First Archery Elk Hunt Trip Report

[Netherman]

I’ve really enjoyed reading other member’s trip reports so I feel obligated to do a write up one of my own. I went with a friend, his brother, and cousin to Montana for our first archery elk hunt. Our plan was to spike into the national forest and get roughly 2 miles from the access roads. Below I plan to give a summary of my days, my thoughts on how it went, and any questions that I still have. Hopefully some of the more experienced members can help answer them as well as provide some insight on what I could have done differently. I plan to type up the daily breakdowns every day or so to keep it easier on me and make it less of a text wall.

Day 0:
Started driving from MI Wednesday after work and Arrived Thursday night at dusk. We got “extra” tents set up at the trailhead just before a snowstorm rolled in. We didn’t sleep well because our garage sale tent kept falling from the slightest breeze or snowfall.

Lesson(s) learned: 26 hour truck rides with exponentially growing anticipation are miserably long. I wish we would have done it in two days but with 4 drivers going straight there got us an extra day of hunting. If you plan to bring a tent to leave at the trailhead make sure it is structurally sound. Also a wall tent and an enclosed trailer would be awesome for trailhead camping.

Question(s): Our thought with the extra tents was to be able to pack out meat to the truck in the evening without having to return to/ pick up camp. Is this something some of you guys typically would do? Is there a reason not to?

Day 1:
We woke up at the trailhead tired and cold, loaded up the packs with our camp and three days of food then headed out. It had snowed last night and there was about 3 inches on the ground. We planned to hike up two different two mile long drainages and meet at a meadow where they connected for lunch to discuss how our mornings went and to decide where to set camp. On our hike in we saw 100+ head of cattle in the big meadow at the bottom. Not ideal but based on my internet research not a deal breaker. As we continued our hike we let out a location bugle and we were met with a response with a bugle and chuckles on the other side of the canyon. We quickly traded trekking poles for bows and started down to the bottom to try and get on the same elevation of the bull. At the bottom we bugled again to try and pinpoint his location so we could make sure we had the right wind. We didn’t get a response so we bugled again about 3 minutes later still with no response. We figured he slipped away before we could get to the other side.
We continued our hike to the head of the drainage and met the others for lunch. At this point it had been sleeting all morning and we were all wet, cold, and with the fire ban seriously questioning our ability to stay overnight let alone three days. Coupled with the lack of sign we decided to head to another area we had looked at and spend the night at the holiday inn that was on the way. I have reward points from work that made it an easy sell. On our way out we came across a ton of elk tracks and beds. It looked like they were feeding into the wind so we began following the tracks and cow calling hoping to get a response. With no response after an hour or so we decided to head back to the truck.

Lesson(s) Learned: I need a breathable rain jacket or a DWR softshell. With the wet snow falling I was either hot and sweating with my rain jacket (cabelas space rain) or cold and wet in my merino layers. I am not in good enough shape to carry a spike camp (~55 lbs) all day for an entire hunt.

Question(s): Does anyone have a good way of drying clothes during a fire ban? I have heard of putting your wet items in your sleeping bag with you, but with our level of wetness I think all we would accomplish is getting our sleeping bags wet.

 

[Northernpiker]

But did you have fun????

 

[Superkodiak38]

Sorry I can't help as I am a newb at elk too but I appreciate your documenting it and hope to learn somethings from the responses.

 

[Netherman]

But did you have fun????

It was the most miserable fun I have ever had. I can't wait to go back next year.

Nick

 

[mtnrunner260]

I never would but I've been told guys will just light a fire during the ban when it's been snowing, raining, sleeting etc.
A floorless shelter with a stove works if you ever go that route.

I'd be interested in what you had packed for 3 days that resulted in 55lbs? Could probably get that a lot lighter. Plus all that lightweight gear makes your wallet lighter as well so that a bonus.

 

[5MilesBack]

I almost always have a wall tent base camp, regardless whether I'm packing in or not.

 

[fngTony]

It was the most miserable fun I have ever had. I can't wait to go back next year.

Nick

That's a great attitude! Thanks for sharing your story.

I'm curious about the 55lbs. Hard to say if it's too much without knowing all the trip details and what you brought. Easiest way to go lighter is get in better shape and eliminate items you don't need. If you spend money to cut weight do it wisely.

 

[Netherman]

I never would but I've been told guys will just light a fire during the ban when it's been snowing, raining, sleeting etc.
A floorless shelter with a stove works if you ever go that route.

