Post by 340wby on Aug 26, 2005 15:20:14 GMT -5
OVER THE YEARS IVE LEARNED A FEW THINGS THAT SOME OF THE GUYS OVERLOOK SO I FELT I SHOULD POINT THEM OUT TO HELP, ESPECIALLY,! THE NEWER GUYS
now in no particular order, a few things that get overlooked OR IGNORED that YOU DO NEED TO BE AWARE OF if you intend to be successful!
first it makes no sence at all to be wasting time hunting ELK where they are FEW and where theres little chance of seeing one!
DO THE HOMEWORK, talk to the biologists, wardens,ranchers,ETC.
while they can,t tell you exactly where the herd is they can usually point to areas they are not currently useing!
don,t ignore the low elevations , if theres good water and cover elk can and do go into rolling hills and even creek bottoms at times.
yet year after year I see guys hunt, the whole season,in the same drainage from the same camp site, simply because they ocasionally see ELK SIGN,
ELK cover a VAST area, you NEED to locate the herds, and hunt the areas the herd is CURRENTLY IN THAT DAY!!! to be successful on a regular basis
you need to move camp, to follow the herds
tips
locate the water and food sources, especially in dry areas as this tends to hold the herds to some extent at least durring part of the day
locate natural travel restrictors, like rivers,canyons,highways, high fence lines, sadles on ridges, steep cliffs,ETC. while they may not stop elk they tend to route the herds
WATCH THE WIND, and stay out of prime bedding areas or youll be likely to push the herd out of your immediate area.
don,t push the cows, while a bull may circle, spook a cow badly and she may travel to the next drainage
don,t call unless you can really sound reasonably like an ELK bad calling HURTS not helps, you need to practice useing real elk on tapes to get both the sound and cadence correct
next
the HUNTING PARTNERS you choose can go a long way towards making or breaking a hunt!
make very sure ALL the details of who pays what, or who is responsiable for what, is firmly set before the hunt,and its almost always better to have a small group than one new guy on an out of state hunt! while its best to check out new guys on short local hunts first , thats not always an option. but it makes little sence to cancel a hunt early youve waited all year for and spent big bucks on, so choose your partners with great care!
next
glass constantly,travel light,be prepared to move as needed!,and DON,T expect to see much from the roads! you NEED to put in some effort and get AWAY from the easy access areas to increase your chances.
if your archery hunting youll usually have the advantage of fewer hunters as competition and you might even have the RUT and be able to call ELK, but even when you DON,T carry and use a COW CALL, it can allow you to get in closer in many cases
next
your clothes should be BOTH quite and warm, dull in color at a minimum and hopefully in a camo that matches the area your hunting.FLEECE camo is a PLUS in most cases
boots that fit, and have good ankle support are extremely important.
next
nothing that flashes, reflects light, clinks,creaks, rattles,squeeks,smells.or krinkles needs or should be with you, keep in the shadows and don,t expose yourself on ridge tops
next
take the time to practice EXTENSIVELY with your weapon of choice!
if you can,t make the first shot count, you probably are NOT going to be successfull on a regular basis
next
learn to use TOPO MAPS
they can give you a good deal of info if you understand both the ELK and human nature
as an example
if you look over an area and one area is rolling hills with roads and camp grounds every few miles while the other area is steep cliffs,thick timbered slopes and no road access, you can be reasonably sure that after opening day, the ELK will retreat to the more distant areas andand less accessable areas and that the areas nearer the roads will soon appear as a PUMPKIN PATCH of orange jackets, with few ELK, sure a few ELK will be shot durring the herds movement, but the better hunters will take advantage of both the movement and the remote areas potential.
use topo maps and GLASS constantly, ELK DON,T like BUZY areas and ROAD TRAFFIC look for areas that won,t have a lot of people simply because they are more difficult to reach easily
generally NORTH and EAST facing slopes and thick timber will be where ELK hang out rather than the more open and less timbered south and west facing slopes
NEXT
no matter what physical shape you THINK your in...EXERCISE MORE OFTEN, it WILL help! trust me! constant walking at 7000-11000 ft of altitude comon to ELK hunts, ESPECIALL with a HEAVY backpack is a TOTALLY differant deal than it seems to be at lower altitudes
next
never shoot an ELK unless you have both the ability and skill/tools/manpower to get that ELK out of the area and processed in a reasonable time frame and without wasting the meat
www.jacksonholewyoming.net/elk/
home.att.net/~sajackson/elk.html
members.tripod.com/~elkhunter2/
www.nbef.org/elk_java.html
now in no particular order, a few things that get overlooked OR IGNORED that YOU DO NEED TO BE AWARE OF if you intend to be successful!
first it makes no sence at all to be wasting time hunting ELK where they are FEW and where theres little chance of seeing one!
