I am of the mindset that I’ll never be done learning and growing as a hunter/outdoorsman. As we approach this upcoming hunting season, let’s share some lessons learned and what we’re gonna change this year to get better.
What’s a mistake or shortcoming that you experienced last year, and what are you going to do differently this year to improve?
Firstly, I want to commend you for approaching your personal/technical growth with humility. Not everyone has the confidence to admit that they don't know everything and this "eternal student" mindset is a very healthy way to approach life, in my opinion.
Of my many shortcomings in 2025, these were the most notable
1)
Hunting in the deep backcountry without employing a professional packer. I had the great fortune to be invited to join some friends on a wilderness hunt and we set up a basecamp 10 miles deep. We had an absolutely incredible hunt with tons of action, but we reached a point where we had to stop shooting elk because we didn't have enough time left to pack it all out. I shot my bull 12 miles from the trailhead and spent 3 days packing meat and one final day to retrieve the skull and camp gear. If we had employed a professional packer to come haul meat, I would have been able to enjoy 3 more days of hunting in beautiful country with my friends.
Going forward, I will make sure to have a packer or two on speed dial when I am hunting that far from the truck.
2)
Hunting the same unit for several years and expecting the same result. Last year was the third year in a row that I hunted the same cow tag. I had tagged out on day 1 the two previous years and did a group app in 2025 with some friends in that same area. I had told them how easy it was for me the previous years which I think ended up resulting in them not preparing for the hunt as much as they should have. We found ourselves with much warmer weather than I had previously experienced as well as a lot more hunting pressure, particularly from a new outfitter in the area that was overselling hunts (warden's word, not mine). I did my best to locate elk that were reachable for my friends, but on that particular trip, I had to burn a lot of boot rubber to find where the elk had been pushed and my friends just couldn't keep up with me physically. I ended up finding a small group of cows and filling my tag, but that was on the last day of the hunt so we didn't have any time left for my friends to keep hunting.
Going forward, I will never tell someone how easy I think a hunt will be, because a number of variables can change how easy it may be to find elk and what I consider easy may actually be pretty challenging for someone else.
3)
Hunting the same unit for several years without pushing your limits. I do think it is valuable as a new elk hunter to return to the same area repeatedly while you are still building your primary skills, but if you never try anything new, you may start to limit how much you are learning each year. I have filled my tag in sequential years in several units and now I am at the point where I think
I need to start hunting some different units so that I force myself outside my comfort zone and continue to test and grow my skills/knowledge. This year I have two tags in areas I have never hunted and will also be joining a friend for a hunt in a third area I have never been.
