Feeling overwhelmed

[FlyGuy]

Elk101. That is now required for anyone I hunt with.

Elknut’s app is fantastic. Even if you don’t call that much, you can learn what you are hearing and what the sounds mean. It’s full of great ref info.

Turn off your radio and only listen to podcasts. Gritty (especially the old stuff) elk talk, eastmans elevated, rich outdoors, any podcast with ElkNut...

YouTube is your friend. Lots of stuff from Newburgh on breaking down a unit, etc.






You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[HookUp]

I totally agree, although I'm simply not much of a caller or very good at it. But I know Corey Jacobsen would probably totally disagree, and he's killed way more elk than I have.

Remember he is selling calls first and killing bulls second. I have seen enough of his 12-14 mile a day hunts that look like hell. My style is to learn where a elk herd or two is located. Find the water, feed and travel lanes. Become an observer instead of a disrupter. I can spend days watching elk or try and call and blow them all out in an instant. Solo hunter has a great youtube elk hunt where he patterns them in the rut. Randy Ulmer never calls, something to think about.

 

[Gumbo]

Remember he is selling calls first and killing bulls second. I have seen enough of his 12-14 mile a day hunts that look like hell. My style is to learn where a elk herd or two is located. Find the water, feed and travel lanes. Become an observer instead of a disrupter. I can spend days watching elk or try and call and blow them all out in an instant. Solo hunter has a great youtube elk hunt where he patterns them in the rut. Randy Ulmer never calls, something to think about.

I could not agree more. Calling and decoys (for antelope) are "all-in" tactics IMO. What I mean is that they will typically either work great or it is game over. More often for me it is game over because you have given up your location. I'd rather be a ninja and wait patiently for the right moment then strike. At that point I have control of the situation instead of giving the animal the ability to decide whether to give me a shot or not. Of course I have had success calling, but it has been the exception. And I select hunting areas that fit my style, which means they are typically more open so I can observe.

My elk hunt last season was a perfect example of this. My friend and I patterned a herd that moved about 3 miles from ag fields to bedding cover each day. Instead of hunting them in their beds with swirling winds we found a pinch point that they funneled through and were vulnerable and used the downslope thermals to our advantage. We ambushed them on two consecutive nights, the first he shot a cow, the second I shot a nice 6-point. It was more like whitetail hunting than what you see on Primos or Elk101.

 

[huntfishry]

Pick an OTC unit and learn it like the back of your hand. You can figure out how the draw systems work in the off-season and start applying, but if you stick to one unit and learn the best areas, you will start to find success.

This is great advice. Find a unit and work it. Google maps and Google earth are awesome for scouting out places you might like to try. OnX maps are also useful for navigating public/private land boundaries.

 

[fwafwow]

Public Land Elk Hunting by Matt Dworak.
You can find it on Amazon.

He’s a good guy and a friend of mine.

I even have his book View attachment 99828

This book is free on Amazon if you have Prime.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Dcaccia]

Wow great info everyone! I’m glad to hear that I have the right thought process going in. I’m mainly aiming at getting to know more about the where, when, and why of elk habits. I’ve been working on getting into better shape, although being that I live about 600 ft above sea level, the altitude conditioning is a little tougher. I’m putting together a couple trips, heading to higher elevations to hike around and camp a few days as sort of a practice run. But thanks again everyone for all of the insight. This is more than I could’ve hoped for!

 

[zpotter]

I am a rookie myself and I have used alot of the resources listed. I listen to almost nothing but elk hunting podcasts when I have time. I look forward to five years from now when I may actually know something but hope to enjoy the time in the field until then.

 

[psp8ball]

One of the best lessons I was taught when I first started out elk hunting was to hunt where the elk are. Which sounds like common sense and almost dumb, I know. Too often people, often newer hunters fall into the trap of having a hunt planned out and/or becoming stuck to an area they've scouted and not leaving. Thinking that the elk are there, but they aren't good enough elk hunters yet to find them. No matter how "elky" an area looks, if you aren't seeing them, hearing them, or seeing fresh (a day or two) sign, they aren't there. Move on. It doesn't mean move to a new unit, but move over a drainage or two.
The converse of this is new hunters walking for 30 minutes, not hearing monster bugles, and assuming the area is devoid of elk and move on. They spend more time with a map and a truck than hunting. Don't be that guy.

 

[Doc Holliday]

This book is free on Amazon if you have Prime.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Just purchased. Thank you

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Newtosavage]

After learning about all this information, now I'm overwhelmed. LOL

This, right here, is the best advice I've seen on this thread so far and it took me 2 years to really understand this. Last year was a perfect example. We ended up killing an elk on opening day 80 miles from where we expected to be hunting, as a result of a solid 5 days of scouting before the season began. Unless you are a local, If I could put a caveat on the advice below, it would be - if at all possible - to plan for a full 5 days of just scouting before your tag is valid. These days I look forward to the week of scouting ahead of my season as much as I do the actual hunting days. I don't feel any pressure other than to locate elk. I also use those days to locate where the established camps (outfitter or otherwise) are. The days are relaxed and if I feel like looking at a new drainage or range or unit, I just do it. Once the season begins, I want to know I'm hiking into elk right away. There is nothing worse than being 3-4 days into a hunt with a $650 tag in your pocket and still having no idea where to go or what to do. Been there, done that and I won't forget how that felt.

One of the best lessons I was taught when I first started out elk hunting was to hunt where the elk are. Which sounds like common sense and almost dumb, I know. Too often people, often newer hunters fall into the trap of having a hunt planned out and/or becoming stuck to an area they've scouted and not leaving. Thinking that the elk are there, but they aren't good enough elk hunters yet to find them. No matter how "elky" an area looks, if you aren't seeing them, hearing them, or seeing fresh (a day or two) sign, they aren't there. Move on. It doesn't mean move to a new unit, but move over a drainage or two.
The converse of this is new hunters walking for 30 minutes, not hearing monster bugles, and assuming the area is devoid of elk and move on. They spend more time with a map and a truck than hunting. Don't be that guy.

