What's Your Elk Hunting Weakness?

[kcm2]

Hunting them with a bow. I've killed close to 30 with a rifle but when I head out with a bow, the wind will shift or something seems to always jinx the damn hunt.

 

[JjamesIII]

Mine is evening hunts! Just rarely hunt them. When hunting 23+ days in Sept. I may hunt 2-3 evenings. With that means I rarely if ever hunt all day, I just flat out get to antsy & bored! (grin) My goto time is daylight till 1pm.

What's yours?

ElkNut

Indecision aka “paralysis through analysis”. I have so many areas in mind that are better than where I’m at, or where I’m heading into. I spend a lot of time studying waypoints and maps second guessing. I do that picking out the “perfect” deer stand and duck hunting spot also. I think I need to stick with a plan for a few days before moving on to the next cluster of waypoints and trust my initial decision.

 

[theycallmemud]

Hunting the same areas over and over. If there isn't elk there one weekend I go the next over and over. I seen elk so many times In this area I just keep going until I find them there. And cows I will arrow a cow without hesitation everything. But it's only a qaurter mile to the truck. Maybe that's why I keep going back? Hmm

 

[camelcluch]

My number one is the failure to change. It’s my top fault for all hunting. I get stuck in patterns that aren’t working. Then after a bit I’ll change and usually have success. Dumb.

 

[trevvamos]

Being overly aggressive... Blown so many stalks over the years just trying to get to that next tree, or just busted by Janice, AKA lead cow

 

[DawnPatrol]

Good perspective.

I have the opposite problem of most folks here. If I think I’m in a good spot, I’ll just sit there till the elk come out. I probably stay in one place longer than I should, but it’s so gratifying when they almost magically appear where I think they ought to be.

 

[Fire power]

Coffee gets cold

 

[Kurts86]

I have unit/season/state ADHD in that I bounce around units or seasons rather than doing 1 hunt year over year.

I don’t spend enough time elk hunting on a given tag. Having 4-6 days is a tight time window for out of state hunts.

 

[Whip]

I'll admit it. My biggest weakness is my physical ability, and as I get older (68 now) it is getting progressively worse. It keeps me from diving in to deep holes and getting miles away from the truck. I'm always thinking "how am I going to get a bull out of there if I kill him?". Invariably, at the end of the season I think back to situations and think what a dummy I was for not taking advantage of every opportunity that was presented. I wish I was more of a beast.

 

[bz_711]

Living in the midwest and only hunting 5-6 days per year.

 

[striped1]

I hunt OTC archery on public land. I shoot the first legal elk I see. I am over 50% success but I have never shot an antlered bull. I prefer eating elk to not eating elk.

 

[robtattoo]

I'm fat as shit & live 2000 miles away from where I hunt.

 

[NE Herd Bull]

I see myself in virtually every post that has been offered.

But I will add my own person nemesis:
I am stone cold deaf in my right ear (well except for the constant tinnitus ringing).
I have GREAT difficulty identifying direction of sound.

Imagine hearing a bugle or a cow call, and having absolutely no idea what direction it came from, or which way to go to walk towards it.
Frustrates the he!! out me

 

[cnelk]

I can’t lay off a big ol tasty cow

 

[trophyhunt]

Putting in for 20 years and not drawing a branched bull permit of any kind. I have to be the most unlucky person in this state drawing tags.

28 years for me, but my biggest issue now is getting older. I love hunting by myself and relying on people sucks, but I just can not hike in as far and expect to get an elk out solo. You younger, hungry hunters, get your butts in the back country and live it up!! There will come a day when it may end, at 54 in a few days, I'll still go for it, but it's definitely getting harder.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

As with most things, I suffer from Iseemea, I see me a better spot.

 

[Andrew12gauge]

I enjoy hunting other things more and haven’t focused enough on elk hunting


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[NRA4LIFE]

28 years for me, but my biggest issue now is getting older. I love hunting by myself and relying on people sucks, but I just can not hike in as far and expect to get an elk out solo. You younger, hungry hunters, get your butts in the back country and live it up!! There will come a day when it may end, at 54 in a few days, I'll still go for it, but it's definitely getting harder.

Yep. Just turned 60 and going it solo again. I did draw a cow tag though. Only the 2nd in 20 years or so.

 

[mtbkr]

1. Lack of pre-season scouting. I'm so excited for months in advance but for some reason I just have such a hard time getting out scouting. Probably because when I get a free day I just want to get out fly fishing.

2. Patience. It's a constant internal struggle during archery season to wait and be patient during those times when I need to be. My default seems to be just keep covering ground and hunt them spot and stalk as if it were late season rifle. Also, I need to get more confident in my own calling.

3. Other people around. When I see other hunters I lose confidence and always feel like I just can't get far enough away from them. Maybe I just need to learn where they elk go when they get pressured by other hunters in certain areas.

4. Getting too consumed by work and not dedicating time to working out consistently. I'm not that old yet but I feel older than I did 7 or 8 years ago...

 

[jtevanMT]

1. I like to sleep in a warm bed (trailer, home, cabin, etc) instead of in the woods. I will often get up early and hike or bike 2-5 miles before first light and return to camp at dark. I spend way too much time and energy getting to and from a warm bed rather than staying in a spike camp near the elk.

2. Push too hard when wind is changing or swirling rather than wait for conditions to change. Not enough patience.

3. Always need to see what is over the next ridge.