My First Ever Elk Hunt - SW CO - Any Advise?
 

Well the time has come after drawing for 4yrs I finally pulled a CO Black powder Elk tag for Sept. I leave in 30 days.

I've never hunted Elk, and I've never hunted out west. We will have a base camp near 10,000 feet and will do a BIVY type hunt about 4.5 miles away at spike camps.

Good and bad news is I moved houses over the winter and changed jobs at work so spare time this summer has been at an EXTREME minimum. So all that running, jogging, packing 80lbs of gear on my back didn't happen. I'm going at this without much conditioning. Oh well, slow and easy I guess.

I've got comfortable boots, range finder, nice binocs, wind checker, hootchie mama call, and all the other essentials.

I know these guys have noses and eyes that make a whitetail seem like weak.

Besides always staying down wind, and watching watering holes in the timber......what other tips can you seasoned Elk hunters provide to a green horn?

Thanks guys, the reality of this hunt is starting to set in now...30 days and counting! :kt:

I like to get up on top in the mornings and work my way down. The elk are usually feeding slowly up into their bedding areas early morning. Also depending on how call shy they are you may want to not call. I have seen them take off when someone used a HM so I rarely use calls anymore. I just find them and slowly ework my way in for a shot archery hunting. Or try to get into a position in which direction they are moving. Also get to a spot early in the morning and listen for the bugles and then head that direction. Works well for me.

You may want to try to get some conditioning in within the next month, it will help emmensly. I like to ride a bike it helps with my knees. If I don't I can't walk after the second day.

I have a pool at my house, does laps or treading water help with conditioning at all?

Yep, that would help. Treading water is pretty tiresome after awhile. I remember doing it once a week for x-country practices.

Another thing where I hunt is the elk tended to be at the water from 2:00 - 4:00 in the afternoon. Could be different everywhere else but That was a great time to be by the wallows we found.

You might need to adjust your plans. If you have not conidtioned, have never been out west, and have never been to 10,000 feet, you WILL have issues. I live at 5000 feet, and did a hike to a little over 10,000 one day within about 3 hours (trail head was 8800). I was getting altitude sickness. Figure spending at least 2 days at 10,000 just to aclimate BEFORE hiking.

Also, I shot a cow elk last year by myself. I was less than 1/2 mile from my 4 wheeler. It took me 5 hours to skin, quarter, and pack the elk to my 4 wheeler by myself, in 5 trips. That was at 7000 and I am in decent shape. If you have never handled elk before, and have not put that much weight on your back (mine weighed about 60lbs per load), you will need to rethink your BIVY idea. I would guess for 2 people in GOOD shape to do 1 bull elk 4.5 miles would take an honest 2 full days sun up to sun down. It sucks, but thats the reality of it. It can turn a fun hunting trip into a night mare and wasted meat.

Thats my advice.

Marcial

You need to really work on your legs. You're going to feel like you did 100 sets of squats after the first day if you don't. You have to get out and hike. Find the time if you want a fun hunt.

Also, the altitude will be really hard if you don't get there early to get acclimated to it. I live at 8500ft, and still feel 11,000ft when I go there.

Pool is good for cardio, but as stated, you need to work on legs. I use a stationary bike a lot. Non-impact for my knees and since it is 100+ degrees every day here in Texas, it is much cooler! Wally world usually has them for not much more than $100.

I definately would look at trying to master a cow call. If you haven't ever, I recommend investing in some tapes from Elknut.com He doesn't put out hunting tapes, just info on what elk are saying and what to say back to them. Best money I ever invested in "how to elk hunt" stuff.

I finally figured out a mouth diaphragm, which is really the best way to go, but there are also some other good ones. Primos hyperlip single is a good reed call and there are others. I have heard good and bad on hoochie mamma. I have one. You just never know what will work on a given day. I generally take all three.

What general area will you be hunting in?

I live at 5000 ft and I hike at 9500 to 10K feet once a week. Make sure you have good boots be prepare to add and take off clothing thru out the day. Drink a lot of water and eat enough calories.

I think your idea of 4.5 miles in to hunt is not even an option for the reason that if you kill an elk in at that distance, sounds like you're not in the shape needed to get the elk out. Packing out elk is not for the faint of heart, or the out-of-shape.
Maybe plan on going in 1.5 or 2 miles for starters,..... and if you want to get in better shape, you'll find time to do it. Weather it be 45 minutes earlier out of bed or find 45 minutes after sun down, ya gotta find time to get some workouts in, otherwise, the mtns. and the elk are going to eat your lunch. Because more often then not, ya gotta find the elk before ya can even hunt the elk. And sometimes, finding them takes a lot of hiking.
Set some goals for yourself but don't set them too high. For instance, decide if you'd be happy with meat/cow, or even a 4x4 bull. Don't push it too hard on the first day. If you do, the days following won't be much fun. At the very least, don't push it so hard that you don't enjoy the scenery. The changing colors should be good for the soul while you're hunting.

