Rookie Self-Guided Elk Hunt

[Eastcoasthunter94]

Would you guys say most public land hunts require sleeping in the bush a few nights at a time? More or less? Probably unit dependent?

Thousands of people every year day hunt by parking their truck and hunting, then coming back out at dark. I’ve been on 2 elk hunts and did that. Just do what you feel comfortable with. Me personally since I am coming from the east coast choose to day hunt since it requires much less gear. I shot a cow elk this past year doing that.

 

[dirtytough]

Get decent glass and get in shape. The last elk hunt I did was a lower tier draw unit. Because of access issues about 2% of hunters actually were hunting where the elk were. My kid did 1700' of elevation in 1.2 miles to kill a cow. No other hunters would hike there because it was hard.

Find a few spots that are difficult to get to, where you can actually see.

 

[Elk97]

Your best investment will be to take a trip to wherever you are planning on hunting before the season and actually see the area, terrain, etc. The "west" is a big place and even when you narrow it down it's still big and can be totally confusing and intimidating to a first timer.

 

[Laramie]

A few and far between as nonresident elk permits are getting to be, I think it would be good for people to take a late summer hiking trip at least once before you draw. The mountains are just different and getting used to the terrain, elevation, gear, animals, risks, etc is just easier when you aren't going all out trying to fill your tag. If you are going DIY in future years, why not take a summer fishing/hiking trip this year to start to figure some things out?

 

[Indian Summer]

I’ll say this. You better plan on memories but not necessarily a dead elk.

Realistically with zero western hunting experience or first hand knowledge of your area you are mainly counting on luck to punch your tag. I understand you intend to e scout and work hard and be persistent. But your odds won’t change because of that. The mountains are big and the elk are smart.

I always tell guys they should get elk hunting experience before drawing a good tag. Otherwise you’ll be similar to a young kid out on his first deer hunt hoping that his squirrel hunting experience is going to help. I guided some great deer hunters who were terrible elk hunters. Worried about making noise to cover the ground needed to locate elk. Going to slow. Setting up behind too much cover when calling. Or their biggest problem…. Going for a few days without seeing a single animal. Their mental game was over. Elk hunting is whole other ballgame.

You should do at least one elk hunt before cashing in points. Test your gear, test yourself. Get comfortable traversing and hunting a new type of country. And if a tag is really a once in a lifetime opportunity you should go out during the summer and get serious about preparing to be successful.

 

[lhbackcountry]

I’ll say this. You better plan on memories but not necessarily a dead elk.

Realistically with zero western hunting experience or first hand knowledge of your area you are mainly counting on luck to punch your tag. I understand you intend to e scout and work hard and be persistent. But your odds won’t change because of that. The mountains are big and the elk are smart.

I always tell guys they should get elk hunting experience before drawing a good tag. Otherwise you’ll be similar to a young kid out on his first deer hunt hoping that his squirrel hunting experience is going to help. I guided some great deer hunters who were terrible elk hunters. Worried about making noise to cover the ground needed to locate elk. Going to slow. Setting up behind too much cover when calling. Or their biggest problem…. Going for a few days without seeing a single animal. Their mental game was over. Elk hunting is whole other ballgame.

You should do at least one elk hunt before cashing in points. Test your gear, test yourself. Get comfortable traversing and hunting a new type of country. And if a tag is really a once in a lifetime opportunity you should go out during the summer and get serious about preparing to be successful.

feel like the mental is tough but most folks only have a week or two to spend on pto / life when making these trips which adds pressure

 

[mia-elk-chaser]

I'm a midwest hunter as well and went on two self-guided elk hunts the past two years.

