First elk archery hunt

[Huntforthesoul]

What time of year?

Bring clothes for everything from 15 degrees to 65 degrees and sunny. Make sure your pack is big enough to have enough layers. Imagine getting in on a herd before dawn and having to wait an hour on them in the freezing cold. Also, make sure you have the boots for both conditions.

I’ve Hunter 2 years in the Pioneer zone and that was what I had to deal with.

Base layers you can remove are your friend.

 

[well_known_rokslider]

Personally I always feel you can cut corners on everything but your boots and your pack. They will make or break you faster than anything. Did my first elk hunt in a pair of cheap crappy cabelas hikers. Didn't realize so much of the pain I had every day was from to flexible of a sole on my boot. Upgraded to some stiff soled Hanwags. They feel super weird walking around on everyday flat land, but when you start having to climb, it's like night and day. And if your pack doesn't carry weight correctly, you will not be able to hunt as far nor as hard.

 

[Arizona_archer73]

I'm still a rookie, but have a decent number of mule deer stalks under my belt and a few elk stalks.

My advice, since you're doing archery, is have a day pack big enough to carry your layers & gear AND it's quiet (as possible). I use that when I'm away from basecamp- whether I car camped or backpacked in and setup camp in a tent.

I use a large pack to carry tent, food, water, etc... My day pack is lightweight, frameless pack that is 30 liters, camouflage and pretty quiet (as can be). Mine weighs 2.25 lbs so not much added weight. Otherwise I'd drive myself nuts trying to be stealthy with the large pack. I'll have to retrieve the large pack if I need to pack out a kill, but I think it's worth the added work to be more stealthy.

Clothing wise; everyone has covered it pretty well. +1 to Darn Tough socks, and I carry a 2nd pair like someone else said.

I prefer a down "puffy" jacket as an underlayer if it's cold as hell in morning. Probably the warmest layer possible pound-for-pound. And they're so lightweight and compressible they aren't a space/weight penalty even in a daypack.

Good luck!

 

[Whitefox82]

Sounds like you may want to go with a synthetic boot vs leather. Synthetic should breathe better. A 3 stiffness should be good.
Darn tough socks are the best!!! I’ll never go back to anything else again!
Hopefully you can find a good boot local to try on before purchasing. Crispis fit me and I love them but everyone has different feet and there are a lot of great brands.
Since you’re guided you should be able to bring some extra comfort items in regards to clothing. Weight is usually less of a concern vs DIY.