 

[Dcaccia]

Ill definitely heed that advice. That is a big reason why I don’t want to hire an outfitter, or pack in with horses.(although I’m not exactly sure how flexible either approach would be to location) I feel like if I went that route, I’d be stuck to a general area. The freedom to trek wherever I wanted, is what initially drew me into this type of hunt. I’d hate to rob myself of that by being “tied down” to a particular area. A lot of this advice looks like it centralized around a common subject -Time in the field- , obviously I don’t have that to fall back on. But I feel that with everything that has been shared here, I’ll be better prepared to recognize the mistakes I make quicker. Which could be the difference in filling a tag, or just going home with photos of the landscapes. I’m all in on this hunt, and I’m sure that after I’ll be ate up with it even more so.

 

[cnelk]

Don’t make the mistake I made last year.

This is me checking my trail cam the night before opening day. Even tho I had elk on camera that Friday morning, I still went to another spot Saturday morning.

I chose wrong.

 

[Newtosavage]

An old fishing buddy and mentor of mine once said "Never leave biting fish."

That was good advice that I've always remembered.

 

[cnelk]

An old fishing buddy and mentor of mine once said "Never leave biting fish."

That was good advice that I've always remembered.

True. But my friend still shot an elk where we went opening morning

 

[Salmonchaser]

Don’t make the mistake I made last year.

This is me checking my trail cam the night before opening day. Even tho I had elk on camera that Friday morning, I still went to another spot Saturday morning.

I chose wrong.

View attachment 100165View attachment 100166

Don’t feel bad, my mom killed half a dozen elk from camp while we were out riding all over hell. Twice my ex wife killed elk in our pasture while I was out riding all over hell.
That is pretty funny though, I do hope you got one.

 

[Newtosavage]

True. But my friend still shot an elk where we went opening morning

So basically you did what I did last year then. LOL

I put my buddy in the spot most likely to produce on opening day. I saw elk but only bulls and I had a cow tag. He had opportunities at cows within 100 yards three times before he shot his bull.

Happy for him but my tag went unpunched yet again.

Another one of my mentors early in my career used to say "No good deed goes unpunished."

I basically live by those two sayings anymore.

 

[Rmhely]

I started hunting elk in ID OTC rifle in 2012. Had no idea what I was doing, except for what I read in magazines, and saw on youtube. Just drove to the end of the road and started hunting. Killed my best elk the first year on the last day of the season still hunting like I sometimes do with whitetails in the Midwest. Have managed to kill elk almost every year since. If you hunt archery in mid-Sept, you should hear bulls. Maybe not every day, but you'll hear them. Look for some dark timber away from roads and trails. OTC ID elk do not always follow the rules. They will get into the thickest stuff they can find, once they realize people are hunting them, and stay there until they have good reason to leave. Rifle season can be a zoo, but even with hunters everywhere, you can find someplace no one wants to go. Try to watch what other hunters are doing. I've killed several elk setting up in an ambush spot where I figured hunters working a patch of timber would push elk. Be prepared to spend a couple of days packing an elk out. Every OTC elk I've killed in ID came back to camp in a backpack.

Good luck.

 

[Still Hunter]

Cnelk,

My buddy stayed in camp too long one day, I kept telling him to get over to the wallow I had a camera on, he delayed and delayed and delayed. It was a 2 mile hike to the spot and he was frustrated not seeing any bulls. So after two hours he leaves to go hunt and sits the wallow. I had to leave to take my meat into a processor. He never see's a thing. Comes back major pity party. I go pull the camera card the next morning. Had he left when he was supposed to go he would have had an opportunity at a really nice 5x6 at 30 yards. Missed him by one hour. Moral to the story is hunt. If you drive 1100 miles to go hunt then good lord, go hunt. Hunt while going out and hunt while coming back.

 

[Newtosavage]

Moral to the story is hunt. If you drive 1100 miles to go hunt then good lord, go hunt.

That's how I see it too. You can lay in bed and sit around "camp" at home. For FREE

 

[Dcaccia]

I definitely understand what you guys are sayin, It can be a struggle mentally to decide to stay or go. I can relate it (very loosely) to trophy bass fishing that I do here in TX. I fished the same lake at least once a week for over a year. Finally found a spot that held big ones, that I’d Hadnt seen many people fish. Caught a 12, 10, 9, and an 8lb all within a couple weeks. Granted the time of year, weather, and the confidence they were there all played into that success. The biggest hurdle for me, on this hunt, is the confidence part having never hunted elk or seen the landscape in person. Hell I haven’t seen an elk in the wild outside of Yellowstone (I’m sure being exposed to humans/vehicles all the time has altered their habits plenty) All of the unknowns are taking me way out of my comfort zone. I very well may be overthinking the whole thing, but at this point I just want to be as prepared as possible. I get the whole food, water, shelter necessities, but the other variables are what is really tripping me up (weather, predators in the area, hunting pressure, stage of the rut, moon phase, etc.) Again, I’m sure that I’m overthinking everything being this is my first time, and putting the puzzle together will take many days/years in the field. Reading the advice everyone has given here is inspiring! I’m confident in my skills as a hunter, and I will be as prepared physically as possible. Time is my only enemy here, there is too much time for me to get inside my own head prior to the actual hunt. I just need to get out there and I’ll do my best to figure everything out along the way. Thanks again everyone, this post has had a lot more great info than I could have hoped for. Thanks for helping the new guy get out there!