New elk hunter - where to start?

[joshdeboer]

Hello all, I am a new hunter, I have an elk tag for this fall and am trying to get prepared. I'm basically starting from scratch with gear other than a rifle, but more worried about fitness and how to make a hunting plan/scout. Any advice would be greatly appriciated!

 

[Live_weighT34]

If you live in the same state/area that your tag is for, go hike around the area you plan on hunting and find some elk. Then watch said elk and take notes on what they’re doing and time of day they’re doing it.

Repeat as often as possible leading up to your hunt and practice with your rifle as often as possible as well. It’s a pretty simple strategy though not always easy.

 

[43.6N]

Congrats and welcome to Rokslide.

Buy some binoculars now. Spend as much time as you can using them leading up to your elk hunt. Ideally in the same mountains you have your tag.

Make so you cannot miss a 10” plate at 300 yds. Then put yourself under a timer, and be able to go from fully packed to hitting your plate in 15 sec or less.

 

[BuckSmasher]

Have a plan on getting the elk out. Newbies drastically underestimate the difficulty of getting an elk to a truck. Heck, I drastically underestimate it and selectively forget it or I may not go out every year! lol. Early in the season especially you are on the clock for spoilage. Snow and cold and you can take your time but its still gonna be a lot of work.

Unless of course you can drive up to it in a atv or truck. I have had that happen twice. Very, very nice.

 

[jgilber5]

Have a plan on getting the elk out. Newbies drastically underestimate the difficulty of getting an elk to a truck. Heck, I drastically underestimate it and selectively forget it or I may not go out every year! lol. Early in the season especially you are on the clock for spoilage. Snow and cold and you can take your time but its still gonna be a lot of work.

Unless of course you can drive up to it in a atv or truck. I have had that happen twice. Very, very nice.

So very true. My first bull, I never really looked at distance back to the truck. Took me a whole 24 hours to quarter and pack to the truck. I thought it was at least 2 miles and 1000 ft. Measured .8 and 500

 

[bz_711]

Time in the field
Cover Ground
Scout human pressure more than you scout elk sign

Good Luck!

 

[Geewhiz]

Scout human pressure more than you scout elk sign

^^^

 

[Pony Soldier]

Learn the roads, trails and water. The elk will teach you the rest.

 

[joshdeboer]

Thanks guys, this gives me a good direction to start with!

 

[mad_angler]

Find Cliff Gray videos. You'll learn a lot and you'll start to learn what you don't know...

 

[tt280AI]

Make sure you're getting physically prepared now. You don't have to be crazy fit and ripped Goggins style, but at least start doing squats and lunges now. Do them several times a week. Having your legs ready will make an enormous difference.

Have a good pack. Have a plan. How will you get it out? It's not a deer you can get out in one big load.

Look at stats, units, topos, aerial imagery. Get in on it with a friend.

Get time in the mountains, go find them. Have fun, until you get one down... then its a lot of work.

 

[C.F.]

Things that I’ve found helpful as a flat lander doing archery elk in Colorado :
-Stair master , full incline on treadmill with a weighted pack . Lunges and split squats ( single leg strength and stability is paramount) Finding the steepest hill or trail around and walking up and down it for an hour once a week ( training for the downhill load on your knees and quads is extremely valuable)
- Understanding topo maps and how to best traverse the mountain
- creating detailed individual hunt areas or “plans” , parking spots , estimated time on trail and off trail so you roughly know what time to hit the trail at to reach your destination. Also having 10 or more of these spots pre planned so you can just move down the list and not waste time and energy when your beat up and fatigued.
- learn all your equipment so you can set it up in the dark
- good boots that are broken in, and applying Leuko tape at the first sign of a hot spot to prevent a full blown blister.
- Ive never hunted rifle , but I’d learn to shoot off a pack and have hard limits on my capable distance, also I’d read up on what guys bring for dealing with snow and if your truck gets stuck
- mark livasay with treeline pursuits is a very decent e-scouting course you can buy

 

[SurfAMHuntPM]

Pickleball

 

[Smfigari]

1. Keep your expectations low. Seeing elk and having close encounters is usually considered a win on your first hunt.

2. I found the treeline pursuits lectures to be very helpful in actually finding elk when I first got into elk hunting. Since taking his course I have not had a single hunt where I was unable to locate elk on most days.

 

[Beendare]

Josh, I would suggest the search function.....that question has been asked 2,041 different ways here in the past.

