Whitetail to Elk

[SteveBurton]

I lived in MD and have hunted whitetail in MD, PA and VA for almost 40 years now. I can say that there is very little that will convey from whitetail to elk hunting. Heck, even hunting whitetail/coues in AZ is totally different than back East.
Hunting elk depends on what season you are in. Early, late, rut? Early isn't as bad because they haven't been pressured as much. Rut, the bulls are kind of dumb but not as bad as bucks looking for a hot date. Late is freaking hard.
Be ready to glass a lot and practice looking for parts of the animal in cover. If you don't see anything, don't be afraid to move, a lot. You'll be hunting big country and thinking that something will show up because the area looks good won't work out most of the time.
Unless you are bow hunting, you don't have to worry as much about camo and being scent free but you do need to pay attention to the wind.
Practice long shots with your rifle. You may not need to shoot 500+ yards but if you do, be ready. This year, my buddy shot his bull at 134 yards. Mine showed up at 635 yards with only 20 minutes of shooting light left so I didn't have time to close the distance.

 

[Npike4040]

I'm a mediocre whitetail hunter at best.....but I sure do have good luck killing elk.

I'm right there with ya! I thought i was doing something right but apparently i'm just lucky...i'll take luck anytime i can get it!

 

[Szwampdonkey]

I’ve been listening to podcast, watching YouTube, pretty much all of the tools available. I think I have a better than average chance of encountering animals with my skill set, but just wanted to hear from anyone who has directly made the game transition.

Not trying to be a prick. But nothing you need to know is on a podcast or Youtube. You just gotta go and learn on the fly, develop the woodsmanship, etc. You should learn to slow down and enjoy that process cause that’s where the real reward is. The Elk will come eventually.

 

[fatlander]

In my limited experience, it always comes down to shooting for archery elk. I’ve yet to go on an elk hunt that a bull wasn’t dead to rights. Making the shots has been the issue for the group of guys I hunt with. Aggressive bulls coming in hot, at eye level, is so much different than shooting a cracked out deer from a tree.

I agree with what’s been said above that elk are much more like turkeys than deer. If turkey hunting to you is sticking a decoy in a field and waiting, elk hunting is going to be tough. If you cut your teeth on running and gunning, killing turkeys with woodsmanship, you’ll do fine.


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[Indian Summer]

I would agree with that for the most part. Elknut’s podcasts are a good way to learn about calling. But that won’t do much good if you can’t find elk to call.

I feel that way about e-scouting. You might as well throw a dart at a map. You can pick several areas and come up with a plan to go there and scout it. But until you put boots on the ground you really won’t learn anything. I’ve ridden horses into areas that were far enough from roads to have very low pressure. Places that had everything elk need. Got back there and no elk. I don’t know why but I don’t stick around to find out. Onto the next potential spot. On the flip side, it’s not uncommon to find elk where they’re not supposed to be according to everything you read on the wonderful worldwide web.

Interestingly once I became a successful elk hunter I did learn how to hunt elk on a map. As long as there are actually elk in the area I’ll find them. That didn’t take years. It took a lifetime. Decades and decades and lots of dead elk…. And more that got away.