Tag stew x 6 years = frustration.

[Jon Boy]

Nothing wrong with moving around a bunch. With elk you gotta keep moving till you find em. Once you find em stick with em. They wont go far unless you blow them out really bad.

 

[nv_madmuley]

Yep, keep after it! All the sweeter when it does happen! Nothing like remembering the fletching spinning and disappearing into a solid brown wall....Just keep visualizing it happening, stay motivated and always HAVE FAITH. I probably missed it somewhere in the thread but where are you hunting?

 

[Hawker]

We have been hunting Sivlerthorne Co. Boulder cr and Rock cr area.

 

[nv_madmuley]

10-4. I've never hunted Colorado but have several buddies that do with mixed results...I hunted OTC in Idaho last year for the first time and had great success...into elk every day and 3 of 4 folks in camp came home with bulls. The other had multiple opps but was too picky. If you ever get ready for a change of scenery I would definitely check out some of the OTC units in Idaho w/o wolves and with populations over objectives. If you pick apart the success on 5x and 6x bulls in general archery areas, a few areas really stand out. Stay after em!

 

[MesaHorseCo.]

If you think you would enjoy going out with the smokepole, do it. If you try it once and decide to go back to the bow, so be it. Don't feel like your giving up if you go with the smokepole, there is nothing wrong with trying something different, and it doesn't matter what any of us have to say about it, do what makes you happy, for many people its just being out there, wether it be with a rifle, a bow, a muzzleloader, or a friggin spear. just get out there!

 

[Bonedalien]

We have been hunting Sivlerthorne Co. Boulder cr and Rock cr area.

nice , I spend 1/4 of the season about 10 miles from there

 

[Hawker]

Bonedalein.
Did you have any luck in that area? I always thought it was a good area,but I don't have much to compare it to.

 

[Bonedalien]

you bet Hawker, my friends live in Frisco and invite me to their camp for a week each season. i look forward to it every year because it IS a good area.
no luck for me yet up there(thanks to a couple misses), but the summit county boys tag out consistently.
thankfully,my home unit 43 isnt to shabby either and my luck has been better closer to home.

 

[Steve Perry]

Year 3 was my first full draw, year 4 for my first miss, year 5 for my next two misses, year 7 first elk/bull.
I know a couple of guys who have managed to tag out on bulls for 15+ years straight and a few who average a bull 2 out of every 3 years.
All of these guys have told me that they average about 8 to 10 encounters in bow range between each actual shot. They all hunt way more days per year than me and are far more experienced callers and manage to pull in between 15 and 30+ bulls per year. With my 3 to 5 bulls a year it stands to reason That I will never match there success. I figure year ten (this year) should put # 2 on the ground since I pulled in 8 bulls in the last two seasons!

 

[Swede]

It seems that we are being told you need to do this or that to be successful at elk hunting. We encouraged to buy something new continuously. The list can be endless, and at the end you are still no closer to achieving your goal. Isn't it interesting that hunting success has hardly changed over the years, and the same people are killing elk year after year? Some people are very good at spot and stalk. Some have learned tree stand hunting and it works for them. Others call elk, but not every technique works well in every area. Fortunately, just like you do not need every tool in a hardware store to change a faucet, you do not need to perfect every technique available, to kill an elk. Learn to do a few things well, and perfect the basics of hunting.
Friends: It is not the bow's fault that you are not getting elk. You either have a basic flaw in your hunting technique, or you are trying to apply the wrong technique where you are hunting. This may not come off as especially encouraging, but if after six years of hunting in an area that contains elk, and you have not gotten one, it is not luck either.
Do you know a successful person that hunts the area you hunt? Find out for sure how they are hunting. Many people claim they are just lucky. Some people claim to be calling, but haven't called an elk close enough to shoot in years. Before you invest a lot of time and energy into a technique or even special equipment, find out for sure.

 

[Hawker]

Swede.
I love your brutal honesty. I think my problem is that I'm to impatient to let things happen. I don't really buy into all of the gadgets of media. I'm also pri guilty of over complicating things. There is a local guy here in Michigan that has killed 53 elk and I bet he has never even read a book on elk hunting or elk. He just plan hunts hard.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

So let's say Hawker and I hire an outfitter/guide (neither of us have ever done this) this year, hypothetically. This guy is top notch. What types of things will we learn if we already are no slouches?

 

[Hawker]

Location ?

 

[KMT]

I think that Swede had some good points. You may think that you're executing things properly, but there may be some very subtle differences that you can pick up from a guide. Changing those things may help you turn to corner. There is a guy that has been archery hunting with us for 14 years and has harvested one elk. Yet his brother in law gets one almost yearly without fail. Same area, same weapon, and all the sweet camo you could imagine. But one guy is successful and the other is not.

 

[Swede]

Hawker: I try to be up front and honest. I sure don't want to be "brutal". Certainly there was no offence intended. If I have helped you look at things a little differently, then hopefully you will improve on your soup stock. Best wishes my friend.

 

[Hawker]

I am pumped and ready to go.
Over the last 6 years I've been watching a nice bull and I think this year will be the year I get to pack him out. Also it looks like it will be my first solo hunt. Bring on the mountains I'm dialed and ready for blood.

 

[Hawker]

Game plan is to glass and ambush as they leave there bedding area. How many of you guys see elk at about 12000 feet?

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Good luck this year! Hopefully you'll be eating elk tenderloin soon

 

[Bar]

Game plan is to glass and ambush as they leave there bedding area. How many of you guys see elk at about 12000 feet?

12,000ft won't be a bedding area. It's way above timberline.

 

[Hawker]

Yes it is way above timber line. That's why I find it funny. They bed right out in the open mnt side where nothing can sneak up on them.