RE: Elk Hunting Tips!
 

Thats why I work for myself! And if I didn't, I know that I would have the attitude that I would deal with work when I get home. It would be along the lines of the saying that its sometimes easier to ask for forgiveness than get permission.:D

RE: Elk Hunting Tips!
 

Use the correct arrow & broadhead combonation for the game you are hunting.
IMHO Ultra-lite arrows & expandable heads should be left at home. I prefer a heavy arrows & broadheads for elk size game.
I am not saying everyone needs to shoot the same thing I do.
I shot Easton Axis 340 arrows with Muzzy 100 grain broadheads last year. I did not shoot a elk with my bow last year.
I will be switching back to Easton XX-78's, 2219's with 125-grain Muzzy's this year. I know this combo works great on elk.:)

RE: Elk Hunting Tips!
 

someone made the comment,," be flexible",, well they hit it on the head. so many people out there think their way is the only way. i like to find new ideas, if they sound good i might try them, but i usually do my own thing.
for example , i shoot a hoyt set at 63 pounds, carbon arrows, muzzy 100's broad heads. my arrow weight is around 406. now for my set up and the way i shoot, its been very good for me, 3 does, 2 bucks, 2 elk, and 1 bear. everything but my first elk were blow throughs, with the farthest dieing animal was 40 yards. the first elk , i went through ribs on both sides, and the broad head stuck out alittle.
i practice out to 40 yards, but my max for shooting an animal might be 30 yards, if everything is perfect, the farthest i have taken a shot was 17 yards. i figure 30 yards to be my max because thats the distance that feels good to me to be able to make the best and cleanest kill out too.
i dont bugle in the woods yet, because i dont feel comfterble yet, but so far i have done really good with just cow calls and stalking. my last bull i sneaked into under 20 yards , cow calling to him and the herd, mixing up my cow calling, to blend in.
i learned last year, that i need to strech alittle more before going into the woods, i ended up tear my achilles tendon. lesson learned the hard way, but its one i wont forget. i guess thats what happens when you hear the stupid sound, and yes, i will call it a stupid sound, since, everytime i hear it i end up going into some of the worst places following the elk, but thats just me i have no problem hikeing anywhere to get to the elk. maybe just alittle more streching the next time i go out.
so i guess its mainly listen , try , learn, and figure out what works for you, and to realize no one person has the truest or best way to hunt, each is different . as long as you have fun and if you can harvest an animal, wheither its a cow or bull, then its all good.

RE: Elk Hunting Tips!
 

Keep it coming guys!:)

Ok, a few questions. I have very comfy insulated Wolverine boots but most likely will need uninsulated for opening week in Colorado right? Also, who uses a daypack, waist pack, or both? Do you guys all wear a pack frame with the daypack strapped to it? My small group will not have access to horses so we need to know what is the best way to pack an elk out. Might sound stupid to some but a whitetail hunter like myself drags them out.........and I already know thats impossible with an elk. Methods, tips?, equipment?

RE: Elk Hunting Tips!
 

It all Depends on the terrain your in,, we leave the the frame packs,,game carts in camp till one of us gets an animal (elk or deer) down,,if any of us downs an animal he gets ahold of whom ever in the party he can to let them know where and what to bring in to haul it out of there.

When your in elk country it's a team effort ,,, carry those two-way radios w/(extra batts.) and keep that radio with you, that way when you do get an animal especially an elk your readily available to get your party in there to help you out with what ever. i travel light, (minimal gear),like i would the way i would normaly be hunting deer.

RE: Elk Hunting Tips!
 

..as much as possible, elk are big animals ,think of it as shooting something as large as a clydsdale.

thats why i'm not practicing with any #'age as low as 65#'s.

RE: Elk Hunting Tips!
 

