The 1 Thing You Learned- ELK

[Oregon Hunter]

You don't need Camo, get in primo shape

And get better at hiding/not standing out

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Slow play. Slow play. Slow play. Coyote the herd until they make a mistake (unless you have a caller). Too many times I’ve jumped the gun and went in on them and busted them out.

Especially on public land. Does this ever backfire on you when you play it slow and another hunter comes busting in? Are there any circumstances when you would not play it slow?

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Two things: When it’s time to move run don’t walk. Get on their nose and not on their tail. I’m coming from run and gun archery rut hunts but they’d apply elsewhere too.

I love that quote " Get on their nose and not their tail". Anyone else have a good hunting quote?

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Two things I’ve learned in two trips. (Well there may be more packed into this)

2016- Access is key depending on the season your hunting. Know if it’s a hiking trail unit, an atv unit, or other. First ever elk trip and I knew nothing. I just assumed you hoped on a trail like you see on tv and before too long you’d be into elk. Except that it was 2nd rifle season…and it was still warm. Hiked 2-3 miles and thought I was far enough back. Not even close. Hunted them like deer and tried to be stealthy. Didn’t cover nearly enough ground. The only elk I saw that trip was on a rainy day when I decided to climb up a mountain on the opposite side the trail was on. Only saw them for a split second. I said if I go back I’m gonna go during archery and figure out how to access better.

2019- Went to a draw unit with a bow in hand. Brought an atv because it was definitely a unit where you needed them to get in deep enough. So I did better on access. And I got into elk with the help of a guy I met on Facebook. I searched for the unit I was going to and some guy mentioned he’d planned to hunt that unit. We updated each other on how we were doing. Day 3 he messaged me saying he shot a cow but there were bulls all around. I asked him if he needed help packing out his cow and he was certainly happy. It was quite the experience cutting up and packing it up to the atv trail. Came back the very next day and cow called my way into a screaming herd bull. Ran into his harem of 7 cows and tried to shoot one of them but wasn’t quite close enough.

And here’s the lesson. I returned to that same location at least 3-4 more times. I got married to that spot and that encounter. Never saw or heard another elk on that spot. I had the most success hunting with a buddy who’d been there multiple times before. Twice we got into bugles. Yet every other hunt I kept coming back to that one spot. I left a day early and that buddy who was staying longer shot a 7x7 the next night.

So 3 things:
Understand access- Use Google earth, buy trail maps, ask locals and game wardens about trails

Make friends- Maybe they won’t be as helpful as that one guy was. Most are protective of their spots and rightfully so.

Don’t Get Tunnel Vision.


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That's really cool you made friends on Facebook. You don't hear people doing that very much

 

[joel_sledz]

Especially on public land. Does this ever backfire on you when you play it slow and another hunter comes busting in? Are there any circumstances when you would not play it slow?

All public land. Most of the times the people I see in there come in on horses and don’t like to get off of them. So usually (knock of wood) I have some tough, but good real estate to myself.
If there’s a big herd with multiple bulls running around fired up, I do not play it slow. I walk right in and set up. I either wait it out or start calling. We hunted AZ unit 8 2 years ago. We got in the middle of a herd and it was chaos. You were able to do jumpin jacks and the elk had better things to worry about. Ended up having a nice 6x6 walk right to us. Dead bull.

 

[stisdale]

Great stuff to read this year while prepping to make my first journey to the mountains for elk! Thanks for all the great stories and info!


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[arock]

This was my first year out and there was definitely more than one thing, though they all kind of fit together except for number 4:

1. Thinking about what the animals are doing and how they're moving rather than what they are supposed to be doing or just blindly following a trail. Huge perspective thing.
2. If they're not there they're not there
3. If the sign isn't fresh it isn't really sign.
4. Hydration is super important.
5. Its never too late or too early to try a cow call if they're behind a branch or tree and fairly close. Got burnt a few times waiting and having them disappear, moving in too aggressively and bouncing them or trying to loop around to only have them gone when I only needed 2 meters of movement one direction or another.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Great stuff to read this year while prepping to make my first journey to the mountains for elk! Thanks for all the great stories and info!


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It's awesome how many people have shared their experiences! Make sure to revisit this forum and tell us what you learned because there's tons of 1st time elk hunters here

 

[Oregon Hunter]

This was my first year out and there was definitely more than one thing, though they all kind of fit together except for number 4:

1. Thinking about what the animals are doing and how they're moving rather than what they are supposed to be doing or just blindly following a trail. Huge perspective thing.
2. If they're not there they're not there
3. If the sign isn't fresh it isn't really sign.
4. Hydration is super important.
5. Its never too late or too early to try a cow call if they're behind a branch or tree and fairly close. Got burnt a few times waiting and having them disappear, moving in too aggressively and bouncing them or trying to loop around to only have them gone when I only needed 2 meters of movement one direction or another.