I hate to rain on any parade, but after reading this thread I think the worrying about calls and everything else but your conditoning should take a back seat. I'll be 64 in two weeks and my buddy killed a bull that scored 357 3/8" last year in Wyoming at 6,500" elevation and only 1 1/4 miles from the truck. He shot it opening morning at first light and it took us 3 trips that day and a 4th trip the next morning to backpack everything out to the truck. If you have never been in the mountains and are going as high up as you stated without doing anything to get ready with only one month left until the trip IMHO you are asking for big trouble health-wise and that's all I'm going to say. Even if you start right now I don't see how you can ever get ready for a bivy hunt 4.5 miles in from a main camp. I suggest you listen to the other post and not even think about that bivy camp. Also, you are going to have to take it awful slow and easy for the entire hunt or it could be a disaster waiting to happen. The mountains are not something to take as nonchalantly as you appear to be---Just MHO!

Let me add. As I said already. I live at 8500 ft. I'm hunting the muzzleloader season, and i've started to go to treeline everyday. It took me 1 1/2 weeks to start to feel normal again. It felt like I had lead boots the first week, and I was coming from 8500ft. If I didn't prepare early. That 1 1/2 weeks would have been the whole hunt, and I wasn't hauling out elk meat.

I'm an old fart, so it might not be as bad for you if you're young. I would still try and come here early so you can go to high altitude in steps. If you come here and go right up to over 10,000ft. You won't be happy.:eek:

Everyone has different experiences. I live at 600 feet just North of Dallas. Last year I drove out to Taos, New Mexico, in a day; drove up to 10,000 feet; parked the car; hiked up to 11,000 feet for lunch. No problem, not altitude sickness. Next day we started out very early;parked at 9,400 feet; climbed with moderately heavy backpacks to 12,300 feet; camped over night at 12,000 feet; next morning climbed 13,161 foot wheeler peak. I was 54 years old and NOT a marathon runner. I did have my weight in control. My main exercise had been walking.

Still, since you have never been in the mountains before -- I had been backpacking in the mountains many times before and had hiked those specific paths before -- you don't know how you will react. If you are overweight, this is going to be your biggest difficulty and not something easily overcome. I'm 6' 2" and weighed about 205 LBS when I started these trips last summer. If I had been 240 LBS . . . no friggin way I could have done what I did.

At this point you have limited options. You may not have much time to lose weight or get in condition. By the way, walking is a good conditioning exercise, very good. The main draw back is that the benefit is based on distance -- running you cover more distance in the same period of time, thus equivalent work out walking burns about 3 times as much time as running. But it works and out-of-shape people can do it.

Have some contingency plans in mind. Contact a packer in advance to see if you can hire someone to pack out your elk if you score. Think about hunging close to your truck. Are you hunting with other veteran hunters? Maybe they can provide some advice to you.

Here's another thought. I hike the Rockies every day of the year. I see elk at all altitudes over 8000ft. (I don't go lower)

You don't have to go above treeline to find elk if you know where to look.

I agree 100% on the conditioning. That should be your first priority. What your looking at will not be a picnic for you at 10,000 ft. I myself being from NY, hunt around 1,800 ft tops. I run 2x's a wk, and bike 2x's a wk, plus weight lifting to condition. I've been to Colorado 3x's, all archery, at 9-11,000 ft.. I can't even imagine going out w/o any conditioning. Even with what I do, I still feel like a old man my first 3 days. 10yds uphill, and I'm stopping to catch my breath for several mins. Thats w/o packing in gear. To be honest if you think you can do it, and not have issue's. Your just fooling yourself. Most everyone not used to these heights also experiences some kind of altitude sickness. Sometimes just in the form of headaches for several days. But pushing yourself beyond your limit only increases the possibility. Way I see it, you owe it to yourself to find time to condition. I've sometimes gotten up at 4:30am, and ran 3miles before work to get my running in for the day. Not having time is a excuse in my book. You need to make the time, period!!!!!!

I took my wife on her first elk hunt last year along with my brother. She downed a nice 6 point bull and my brother a cow within an hour and I cut both of them up and we packed them uphill about a 1/2 mile and we were done with everything within 5 hours and back to the camp for lunch. This was right at 10K feet. I usually will carry more than 60 pounds per load though. When I shot my elk in September I had one back quarter tied on to my pack and all the loose meat, backstraps, neck, brisket type stuff in the bag. Also had the antlers tied on and the rest of my stuff in my pack. It felt like I was flying after the 1.25 mile hike out and I was able to get the pack off. So it can be done quickly if you have help and expirience cutting them up and are in decent shape.

Decent shape huh! Do you have two or four legs? Carrying what you mentioned had to have been over 100 pounds, so it's no wonder you were flying when you got that load off, LOL!!! I see it's been 11 days since the OP and he hasn't been back to tell us what he has been doing since he asked. I have a bad feeling he hasn't listened and will not have any fun in that high country. I wonder if those he is going with are in the same boat because S&R out there may be busy with that group before all is said and done!

Well I would have preffered to have the other front quarter strapped to my back but my BIL took it first and since I shot the elk I figured I should do the heavy lifting. I am a pretty active person and used to run a ton but do not anymore. I feel like I am not in the best of shape and can still do it though. Although getting older hasn't helped me any. I play in a softball league in the summers and I get pretty sore from that now.

Being in the best of shape is definately a huge positive when undertaking this adventure for sure.