Things you wish you knew about elk hunting

[Elk97]

Always nock an arrow before you bugle. I've had more come to calls silently than not, they can sneak in from any direction and surprise you. Figure out the big picture ( bedding & feeding areas, and logical travel routes) in your area, don't just blindly call and hope for the best. If you've got one in close and you can hear him raking a tree aggressively, move toward him fast. Sounds like you learned a lot last year, next year you'll learn even more. Good luck!

 

[Erussell01]

Always nock an arrow before you bugle. I've had more come to calls silently than not, they can sneak in from any direction and surprise you. Figure out the big picture ( bedding & feeding areas, and logical travel routes) in your area, don't just blindly call and hope for the best. If you've got one in close and you can hear him raking a tree aggressively, move toward him fast. Sounds like you learned a lot last year, next year you'll learn even more. Good luck!

Boy that one hits close to home.

Hit the cow call into a northeast facing slope that looked elky.

Bull showed up before I had stepped up to my final destination. 35 yards away for over 5 minutes and no shot opportunity because I called before I was set up. He was looking for the cow that had surprised him from his bed. Intense situation that I wish I had expected before calling.

 

[OregonSteeler]

Always nock an arrow before you bugle. I've had more come to calls silently than not, they can sneak in from any direction and surprise you. Figure out the big picture ( bedding & feeding areas, and logical travel routes) in your area, don't just blindly call and hope for the best. If you've got one in close and you can hear him raking a tree aggressively, move toward him fast. Sounds like you learned a lot last year, next year you'll learn even more. Good luck!

I'll dovetail off this.

Call with purpose! Don't just blow the bugle or make cow calls just to do it. Make sure you're set up to make a play on an elk that you didn't know was there. Don't call in the middle of an opening or field. Always be hunting, even if it's back to camp or truck. My biggest egg-head mistakes always happened when I wasn't prepared for the opportunity that unexpectedly fell into my lap.

 

[Erussell01]

I'll dovetail off this.

Call with purpose! Don't just blow the bugle or make cow calls just to do it. Make sure you're set up to make a play on an elk that you didn't know was there. Don't call in the middle of an opening or field. Always be hunting, even if it's back to camp or truck. My biggest egg-head mistakes always happened when I wasn't prepared for the opportunity that unexpectedly fell into my lap.

I'm triggered by this... My unfilled elk tag sure would have looked good around that bulls rack...

 

[rclouse79]

I wish I knew I was going to go into every season thinking this has to be my year, only to get repeatedly kicked in the nuts. It would be less painful that way.

 

[Ross]

Wind is everything and Always be Covering ground till you find elk or vocal elk depending on your tactic…..

 

[Zappaman]

Go slower than the wind...

 

[jge340456]

no experience with elk, but experience stalking whitetails in thick stuff. when in the thick stuff use your binoculars every few steps and look for body parts. it will help you see them sooner

 

[Indian Summer]

In regards to sitting and glass versus still hunting timber: I think everyone needs to move around some hunting the cover. For several reasons. First of all who the heck can sit there all day? That’s no fun. Plus you can freeze your ass off. I love hiking around and exploring. It’s half the fun of chasing elk in the mountains. But obviously you should be doing it wisely.

Elk hunters go through stages. The first stage is exploring. You get to enjoy different views while just finding your feet in the big mountains and more importantly you learn some details about the area. You can also get more comfortable there and drop some waypoints in key spots to both help you navigate the terrain easier and also start to piece together what the elk are doing. That’s actually a never ending process but it’s obvious different for a new hunter than for someone who has already been hunting elk in their spot for several years. Even more different if you’ve been there 10+ seasons. So new hunters will eventually shift gears. That means covering less ground than in the initial hunts. During the course of exploring you’ll find sweet spots worth spending more time in. Dead spot’s to avoid. You’ll also find the best vantage points worth doing some glassing and calling from. I don’t care what your bread and butter tactics are. However you prefer to do most of your hunting you should be perched somewhere first thing in the morning to watch the place come to life. And you should be doing the same thing in the evening unless what you saw in the morning has you setup on elk that you made a plan and moved in on.