Here's some of the biggest tactical takeways from a beginner perspective:

• 1st year we hiked non-stop all day just hoping to bugle and bump into an elk. This was a bad strategy. We really exhausted ourselves just stomping around the mountain aimlessly. Use your binoculars to "walk for you" and you need to think about using your horsepower purposefully.
• plan to hunt the top 1/3rd or whatever area you're in. In our experience, elk have been up high. We saw 3 bulls and shot at one (missed )
• Plan to glass as sunrise and dusk. Glass longer than you think and further than you think.
• be comfortable hiking in the dark - both morning and after sunset. 1st year we left areas before sunset to make it back to camp and i think we missed out on a lot of action. 2nd year we were in the hunting area an hour before sunrise and after sunset and it really increased our odds of seeing elk. I recommend purchasing a high quality head lamp and bring extra batteries and a spare headlamp even.
• when e-scouting (i used on-x) look for "Triangle" of feed, water, shelter. Imagine how the elk would move through the area in the course of the day and work backwards from that to plan your hunt meaning where you should be at what time.
  • We added our whole hunt party to one on-x account so that we all had the same points
• Split up gear - 1st year, each guy brought everything as if they were going solo. this was so dumb. we had 4 knives, 3 sets of game bags, 3 jetboils, etc. Plan your shared gear and distribute across your hunting party.
• Bring drugs for stomach problems. It's going to happen. Pempto tabs/tums. Also Tylenol PM was a game-changer for sleeping soundly and recovering.
• Often times the fastest way to a location is not a direct line - you can spend 3 hours hiking straight up a steep ridge where it would take you only an hour to go around at a more gradual slope.
• If you're going with more than 2 people, I recommend walkie talkies. the 1st year we did 3 guys and we all stayed together everywhere we went for safety reasons. 2nd year we had 4 guys and two hunt groups with a walkie talk in each. We doubled the area we hunted by splitting off in different locations. This was very effective. If you're just going two guys - then walkies can help you split up a little bit while still having safety and communication.
• I recommend planning for two, 3 day hunts instead of one 5 or 6 day hunt. 1st year we did one 5/6 day hunt and the food and gear was so heavy that it limited us. 2nd year we packed for a 3 day hunt and had the other 3 days of food and supplies in the truck. We planned to canvas the area in 3 days then pull out if no elk, or have 2 guys go back to get the rest of the food for the remaining 3 days if there were elk in the area. We ended up doing the latter and had two guys go back 3 miles to the truck to get the food and it worked perfectly.
  • TLDR: Food takes up a lot of space and weight. Plan accordingly.
• On the food note - powdered potato packets were our best friend. they're like 90 cents and add 800 calories and a really nice comforting taste at the end of a long cold day. Make your Peak meals with some extra water, let that cook/hydrate, then add in the powdered potatoes. Bon appetite.

Writing this got me fired up for this year! I'm happy to jump on a call to tell you more about our experience if you want. Goodluck!

 

[HuntNM]

I'm a midwest hunter as well and went on two self-guided elk hunts the past two years.

Here's some of the biggest tactical takeways from a beginner perspective:

