What time do you come off the mountain durning archery elk hunting?

[MallardSX2]

Or the moose in the headlamp at 20 yards looking right thru you.

Been there. And he was the most aggressive moose I’ve e er seen. Lol

 

[MallardSX2]

Its a bad picture but in my defense it was still dark outside and pretty early in the morning. lol

 

[Meals7]

Take advantage of all the day light. Even if elk are quite walk timbered ridges above bowls looking for trails or sign going into it.

 

[DiabeticKripple]

Hunt until you legally can’t.

We had a bull step out with 3 minutes to go. We had no idea he was there, came out perfect and we dropped him. Lots of wolves in the area so he came in silent.

 

[Donuts&Coffee]

It's your hunt! Do whatever you want. Don't feel bad about checking out early, if that makes you feel better/safer/less stressed. Remember, it's not just about taking an animal. It's supposed to be fun!

 

[Indian Summer]

Here’s my way of thinking… of keeping my sanity. I’m there to kill a freaking elk! That’s the goal. My license cost an arm and a leg. I waited x number of years to hunt. I dumped a boatload of cash on gear. Gas to get there wasn’t exactly cheap. Also I used up my hard earned vacation days. I love elk hunting. I love doing anything in the mountains. But for all I have invested in my hunt it sure would be much more fun if I actually killed something.

Every decision I make leans toward accomplishing that goal. Should I take the easy trail at the fork in the road or bust my ass uphill because the thermals are rising and I really should stay above them. Uphill it is! But the number one factor in being in the right place at the right time is TIME. If you hunt 10 days instead of 5 you are twice as likely to succeed. If you shave 2 hours off if your hunt because hiking in the dark makes you nervous you are seriously reducing your odds of killing anything. I’m at my spot before the sky even begins to show signs of a new day. And I’m there until I can’t see.

There is nothing to be afraid of. With today’s mapping technology… and if it makes you feel better a box of reflective tacks, and you can easily navigate around any hazards. Carry a spare headlamp and a shitload of batteries. An actual topo map. And more water than you’ll drink. There’s nothing out there that’s going to eat you at night that wouldn’t eat you in broad daylight.

This is another one of those things where knowing your area like the back of your hand pays off. I bet you don’t think twice about walking back to your truck from your deer stand back home because it’s dark. First and last light is killing time! And even if you don’t kill something at last light being there might pay off the next morning.

At the end of a hunt no matter what happens I never have to say “what if?” What might have happened ifI did this or didn’t do that. The only way I can be at peace until next season is if I’m able to say to myself I gave 100% all day every day. Not 99. Not 90… !

 

[Trevor96]

I shot both of my bulls in the last half hour of legal shooting light

 

[gelton]

Stay till dark for sure. Out of the group of hunters I hunt with and myself 75% of the elk have been killed at last light, 25% mid-day (like 3pm), and 0% in the morning.

Hunted with a guy once who didn't want to get out of the tent because he was too cold, when he finally did come out he was decked out in First Lite Gear, I said what brand is that on your shirt there...he said First Lite, and I said, huh, wonder why they named it that. Could say the same if they called it last light too.

 

[mtnbiker208]

Last season, shot my bull at last light. Broke it down with a headlamp on. Battery's where going out, light only shone about 3 feet in front of me, as i had to climb up to my camp. this again, is what went thru my head.

 

[Indian Summer]

Stay till dark for sure. Out of the group of hunters I hunt with and myself 75% of the elk have been killed at last light, 25% mid-day (like 3pm), and 0% in the morning.

Same. I think that bulls are wire out and bedded down not long after the sun comes up. But after several hours they are rested up enough for some mid day action. So we have some mid day action. But evenings have been best. Part of the reason for that though is because we put elk to bed in the morning and go back to work them at the end of the day.

 

[Deadfall]

We are discussing staying on the mountain till end of shooting light. Our concern is being a NR and never set foot in the area we are archery Elk hunting is safety. We have packed a elk out in the dark and it wasn't fun not being on a trail. Our plan is to get to a spot within a hour of a trail lower on the mountain for the evening hunt. More of a ambush set up. We will be in central Colorado this year 11,000 feet max, camp at 9200. We have always been back at camp while it was still light enough to see and feel we are missing out on prime hunting.

You are definitely missing out!

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

I remember reading an issue of bowhunting magazine that has stuck with me.
"Most hunters are going back to camp when the serious elk hunters are just getting started."

 

[OkiechasingElk]

One of the reasons I've decided to ATV up and backpack camp in instead of stay at the cabin with my buddies for my week of Archery hunting next month. First light and last light.

If I have a 1 hour ATV ride and a mile to hike every morning/evening to get back and forth from the cabin. Not to mention the distraction of waiting on the other guys, a solid breakfast, staying up drinking and BS'ing. I know I won't see enough dark time in the woods to be 100% effective.

