What do you wish you’d done differently on your first western hunt?

[Scoot]

I would have gone in betters shape on the first one. I also would have carried less gear. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing. Wonderful experience with my brother and a buddy. Going 3/3 didn't hurt either...

 

[Molon Labe]

Less pack weight.
Better boots.
More aggressive chasing them.

Make sure to do a lot of walking this summer with weight in the pack. If I was you I would head over to Bruce mound on the weekends and hike up and down it a few times because that is probably the steepest/longest hill in your area.
And talk to as many people you can about elk hunting along with doing your youtube research.

 

[xziang]

My .02 don't plan to hike in and stay for 5 days. Went in with to much food for was going to stay 5 days. Sign wasn't there plus serious weather was coming in so we bailed. Would have hiked in with 2 days food to save weight.

If needed don't be afraid to go back to vehicle to refresh with good food and sleeping conditions and then hike back in or move to different area.

 

[Lowke01]

I'd say my biggest mistake was not being more aggressive when we spotted elk off in the distance. We'd try to predict where they might be later that day or the next morning and it never worked out. When you see them, figure out the wind and make a run at it.

I've also made the mistake of leaving my pack/gear in the truck to just "take a peak" a quarter mile off the road and found elk sign and eventually elk but wasn't really prepared to do anything about it.

 

[Downeaster]

Great advice here. For my part id say be prepared to take the first good shot you are presented with. Not sure about the particular area you are going, but around here its thick and steep. Your best shot might turn out to be the one you passed at 40 because he was coming straight in on a string. Wind and branches and just bad luck foil a lot of great setups. That and noise isnt your enemy most of the time, seems to let them know youre not a threat. Walked into three cows this weekend and they just turned and came in to investigate. The one stopped at about 12 yds as i was standing like a pimple on a log snapping pics. Elk live in the best places on earth, if nothing else- take it all in and take a lot of pics .

 

[Nomad]

Be more aggressive. (don't hunt like a Texas WT hunter... be mobile)

Don't be afraid of the dark.

Don't be afraid to use your calls... even if you're not an "expert".

 

[Pontius]

I wish that I'd taken up golf.

 

[mfllood3800]

Be hunting "always".
2 times early on, I got into elk when I was not expecting them at all.
They caught me off guard.
Never forget there is always other pressure out there pushing elk. Not all pressure is human either.
I had elk blow by me before I could locate a spike in the herd.
Frustrated and investing thoughts as to why I wasn't ready, only to be interrupted with them bolting right back at me within 3 minutes of just blowing by me.

One of my early elk kills, was after I decided to head back out of the mountain. I was done hunting- I thought.
Another I was simply scouting a place to look for "signs"- boy did I find signs. lol

Another way to put this is don't be in such a hurry to get to a "spot" or "the next spot", that you quit hunting along the way to it or from it.
Elk can be anywhere for any reason.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I wouldn't have done anything different. I killed a 78" antelope with my pistol on my first western hunt.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Sorry, I just realized this was in the elk forum. Lol

Now my first elk hunt, I wouldn't done several things differently.

Have fun, scout as much as you can before you get there, and don't be afraid to change things up if what you're doing isn't working.

Most importantly, stay safe.

 

[Southforkguy]

I laugh at all the gear i thought i needed then, now my gear list is fairly refined. I bought cheap stuff then to get started, i now use these things as backups. Later on, as you grow into western hunting spend money on quality gear. I would also identify access points and also accesible roads and trails with the area game official. This will save time finding your plan b,c, and d areas.

 

[archer wapiti]

Everyone says to be successful you need to not see your camp in the natural light. I would agree, but it is much more difficult than you would think after 4 or 5 days in a row. Plan on being truly exhausted.

But there's no shame in a mid-day nap away from camp either! I like to set up in a likely-looking spot and sleep at the ready. If one walks by and I remain snoozing, so be it, but at least I've put myself in a better position that what I would have been in at camp.

 

[TradAg02]

Found out I’m not a boot guy. Every year I get convinced I need to wear boots in the mountains so I buy a new pair and break them in only to end up hunting in my trail running shoes.

Looked for the pretty meadows/parks that the elk walk out in on the tv shows. Wasted several days looking for “elk country” only to find them in the deepest, darkest, timbered drainages you would never want to go down. If hunting otc look for the areas that make you say “I am not going in there. I couldn’t pack an elk out if I found one anyhow.” BUT make sure you are physically and mentally prepared to haul one out when you do get one in “there”.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[mproberts]

For reference- Here is a surface pic and and GE aerial pic of blowdown beetle kill
The yellow X is where I am standing

Yeah that aerial image is pretty clear, attached is a picture of the spot I was talking about in Colorado. We got into that area and the timber was barely passable with blowdown everywhere. We would hike 20 yards forward then 40 yards around blowdown just to get back on the same elk path, and this was constant, it made for some really hard stalking/hiking. It definitely wasn't beetle kill, looked to me like a big wind storm that had sheered off trees halfway up and created a mess of stacked and hanging deadfall.

Cnelk, being from Colorado are there typically areas that are more prone to wind storms like this? This area was between 10,500-11,500ft on a north facing bowl with 13k ft peaks to the south. Or does this just sound like the norm for those thick higher alpine conifer forests?

 

[StopMakingSense]

Definitely practice a ton more with calling via a diaphragm call, its nuts how you can turn around a situation in your favor if you get busted from sight or breaking sticks but they can't smell you, just by letting out a lost mew they stop dead in their tracks half the time and you've opened up a new opportunity that otherwise may have faltered.

 

[loggerchas]

Hunt uphill from camp or the vehicle.

Oh, and never trust a hunting buddy whose favorite line is "it's right over this "little rise", almost there..."

 

[LaGriz]

My Take,
As a Whitetail hunter raised in New England I was too willing to still hunt timber that may or may not have any elk. I did read that you should find the elk first, and then hunt them. Just ignored that advice and regretted it.

I was not aggressive enough. I was not in good enough shape. (and never really got there either)

Would recommend that when you do locate elk and cow call to them, get off the trail on the down wind side and expect a silent approach. Move from your last calling position and re-position your self in the shade/cover with an arrow knocked. Stay an extra 15 min. longer than you think you need to. Expect a curious lone rag-horn, or satellite bull to approach your exact last calling location. It seems I have to re-learn this every couple years. In the early part of the season this is a likely scenario. Public Land elk are usually call shy. This is great fun....Its the best time to be in the elk woods! Come on September! LaGriz

 

[GordonFreeman]

Awesome thread, thanks guys

 

[bivouaclarry]

I wished I had confirmed water sources. Mine were dry.

I wished I had a plan for weather. Sat for 3 days in the snow when I should have dropped elevation to hunt the rain. It can and frequently does snow in Sept.

I wished I had eaten more effectively. You won't feel like it because of the elevation. But force yourself to eat something every couple hours. Your body will thank you day 3. Same with drinking water. Get a bladder and sip all day.

Have fun. Hunting elk in September in the beautiful places they live is very addictive.

 

[fngTony]

I wish I didn’t beat myself up when I forgot the safety. I did eventually fill my tag but spent a couple days in a funk. Shake off your mistakes but also learn from them.