Hi all,
I’m not sure how well this fits the forum, but my buddies and I grew up dreaming about our first elk hunt—this is the year. I’m starting this thread to chronicle the journey, ask questions, pick up advice, and give people like me a realistic preview of what this process actually looks like. I expect it will capture plenty of failures alongside whatever I manage to learn.
I’m not a resident of a Western state, which brings obvious hurdles. My buddies and I are middle class, late 20s to early 30s, with families and normal budgets. Hiring an outfitter or dropping a few grand every season isn’t in the cards. Our plan is to split costs and rotate one or two tags during archery season in easier-draw units, keeping it to about $500–$800 each. I often see gear junkies or folks with deeper pockets making elk hunting feel out of reach; my goal is to make it workable and affordable. That said, I have purchased a lot of gear this year, mostly backpacking equipment. I have slowly accumulated gear over the years knowing this was coming at some point in my life, but there was still so much more I needed. Some of my buddies are spending about a grand, I'm closer to 1500 for this year, not including the tag. 95% of this is gear I expect to keep for many years, so I'm okay biting the bullet. If anyone is reading this and expecting a number, I'd say I have about 2000 worth of gear, not including bow and associated bow things, hunting clothing, or an emergency satellite unit.
This year I drew a Colorado unit that used to be OTC. It’s a big complex of units, and there will probably be around 800 archery hunters in September based on the draw numbers. That still feels like less pressure than a typical weekend in central Michigan, so I’m not worried about the competition.
My approach is to to set up where I can scout a lot of country from one base camp. I’ve e-scouted three or four spots that let me cover multiple areas, even though I haven’t laid eyes on them yet. I’m training for four to six miles with roughly 3,000 feet of elevation gain. I can do more, but I’m realistic about the chance I may have to double the weight of my pack and walk that same distance back out. I have lived near the smokey mountains for a few years, so I have a handful of trails that I think mimic all but the elevation, though roughly the same elevation gain. I'm concerned about road access. I see lots of purple trails on onxhunt that seem to be open, but I don't really know how I will know this without actually being there during hunting season. Anyone have a resource?
I plan to arrive 4 days before the season start. I'll acclimate for a day before the climb, and probably get be on a prescription for altitude sickness to ease the transition. I then plan to commit to the hike at a slow place, do some light scouting, and hopefully get acclimated some more. I'll be camping high elevation, but within tree cover, somewhere in the range of 11k feet. The goal is to have access to a ridgeline that can give me a lot of glassing opportunities. That's one of my scouted areas. The other 3 are slightly more remote drainages, requiring 5 miles in on a trail and about 1-2 to get to where I expect the elk to be. I haven't the slightest clue if I'm on the money or far from it based on my escouting, but I imagine this is not unlike whitetail hunting where you only know if a spot is good when you actually get boots on the ground.
For glassing, I'm bringing a 15x56 pair of binos with a good tripod. I may get a spotting scope in the future given my heavy focus on glassing for opportunities in drainages where I can see for up to a mile, but I don't think thats in budget this year. One area I am concerned about and would love to get some advice on is how I would know that it's time to move on. Suppose I'm on a ridge and I have many adjoining ridges. My goal is to scout into drainages. I could spend a month walking across this ridge and glassing the dozen or so adjacent drainages. If I am not seeing them in one, is it fair to say they're probably not in a similarly shaped one a ridge over? Am I better off packing up and shifting locations?
My goal for this season is to see the country, experience the trails, and maybe glass some elk. In the off chance I am able to take a shot at an animal, I'll feel like I won the lottery. More than anything though, I'm looking to share a few amazing days with some lifelong friends and start a journey a younger me would be proud of.
I've read this forum for a decade, but this is my first time posting. Wish me luck, and would love any shared tidbits of knowledge. I am eager to speak to the reputable here about the details of my hunt in private messages.
I’ll keep this updated as I go. I’m here to learn, share what worked and what didn’t. I expect to mostly be documenting my failures, but, God-willing, I'll also have some success over the coming years to share.
Thanks for reading!