Well elk are big animals but I don't know if I would compare them to clydesdales. A typical clydesdale adult male weight average froms 1700 to 2000 pounds and some go up to 2200 pounds. An adult bull elk on the other hand averages between 600 to 800 pounds. I have heard of some going up to a 1000 pounds but they are very rare. A lot of women and kids can't pull 55# let alone 60# or more. With a good cut on contact broadhead, a 40 pound bow shooting a 400 grain arrow will kill an elk all day long. Of course as stated before the shots have to be 25 yards and under. I do agree with using a team effort to pack a elk out. The weather in September is mostly warm and you need to get the meat taken care off as soon as possiable. It might take a day or two to pack a elk out to camp or the truck. Then I would head to the nearest town to a freezer. We also keep the frame packs and game cart back in camp. I have both a day pack and a fanny pack, I can use both together or seperate. If I think I will be overnight away from camp then I will use both. If I am only hunting a mile or so from camp I will use just the fanny pack. I do carry water a purifier so that helps in weight and in a long haul provided water is close by. As far as packing a elk out, I debone it. Why pack out the heavy bones? Their are good books with photos that can teach you the how-to's. Read the books before hand and photo copy the instructions with pics, then carry the photocopies with you in your pack with your maps. That way you'll have a step by step guide with you as you debone your elk. Its realy not hard and after you do one you will be able to do many. The weather in september is not cold enough (most of the time) to need insulated boots. But if they do ok in warmer weather too and let you feet breath and they are comfy and broken in I would bring them along. I myself have bowhunted in many pars of Nike's, Rebok's and other types of very comfy tennis shoe's. I do have a good pair of insulated boots at the ready in camp in needed. Also going back to staying overnight out of camp, if you get into some elk and are close but it just gets dark. And say you are aways from your camp, you might be better off just backing off and staying the night on the mountain with the elk. If that seems scary look at it this way, in early september is doesn't get dark until around 9:00. Lets say you are 3 or 4 miles away from your camp, fourwheeler, or even truck/camper. I don't care how fast you can walk, it takes almost 1/4 to 1/3 longer to walk the same miles in the dark. Well I should say it will take longer if you care about not killing youself in the dark. (ie in addition to a flashlight also have a head lamp with extra batteries with you at all times) Anyway back to my point you are 3 or more miles away, its like 9:00 or later and its going to take you until 12:00 or so to get to where you need to be. If you want to have a chance at the elk in the morning you want to be ready in place well before daylight. Sunup is say like 6:30. Well it will be a short night of sleep in camp and you'll need to be up by no later than 3:30 in the morning. At times like this I think well I can stay here and make a spike camp in the dark and try to get some good sleep. Or spend most of my night walking to and from in the dark with no chance of sleep at all. Hmm for me its a easy choice to stay if prepared. I might not have a sleeping bag with me but I'll make do for a night. A bonus of this is the elk are very active at night and will talk a lot! That will help me have a good fix on them come daylight! I do hope elkcrazy8 will chirp in on this! He backpacks in on his elk hunts and has many good ideas in this area. Good luck and keep it comming....Jason

RE: Elk Hunting Tips!
 

my bow for elk is 70 lbs....

just something cool, turkey hunting this week in the black hills of wyoming, i saw 6 elk, all bulls, 4 with nubs, one starting to fork already.. the other one still had his antlers form last year, a medium 5 by 6, way late for that i know, but tonight i saw a small muley with his, and last week a buddy of mine's wife saw 5 big bulls together in the hills that still had theres.

seasons coming, were better than halfway there
brad

RE: Elk Hunting Tips!
 

my bow is set at 69#. Most important is you have to be able to draw your bow without unneeded movement. and you need to be able to hold it for a while.
It's not the weight its the accurate shooter that bags the game

RE: Elk Hunting Tips!
 

Couldn't have said it better myself!!! I'm very glad someone finally posted this. I've seen plenty of 40# bows take down large game. I am capable of shooting 50 - 55 pound bows myself. But, it's not always easy and I wouldn't even try it yet with an animal in front of me. I'm not ready for that yet.

You're right, this is key. Very important for people to realize that power isn't always the most important. I don't want power to become an issue for people here. I want people to realize that 40# is very capable for big game.