I'd be interested in what you had packed for 3 days that resulted in 55lbs? Could probably get that a lot lighter. Plus all that lightweight gear makes your wallet lighter as well so that a bonus.

I could definitely get a lot lighter I was at 45 planned. That included my bow (7lb), 3L water (6.6 lb), and binos (3lb) which most people don't include. Last minute changes are part of what got me. I changed to a non backpacking zero degree bag (4.5lb), added extra base layers other not used clothing items (3lb), and tarp (1lb). An extra 6lbs were added at the buzzer so 51 is probably closer to the real number but to my soft ass it felt like closer to 100.

Outside of non planned adds I think I'm doing ok weight wise. I learned on this trip that I had almost double the food I can make myself eat so next year I'll be cutting from ~2lb per day to somewhere in the 1.5 realm and will still probably have too much.

Nick

 

[WV Mountaineer]

One thing I would have done is build a fire to dry out and stayed back in there. You found elk and left them. Not sure what lesson there is to learn from that. Except next time when it's sleeting and, has snowed three inches the night before, a fire is SAFE. And, don;t leave elk once you find them in this situation again. Not being a wise guy just sayin'....... God Bless

 

[1signguy]

I see a floorless shelter and a stove in your future!

 

[Btaylor]

One thing I would have done is build a fire to dry out and stayed back in there. You found elk and left them. Not sure what lesson there is to learn from that. Except next time when it's sleeting and, has snowed three inches the night before, a fire is SAFE. And, don;t leave elk once you find them in this situation again. Not being a wise guy just sayin'....... God Bless

Have had a forestry guy here say just the opposite, that it is not safe with snow. Something about the amount of nitrogen in the snow. Didn't make a whole lot of sense to me other than I get it that snow could have higher level of atmospheric nitrogen. That conversation was related to a local burn ban and snow in the forecast a few years back.

 

[durangobrad]

-You should be prepared to stay out in those elements comfortably, otherwise maybe car camping is better for you.
-You can wear damp clothes into your sleeping bag and use your body heat to dry them out
-Good rain gear, gators, boots, you should not be soaked to the bone, just damp
-The whole reason you packed in that far with all that weight was to find elk and stay near them, you found the elk but then left?
-I think between that many guys a large floor less shelter with a stove would serve you well.

 

[Netherman]

Day 2:
Woke up at the Holiday Inn and headed out to our next area. The first area was a burn and the new area had more broken timber. We arrived around 9 and changed our plan from spiking out to camping at the truck unless we found an area where spiking in made sense. This allowed us to save a ton of pack weight which was awesome after the previous day’s hike. We decided each group would hike a different loop and return to camp after dark. On our loop we were hiking thru some broken timber and calling (mostly location bugles with the occasional cow calling). At one point we got a response and decided to loop around the head of the small drainage to keep the wind in our favor. As we got close to where we thought the bull had bugled from we arrived at a small meadow and decided to bugle again to hopefully pinpoint his location. Just as a I began to bugle a cow popped out into the meadow in front of us. We both froze and hoped she would go about her business. We then slowly began side stepping to get behind a pine with about 1% confidence that this plan would actually work.

Miraculously we were able to get behind the tree without spooking the cow. We made a quick plan and decided to try and shoot this cow. I crawled up to the next pine tree and my friend began cow calling. She seemed very curious and began walking in slowly and cautiously. Once she reached 50 yards she noticed me and began to head for the tree line. I drew my bow, cow called, and she stopped. I already had me sight dialed so I lined it up and let the arrow go. Watching it thru the air it looked perfect. At least it did until it was 15 feet from here and it clipped a pine branch I somehow overlooked. The arrow deflected down and forward and ended up hitting her front leg. Shit. She stumbled momentarily and began heading to the opposite side of the meadow. My friend cow called and she stopped right at the edge of the meadow. I began sneaking along the tree line with my friend making the occasional cow call to keep her occupied. I got to 50 yards again but had no shot due to more pine branches. As I got closer she saw me and took off running into the timber and down the drainage.

Disgusted with myself we discussed our options. Do we wait and hope she calms down and beds? Should we keep pushing her and hopefully get a shot? We decided to give it an hour and slowly go in hoping to get a shot. When we picked up the blood trail there wasn’t much the recent snow was a huge help following the light trail. We followed the trail for about 500 yards before we found a bed. There was more blood than on the trail but not a significant amount. We continued on but more cautiously knowing that we had already missed a chance to get another shot. About a half mile later we found another bed. She had looped back and bedded. She was scent checking her backtrail and must have winded us. As we continued following her the blood was becoming lighter and lighter until we were just following tracks in the snow. Eventually we found a set of larger tracks (bull?) begin following her and they eventually hit a major game trail. At this point we began following the trail and eventually gave up after going down multiple side trails. With darkness upon us we headed back to the truck to set up camp and discuss our day. I really hope the cow was just grazed and barring infection will be fine.

