What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

What do you hunters consider Elk hunting?
Like me I consider hunting elk by beating them at their own game and getting as close as posible.

I read on some of these post of guys/gals shooting elk at 300+ range and what not.
Do you consider hunting elk by stalking or more ambush.

What are your stratigies and tactics.
BBJ:)

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

To me an Elk hunt would be a rare treat, probably a once in a life time event. I would love to be able to put my skills up against an Elk just to see how close I could actually get. If I did get one it would be icing on the cake.

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

I am rather new to elk-huntin :(. The few times I have been were in Washington state and we used the " ambush" type hunt.
I am going to Colorado :) unit 75-77-78-751-781 for the 1st rifle season next month. This will be my first time huntin in Colorado so I will be in new/strange country. I plan on gettin there a couple days early to scout. When and if I find fresh sigh I will set up for ambush, until I find fresh sigh I plan to cover some ground and do a lot glassing.
Now I have a question for you veteran elk hunters out there, does this plan sound feasible or am I way off-base? If I am off-base please give me your opinion of how I should approach this hunt. A little " constructive critisism" will not bother me at all.
Take care, good huntin and may God bless you and yours.
DD

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

First off,best of luck on your up coming hunt.
I' m not one to lay off fresh elk sign,I take it to them.It depends on how fresh of sign,if it is a place where they are pushed to or bed,or feed(morn. or eve.)is a good place for an ambush.But for me elk hunting is mostly catch up I like to inersept the between places and stalk them down.I love going up and down hills,love getting them at their own game.I like the mid after-noon when they are beded down and sneak on them in their beds.Have you ever heard the crash of 25 head of elk blowing down the ridge right after down your elk,or how quiet your rifle echo' s after you take that old bull in blow down drainige.Smell that it is hunting season.;)BBJ

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

With Elk, it' s just that, isn' t it?...Hunting I live in an area that is infested with elk. Most of you guys probably think that those of us who are blessed to live in such an area get to watch them all the time, learn their daily habits, and just go out on opening day and fill our tags. NOT!!! With jobs, spouses, kids we don' t get to spend that much time looking for them. Besides. If I' ve learned even 1 thing about them, its' that you can rarely count on them to stay in one specific place much more than 24 hours, and if they decide to move, it can be many miles in less than an hour. And then, even if you are among them, nothing is certain:

Case in point. 5 years ago during the 3rd season, I was climbing a very steep ridge to position myself on its' face between 2 migration trails. I knew they would be moving across it to a wintering area 2 miles to the south at some point in the next few days. As I climbed, nearly crawling, snow began to fall in great thick potato chip sized flakes. Not a minute later, shots rang out to the North. Within a minute after that, a herd of about 100 elk came thundering across the ridge above me. I felt and heard them coming before I ever saw them. I was left exposed in the grass and sagebrush as they poured in above me, and stopped. 200 black eyes peering down at me through the snow 150 yards away. I raised my rifle to look for bulls and saw several dispersed in the back and end of the group. But...I couldn' t shoot.

My heart was hammering from the climb,and the angle of the slope so steep that my scope lens was caking with the wet flakes. I couldn' t shoot...They watched only momentarily, and then were off at a run to the south, high above me. I continued to climb. and eventually reached my goal; a stand of junipers half way up the ridge between the 2 trails. After sitting and continuously shaking my head for ten minutes, I heard more elk coming. this time, below me.
In my fatigue and frustration I had placed myself in the middle of the stand of trees, not the edge as intended. ...and here they came. The same herd, and heading back in the direction from which they originally came!!! Now I had but a small gap in the trees just below me as they passed single-file at a full trot. Like looking at a closely passing train through a keyhole. Again, no way to get a shot. No meat for the freezer, no antlers for the wall...that, strangely enough, is what I have at times, come to know as Elk Hunting.

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

are you implying i should be using a 30/30? oh jeez...now i' m really confused;) right now, my tactics consist of listening to guys who act like they know and walking my ass off with my eyes open, when in doubt...hey, it beats " buffy the vampire slayer" reruns...

