Preparing for elk season.. 1/2 way there
05-09-2007, 07:49 PM
#11
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location:
Posts: 13,082
RE: Preparing for elk season.. 1/2 way there
Man, those Wild Thing stabilizers are the GOOFIEST looking things I think I've ever seen....But they sure do work!!
Greg, I've gotta say, I've never really been envious of you......but I think I may be now.....Elk hunting you say??? You bumb.....
Greg, I've gotta say, I've never really been envious of you......but I think I may be now.....Elk hunting you say??? You bumb.....
05-09-2007, 08:18 PM
#12
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Jackson, Missouri
Posts: 7,051
RE: Preparing for elk season.. 1/2 way there
Well, actually this thread accomplished exactly what I was hoping it would... get some people on my case to kick it in gear and get my butt in shape!
John, I've commented on your elk before, but it never hurts to again -- that thing is a beauty!! I would LOVE to take one like that! We're heading out to Montrose with a gentleman who's been for like 20 years in a row to the same area. Last year he saw a couple smaller bulls at 45, but he didn't feel comfortable with the shot at that distance. I'm going to do my best to make sure I don't feel the same way...
What style of hunting did you guys employ? One guy 75 yards or so behind you calling? Did you just call yourself? Or were you more stand/blind or waterhole hunting?
John, I've commented on your elk before, but it never hurts to again -- that thing is a beauty!! I would LOVE to take one like that! We're heading out to Montrose with a gentleman who's been for like 20 years in a row to the same area. Last year he saw a couple smaller bulls at 45, but he didn't feel comfortable with the shot at that distance. I'm going to do my best to make sure I don't feel the same way...
What style of hunting did you guys employ? One guy 75 yards or so behind you calling? Did you just call yourself? Or were you more stand/blind or waterhole hunting?
05-09-2007, 09:30 PM
#13
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 4,487
RE: Preparing for elk season.. 1/2 way there
We had 2 hunters per guide. The guide would put us in position and then call from 50-100 yards behind us, depending on the setup. The time I got my bull I was standing next to a big tree on the edge of a meadow. We heard the bull bugleing and getting closer. All of a sudden 6 cows and young ones came running right at me. They passed on both sides of the tree I was standing next to. I could have almost touched them. Then the bull came out and stopped broadside at 30 yards. The arrow hit him right behind the shoulder and he ran maybe 150 yards and my hunt was over. I was speechless with what had just happened. It took us till midnight to get him skinned and quartered and hauled out. But I still wasn't tired. Adrenaline has an amazing effect that way.
05-09-2007, 09:55 PM
#14
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Norman OK USA
Posts: 3,318
RE: Preparing for elk season.. 1/2 way there
Atta' boy Greg, I'm on the same track you are. I've been doing some serious cardio the last 3 weeks and it's paying off. Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday I run the two-mile for time and then shoot 10 arrows...Now that's exciting
The chicks dig it when I run around the OU campusin my hunting boots with a giant camo pack on my back
The chicks dig it when I run around the OU campusin my hunting boots with a giant camo pack on my back
05-09-2007, 09:57 PM
#15
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Jackson, Missouri
Posts: 7,051
RE: Preparing for elk season.. 1/2 way there
Two miles for time... Ugh, that brings back some memories! I remember when I finished MP school I was timed at 10:18 for two miles... I'd be lucky to reverse those two figures and get it in 18:10 these days! [8D]
05-09-2007, 11:04 PM
#16
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Northern Idaho's Panhandle
Posts: 4,436
RE: Preparing for elk season.. 1/2 way there
Greg,
Hey bud, if I may add a couple things. I've had Pat Ely, Rybo and Bowhunt and hisbro in law "J"out here from PA and Iowa. Of those 4 they all had shot opportunities on bulls at less than 40 yards. Rybo passed and so did Mike i.e. Bowhnt..Pat and J both missed bulls. I am bringing this up NOT Because I think these guys are poor shots. THEY ARE NOT...they are excellent shots.....but they have spent the majority of their hunting from treestands on whitetails...... Judging distance from the ground on the run..heart pounding/winded like Rob says.. down slope or up slope...etc.. while a bull is pissing and bugling ormaybe he comes in like a whitetail purely silent.....its a different world
Sitution/scenario shoot/practice as much as you can.. Try to simulate what you will expect shots out there to be like..
Practice shots literally while your on the move before setting up on one knee...alot of ground hunting elk shots are going to be off a knee. UPSLOPE< DOWN SLOPE>. DONT range it, or step it off.. It rarely works like that in the world of HUNTING PRESSURED BULLS.....they show up and can be gone like the wind...giving you a short time to set up..and get a quality shot off.... you have to make quick yardage judgements and then shoot or PASS. I often walk out through my range at home and lay arrows at various distances.. then moving from arrow to arrow I practice shooting one at a time from all angles mixed distances..changing it up andmaking myself judge the distance...I also incoperate slope with these shots....if your planning on ranging (range finder)every shot, then maybe you dont need this type of practice..I will say, more often than not..here...bulls that have suffered consequences their entire lives dont always give you time to RANGE them then get a shot off...its just too much movement and ELK here donttolerate that....like some of the half tame elk on TV.