• 1st year we hiked non-stop all day just hoping to bugle and bump into an elk. This was a bad strategy. We really exhausted ourselves just stomping around the mountain aimlessly. Use your binoculars to "walk for you" and you need to think about using your horsepower purposefully.
• plan to hunt the top 1/3rd or whatever area you're in. In our experience, elk have been up high. We saw 3 bulls and shot at one (missed )
• Plan to glass as sunrise and dusk. Glass longer than you think and further than you think.
• be comfortable hiking in the dark - both morning and after sunset. 1st year we left areas before sunset to make it back to camp and i think we missed out on a lot of action. 2nd year we were in the hunting area an hour before sunrise and after sunset and it really increased our odds of seeing elk. I recommend purchasing a high quality head lamp and bring extra batteries and a spare headlamp even.
• when e-scouting (i used on-x) look for "Triangle" of feed, water, shelter. Imagine how the elk would move through the area in the course of the day and work backwards from that to plan your hunt meaning where you should be at what time.
  • We added our whole hunt party to one on-x account so that we all had the same points
• Split up gear - 1st year, each guy brought everything as if they were going solo. this was so dumb. we had 4 knives, 3 sets of game bags, 3 jetboils, etc. Plan your shared gear and distribute across your hunting party.
• Bring drugs for stomach problems. It's going to happen. Pempto tabs/tums. Also Tylenol PM was a game-changer for sleeping soundly and recovering.
• Often times the fastest way to a location is not a direct line - you can spend 3 hours hiking straight up a steep ridge where it would take you only an hour to go around at a more gradual slope.
• If you're going with more than 2 people, I recommend walkie talkies. the 1st year we did 3 guys and we all stayed together everywhere we went for safety reasons. 2nd year we had 4 guys and two hunt groups with a walkie talk in each. We doubled the area we hunted by splitting off in different locations. This was very effective. If you're just going two guys - then walkies can help you split up a little bit while still having safety and communication.
• I recommend planning for two, 3 day hunts instead of one 5 or 6 day hunt. 1st year we did one 5/6 day hunt and the food and gear was so heavy that it limited us. 2nd year we packed for a 3 day hunt and had the other 3 days of food and supplies in the truck. We planned to canvas the area in 3 days then pull out if no elk, or have 2 guys go back to get the rest of the food for the remaining 3 days if there were elk in the area. We ended up doing the latter and had two guys go back 3 miles to the truck to get the food and it worked perfectly.
  • TLDR: Food takes up a lot of space and weight. Plan accordingly.
• On the food note - powdered potato packets were our best friend. they're like 90 cents and add 800 calories and a really nice comforting taste at the end of a long cold day. Make your Peak meals with some extra water, let that cook/hydrate, then add in the powdered potatoes. Bon appetite.

Writing this got me fired up for this year! I'm happy to jump on a call to tell you more about our experience if you want. Goodluck!

Great tips! As a new hunter myself (last year was my first Elk hunt), I made a lot of those mistakes. I scouted an area both in-person and e-scouting, and it looked great. Got up there a week before my hunt and the elks were bugling like mad...
I didn't account for the fact that the week prior was muzzleloader, and by the time my turn came a good majority of the bulls had gone into hiding after the first shots rang out. I was soo damn determined to hunt only that specific area, that it cost me. I also setup a base camp that I didn't want to have to break down to move locations (the other mistake).

The biggest mistake I made was inviting a non-hunter (but avid hiker) friend along, and taking a reference from a friend of another "experienced hunter" to help me out. The friend obviously didn't know anything, but the "experienced hunter" turned out to be an "all-talk at the bar" kind of guy and got hammered in the evenings... I could smell him from a mile away and eventually got fed up and went solo. All in all I learned quite a bit from the experience, and plan to hit it hard this year by myself or with someone who really knows what they're doing and knows the area.

 

[isocyanate]

I've been twice. Best advice is to go as soon as you can figure it out. Colorado will let you hunt archery every year. Might as well go before the stop that.

I find, it's all about time management.

Show up days early, acclimate. I acclimate at a glassing spot

Spend time where and when it matters, be in position well before sunup.

That may mean getting up at three and hiking by headlamp. You can do it.

Altitude does different things to everyone. I live at 225 ft elevation. 10k+ destroys my appetite the first few days.

The better shape you're in the more focused you will be.

For gear, the same standard rokslide recommendation applies - real mountain boots, a pack that can carry meat, binos that work, and a weapon that you have trained with. Backpacking in obviously adds complexity, and if you aren't experienced may be a better year two strategy.

 

[trophyhill]

There are a lot of great whitetail hunters who have transitioned into the elkwoods quite seamlessly and had great success.

 

[NorthernHunter]

Find somewhere you can go every year. Just like whitetail hunting only parts of the area have any animals. Elk and mule deer move more than whitetail. Patience and glassing can be your friend. I say pick somewhere you can hunt yearly for 2 reasons. 1: my first and second trips produced few to no sightings and helped me dial my gear in. It also helped me understand what I was seeing e scouting and translating it to real world. (Some spots that look fine on Google earth are straight up and down or vertical cliffs) 2: after 2 trips I happened to roll into an area where I found elk, mule deer, bear, and wolf. All in slightly different spots but generally together. It took 20 days living in that same mountain range to figure it out. The 3rd 10 days included a lot of success. I'm from Wisconsin. It's no different than midwest public deer woods. You have to spend time there to find the 10% of area that contains all of the animals. Not saying you can't just get lucky, but I wouldn't want a coveted draw to be my first trip. That would be a waste without a guide. Go enjoy yourself. There is nothing more fun than spending a bunch of time in the mountains. Good luck to you

 

[CMF]

Would you guys say most public land hunts require sleeping in the bush a few nights at a time? More or less? Probably unit dependent?