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

Please, Joe. No more on the 30-30 thing or I' m gonna have to start a Bighorns with wrist rockets thread.

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

I' ll take them any legal way I can!! Good luck.

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

I like to get as close as I can and get in front of them if the wind is right and call.Even if I don' t get a response I' ll set and wait a good while.A lot of times some descent sattalite bulls will sneak in.I like to kill them at close range,just see how close I can coax them.Called in a nice 6x last Sun.he came in and stopped broadside at 20 yds.as soon as he turned his head he was missing his left antler so I let him walk.
I love to climb the tallest of mountains,I log year round so I stay in pretty good shape hooking logs.Elk hunting is great and kind of a noble tradition.Hope all of your hunts are great ones and even the missed or busted bulls are ones that memories are made of.Good Luck in the Elk Woods,
George

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

Well until I can get my arrow to fly true at that range, I guess I' ll stick to the calling them in close or stalking in on them close.:D

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

I' ve only hunted elk 5 times but the area we hunt in Colorado is a mix of timber and open meadows. It' s rare to see them in the open once opening day rolls around so it' s the sneak and sit, sneak and sit method for me. The two bulls I dropped were both shot within about about 40-50 yards max. I' m heading back next year for a bow hunt for something different. I' ve been turkey hunting for years (Addict) so I am looking forward to hopefully hearing some bugling and the calling aspect of it. I know the chances of getting one are slim with a bow but I' ll give it a shot. It' s such a rush to see them close (bull or cow) and they can be there and gone in the blink of an eye. Man, can they move...

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

:DElk hunting is the highlight of my year! A whole week of getting up before the buttcrack of dawn, hiking into hell-holes you swear every year you will never go into again. Freezing your butt off in the mornings, starting to kinda enjoy it by mid-day, then praying you can make it back to the truck alive at night. If you hold your fingers on the truck heater vent all the way back to camp, you should regain enough feeling to light a fire, eat something, go to bed, and get up the next morning to do it all over again. But when you' re going along, and find yourself in a herd (never mind if sometimes the brush is so thick and tall you can' t see them---just hear them and smell them), then it was all worth it, even if I don' t kill one. At least I can tell other guys the well-used line, " Yeah, I was on some earlier this morning, but I couldn' t get a shot!" :DMan! I can' t wait! My season starts Oct. 18th!

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

OK, I just got back from elk hunting and have to work a few days before I go back. Elk hunting to me is having a tag in my pocket and really sore legs and lungs

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

I understand the spirit of the thread so with that in mind my " perfect" way to elk hunt would be using calls and a bow miles from the nearest road. Just plain out smarting them and beating them at thier own game.

Now on to reality. In my state (Utah) its feast or famine when it comes to elk. You can draw a limited entry tag (which averages 10-15 years to get), hunt private land (which I do not have access to). In those cases there are elk everywhere, relatively speaking, big bulls, everything an elk hunter dreams of. Or you' re stuck on what seems like a million acres of the most gawd awful rugged country chasin 50 elk with a couple thousand other hunters. I' ve gone on a couple hunts and never saw an elk in a week. Not hangin, not in the back of a truck and not out in the field. I' ve been out in the peak of the rut and not heard a darn bugle the whole trip. And we were supposed to smack in the middle of elk country. Other hunts I' ve seen one bull and a couple of cows and thats it. Thats your shot, take it or leave it.

Like handloader1 in reality any legal way I can. That right there my friend is the reason for the occasional 300+ yd shot. The number of elk is going up on public land but so are the number of hunters here in Utah. I' ve found a great spot to hunt opening day but once the shells start flying during rifle season they are absolutely gone.

