New elk hunter - where to start?

[Ninjahunter]

Boots, good pair of boots makes a big difference, have them broken in before hand.

 

[Indian Summer]

Bow? Gun? What state?

 

[kaaby]

E-scouting and boots on the ground scouting are extremely helpful. It’s also really beneficial to talk to previous tag holders after completing 10+ hours of e-scouting so you will understand what they are talking about.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Trekker308]

MTNTOUGH has membership sales all the time, sometime up to 60%. You can also get 6 weeks free by using a lot of influencer promos. They have guided programs for all fitness levels. Their programs are specific to mountain hunting and staying injury free. Not to mention the programs for backcountry nutrition, spiritual resilience, and a supporting community app.

 

[joshdeboer]

Bow? Gun? What state?

Focussing on gun this year, in Western Montana.

 

[deef56]

Do some research and forum'ing on water at elevation bands and areas you are looking at. OnX and any other mapping service will show possible drainages but most of them will be dry. So mark areas of known water, areas of possible water, and have backup plans if you get 1000' above a drainage and there is no water. I have been in Western MT and North/Central Colorado and have had to go to plan B or plan C on camp/hunt locations just based on water availability during that time of year.

 

[Blake C]

Shoot, shoot, shoot....
Get proficient within 500yds in any position. If you can't shoot with confidence then the rest doesn't matter.

 

[deef56]

Also, if not local to the hunting area. Call ahead or do some research week of on road access to the areas you are going if any are higher elevation, back country, or near areas getting heavy rainfall... Have had spring bear hunts go sideways because of one snow bank on a north facing road and have had elk hunts altered due to road wash outs week before season. Nothing like spending lots of time focusing on one area to not be able to access that area because of the roads.

 

[Jon Olson]

My best tips are:

• Focus on north and northeast slopes where it is cooler and more moist. Never seen elk on south slopes unless it's Nov after one snow event
• Lots of elk 1/2 mile to 3/4 mile from roads during archery season where I'm at. Some forest roads close in Oct and those are good ones to walk and hunt off of
• Be up and hiking towards and be close to your goal area by first light. SO much elk action is that first hour of sunlight and then they are bedded. Same with last hour in evening
• If you go on walks, hikes or rucks then wear the same shoes/boots you plan on hunting in. I made that mistake wearing the most comfortable Brooks running shoes on my rucks only to hate life during hunting season in my boots. I now hunt/walk in Altras which are soft/comfortable like Merrills
• Walking/hiking hilly terrain is the most realistic way to prepare to hunt in... the mountains

 

[Weedis]

As a flat lander myself, first time out west was a few years ago. I would agree with others on the fitness part, get some exercising in. We don’t have crap for terrain in central Minnesota so I do incline on a treadmill. It helps but still not what it’s like in the mountains. Get your rifle dialed in, be confident with your shooting and practice off of tripods, packs etc. that you will have in the field. Don’t skimp on footwear, your feet will thank you.

 

[ProRoad]

Volunteer for any organization doing habitat work that will get you up on the mountain. I did 3 hours of Juniper clearance yesterday and it nearly broke me... How soon we forget how hard even the basics can be.

 

[ELK49]

42.65199, -84.52644

 

[Blake C]

42.65199, -84.52644

No commitments!!!

 

[hibernation]

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,

If you're starting from scratch with your outdoor gear, spend as much time as you can in the field between now and hunting season. Figure out what gear you need to be outdoors all day in all weather.

but more worried about fitness

Really hard to give advice here without knowing a baseline, but the simplest approach is to do a lot of hiking. Walk fast around your neighborhood if you have to. Build good aerobic fitness, condition your feet, knees, and hips to carry your body and daypack around all day. Have enough strength to physically handle elk quarters. You can make this as complicated as you want, but try to assess your own strengths/weaknesses. If you're carrying excess body fat, dropping weight will go a long way.

and how to make a hunting plan/scout.

90% of elk hunting is finding the elk. You can find a lot of accounts of first elk hunts where they never saw an elk. Read up on their daily/seasonal habits, spend time in the area you're planning to hunt if possible. Bear in mind that elk can be in different areas in different seasons, and that while a whole basin might be "elk habitat", they're only in a few locations at any given time. Often with no rhyme or reason, they're just in a certain spot today. Might be somewhere else tomorrow.

Any advice would be greatly appriciated!

Break hunting down into its basic skillsets, self-evaluate, and see what needs work. Hopefully you have at least a few of these partly covered. Are you brand new to the outdoors in general or a seasoned hiker who's getting into hunting? Already an avid target shooter? Have you butchered anything before? Etc.

