see repeating behaviors. That knowledge is like money in your elk hunting bank. What is interesting is that these reasons persist even when elk die and are replaced by other elk. The same factors that lead the elk to go where they go and do what they do may still be operative 20 years from now, and hence the elk will be doing the same things at the same time. Of course, sometimes something changes the environment so the factors are altered.
I think logging does alter their travels though...as I hadnt gotten any elk on my game cams in the last 2yrs and this year with logging on my property and logging behind my property I got elk on my game cameras this year!
11-16-2014, 08:13 AM
#39
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Beautiful Western Montana
Posts: 112
I would caution getting "typecast" into the same areas. In the west fire can dramatically change elk travel patterns and high moisture years can also change wallow activity and feeding patterns. I think it is always a good idea to think outside the box. I have had this conversation with our guides as well, don't just go to the same areas where you have had success in the past. I think every year is a new year of evaluating your area and discovering what if any changes are occurring. We had a huge wallow area that was just an elk magnet for many years, however, increased moisture activity over the last two years have spawned multiple wallows in many strange places and the huge wallow is no longer a center of activity. Things change on the mountain. A fundamental understanding of elk and their habitat can allow the savvy hunter the ability to adapt to the micro-changes and get on elk.
However, elk do gravitate to the same areas so long as no profound changes in their area have occurred. While I encourage the guides to think outside the box, it is only if they have exhausted the areas in which they have had success in the past. Our first option is always to hit the areas where elk have traditionally been, but sometimes, we are in for a surprise. The message here is: elk are indeed creatures of habit, but always be armed with elk knowledge that will allow you to adapt to on the ground conditions for that year.
However, elk do gravitate to the same areas so long as no profound changes in their area have occurred. While I encourage the guides to think outside the box, it is only if they have exhausted the areas in which they have had success in the past. Our first option is always to hit the areas where elk have traditionally been, but sometimes, we are in for a surprise. The message here is: elk are indeed creatures of habit, but always be armed with elk knowledge that will allow you to adapt to on the ground conditions for that year.