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

the good . the bad. and the ugly. thats elk hunting:D the good being the close encounters, the harvest and the comradery. the bad being the physical and emotional abuse we put ourselves through to attain the good. and the ugly. well. the ugly is what you look like crawling out of some of the holes elk live i:D

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

It' s kind of all of the above, i like to get on their trail and catch up to them,but after hiking up mountains to 7 or 8000 feet and back down, I see a good bull(any legal bull is a good one) then I won' t pass on a 300 yard shot either, with my recent luck a 300 yarder is as close as I' ve gotten from a bull lately[:o]

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

ELK HUNTING,

Strategy: Get to know the lay of the land real well and mark every elk kill you ever come across on the GPS and map it. Visit your hunting area at other times of the year besides elk season. Take enough " camp" with you that your can stay comfortable in adverse conditions to where you can just keep hunting instead of wearing out, freezing out, or whimping out. Use enough technology that you can EASILY naviage both ways to and from camp in pitch black darkness!

Tactics: Position yourself at an advantageous ambush position where you know they will be coming, especially if they will be pushed by the " late out of bed" bunch (I got to love them). Take a horse so you can hunt further from the road and still be fearless in being able to get it out.

ELK HUNTING -- To me it is much more than just a fall event.

COUNT DOWN:
Months of anticipation for the hunt,
Summer scouting (exploring the area),
Sorting out the " talkers" (dreamers) from the " excusers" (always something) from the " real ones" --- Thank God for the " real ones" .
Weeks of preparation -- lists, chores, errands, double checking, stockpiling,

Departure from town, loaded heavy
Arrival at the camp site at late night -- Sleep Under The Stars,
Camp setup day -- Elk Camp (home sweet home) is built
" Lazy" days of scouting (lazy compared to the hunting),
Dealing with horses, horse behavior, and horse care,
Thursday, serious hunters arrive -- and welcome as a change in pace....
Banquet night.... " It don' t get much better than this!"
Friday, the " hunter' s ritual" -- final preparations.... knives, guns, ammo, clothes, food, water, forecasts, plans....

SHOWTIME:
100 a.m. Alarm
The worlds best breakfast! (No matter what it is!)
230 a.m. departure
Hiking far in the dark to the ambush stands,
Arriving, layering up, chilling lightly in the darkness,
Heavy rounds clicking into heavy rifles,
Quietly becoming one, with the forest, virtually disappearing and becomeing one,
Watching red sky of pre-dawn while chewing the jerky of last year' s elk, shot not far away,

Zero Hour,
The sound of the first gun shot far in the distance,
More shots, some closer,
Your first sight of the day' s first elk,
Your primal response as it guides your logical mind,
The killing part -- KThump! No real noise and no real recoil -- things are slow, but fast -- intense, bitter-sweet, and short lived,
Elk down, the real work now begins!

THE BEST PARTS:

Tribal/Communal " One For All, All For One" Behavior -- Not Found In The City
Camp Life,
Camp Fires,
A Hot Shower - pure heaven
Gourmet Food and Drink,
Friends,
Adventure,
Elk down (respectful moments)
Field dressing (Wow, they are BIG)
Quartering/deboning (keep it clean!),
Packing them out, (thank God for horses),
Throwing that first quarter and backstrap on the cutting table and washing it down. (Greeting each quarter with " Oh, what a nice piece of meat!" )
Everyone wielding a knife, a cutting board, a beer and a cup of coffee -- its a long day!
Big pieces turned into small pieces: Steaks, Roasts, Jerky, Burger, Discard,
Meat, bagged & labelled laid out and freezing in the 15 degree night air,
The ice-like " clack" of frozen meat of sorted meat going into coolers the next morning,
Pictures, farewells, until next year....
A treasure trove of memories and experiences,
Camp Breakdown and load up,
Driving away as a group -- Civilization here we come! Re-entry,

For me, that is elk hunting -- much more than just killing an elk -- that is a small part -- hardly matters as long as some in our group score.

Never Go Undergunned,
EKM

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

Im leaving tomorrow night for Garden Valley ID to bowhunt for Elk. This is my 5th Elk hunt, all with bow and I' ve taken one cow.
I hunt hard glassing and calling at times and play the ambush game in years of little rain but mostly calling.
I see Elk hunting as a learning experience. This trip will start with a 1800 mile drive to the hunting spot, about 8 days in the mountains and hopefully include a nice Bull Elk to pack out. Either way I figure Im a very fortunate person to be among those that get to hunt these magnificant creatures. Therefore I hunt Elk with a smile on my face and a bow in my hands:D

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

I just returned from my muzzleloader hunt and had a blast, but had to work for the fun (that' s hunting, right?)