 

[Coveyleader]

I don’t know how people can hunt all day? I’m not giving up 1 second of first or last light.

 

[blackfloorarchery]

Stay out as long as you can. Increases your odds and exposes you to more opportunities. I’m red light hiking at 4am and I do not go back to camp until dark unless it’s not a safe hike back to camp. Napping and snacking are your friend.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mad_angler]

Cliff Gray talks about this in 1 of his YouTube videos. Hunt til dark.

Here it is...
Simple reason why you don't kill elk

Great explanation of why the first hour and last hour are the most important...

 

[mad_angler]

So, you should definitely try to be out there every day before light and stay out until dark.

But... you also need to take care of yourself. If you need to sleep in one morning or come back early one day, just do it. Get some rest and come back charged up. 10 days with no sleep can start to wear you out.

And mid day naps are also time well spent...

 

[Ross]

If I find one talking it will be well past dark. We put many to bed and the next day not a peep. Things can change overnight, so if you have a play go for it that night. Some years the talking has been better late afternoon, than morning.

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

Everyone hunts differently, depends where you are camped as well. I find mid morning to mid afternoon hunts are the most productive. Everyone else back at camp and we’re chasing bulls or setting up for them to come out in the afternoon.

Always find it funny lots of guys hiking through at 2am and walk right through a herd of elk completely oblivious. Then hike back to camp and nap all afternoon and try to go back out in the evening.

I personally don’t hunt many evenings, depending on the season especially cold weather hunts your freezing your ass off trying to process an animal in the dark. Nobody should leave an animal overnight unless it’s a bad shot. I’ve had clients shoot one and as we’re tracking it bump it at night, then we’re really screwed. Seen elk meat turn setting overnight as well even in subzero temps with snow on the ground, whole side that was on the ground never could cool and spoiled. Same with archery season when it’s hot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FlyGuy]

Everyone is saying hunt till dark, but I wonder how many truly do it (I’m not questioning the people specifically on this thread, just in general).

Because I get where the OP is coming from. If you have a truck camp and you hiked in 4 miles, most of it off trail, then if you stay till end of legal light you’ve got a good 2-3 hours of busting brush in the dark to look forward to after a long day. That puts you back to camp around 10:30pm, still have to eat dinner, probably getting to sleep around midnight. And if you want to do it by the book, you need to be hiked back in 4 miles to where the elk are before legal light. To do that you need to be up at 4am and out the door at 4:30. I don’t know about yall, but I can do that for a couple days, but I can’t do it for 10.

When the OP says non- resident; what I’m hearing him say is - unfamiliar with the unit. Maybe even inexperienced, or some of his crew maybe is.

When I first started out I was completely new to this kind of hunting (grew up deer hunting in the south, deer lease, camp, ATVs, 200 yard walks down a trail to a ladder stand…) I hunted elk from a truck camp for several years because that’s what I was comfortable with. The mountains had hazards I was unfamiliar with (not predators, mostly 100 ways to fall and hurt yourself) and that seems way worse in the dark. So, around 4 pm or so, I’d start “hunting my way back to the truck”.

Anyway, I agree with all the posts here, I just don’t think it’s as easy as it sounds. It takes time to build up the confidence. Confidence in your abilities, in your gear, in your navigation skills. Until you have that, hunt the best you can.

For me, I got tired of wasting all my energy hiking in-and-out everyday. I also found that I was spending the very best daylight hours to hear bugles (the first and the last) hiking and not really hunting. So I invested in a solid but lightweight bivy set up and I now hunt off my back. I pack camp, 3-8 days of food, water purification, etc. when I find elk, I hunt them. When it starts getting dark, I make camp, eat dinner and rack out less than an hour after dark. And, I can sleep till about an hour before legal, enjoy a hot breakfast, and still break camp before shooting light. But I don’t have to be moving b/c I’m already where the are (or close to it). I’ll never go back. I can remember feeling that gnawing anxiety every afternoon, pushing me towards the truck to avoid hours of hiking in the dark. It’s so much more relaxing now, b/c I don’t ever have anywhere to be besides where I am. Also, if you put an elk down at dark, once you get him into game bags, you are done for the night. Move the meat away from the gut pile, then Go up the ridge a bit and make camp. Get a good nights rest and start packing in the morning.

Sure, you have to be in shape to carry the additional weight with you each day, but This type of hunting is so much more efficient for me. Huge benefit being that I’m now getting around 9 hours of sleep every night. That is so important for your body to grind out 10-14 days of an elk hunt. Many times the hardest part of sleeping is all the bugles I’m hearing thru the night keeping me awake! I’m also putting on much fewer miles in now. When I’m camping close to the elk I probably average 3-4 miles/day; whereas I was 8-12/day with a truck camp.

It’s a far better system for me personally, but it’s not for everyone.