Second.... Being a kinesiologist and life long elk hunter in steep country, let me add.. not only will your cardio need to be in tip top shape..your quads, hams, calves, abs...etc.. need to be prepared for lactic acid build up! In other words don't just work the flat ground cardio type training..get on that stair stepper...climber..etc.. get both your cardiovascular and muscular endurance in shape...whats gonna give out first.. lungs or leg muscles..flat ground training will only train your muscles for flat work.. get on the inclines..you'll revitalize muscles you forgot you had! LOL I only say that causei'm no spring chicken either!!! but there is nothing that gets me in better shape for inclines and declines ( downslope can be hard on the joints and stresses the muscles) other than actually training on them.. I know Mike and I talked about it a lot while he was out here.... (the down hills).. Ryan and J they are just young and tougher than boiled owl chit..so they had no problem..Ryan would admit though ..I think that elk hunting can test you, especially when the big boy bails about 2000 feet straight down the mountain and your after him...
Then finally.. when you pack that big 6x6 bull off the mountain on your back ...via pack frame..you'll be dang glad you put forth all the sweat and tears now... Best of luck bud, I wish you the best.. elk hunting..the works often begins...after the KILL...especially in steep country.. who knows maybe you have a helicopter to do all your dirty work??
I'd love to hear what Bowhunt, Rybo and Pat Ely would chime in and say..
Hey bud, if I may add a couple things. I've had Pat Ely, Rybo and Bowhunt and hisbro in law "J"out here from PA and Iowa. Of those 4 they all had shot opportunities on bulls at less than 40 yards. Rybo passed and so did Mike i.e. Bowhnt..Pat and J both missed bulls. I am bringing this up NOT Because I think these guys are poor shots. THEY ARE NOT...they are excellent shots.....but they have spent the majority of their hunting from treestands on whitetails...... Judging distance from the ground on the run..heart pounding/winded like Rob says.. down slope or up slope...etc.. while a bull is pissing and bugling ormaybe he comes in like a whitetail purely silent.....its a different world
Sitution/scenario shoot/practice as much as you can.. Try to simulate what you will expect shots out there to be like..
Practice shots literally while your on the move before setting up on one knee...alot of ground hunting elk shots are going to be off a knee. UPSLOPE< DOWN SLOPE>. DONT range it, or step it off.. It rarely works like that in the world of HUNTING PRESSURED BULLS.....they show up and can be gone like the wind...giving you a short time to set up..and get a quality shot off.... you have to make quick yardage judgements and then shoot or PASS. I often walk out through my range at home and lay arrows at various distances.. then moving from arrow to arrow I practice shooting one at a time from all angles mixed distances..changing it up andmaking myself judge the distance...I also incoperate slope with these shots....if your planning on ranging (range finder)every shot, then maybe you dont need this type of practice..I will say, more often than not..here...bulls that have suffered consequences their entire lives dont always give you time to RANGE them then get a shot off...its just too much movement and ELK here donttolerate that....like some of the half tame elk on TV.
Second.... Being a kinesiologist and life long elk hunter in steep country, let me add.. not only will your cardio need to be in tip top shape..your quads, hams, calves, abs...etc.. need to be prepared for lactic acid build up! In other words don't just work the flat ground cardio type training..get on that stair stepper...climber..etc.. get both your cardiovascular and muscular endurance in shape...whats gonna give out first.. lungs or leg muscles..flat ground training will only train your muscles for flat work.. get on the inclines..you'll revitalize muscles you forgot you had! LOL I only say that causei'm no spring chicken either!!! but there is nothing that gets me in better shape for inclines and declines ( downslope can be hard on the joints and stresses the muscles) other than actually training on them.. I know Mike and I talked about it a lot while he was out here.... (the down hills).. Ryan and J they are just young and tougher than boiled owl chit..so they had no problem..
Ryan would admit though ..I think that elk hunting can test you, especially when the big boy bails about 2000 feet straight down the mountain and your after him...Then finally.. when you pack that big 6x6 bull off the mountain on your back ...via pack frame..you'll be dang glad you put forth all the sweat and tears now... Best of luck bud, I wish you the best.. elk hunting..the works often begins...after the KILL...especially in steep country.. who knows maybe you have a helicopter to do all your dirty work??
I'd love to hear what Bowhunt, Rybo and Pat Ely would chime in and say..
05-10-2007, 04:51 AM
#19
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Modena Wi
Posts: 1,444
RE: Preparing for elk season.. 1/2 way there
I've been training for Idaho for three months now. An hour on the eliptical on a high slope. Now I am outdoors doing 75 minutes with my pack on my back at a brisk walk. I am up to 35 pounds in the bag and try to hit all the hills. Do you experienced guys think I need to do some running besides? How important is upper body conditioning?
