Midday boredom

[mad_angler]

I am going to open myself up to abuse... but here goes...

I get bored during the day while rifle elk hunting. I'm excited to get out in the morning and I know the importance of being out at the end of legal shooting hours.

But... what do you do during the middle of the day? What do you do between 10am and 4pm?

If I go back to camp, I am tempted to not go back out in the evening.
If I hike around too enthusiastically, I'm pretty tired and have a hard time staying until the end of legal shooting light.
If I play on my phone, the battery dies and I feel like I'm wasting the wilderness.
if...

I try to spend the time going to new areas, looking for sign, and learning the area. But I run out of new destinations after a few days...

 

[Gerbdog]

Post up on heavily trafficked areas - where major game trails converge - pastures where you can see a ways - water sources

And bring a book ..... wont kill an elk at camp, but you may just get lucky and kill one midday if your relaxing in a spot that could produce elk

 

[Geewhiz]

Good advice ^^^

 

[Ross]

I find a cozy spot and listen nap doze and then I hear a bull bugle and off I go…..sometimes not often I have seen a bull walk through an opening….very good hearing goes alonggggg ways to decipher elk sounds at times. Case in point the last two seasons mid October noon on each, multiple bulls sounded off at each other across the canyon. Killed one that afternoon at 12 yds after long bugle match. 2nd one killed him a few days later after I got them talking and they never left the pocket they were in. A lot of elk hunting is boring annd work, you only remember the fun stuff. The flatter the better

 

[mgray]

I like to eat all my snacks by 10:00, then wonder why I'm so hungry.

 

[kcm2]

I stay on the mountain. Half my elk have been taken around lunchtime.

 

[Poser]

I like to get the best, most reasonable vantage point I can for the area I'm in. This may be a location where I plan to stay put through the evening or there may be plans to move later in the day when elk start moving again. Having a good glassing vantage can keep you entertained since you are aware that you could spot an elk at any time. Of course, a little dozing off, indulgently eating your snacks never hurt anyone either.

I have also used this time to pre stage a meat hang if I am staying in a basin for consecutive days. Having that already in place is a huge relief once an elk is down as I'm not worried all night that a bear is getting into my easily accessible meat. I'm also not stuck trying to throw lines over limbs in the dark and I can better determine the best shady areas during the midday.

 

[5MilesBack]

For rifle elk, I'll bust timber all day until I find elk.

For archery, it depends where I'm hunting. A lot of places set up well for either a morning or evening hunt and aren't a ridiculous distance from camp/truck. So I'll hike out. Sometimes I'll go fly fishing for a few hours, then back for lunch and then an evening hunt. Sometimes I'll drive to town. Sometimes I'll head to spots that I know well that have water and will be used during the heat of the day.

I've never been a napper, so that's not happening. And lunch is generally my biggest meal, so I like being in camp for that. Sometimes I just go exploring new areas. But some years I'll hunt 20+ days during archery, so I'm not in a super rush to put in 15 mile days every day, and I don't want to bust the bulls out of where they are. So I'll pull out and head somewhere else for the evening. I'll return to other areas after giving them a rest for a couple days or three.

I'm not big on sitting doing nothing. I get bored very quickly with a lot of stuff and have to keep moving. So if I'm not in camp, then I'm hiking ALL DAY.

 

[longtail]