jmh00043
FNG
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2020
- Messages
- 60
Figured I'd share a little about what I learned living in Alabama and going on our first elk hunting trip.
That was the most physically demanding thing I've done since 2-a-days in August heat playing football. It is a grind. Wake up at 3am, walk miles at around 9-10,600 feet, get set up, walk some more (around 6-12 miles a day), stay until dark and walk miles back, eat, go to sleep, repeat.
I e-scouted for months and my first 2 spots we actually saw 2 bulls. We had 3 of us out there and all scouted different areas to cover as much ground as possible. Once I got at 10k, man that air gets thin. Freeze-dried meals suck after day 2.
Had a hunter blow out one of the bulls we found because he bugled about 725 times in a matter of 15 minutes. Turns out he was a local from CO and lived nearby, I don't know what the hell he was doing but that bull ran slap over the next 2 mountains. Went back to the first bull we found and took us 3 more days but we got him.
Play the wind. You can literally smell elk once you get in them, they smell like a barn stable. Those mountains are steep! Move until you find fresh tracks. CO residents suck, had hikers run off elk and another "lifetime elk hunter". Embrace and enjoy the physicality of it. It is BIG COUNTRY, especially if you have never been to the area you drew, like us. What seems like 1 mile is actually 3. Nice 6x6. The pack-out was intense.
That was the most physically demanding thing I've done since 2-a-days in August heat playing football. It is a grind. Wake up at 3am, walk miles at around 9-10,600 feet, get set up, walk some more (around 6-12 miles a day), stay until dark and walk miles back, eat, go to sleep, repeat.
I e-scouted for months and my first 2 spots we actually saw 2 bulls. We had 3 of us out there and all scouted different areas to cover as much ground as possible. Once I got at 10k, man that air gets thin. Freeze-dried meals suck after day 2.
Had a hunter blow out one of the bulls we found because he bugled about 725 times in a matter of 15 minutes. Turns out he was a local from CO and lived nearby, I don't know what the hell he was doing but that bull ran slap over the next 2 mountains. Went back to the first bull we found and took us 3 more days but we got him.
Play the wind. You can literally smell elk once you get in them, they smell like a barn stable. Those mountains are steep! Move until you find fresh tracks. CO residents suck, had hikers run off elk and another "lifetime elk hunter". Embrace and enjoy the physicality of it. It is BIG COUNTRY, especially if you have never been to the area you drew, like us. What seems like 1 mile is actually 3. Nice 6x6. The pack-out was intense.