Lesson(s) Learned: Day hunting with a lighter pack is much easier and made day 2 feel like a recovery day even though we hiked as far as the previous day. I’ve read it before but you can let an elk hear or see you and still be ok but once it smells you it is gone. Always consider the path your arrow will take prior to the shot. Never call from the middle of a meadow always be in/near cover.

Question(s): How long do you give an area before you move on? With the previous day’s storm did we give the other area a fair shake? For those that spike hunt do you typically pack in day one or do you day hunt around until you find an area that dictates you spike in? I’m leaning towards the latter going forward.

 

[Netherman]

-You should be prepared to stay out in those elements comfortably, otherwise maybe car camping is better for you.
-You can wear damp clothes into your sleeping bag and use your body heat to dry them out
-Good rain gear, gators, boots, you should not be soaked to the bone, just damp
-The whole reason you packed in that far with all that weight was to find elk and stay near them, you found the elk but then left?
-I think between that many guys a large floor less shelter with a stove would serve you well.

Yeah. We were unprepared for the conditions we faced. We already own a wall tent that we use for deer season so next year we'll be bringing it and looking into fire ban implications with a stove. Maybe we'll bring a mr. buddy or something as a backup. I get a lot of hotel reward nights from work so staying at the hotel wasn't too terrible. The real negative was giving up an hour of sleep each way to make it back before light.

I'll definitely be looking into floorless shelters and a stove just need to do some more research and try and decide what size I need. I'll always have two people so a two man + stove setup is the minimum, but the four of us will probably go on trips in the future. My dream hunt is a fly in Alaska moose hunt so having the extra space would probably be nice there. I'm probably a year or two out on pulling the trigger so I've got time.

 

[Northernpiker]

Enjoying the read. Bummer on the wound but everyone that's bowhunted much has had it happen. I bet that motel bed felt good.

 

[Netherman]

Day 3:
We decide to stay in the same area. We had heard more elk and had seen a cow which was a lot better than the previous area. We started hiking before first light to get up on a hill and glass two drainages we had seen the previous day. Just after first light we saw 5 cow elk slip over a ridge and into a pocket of timber. We headed that way and planned to get halfway up the ridge and bugle hoping that the cows had a bull with them. We started at the bottom of the drainage and worked our way up until we thought we were close to where the cows had entered. My friend crept forward bow in hand and I hung back to call. I bugled and two cows were coming down the drainage and they heard the bugle and quickly headed back up to the ridge. Weird. I call again for a few minutes until my friend turkey called and let me know the jig was up. We thought about what had happened and guessed that the cows had run back to their bull who slipped away quietly. We continued our way up the drainage and let out a location bugle. We were immediately met with a response by an angry bull. Apparently, these were his woods and we weren’t welcome. Not to be bullied we rushed up the hill and moved to a small opening on his downwind side. I slipped ahead and got set up while my friend stayed back and called. My friend called his mother many awful things that I probably shouldn’t repeat while demolishing several small trees.

It worked. The bull was furious and began to close the distance. I first saw him 70 yards away, a big 5 point bull coming to explain that damage to his domain would not be tolerated. I watched him walk my way head on and knew that the small clearing I was in would force him to turn broadside on his way to the intruder. At 20 yards he turned and his head was obscured by two small pine trees. I drew back only to be seen as his head cleared the trees. We locked eyes and froze with his vitals covered by the two trees I had hoped would allow me to draw. We were stuck for what felt like an eternity. Him trying to work our what this kneeling human was and me shaking with adrenaline trying to do my best tree impersonation. He finally decided that something wasn’t right and began to walk away. About 40 yards away he turned back slightly quartering away. I had my chance. I had my pin set at 35 yards so put it on his spine and let the arrow go. In slow motion I watched in horror as my hopes, dreams, and arrow all sailed harmlessly over his back. The 40 yard shot I thought I had ended up being 30. Once the arrow hit a tree behind him he was gone.

We kept on him and were able to follow his tracks for a while until we got to a meadow that the snow had been burned off by the sun. we guessed that he had moved into the next drainage and bugled our way down it with no response. It was a tough night at camp reliving the story and miss.

