What was your "lightbulb" moment?

[jgilber5]

Hi everyone! This will be my first season bow hunting for elk, and planning on it being my last as a non-resident. I'm sure I've made all the classic mistakes, with many more to come. My first Rokslide post was blasting a unit number for info (I learned my lesson). I'm looking forward to a tough season and realize there will likely be many more to come before I bring one home.

All that being said, I'm looking to learn form the vets and be a sponge. Others have asked for tips for beginners, but what were your "aha" moments? What brought you out of the 90%? When did you start thinking like an elk? Do you hunt the same way now as you did 10 years ago? 20?

 

[Dos Perros]

I think my 'aha' was realizing that elk hunting is hard, and that just because you do everything right it doesn't mean you're going to be successful.

Prior to that moment, I was running around the woods wondering and worrying "what am I doing wrong?" I focused too much on not screwing up and was constantly insecure and in doubt.

I eventually realized I was running a good program, and that if I just subjected my program to time and effort, that eventually elk would hit the ground. And they have.

 

[Wyohunth]

I started becoming consistently successful when I stopped being complacent towards the end of a hunt. It can happen at any moment and staying mentally in a hunt has kept the freezer full.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Last year was my first elk season. I'm more of a muley guy and my current muley unit takes one PP, so I gave elk a shot last year.

Things I learned:
1. Spikes are stupid. Like really, really, really stupid. I was cow calling into a canyon and this spike tried scaling a cliff to get to me. This is why you can't shoot them in lots of areas.
2. Always be ready if you're calling. I had a 6x6 bull that responded 12 yards away from me (never heard him come in!) and I didn't have an arrow nocked.
3. Always be ready (part 2): the 6x6 came in BEHIND me. So always do a scan of your area and make note of where they might be coming in. Range everything and keep a mental log of "if he's at this bush, aim for 32".

Finally, the most important aspect is to keep pushing, no matter how bad things seem. The 6x6 came in when I had all but given up for the day. I was tired, hungry, and out of water. Things can change in an instant, and if you're ready, you'll have a better elk hunting story than me.

 

[5MilesBack]

I've always "thought like an elk" I believe (been hunting them for 40+ years), so I just hunt like I am one. I listened to and watched a bunch of the calling stuff out there, but my aha moment came when I just started calling and hunting with what matched my own attitudes. Things just started to click at that point and the encounters and interactions became frequent. If it didn't match who I am, it wouldn't be as much fun for me.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Hi everyone! This will be my first season bow hunting for elk, and planning on it being my last as a non-resident. I'm sure I've made all the classic mistakes, with many more to come. My first Rokslide post was blasting a unit number for info (I learned my lesson). I'm looking forward to a tough season and realize there will likely be many more to come before I bring one home.

All that being said, I'm looking to learn form the vets and be a sponge. Others have asked for tips for beginners, but what were your "aha" moments? What brought you out of the 90%? When did you start thinking like an elk? Do you hunt the same way now as you did 10 years ago? 20?

Where are you moving to be a “resident” next year?

 

[Phaseolus]

About 25 years ago toward the end of a rifle season I was trudging through the woods. I was cold, tired, and ready to go home. I sat myself down and said to myself, “Elk hunting is tough, it’s supposed to be tough, quit being a puss”. I shot a nice cow shortly after that.

 

[Jbenson]

Don't overlook areas close to roads. That's what everyone else does too, and just drive right on by.

 

[jgilber5]

Thank you everyone for the experience and advice! Managed to shoot a 5x6 on opening morning! Am feeling beyond blessed, and will probably have to wait a few years to repeat, but I’ll take what the elk gods give me.

 

[String&stick]

I always hunt with the same buddy and my "aha" moment was a few years ago. We went up the mountain from the trail head with 2 days of food because it was a small drainage and we figured we would blow them out or kill one within a couple of days. We started rationing at lunch on day two. . . Split our last granola bar for breakfast on day 4 after eating 1 pack of ramen and a grouse we had shot for supper the night before. Hit the trail head that night starving! The absolute best 4 days of hunting I've ever had without killing something. 4 herd bulls with different cow groups all sharing one water source in a small drainage and bugling up a storm.

But I realized splitting that granola bar getting ready to drop 1500 feet and climb back up the other side to chase another bugle. . . Without a good partner I probably wouldn't have been there and certainly wouldn't have pushed as hard or as far as I have to get better! Good hunting partners are worth their weight in gold, will make good memories while making bad decisions, and will split their last granola bar with you!

I also realized success is in the eye of the beholder. While I love harvesting animals, I can honestly say that trip would hold less memories for me had we killed a bull the first day up the drainage and we would have learned far less. We interacted with elk for 4 solid days and I'm confident that even though we didn't kill one on that trip (missed once, and had several times we needed one more step). We came away better hunters and have since applied what we learned to kill other elk

 

[Dos Perros]

Thank you everyone for the experience and advice! Managed to shoot a 5x6 on opening morning! Am feeling beyond blessed, and will probably have to wait a few years to repeat, but I’ll take what the elk gods give me.

Congratulatoins! Be sure to hang your trophy up at the Meat Pole.

 

[trophyhill]

My “aha” moment was the day I gained control of a mouth reed and was able to make any sound at any time with it instead of those sickly unwanted sounds that used to come out frequently. Paul aka Elknut1 and his YouTube videos and DVD’s and a guy named Gregg Steven’s got me started.

 

[307]

I think my 'aha' was realizing that elk hunting is hard, and that just because you do everything right it doesn't mean you're going to be successful.

Prior to that moment, I was running around the woods wondering and worrying "what am I doing wrong?" I focused too much on not screwing up and was constantly insecure and in doubt.

I eventually realized I was running a good program, and that if I just subjected my program to time and effort, that eventually elk would hit the ground. And they have.

^^^ This is an excellent synopsis. I finally reached this level of confidence/competence this weekend. I had 4 sessions, and feel like I hunted them all very well, even though I didn't loose an arrow. The setup and strategy was all very good even though it didn't come together quite like I wanted.

I spent the first several years second guessing myself and "kept hammering" without much real understanding or strategy. Every time I didn't have success, I'd assume that I had done something wrong or didn't know enough. Faced with that feeling, I simply "hammered harder" and repeated until complete exhaustion... It's not very effective FYI.

Realizing that you can do everything right, and it's still really hard to kill an elk with an arrow, especially in OTC public land hunting has helped me relax and be more present in how I hunt.