2011 elk gear, tactics, preperation

[jhg]

Originally posted by Talondale:
 

Originally posted by jhg:

You can also cook the meals inside them to save on having to wipe out your billy pot.

Joshua

I wouldn't do that.  I've been considering BIB (boil in bag) meals but my research revealed that plastic "ziploc" bags aren't good for this. ...[/b]

Thanks for that info.

Joshua

[SwampWarrior]

I have been training for the upcoming deer season with a skid steer tire. I drilled a hole into it, attached an eye bolt with a chain and built a harness. One could buy a deer drag harness if you are lazy.  It adds a lot of resistance to just walking and going up hills is devilish. Just walking on flat ground gives the feeling of walking uphill. One has to lean forward as if leaning up a hill. I use it for general fitness and if I am lucky enough to deflate a deers lungs I will have to drag it through roughly 1-2 miles of woods. Now if you think you are real tough try sprinting with it.

[Knotter]

MN - I plan to use an Integral Designs bivy sac and tarp on an early season elk hunt this fall up here in Alberta.  I would go with just a tarp but we have extreme temp and precipitation swings and i dont mind the extra lb in my bag.  I cary vortex binos - 3rd season with them and I haven't looked back.  A set of hiking poles - they have alot of uses other than just for hiking plus if you have success your knees and ankles with thank you.

Just a thought.  Pack and repack your bag and cary it loaded with the main gear you plan to use and at a rest stop - unpack an repack your stuff.  You would be surprised how much better you get at it and how you get a sixth sense for what you have with you.  You will make better use of pockets and know where you gear is at all times. Some other stuff I will be using - A gransfors axe and Thorlo cold weather socks (these are the toughest thing I have ever put my feet in-EVER!

Last,  

- DIY trail food is pretty much a guarantee to have less salt in it than mountain house stuff. The salt content of this stuff is off the charts.  Rather than the bag option  cook it in your pot and use a tortilla to clean up the mess - think of it as an edible dish rag.  There are lots of great recipes out there.  ounce for ounce - you can easily create the super food you need and it wont dehydrate you.

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Elk season is 40 days out for me! I am shooting a ton, and just started shooting with my new broad heads. They fly the same as my field points but my mind gets psyched out by the 2" wide blade still. So it's Target Panic drills with broad heads for a couple of weeks, along with my normal shooting routine, to be ready for the season. I will be shooting my Toelke Whip which is 55 lb @ 28" but I draw to 31". For arrows I shoot full length GT Trad 7595 with 100 gr inserts and 165 gr. Simmons tree sharks on 100 gr adapters.
As for workouts, i can just hike around in the mountains right where I plan to hunt elk.

[eidsvolling]

For everyone who is working on getting in shape for elk country: The number one unpleasant surprise for many people in the mountains is the pain they experience from going downhill in steep terrain. Many road runners, cyclists and swimmers with great cardio bases get a nasty shock about what needs to be conditioned for traveling in the mountains. And when you add a heavy pack, the risk of knee injury from an unconditioned joint is potentially catastrophic.

If you have hills, get on them now, with a progressively heavier pack. If you don't have hills, get on the emergency stairs of the nearby tall buildings. I personally don't think a stairmaster or the like is much use for this, but YMMV.

[smiley]

i dehyrate my own meals it is cheaper and tasty for backcountry meals.I use msr windpro stove cause I can simmer with that sleeping under kifaru tarp

[Pete McMiller]

Charles, you are absolutely correct.  I have bad knees anyway and have found that packing a hind quarter of an elk down the mountain lays me up for a whole day afterwards.  First thing I look for are at least one if not two walking sticks to keep me from twisting my knees too bad.  I don't know of anything that prepares my knees for that kind of punishment.

[two4hooking]

I am getting ready here also.  First time in CO after 5 years in Idaho and NM.  Will be hunting unit 81 with new bear TD 55# with 600+ grain doug fir and 145 2 blade eclipse.  Lots of hockey and running hills...hoping the cardio benefit will help with the altidute issues from MD to CO.

Greg

[durp]

sure glad to see some of you guys getting all jacked up about elk season...this will be my 45th so im a little slow about getting excited...after me and the boys (4 horses) pack in camp and clean a few trails before season ill start getting a bit more excited about it...

here's a tipical day for me...up an hour before daylight...feed horses...make coffee and eat a bit...get my son out of bed...shoot a few arrows in the meadow while we wait for the wind to change direction then go slip into one of our honey holes and see what's up...take a nap late morning then give the bulls another try early in afternoon...take another nap...hunt till the wind changes directions again then eat supper...feed horses...relax and look at pic's of bulls we didn't get a shot at...talk about why we didn't get a shot or why we missed...sack out and try again tomarrow.

somewhere along the way a bull will die and we'll pack it out and the kid will take it to town while i go back in and relax and take napes.

it's always sad when it's over but that's when deer season starts!!!

HOPE each of you enjoy your hunts as much as i do...relax a bit youll have more fun!!!

