my first elk hunt, suggestions, tips and stories please?

[eflanders]

The suggestion of using a tree as a background is excellent advice for many reasons.  Some of of the reasons that aren't real obvious are: 1). you can then use the tree to make raking sounds.  2). it is a perfect place to have a montana decoy hanging from a limb and to cow call from  3). if the tree is a pine or cedar, breaking off a branch and rubbing the scent on you will help mask your odor and the sound of breaking the branch is like an animal raking or moving.

[FerretWYO]

The tree thing got me thinking a little.

Likely the most common mistake made in elk hunting is skylining.

The common thing many people do is run up to a tree and stand behind it and think they can move all over. In Fact you are much better off to sit in front of the tree. Idealy if you can have front cover and a background do it. If you have to make a choice choose background.

[Tav]

I highly recommend trying to network with people who actually hunt the area you are considering.  Elk act differently from area to area and time of the season.  I really like the Bull Hooker for locating and bringing them from a distance.  Then use a diaphragm.  Learn a hyperhot with the Bull Hooker and diaphragm, learn a lost calf, learn general cow calls.  Practice with a CD while you are driving.  If you are in their kitchen while calling for a herd bull you will definitely have satellite bulls come in, so have your head on a swivel.  A very important note is that when you see an elk you better immediately look for more elk all around you.  Do not get fixated on the first elk you see because there will always be others in the area and they are the ones who blow first, and they might be within bow range.  Don't just focus on calling in bulls, but call the cows too.

[skilonbw]

So adding on to the tree thing one thing I like to carry is a piece of camo netting that I can use to help make a temporary blind if I find a place I want to do a setup on. Regarding the herd thing I like to look for the places the cows are after all the bulls join the herd as they go in to rut so if I can find the herds of cows then I can use that to my advantage to have a shot on either a cow or bull, but it also increases the odds of being busted.

[Greg Clark]

1. Get in shape
2.  Get in shape
3.  Get in shape

DIY elk hunts are great fun and a lot of work.  The better your conditioning the more fun it is and the greater your chance of success..  

Did I mention get in shape            And no matter what happens, soak it all in and enjoy yourself because it is a great experience.

[Greg Clark]

1. Get in shape
2.  Get in shape
3.  Get in shape

DIY elk hunts are great fun and a lot of work.  The better your conditioning the more fun it is and the greater your chance of success..  

Did I mention get in shape            And no matter what happens, soak it all in and enjoy yourself because it is a great experience.

[jhg]

The first season I hunted wapiti I approached the elk woods as if I was hunting whitetails- After a while I realized that was a big mistake.
 
Eventually, and after a LOT of miles and long days, I found myself 45 yards away from a 6x6 herd bull. I was caught out in the open, next to a lone ponderosa pine.
 For almost 30 mintues I watched this stud rake a tree while he kept (I swear!) one eye on this new tree stub (me).
 My left leg started to shake, my bow hand cramped. I wanted to shift weight onto my other foot so badly I would have given almost anything to be able to do that.
 I also wanted to take this bull, but knew that with his eye on me and the distance, it just was not ethical. Considering my skill at that distance and how far he could move while the arrow was in the air, I just could not do it.

Finally he broke away fron the tree he had pretty much destroyed, and laying his rack back along his flank, turned the cows back into the timber.
Last I saw of him, Mr Everything was a mile away on a south slope, tending his girls.

On the long hike out, this short sentence kept popping into my head: That was great! That was Great! That was great!

I got the elk bug that day, big time...

Have fun!

Joshua

[donnyjack]

You'll love the mountains, here's a view of the South San Jean Wilderness.  Have  a Great time and Good Luck !!


 

[twitchstick]

I'm not an expert but heres my 2 cents.
1. Enjoy yourself. Too many people I see put too much pressure on themself.
2. Keep the wind in your advantage at all times.
3. Cover ground until you find fresh sign.
4. Find the style of hunting that works for you, not for someone else. I do better still hunting and ambushing (wallows/water or between bedding areas/feeding areas) but thats me.
5. Have enough the time to do it right.
6. Enjoy yourself!

[jhg]

When it gets hot and you are working hard, you can/will consume a lot of water, so never cross a source without topping up if you are down a half or more. You may not cross another source again that day and may regret not taking the time. This is where a good fast purifier is important. We want to hunt, not stop and take 15 minutes to filter.

Ken, you may already have your water purification figured out, but if not, consider the Steripen. Its fast and its proven.
In Colorado the water sources are almost always clear (or easy to find) and perfect for the "pen".
 I have used one for the last 3 years. Way better than carrying more that 32oz of water.

The first year I carried water and many times ran out. Or was lugging 62oz or more all day "just in case" when the day stayed cool.

 A filter or Steripen solves that issue.

Joshua

[jhg]

Originally posted by skilonbw:
...be careful with this since if you bugle for the first time in a morning most herds will know you are fake and move so bugle only the night before to locate the herd...

I agree with this 100% I have heard guys "bugle" first light and having been in the area a lot myself already and tuned in, it sounds way way un-natural.

Try a Bugle at around 2pm. Just once or twice. Like a bull locating after the nap, telling his cows or other elk he is there.

[will_hunt]

TAKE AT LEAST ONE TREESTAND. It is better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. FIND A SECLUDED WATER SOURCE. Preferably a well used spring emanating from the ground--you will know it when you see it the smell alone will give it away. Another Idahoan stated earlier in this thread, "elk are a lot more like whitetails than people know". I am an Alabama whitetail hunter who first climbed a tree in 1972. I moved to Idaho to hunt elk. The resemblance in behavior is remarkable. I have far more trail cam pics of  bulls at night than daylight. The days of simply walking out there and blowing a bugle and then killing a bull are long gone. GET IN SHAPE cannot be stressed enough. Kill yourself cross training and then shoot a round or two of arrows if you want to see how good a shape you are in. No matter what happens TAKE TIME TO REMIND YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE ELK HUNTING--one of the great gifts that the gods have to offer! ENJOY YOURSELF!!! COME BACK ANYTIME.

[Geezer]

Five pages of good advice, but I'm going to give you some great advice:  Do not come to Colorado without a HUNTER SAFETY CARD!!

I work for DOW and it's pretty hard to tell a hunter whose driven all the way out from Virginia and is trying to buy a license that without a Hunter Safety Course and Card that he can't hunt in Colorado.