Numbers 2 and 3 are really important for people that aren't used to hunting elk. They're really different than deer in that there won't be some hiding on every piece of land. They are either there or not

 

[UTJL]

Unless it’s unsafe conditions, don’t give up.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Unless it’s unsafe conditions, don’t give up.

Like running out of donuts?

 

[Pocoloco]

A great way to scout for elk is take a BOW. Luckily my wife and daughter are good shots with a RIFLE.

 

[NCtrapper]

I think most of us make a mistake over and over again. We go on a hunt, but don’t make the effort to think critically about 1 thing we learned and will do different next time.

Think about it, how often do magazines write about a hunt, but fail to single out an action item to change in the future? Just 1 thing, maybe something you learned about elk behavior, your rifle setup, clothing, camping system. We can consume all the information we want, but if we don’t change anything, did it really do us any good?

I’d like to start the series of discussions to get us in the habit of reviewing our hunt, and share highlights about the 1 thing we learned on a particular topic. To start, 1 thing I learned about hunting elk in Eastern Oregon is to not waste time glassing for elk in places they are not likely to be. Growing up as a deer hunter, I am accustomed to using my glass to pick apart every little bush in search of a horn or an ear. Deer tend to have a smaller home range, and you can find them anywhere. After spending some time hunting with a family of loggers that gets bulls every single year, the one thing I learned is that elk aren’t likely to be anywhere, but instead have certain paths they use to move through country. These guys focus their effort on just a few travel routes they have learned that over the years, and they find way more elk than I ever did by picking apart country that isn’t likely to hold elk.


So how about you, what is one thing you have learned about elk? (include pictures if possible)


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Elk are where you find them...check places that aren't the 'perfect' looking places you find while scouting.

 

[Bubba85]

Don’t under estimate the terrain and your conditioning. I guess that two things but they go hand in hand.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

A great way to scout for elk is take a BOW. Luckily my wife and daughter are good shots with a RIFLE.

It's good to diversify your options for bringing home the bacon

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Elk are where you find them...check places that aren't the 'perfect' looking places you find while scouting.

If you can see it from the road, chances are the elk will prefer it on the other side of the hill, out of view

 

[WRO]

Elk **** on flat ground..

 

[manitou1]

I'm surprised that Western hunters don't go to the lengths that Eastern whitetail hunters do to control our smell

I used to be extremely concientous about scent when whitetail hunting. I threw it out the window after hunting/living out West. YOU WILL SWEAT A LOT due to the terrain, exertion, and distances here. It is not like Eastern hunting where you drive your atv/truck to the gate and casually walk 300 yards to a stand. No way to control scent... it is a waste of time, effort, and money. Also, many Western hunters pack in and stay for days. You cannot carry ozone devices, unscented soaps, etc... or bath daily.
You start your morning in the mountains with merino base layers since it is 20 degrees, walk four miles up the mountain with a 40 lb pack, glass, rifle, tripod. During your trek, the temps have raised 35 degrees and you expend a lot of energy. You see/hear an animal and go after him, hiking another 1.6 miles through drainages, canyons, coulees and blowdowns... again with 40 lbs of gear. Just an example. No way NOT to sweat heavily or keep scent free.

 

[WRO]

I used to be extremely concientous about scent when whitetail hunting. I threw it out the window after hunting/living out West. YOU WILL SWEAT A LOT due to the terrain, exertion, and distances here. It is not like Eastern hunting where you drive your atv/truck to the gate and casually walk 300 yards to a stand. No way to control scent... it is a waste of time, effort, and money. Also, many Western hunters pack in and stay for days. You cannot carry ozone devices, unscented soaps, etc... or bath daily.
You start your morning in the mountains with merino base layers since it is 20 degrees, walk four miles up the mountain with a 40 lb pack, glass, rifle, tripod. During your trek, the temps have raised 35 degrees and you expend a lot of energy. You see/hear an animal and go after him, hiking another 1.6 miles through drainages, canyons, coulees and blowdowns... again with 40 lbs of gear. Just an example. No way NOT to sweat heavily or keep scent free.

To follow up, work the wind it's not like your trapped in a tree stand.

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[Oregon Hunter]

I used to be extremely concientous about scent when whitetail hunting. I threw it out the window after hunting/living out West. YOU WILL SWEAT A LOT due to the terrain, exertion, and distances here. It is not like Eastern hunting where you drive your atv/truck to the gate and casually walk 300 yards to a stand. No way to control scent... it is a waste of time, effort, and money. Also, many Western hunters pack in and stay for days. You cannot carry ozone devices, unscented soaps, etc... or bath daily.
You start your morning in the mountains with merino base layers since it is 20 degrees, walk four miles up the mountain with a 40 lb pack, glass, rifle, tripod. During your trek, the temps have raised 35 degrees and you expend a lot of energy. You see/hear an animal and go after him, hiking another 1.6 miles through drainages, canyons, coulees and blowdowns... again with 40 lbs of gear. Just an example. No way NOT to sweat heavily or keep scent free.

You've got some great points and do a good job of of explaining how different hunting out here can be. Especially if you're hunting out of a backpack