I would say only if you want to, especially if you're in a low-pressure unit.

To your initial and other questions.

I wouldn't wait for an awesome, low odds tag to go elk hunting. I drew an awesome tag the first year I started applying and killed an elk, but If I had more experience, I probably could have killed a big one. I would go elk hunting on whatever tag you can get to build some experience.

OnX on phone for nav. Inreach mini for emergency or checking in with the wife. Anker battery pack for extra power.

 

[Crawl79]

Sure its already said, but just go hunt. Hunt an OTC unit if have to. It is only getting worse but thats what you have to do to get experience. That and you will need the right gear and more importantly to get in better shape than you think you do.

 

[Fowl Play]

About me: I’ve hunted my whole life in the Midwest,
25+ years. White tails archery/muzzleloader, waterfowl, turkey, coyote, everything possible. I have done some guided hunts for moose and bear in Canada.

I, of course, watch a ton of hunting videos of western hunting and do a lot of research. In the last couple of years I have started putting in for elk tags in a few western states. My strategy as of now is mostly acquiring points by putting into really good units with low non resident odds. Mainly rifle units as I’d rather get one in the bag with rifle before starting on archery.

And here’s the crux, I tend to think if I draw a good unit I could go out myself or likely my dad in his 60s would want to go. Is that unrealistic? With the right gear and general hunting knowledge in a good unit would I fair okay?

Do it! And just since you mention you turkey hunt, this will sound crazy, but... I joke with my buddies that Elk hunting is "turkey hunting with a much harder pack out" So many of the strategies I use to turkey hunt carry over to elk hunting. Herd bulls are just henned up toms in the morning, satellite bulls = jakes, etc. etc.

 

[Idaboy]

About me: I’ve hunted my whole life in the Midwest,
25+ years. White tails archery/muzzleloader, waterfowl, turkey, coyote, everything possible. I have done some guided hunts for moose and bear in Canada.

I, of course, watch a ton of hunting videos of western hunting and do a lot of research. In the last couple of years I have started putting in for elk tags in a few western states. My strategy as of now is mostly acquiring points by putting into really good units with low non resident odds. Mainly rifle units as I’d rather get one in the bag with rifle before starting on archery.

And here’s the crux, I tend to think if I draw a good unit I could go out myself or likely my dad in his 60s would want to go. Is that unrealistic? With the right gear and general hunting knowledge in a good unit would I fair okay?

1- agree with others about just go, many OTC are managed for "opportunity", and you will see elk
2- get a good pair of mtn boots, find the steepest hill in Iowa, and go hike (in those boots) up and down it for 2 hrs, 3 times per week, for 3 months prior...pace yourself/train, so you can do this slowly, but without stopping, for 2 hrs. For first 6 weeks just a ruck sack/water, for last 6 weeks haul 40lbs
3- plan to hunt from road/camp and stay mobile with plans A-J (10), different jump off pts. Camp on your back, Oct Rifle, chance of snow, could make for a miserable experience, but bring gear for a overnight spike in case you really find a great drainage that is worth sitting on for 2 days. Your dad is probably a stud, but camp from road will make it more comfortable.
4- get a good pair of mtn boots
5- see point #4
6- know your range with your weapon and practice max range
7- go hunt any tag you get, with your dad
8- if you insist hucking in back 3-4 hrs and setting up a base camp for your hunt, then at least consider a outfitted drop camp.
9- have a comfortable sleep set up, poor sleep and (and poor boots), will shut down a hunt faster than anything
Good luck