I’m not sure how well this fits the forum, but my buddies and I grew up dreaming about our first elk hunt—this is the year. I’m starting this thread to chronicle the journey, ask questions, pick up advice, and give people like me a realistic preview of what this process actually looks like. I expect it will capture plenty of failures alongside whatever I manage to learn.
I’m not a resident of a Western state, which brings obvious hurdles. My buddies and I are middle class, late 20s to early 30s, with families and normal budgets. Hiring an outfitter or dropping a few grand every season isn’t in the cards. Our plan is to split costs and rotate one or two tags during archery season in easier-draw units, keeping it to about $500–$800 each. I often see gear junkies or folks with deeper pockets making elk hunting feel out of reach; my goal is to make it workable and affordable. That said, I have purchased a lot of gear this year, mostly backpacking equipment. I have slowly accumulated gear over the years knowing this was coming at some point in my life, but there was still so much more I needed. Some of my buddies are spending about a grand, I'm closer to 1500 for this year, not including the tag. 95% of this is gear I expect to keep for many years, so I'm okay biting the bullet. If anyone is reading this and expecting a number, I'd say I have about 2000 worth of gear, not including bow and associated bow things, hunting clothing, or an emergency satellite unit.
This year I drew a Colorado unit that used to be OTC. It’s a big complex of units, and there will probably be around 800 archery hunters in September based on the draw numbers. That still feels like less pressure than a typical weekend in central Michigan, so I’m not worried about the competition.
My approach is to to set up where I can scout a lot of country from one base camp. I’ve e-scouted three or four spots that let me cover multiple areas, even though I haven’t laid eyes on them yet. I’m training for four to six miles with roughly 3,000 feet of elevation gain. I can do more, but I’m realistic about the chance I may have to double the weight of my pack and walk that same distance back out. I have lived near the smokey mountains for a few years, so I have a handful of trails that I think mimic all but the elevation, though roughly the same elevation gain. I'm concerned about road access. I see lots of purple trails on onxhunt that seem to be open, but I don't really know how I will know this without actually being there during hunting season. Anyone have a resource?
I plan to arrive 4 days before the season start. I'll acclimate for a day before the climb, and probably get be on a prescription for altitude sickness to ease the transition. I then plan to commit to the hike at a slow place, do some light scouting, and hopefully get acclimated some more. I'll be camping high elevation, but within tree cover, somewhere in the range of 11k feet. The goal is to have access to a ridgeline that can give me a lot of glassing opportunities. That's one of my scouted areas. The other 3 are slightly more remote drainages, requiring 5 miles in on a trail and about 1-2 to get to where I expect the elk to be. I haven't the slightest clue if I'm on the money or far from it based on my escouting, but I imagine this is not unlike whitetail hunting where you only know if a spot is good when you actually get boots on the ground.
For glassing, I'm bringing a 15x56 pair of binos with a good tripod. I may get a spotting scope in the future given my heavy focus on glassing for opportunities in drainages where I can see for up to a mile, but I don't think thats in budget this year. One area I am concerned about and would love to get some advice on is how I would know that it's time to move on. Suppose I'm on a ridge and I have many adjoining ridges. My goal is to scout into drainages. I could spend a month walking across this ridge and glassing the dozen or so adjacent drainages. If I am not seeing them in one, is it fair to say they're probably not in a similarly shaped one a ridge over? Am I better off packing up and shifting locations?
My goal for this season is to see the country, experience the trails, and maybe glass some elk. In the off chance I am able to take a shot at an animal, I'll feel like I won the lottery. More than anything though, I'm looking to share a few amazing days with some lifelong friends and start a journey a younger me would be proud of.
I've read this forum for a decade, but this is my first time posting. Wish me luck, and would love any shared tidbits of knowledge. I am eager to speak to the reputable here about the details of my hunt in private messages.
I’ll keep this updated as I go. I’m here to learn, share what worked and what didn’t. I expect to mostly be documenting my failures, but, God-willing, I'll also have some success over the coming years to share.
Thanks for reading!