What I see and hear in the morning makes or breaks my day. Being there to see elk before they become needles in a huge haystack is priceless. And it’s really common to see elk especially bulls, who are standing close to the edge of cover that vanish not long after the pre dawn grey images become more vivid. Likewise if I had nowhere special to be at the end of the day my thoughts would turn completely to locating elk even if they were really far away just so I had something to sleep on and come up with my plan for the following day.

The other thing about mid day still hunting is I don’t just hunt anywhere. I’m looking for the slopes where I have some room to breathe. I want to be able to see at least 100 yards give or take as I lead my way through there with my binoculars looking for an ear or tip of an antler. I have a rule I do everything possible not to break. That rule is don’t get busted! Getting busted sucks. It’s a missed opportunity after a bunch of work. It’s blowing it after doing everything else right. So I’m hunting where I have at least some visibility. And if it gets thicker I’m slowing down to a crawl and stopping to sit more often to just become a stump and really look things over before picking out a spot ahead to get to next. I’m being more eyes and ears than hands and feet. That’s not always easy. But if you already watched the elk walk into the timber it’s a hell of a lot easier. Spot and stalk doesn’t always mean see them move in and shoot. It can just mean hunting with confidence and hunting smart instead of saying to yourself I wonder if I’m even within a mile of a damn elk and then getting busted because you’re in search mode.

 

[Gerbdog]

Loads of great information in this thread. The one thing i wish i had learned going elk hunting is.... i wish i had learned scat before heading into the CO woods. Haha. My very first year hunting CO im pretty dang sure i spent the whole trip hunting moose without a tag thinking i was into hot elk sign. It explains why i saw lots of moose and saw no elk.... but... there are some differences in the scat and they are worth knowing before you commit to a "hot" area.

As to the beetle kill elk thing... that was a great read and good information. I just ... i guess i just dont know? I hunt elk in the beetle kill. I'm an absolute glutton for punishment i guess. I'm also usually into bulls and cows most days..... I mean if the ENTIRE ecosystem they were in before the beetle kill began is all.... beetle kill now.... does that mean they just adjust to the beetle kill? Seriously, the unit i have in mind i dont think there is an area without beetle kill.... I'm sure hunting / recreation pressure must have something to do with it. They are in the thick crap - all day - all night as far as i can tell from the bugles at night and where i hunt during the day. Gotta be the pressure ... i do glass them up high during the summer months before pressure starts. Just laying out in the open all day

 

[stisdale]

Great info, looking to making my first elk hunt in Colorado this year, hunted Texas my whole life. Thanks for the great info!


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[Cmf0403]

Choose your bugling locations wisely especially in the rut. Get set up in, or at least be within a couple feet of a good setup before you bugle. If you're chasing bugles, do a quick scan of your surroundings with binos or eyes before sounding off.

I've cow called and got a response 100yds from me. And before I had time to decide where I was gonna set up. The bull was on me and caught me in the open. We had a stare off for a few minutes before he turned and ran.

In another situation I got a bull to sound off mid morning. Winds were upslope, We ended up paralleling each other going side slope with me higher in elevation. He was responding with every bugle I made for about 300yds, and then he went quiet. The last bugle he made was just before a small bench. So I tried to get ahead and intercept. I knocked an arrow and went to the edge of the bench, bugled, figuring if I was close enough I'd get a response. I ended up being really close, I bugled and then realized I was 40yds above him and some bedded cows. He was bedded behind a log and all I saw mid bugle we're some antlers turn towards me, before the herd got up and ran.

 

[rileybassgirl]

7. Don't take a shot you're not 100% confident in. Tracking a wounded animal and not finding it is miserable.

This don't take the shot if you're questioning it. I passed up a shot this year that some hunters may have taken, and I don't regret it one bit. I have spent days tracking animals for buddies, and that's not something I ever want for my own hunt.

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[oake]

For me as crazy as it may sound is don’t underestimate your target.

For as large as they are - they’re remarkably quiet and agile; in my case I just kind of figured they’re slow lumbering animals, well let’s just say I was humbled

 

[Big D]

Man you got that right. Even just 10 years ago.