• Off-trail navigation, often in the dark
• Dealing with inclement weather safely
• Hiking for long periods, sometimes with heavy packs
• Understanding your state's regulations, season dates, boundaries, tagging procedure, and proof of sex
• Safe gun handling and marksmanship
• Anatomy and shot placement
• Breaking down a large animal

Don't underestimate the last one, especially if you're hunting alone. An elk is a huge animal and honestly, would not be my recommendation for someone's first big game animal unless they have a partner. It's doable, but it's a lot. You will want to really prepare for this, both in terms of technique and physicality. I would strongly recommend having a second person.

 

[Flat Range]

What power optics are best? I currently have 10x and ability to use on tripod, wondering if I should get something more

There is no correct answer to this question. It's like asking if Chevy or Ford or Dodge is better.

The question should be, where are my strengths when it comes to a 10x bino? Knowing my strengths, what are my weaknesses with a 10x bino?

And even then, there will be varying answers. What is your goal? What is your hunt style? What type of terrain and in which state? etc.. Far too vague to answer without additional details (but there are tons of threads on binos in the backcountry. I'd suggest using the search feature for sure).

 

[mad_angler]

What power optics are best? I currently have 10x and ability to use on tripod, wondering if I should get something more

That is really like asking, "What is better a hammer or a screwdriver?" They are very different tools with different applications.

Here is a very brief overview (assuming that you are talking about binoculars):
- learn the terms with something like 8x42:
- 8 is the magnification
- 42 is the lens diameter
- The ratio of 42/8 gives some measure of how well it works in low light. For low light, try to have a ratio of at least 5

- here are some options:
- 8x30: very small and light. Good for quick checks when walking through dense timber
- 8x42: good, basic binocular. Most birders like this size. it is small and pretty light. It also works well in low light. It is also stable.
- 10x42: my personal choice for elk hunting out west. It is still pretty small and light. The 10x power allows you to see fairly far. And they are still pretty stable. But they are not great at low light.
- 10x50: better at low light. But bigger and heavier
- 12 and 15x... getting harder to hold steady and getting bigger.

Go to chatgpt and it will do a much better job explaining what I just tried to do...

 

[43.6N]

What power optics are best? I currently have 10x and ability to use on tripod, wondering if I should get something more

10x42 is the standard.
8x42 is the thinking man’s choice
14.5x52 or 15x56 is an awesome 2nd binocular after you have one of the lower mag ranges. But it’s too much for a general purpose bino.

If your hunting spot looks like one of these pictures: consider bringing a pair of 12x50 or 15x56:


However, if your hunting spot looks like one of these next pictures below, 8x42 or 10x42 will be just right: you’ll still be able to spot game a long ways off (my personal record was 2400yds on bedded cow elk with 9x45 mavens) but you’ll very much appreciate the more wide field of view for your typical sight lines.

 

[hibernation]

What power optics are best? I currently have 10x and ability to use on tripod, wondering if I should get something more

Elk are much easier to spot than deer, I wouldn't really want higher than 10x. And it still depends on the area and how you're hunting. Archery season in the timber, I could leave my binos behind entirely and it wouldn't change much.

 

[Leaf Litter]

I recently (2024) did my first elk hunt and was fortunate enough to shoot a smaller bull on my second day.

Fitness is huge. Buy a pack, (I got a clearance Mystery Ranch Metcalf) fill it with weight, and start hiking in your hunting boots. Uphill, downhill, cross-slope. Do it all to train major muscle groups and stabilizing muscles. Hit the gym between hikes: split squats, lunges, regular squats, shoulder shrugs, etc. Anything you can do to fortify legs, hips, back, and shoulders. Do power yoga and stretching yoga, fudds will scoff, but they're idiots with bad backs and tight hips. Stretch before, during, and after any hiking to help keep muscles well perfused with blood.

Kill kit is key. Knife, sharpener, headlamp, game bags, rope to hang, nitrile gloves, hand soap and/or sanitizer, etc. Carry it at all times.

Sleep is like gold. I sleep like shit outside of my king size bed, so getting a sleep system that's comfortable is very important. Also, don't be afraid to use chemical sleep aids; Tylenol PM, or whatever else tickles your fancy, I don't judge. Also, if you're a habited user of (insert substance here), an elk trip isn't the time to dry out. Not accusing, just saying.

Cooler space for your kill can be tough to manage. Bring coolers, or make one with 2" extruded (pink) foam and a wooden frame. Don't forget a water (blood) proof liner. I was fortunate to have somebody in base camp who brought a small chest freezer, and by god that was quite the ticket. I put my gasoline in his generator to fuel the process, and it was awesome.