The first 2-3 days I had bulls going, but a ways off and they wouldn' t commit. Sunday I had a big ol 6x6 (very tall, but narrow) going from 500 yards, and had him to about 200 when he ducked in a small draw and I lost last light. Finally on Tuesday AM, it all came together....textbook style. From camp at 4:30 I could hear one going down below camp, in an area I saw a decent 5x5 the day before. I was unsure where exactly I was going to go that morning, but made my mind up quick. When I got settled in my area well before shooting light, he started up again. I waited for a short time and let the first short bugle with a few chuckles go, and he instantly responded. Waited, then a few cow calls and he was back again...we went on until about 7:15 then he shut down and I thought of going after him, but decided to sit tight and wait a bit. Over the next 20 minutes I cow called just a few times with different calls. Twice, I heard very distinct branches snapping below me, but not a peep. Finally at about 7:45 or so I said to myslef, just one more try.... I let one short bugle go, with no chuckle, and I could still hear the echo down in the draw from the call when he presented himself at about 75 yards and as quiet as a mouse. He took a few cautious steps, then the .50 caliber found an opening. One shot behind the shoulder and he side stepped twice and tipped like a ton of bricks. A nice 5x5. Nothing huge, but nice long eye gaurds and a fun few hours leading up to the harvest.

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

I' m going to jump in here with a question from Virginia. Tennesee and Kentucky have reintroduced elk into the area, and inasmuch as the elk weren' t given a map, they have wandered over into my mountains. My wife recently saw a bull eld not far from our house. My question is how does one go about hunting elk, and as they are new to the area, should I take one. Our state doesn' t really want them here, and we have a high population of deer and I don' t know what effect they have on the deer population. You guys sound like you can give me some good advice. For the record, I only hunt with a Hawken muzzle loader, just to add a little challenge to the whole effort.

davedwrite

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

My favorite method is to bugle bulls and try to close the distance but I have shot them at over 300 yards when they attempted to cross a cutline or field.It is all hunting and you never really know how things will go until it actually happens.

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

Calling and elk hunting go hand n' hand, by far the sound of a bull responding to your offering is one of lifes greatest pleasures and sounds to experience. Elk hunting presents challenges like no other game to me, the reward of bagging any elk is a feeling that is simply amazing. An animal that is large/tough yet sounds so far from reality when they light up in chorus but in the same breath so fitting for such a majestic creature.

Really whats not to like about hunting the mighty WAPITI!

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

I love hunting season. Deer starts next week on the 4th and Elk starts on the 14th. Guess we' ll have to come back home a few times but I' d rather stay out the whole time. I' ve only had success by picking a place to sit and watch. So far I' ve gotten a nice buck (sat on top of a slash pile with my morning coffee). A cow elk (took a nap by a draw in some nice rocks). And last year got a nice 4 point Bull by picking a good draw to sit on.

Here' s what I wrote to my friends after last years SUCCESSFUL Elk hunt.

" We' re back from our Elk Hunting trip.

I got a 4 point bull the second day of the hunt (actually there' s a we involved here but you' ll have to read the story).