Same here.

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[Erussell01]

In regards to sitting and glass versus still hunting timber: I think everyone needs to move around some hunting the cover. For several reasons. First of all who the heck can sit there all day? That’s no fun. Plus you can freeze your ass off. I love hiking around and exploring. It’s half the fun of chasing elk in the mountains. But obviously you should be doing it wisely.

Elk hunters go through stages. The first stage is exploring. You get to enjoy different views while just finding your feet in the big mountains and more importantly you learn some details about the area. You can also get more comfortable there and drop some waypoints in key spots to both help you navigate the terrain easier and also start to piece together what the elk are doing. That’s actually a never ending process but it’s obvious different for a new hunter than for someone who has already been hunting elk in their spot for several years. Even more different if you’ve been there 10+ seasons. So new hunters will eventually shift gears. That means covering less ground than in the initial hunts. During the course of exploring you’ll find sweet spots worth spending more time in. Dead spot’s to avoid. You’ll also find the best vantage points worth doing some glassing and calling from. I don’t care what your bread and butter tactics are. However you prefer to do most of your hunting you should be perched somewhere first thing in the morning to watch the place come to life. And you should be doing the same thing in the evening unless what you saw in the morning has you setup on elk that you made a plan and moved in on.

What I see and hear in the morning makes or breaks my day. Being there to see elk before they become needles in a huge haystack is priceless. And it’s really common to see elk especially bulls, who are standing close to the edge of cover that vanish not long after the pre dawn grey images become more vivid. Likewise if I had nowhere special to be at the end of the day my thoughts would turn completely to locating elk even if they were really far away just so I had something to sleep on and come up with my plan for the following day.

The other thing about mid day still hunting is I don’t just hunt anywhere. I’m looking for the slopes where I have some room to breathe. I want to be able to see at least 100 yards give or take as I lead my way through there with my binoculars looking for an ear or tip of an antler. I have a rule I do everything possible not to break. That rule is don’t get busted! Getting busted sucks. It’s a missed opportunity after a bunch of work. It’s blowing it after doing everything else right. So I’m hunting where I have at least some visibility. And if it gets thicker I’m slowing down to a crawl and stopping to sit more often to just become a stump and really look things over before picking out a spot ahead to get to next. I’m being more eyes and ears than hands and feet. That’s not always easy. But if you already watched the elk walk into the timber it’s a hell of a lot easier. Spot and stalk doesn’t always mean see them move in and shoot. It can just mean hunting with confidence and hunting smart instead of saying to yourself I wonder if I’m even within a mile of a damn elk and then getting busted because you’re in search mode.

This is awesome man. Makes me wanna go elk hunting right now


Thanks

 

[Erussell01]

For me as crazy as it may sound is don’t underestimate your target.

For as large as they are - they’re remarkably quiet and agile; in my case I just kind of figured they’re slow lumbering animals, well let’s just say I was humbled

Could not believe how stealthy a bull elk can be.

Cows, not so much.
But bulls somehow can be so sneaky. Incredible

 

[GotDraw?]

I wish I knew I was going to go into every season thinking this has to be my year, only to get repeatedly kicked in the nuts. It would be less painful that way.

No matter how young you are, life can deal you a surprisingly shitty hand.

This may be your last year and you just don't know it yet.

Hunt hard.

JL

 

[Erussell01]

No matter how young you are, life can deal you a surprisingly shitty hand.

This may be your last year and you just don't know it yet.

Hunt hard.

JL

Man this hits close to home. I don't ever want to miss an opportunity in case its my last. As my dad gets older my fear is we will never make it happen. So this year, pending the draw I am going on two elk hunts an antelope hunt and a deer hunt in SD. To heck with it. Lets go hunting

 

[rclouse79]

No matter how young you are, life can deal you a surprisingly shitty hand.

This may be your last year and you just don't know it yet.

Hunt hard.

JL

Don't get me wrong, I am still enjoying the process and start looking forward to the next season as soon as the current one ends. Archery elk hunting has just improved my ability to eat humble pie.