[mnbearbaiter]

Ive tried makin my own dehydrated "Super Food", and although cheaper and containing way less sodium, i think ill stick with the Mountain House! Ive tried all of the entrees i think, as well as some BackPackers Pantry! At the end of a hard day of walking, a little sodium shouldnt hurt in my book, its the only source ill get it from other the mineral supplements that ill be taking like Wilderness Athlete! Ive packed and unpacked my pack several times, and it is kinda weird that after doin it so many times i think i could do it blind folded! Just got done with a short little 3 miler for a maintenance run, been doin weight circuit in the am before work(a construction job), and a mid length run in the pm! If youve been watching the weather channel at all, you will see that the pm heat in MN has been brutal this summer, but i havent missed a beat!!! Cant wait to put it all together!

[buckster]

I've been mostly running, but with the heat/humidity wave still in full force, I'm usually keep my runs to around 5 miles & pitifully slow pace if like 10 minute miles.  I am still
at least 12-15 off my target weight right now & am starting to hit my bowflex as well, along with 150 push-ups & sit-ups each day.

I've hunted elk 3 of the last 4 years in CO or OR and for a flatlander it's really difficult to get truly "ready" for N. CO.  I usually drop a couple if holes in my belt every time.  Good luck to everyone.

[Talondale]

I created a    Penny Stove  for heating mid-day meals.  Runs on Denatured Alcohol and gets water hot enough for cocoa in 3 minutes at 2K elevation, rolling boil in 6 minutes.

[PaddyMac]

I'm down 63 pounds. I had to lay off the weights because of the new house. I'm still hitting the hills hard. I should be back up to three sets, three days per week on the iron by the opener.

My tuning is done, just need to finish my strike plate build up. Then get acclimated to my new bow quiver which is on the way. I'm shooting twice a day and I'm right on schedule group-wise. Can't shoot more than 3 arrows at the same spot at less than 25 yards. The stuffed chipmunk and hedgehog chew toys have really helped.  

Mostly though I'm scouting. I'm going to try and do something crazy hard this year: get an elk in north central WA where there just plain aren't a lot of them. But I can get a branch antlered bull with an OTC tag ... IF ... I can find the needle in the haystack.

What I'm going to need is inside info and that's what I'm working on with the outfitters and cattle guys. That and maps and microscoping elk management plans.

My fall back is the Colockum (or Naneum) but it gets hit so awful hard I'd rather hunt with marginal prospects.  

Good luck everybody. It's coming up fast.

[twitchstick]

I have keep fairly active this winter and spring biking and hiking with a load on until about a mounth ago. Then work and chores have made things crazy for me,barely even shoot my bow anymore. I only have 24 days to the elk hunt starts so it's crunch time for me. I will be able to scout 3 to 4 nights a week now and even found a few to watch this last weekend.
 I'm a ambush and still hunter mainly by heart but I will use what ever tactic fits the oppertunity. I keep a old camp trailer and have a cabin on the mountian I use as base camps. I will bivy on weekends and day hike form the house/cabin/trailer depending where I'm hunting from. This is my only big game tag I have this year so I can just focus on elk,which maybe real nice instead of always being side tracked by mule deer.  LB 58" 64@28 580+ grains of a carbon tip with snuffers and grizzlys.

[Pat B]

I went on my first elk hunt is '06 in the San Juan Mountains of S W Colorado. I had 8 months to prepare for that hunt(got most of my info here on TG). I worked up to my 60# pack gradually as I increased my walking and climbing. I'm somewhat fortunate to live at 2600' and could take a few hikes up to 6200" with full pack. It isn't 10,000' but it is way better than sea level. All of this training really helped as I didn't have any adverse effects from the altitude or stregnuous terrain.
  On Sept. 2 of this year I'll be heading back to Durango for my second elk hunt but this time I haven't had the time to prep before hand because of work , life, etc. Most of my strenguous exercise is during my work day doing landscaope maintanence carrying either a back pack blower or back pack sprayer. I live in the mountains of Western NC so the hills here help with my workout and I purposely exert myself when I can. I'm in pretty good shape and walk these hills on a daily basis as a regular rutine but I wish I had more time to give to a regular exercise program like I did in '06. I turned 61 today and don't know how many more, if any chances I'll have to get back out there.  
  We will begin our hike in at the trail head at 10,000' and pack down to about 9000' in about a 4 mile hike. We will be in camp for 6 to 8 days. My hunting gear will consist of a 60" osage static recurve of my own making, 56#@26" and home made hill cane or sourwood shoot arrows with home made trade points. These arrows come in at between 650gr to 700 gr.
 If we are lucky enough to take an elk, my host's wife will bring horses in so we can pack out our gear and meat. Otherwise we will be on foot.
   If you have never been to the high country of Colorado you will be blown away at the vastness and beauty of the area. I remember Ray Hammond here on TG mentioning how awsome the night time skies are out there and his words didn't do them justice. Just being out in those beautiful mountains made my trip a success even though the elk hadn't come down from the real high country when we were there.

[mnbearbaiter]

Id say im probably down 20 or so, i can really feel the difference! I was in great shape before, but maybe splurged a little bit! Ive virtually done away with any booze what so ever for a few months, and other than work and bills i have no distractions other than something dealing with elk hunting, be it training or shooting, testing gear, reading up on elk, practicing with calls, etc!