Actually I was basically the only one who saw any elk during the whole trip (I think the statement was something like they all hate me now and I am forever delegated to being camp cook). Brother-in-law said he caught a brief glimpse of a bull but it was really brief. I always go off by myself when we hunt (can' t stand hanging out with the guys and feeling like I need to stay out of the way) and on the first day’s evening hunt I climbed up to a point above a place called Round Meadow. I found what I felt was a great place to watch over an open draw that had lots of grass in it with good wind. After about 1/2 hr., I saw 5 elk (3 cows & 2 calves) wander through. That was fun so I went back the next morning to the same place and, after another 1/2 hour of watching, another herd came out, 7 this time (4 cows and 3 calves). I watched them graze for almost an hour (they got within 50-75 yds of me and never had an inkling I was there). Then a yearling bull elk ran into the clearing, stopped and bugled looking back the way he' d just came. Out they all came in a stampede, at least 5 more calves and maybe 8 cows all followed by a really nice 4 point bull. The dust flew as they all stopped and then instantly the lead cow spotted me and they all took off again at a dead run. I shot twice, missed the first shot totally and hit him broadside with the second. I surprised myself with the shot, I have to confess I' ve never hit a moving target before, always always totally missed. The elk faultered when I hit him and kept on going. There was another hunter close by and he took a shot too (that set me back to have a shot sound so quickly and so close by). He told me later that he had heard me shoot and that he heard my second shot hit and he was trying to put him down for me (yah, right). This guy and his brother, who showed up a few minutes later, looked for blood sign and checked around. After speaking briefly with them, I went ahead and followed the trail. I made some radio trys and got my sister. Told her what had happened so far. I kept tracking for about 200-300 yds then decided I shouldn' t get too far from where I was comfortable. I turned and headed back to where I' d shot and, all of a sudden, MY BULL bolted from brush in front of me. This happened 3 times as I headed back, seemed like every time I got to a rise, he' d disappear into brush in front of me. I got a little, well maybe a lot, breathless as I followed his direction of travel, ready to take a shot if I got a chance. I made radio contact with my sister again and got back to the hunters I' d talked to earlier and told them I' d seen the elk 3 more times since I shot at him. I’m not really sure they believed me. They had different opinions going on over what I was telling them, plus the silent one of they think I’m just talking up a story, I’m sure they thought I had just missed and spoiled their hunting by shooting at the bull they’d been working. They took off to hunt back towards their rigs and left the area. I finally get my husband on the radio. He’s heading my direction as my sister had already gotten him and her husband on the radio from where she was located. When hubby gets to me, he has me take him back to the point where I shot and he looked for blood sign & holes in trees. After looking around there a little he decided to go uphill from here and we diagonal up to the top of the ridge. We seperate about 30' and start looking around. We' re get to the top of the ridge and hubby signals me to come over to him. I nod my head “no” and signal him over to me. I had already looked out over the top of the ridge into some clearings on the other side and I looked that direction again as he heads towards me. I turned towards him as he walked up. When he got almost to me, he grabbed his gun and said (his exact words) “What the ****?” I turned to look and there about 20' in front of me is MY BULL bedded down behind a stump just looking at us. Hubby takes a shot, I see the impact--wham, and the elk jumps up and takes off again. It goes about 100 yards with speedy hubby in hot pursuit. The elk stopped again, looked back and hubby shot it in the neck and dropped him. Tough critter. I had gotten a high gut shot so the Elk was bleeding internally and not leaving any blood trail. We' ve got a freezer full of meat, a nice rack and a great hide hanging at home along with our joint elk hunt story. Hubby likes to add the part about the look on my face when he hoisted his rifle to take a shot as he walked up on me. Something about instant divorce.

Then on Sunday morning (last day of the hunt), I went back to the clearing where I' d shot the 4 point to take pictures. The wind was wrong to watch the clearing so I decided to circle the top of the butte (walking into the wind) and was surprised when I spotted what was at least a 6 point or more (as in huge!!!!) disappearing at a trot into the brush. 2 seconds is definitely not enough time to get in a shot but I tried. I had the gun up but he was gone. Hubby had me take him back to my clearing that night and we sat for 3 hours but my luck is mine alone, I guess I don' t share well."

RE: What do you consider Elk hunting.
 

elk hunting in saskatchewan is all about gettin up when its still dark and about 0 degrees celsius. you walk out to the field in total darkness and along the way hear cows calling constantley back and forth but you still cannot see them. Then a bull walks right by you at 80 yards and lets out a bugle that sends a shiver down your whole body. basically the name of the game is getting behind them in their feeding area and catch them as they are coming back to bed down. Usually i call about 30 min before legal shooting time so that by the time a bull comes in close its leagal to shoot. wouldn' t trade these experiences for anything