What are some common pitfalls of the first year elk hunter? I'm going with a group of guys who are older than I am, have several seasons under their belt, get into elk a lot, but they have only killed a couple of elk between the four guys in twelve trips. They are archery hunters, which will drive down the success rate, but I just want to know what I can do or avoid that will allow me to increase my successful odds. I want to enjoy my experience more than I am worried about the kill, but I want to work my butt off and know that tried my best to seal the deal rather than just watching the sunrise and sunset. I also don't want to go out there balls to the wall for a day or two and have no energy to continue. Can the success rates for some people be that low? Is that just poor planning or poor luck? Need some advice.