Lesson(s) Learned: I planned to leave my bow set to 35 yards because if I aimed at the center of an elk’s lungs at 25 I would hit the top of them and at 40 I would hit the bottom. Even with my incorrect range estimation I should have been fine using this point blank range method and would have actually hit slightly low rather than missing. Moral of the story I will be ranging everything in sight at the setup and trusting the PBR to do its job.

Question(s): Do most of you use the point blank concept? What method do you guys typically use to locate the elk? I am confident that glassing got us close to these elk but don’t know what we could do in the heavy timber / burn area we originally planned to hunt.

 

[widnert]

I personally use multiple pins (5) for my setup. Never a question about point-blank. I take a few ranges on trees near me when setting up and I'm good to go out to 50 yards (my personal limit).

One thing that a lot of folks seem to have adopted is the bugle-and-chase method seen on TV. Although effective "sometimes", I find that a lot of people waste their time thinking they can catch-up to elk. Ain't gonna happen. You either draw a bull's attention and bring him to you with bugling/cow-calling or, most likely, he's gone. If he leaves, go find another. Better yet, find where he was and setup an ambush for him there over the next day or two. Because, you can almost bet he'll come right back to the same area again. It might take a day or two but, he will.
Most hunters are too busy running after the perceived next bugle than actually working the one you know about and have pin-pointed and get him.

Free advice - worth almost as much.

 

[Eye]

I just wanted to thank you for your honest and detailed breakdown. I wont be bowhunting until next year but it is really helpful to hear firsthand about the challenges and tough choices a rookie or veteran hunter faces. I really appreciate this post. I will write one up after my muzzleloader hunt this rifle season, in the hopes in can help or inspire even just one person, like yours has done for me. Good luck out there!

 

[Netherman]

I just wanted to thank you for your honest and detailed breakdown. I wont be bowhunting until next year but it is really helpful to hear firsthand about the challenges and tough choices a rookie or veteran hunter faces. I really appreciate this post. I will write one up after my muzzleloader hunt this rifle season, in the hopes in can help or inspire even just one person, like yours has done for me. Good luck out there!

Thanks. I've been enjoying documenting the experience. Although it has meant reliving some disappointments It's a great reminder of all the fun I had. I've learned a ton from the more experienced members of this site and I feel like this is my first chance to give back. I've definitely taken more than I've given but hopefully one day I can come close to balancing that scale.

Good luck with your hunt this year and on your bow hunt next year.

Nick

 

[Netherman]

Day 4:
Thinking that we may have blow the elk out of the area we drove to hunt area number 4 which was similar to the broken timber we had been on the previous two days. We got there before first light and were greeted by multiple bugles off in the distance. We glassed for the first half hour of light and decided that we needed to go after those bugles. We moved into the first pocket and proceeded to give location bugles on our way up the drainage. Towards the top we were greeted with a bugle with chuckles and bugled again to try and pinpoint his location. Across the canyons we were having a tough time pinpointing them due to the echoing. He did not bugle again so we took our best guess at his elevation and got to the downwind side of his guessed location on the ridge. We slowly worked our way over and when we were close to his supposed location we bugled again. No response. This became the theme for the day. We worked each timber pocket all the way up the drainage and then back down in the afternoon with frustrating similar results. We would bugle, get a response, and were then met with silence. Just as the day was ending a wicked storm blew in and with all the dead timber around us pushed us out onto the ridge. From there we started head back to camp when the storm stopped as suddenly as it had begun. We then decided to do a big loop back to camp and bugled over the ridge we had just run off of. We were greeted with a bugle response that sounded close. We began discussing a plan and had my friend trade trekking poles for his bow. After we got set up downwind on the edge of a rise I bugled. We got a response that sounded angry but at the bottom of the drainage. I cut him off and began thrashing a small sapling. He bugled again and then went silent. 2 minutes go by then 10 and still no response. My friend bugles and we hear the response this time the bull is on our elevation but the far side of the canyon. We get over there and call again with no response and 5 minutes left of shooting light so we began our long walk back to camp.

Lesson(s) Learned: More elk live in broken timber than the solid thick stuff, the sound just carries further so more elk hear us, or both. In any case I plan to hunt more broken timber in the future. Maybe burns would be good too and act similarly to the meadows.

Question(s): Why are the bulls responding and going silent? Should I do more cow calling to get locations as I move into position? Did the bull at the end of the day just run away from a fight? When do you use a cow call vs a bugle?