You will find that conditioning and skillset trumps gear.

 

[MTBackroads]

First thing you need is a rich girlfriend whose father owns a ranch.
The rest will fall into place

 

[LCguy]

Where to start?

The gym.

 

[Bluumoon]

B

Thread 'Compilation of Formidilosus posts'

Apr 16, 2022

Hopefully this doesn't step on any toes. I've found Form’s posts to be incredibly useful and have spent more time than I care to admit digging through his posts. Attached are a few of the "core" posts I have saved for reference and to share with friends. To be clear, this is all Form’s content, some is older work and views may have progressed

@Formidilosus Thank you! If you have put all this in a book/website/ program let me know and I'll buy it. If not, you have a heck of a start, sign me up when you do. If the post violates decorum, please let me know and I'll happily delete...

• Bluumoon
• Replies: 60
• Forum: Firearms

• 

Put together for a buddy...

Elk Hunting Basic pack list

Clothing

Comfortable boots, plus or minus extra pair of socks

Up top-Thin base layer, mid fleece, puffy jacket, wind/rain layer- you don’t need camo, avoid blue in color. Avoid getting sweaty walking in, better to start cold, put layers on when you stop

Lower- hiking pants, plus or minus long johns/base layer, I like puffy pants for cold mornings (black ovis is good option, zip on/off )

Warm gloves- couple hand warmers prob nice for kids

Pack

Kill kit- cut resistant glove for hand not holding knife, disposable OR gloves (or the thicker black ones with grip from automotive stores), Bone in Game bags (GoHunt brand, Argali brands are nice, cheap BigR brand will work for your 1st time). Knife- Cold steel Canadian Belt Knife ($13) or Morakniv ($13-30), both work well. Small double sided “Work Sharp” sharpener. 50 ft 550 paracord (for positioning animal or hanging game bags). Put all inside of a pull out bag (I like Gohunt bright orange ones), contractor bag to keep meat off the ground and meat juice out of your pack.



Water purifier- Katadyn Be-free or whatever you have

Plus or minus tripod to glass/shoot off of.

Extra ammo (I carry 15-20 rounds total)- Get a 5 round tikka magazine (I keep one mag in rifle and another in bino harness/front pocket).



Misc pull out bag- Battery bank, charging cords, lighter, fire starter (Vaseline and cotton balls work), meds, Leukotape (to prevent blisters), first aid (I carry a tourniquet, quick clot, duct tape wrapped on hiking poles), emergency blanket, Headlamp

The clothing layers not being worn


Bino pack if worn- I like the Stone Glacier one w side pouch and mag pouch, Marsupial is nice (but magnets can mess with phone navigation)

Binos, Rangefinder, lense wipes, wind checker powder (lighter also works), InReach, backup headlamp, lighter, extra rifle mag.



Hiking poles- can cross loops at top to shoot off, make packing heavy pack much easier. nothing fancy, Walmart has some decent carbon fiber ones.



OnX hunt- can mark points to glass from, set a track (ability to back track in dark), know where property lines are.


Elk hunting general tips

Smell is their #1 defense, don’t bother hunting w wind at your back, cool air goes down hill in the am, terrain warms up and thermals go up hill after mid morning. Use the windchecker frequently as you learn

Movement, don’t move if they are looking at you, I’ve had elk within 10 ft of me while wearing bright orange

Noise- normal walking noise is fine, they are big noisy animals. They don’t like non natural sounds, think metal clinking, noisy clothing, human voice, tripod legs slapping stuff, etc

Be at a glassing point at least 45 min before sunrise, you can shoot 30 min before sunrise so know the legal shooting times each day. Evening, stay put until 30 min after sunset (legal shooting), they often show up at last light.

If you see elk somewhere (far away) in the am it is pretty likely they’ll be there again in the evening. If you see them in the evening, fifty fifty on them being there in the am.

Middle of the day, you can cruise benches ( flat spots on sides of hills) and try to find animals, hang out and take a nap, move locations, etc. Always be ready, but highest odds are morning and evening.

YouTube- Randy Newberg – Gutless method for breaking down an elk.

If you shoot one (RELOAD!!), keep shooting until it is on the ground, tracking a wounded elk sucks. If you shoot and the elk immediately drops like you unplugged it, be ready to shoot again it can be spinal cord shock/CNS shock from impact, they will get up and run away.