DO THE HOMEWORK, talk to the biologists, wardens,ranchers,ETC.
while they can,t tell you exactly where the herd is they can usually point to areas they are not currently useing!
don,t ignore the low elevations , if theres good water and cover elk can and do go into rolling hills and even creek bottoms at times.
yet year after year I see guys hunt, the whole season,in the same drainage from the same camp site, simply because they ocasionally see ELK SIGN,
ELK cover a VAST area, you NEED to locate the herds, and hunt the areas the herd is CURRENTLY IN THAT DAY!!! to be successful on a regular basis
you need to move camp, to follow the herds
tips
locate the water and food sources, especially in dry areas as this tends to hold the herds to some extent at least durring part of the day
locate natural travel restrictors, like rivers,canyons,highways, high fence lines, sadles on ridges, steep cliffs,ETC. while they may not stop elk they tend to route the herds
WATCH THE WIND, and stay out of prime bedding areas or youll be likely to push the herd out of your immediate area.
don,t push the cows, while a bull may circle, spook a cow badly and she may travel to the next drainage
don,t call unless you can really sound reasonably like an ELK bad calling HURTS not helps, you need to practice useing real elk on tapes to get both the sound and cadence correct
next
the HUNTING PARTNERS you choose can go a long way towards making or breaking a hunt!
make very sure ALL the details of who pays what, or who is responsiable for what, is firmly set before the hunt,and its almost always better to have a small group than one new guy on an out of state hunt! while its best to check out new guys on short local hunts first , thats not always an option. but it makes little sence to cancel a hunt early youve waited all year for and spent big bucks on, so choose your partners with great care!
next
glass constantly,travel light,be prepared to move as needed!,and DON,T expect to see much from the roads! you NEED to put in some effort and get AWAY from the easy access areas to increase your chances.
if your archery hunting youll usually have the advantage of fewer hunters as competition and you might even have the RUT and be able to call ELK, but even when you DON,T carry and use a COW CALL, it can allow you to get in closer in many cases
next
your clothes should be BOTH quite and warm, dull in color at a minimum and hopefully in a camo that matches the area your hunting.FLEECE camo is a PLUS in most cases
boots that fit, and have good ankle support are extremely important.
next
nothing that flashes, reflects light, clinks,creaks, rattles,squeeks,smells.or krinkles needs or should be with you, keep in the shadows and don,t expose yourself on ridge tops
next
take the time to practice EXTENSIVELY with your weapon of choice!
if you can,t make the first shot count, you probably are NOT going to be successfull on a regular basis
next
learn to use TOPO MAPS
they can give you a good deal of info if you understand both the ELK and human nature
as an example
if you look over an area and one area is rolling hills with roads and camp grounds every few miles while the other area is steep cliffs,thick timbered slopes and no road access, you can be reasonably sure that after opening day, the ELK will retreat to the more distant areas andand less accessable areas and that the areas nearer the roads will soon appear as a PUMPKIN PATCH of orange jackets, with few ELK, sure a few ELK will be shot durring the herds movement, but the better hunters will take advantage of both the movement and the remote areas potential.
use topo maps and GLASS constantly, ELK DON,T like BUZY areas and ROAD TRAFFIC look for areas that won,t have a lot of people simply because they are more difficult to reach easily
generally NORTH and EAST facing slopes and thick timber will be where ELK hang out rather than the more open and less timbered south and west facing slopes
NEXT
no matter what physical shape you THINK your in...EXERCISE MORE OFTEN, it WILL help! trust me! constant walking at 7000-11000 ft of altitude comon to ELK hunts, ESPECIALL with a HEAVY backpack is a TOTALLY differant deal than it seems to be at lower altitudes
next
never shoot an ELK unless you have both the ability and skill/tools/manpower to get that ELK out of the area and processed in a reasonable time frame and without wasting the meat
www.jacksonholewyoming.net/elk/
home.att.net/~sajackson/elk.html
members.tripod.com/~elkhunter2/
www.nbef.org/elk_java.html