1st elk hunt stories?

[J-dog]

Thought something fun, and hopefully informative?, would be some first experience elk hunting stories.

Crews coming from East going west for first hunt, elk mule deer whatever? Was it DIY? guided, drop camp?

Not long drawn out but really a first impression? good things, bad things, equipment things? tactics? what would you do different things?

Really sunk my teeth into going 2018 with my daughter, not letting the wife take back her permission for us to go! lol - found my spot I am going and just really looking at a map I thought?? what will it be like?

anyhow thought it might be fun and possibly helpful to newbies and experienced alike.

J

[MnFn]

I lucked into a spot that my son found out about when he moved to CO.

That first morning was magical.  We had three or four Bulls bugling around us in the dark. I will never forget that.

I have not experienced the like of that since. I did manage to call a young but legal bull in but I did not get a shot at him til he was leaving and that was about 35 yards- too far for me.

But, I loved the experience.

[monterey]

My first was many years ago in the white river flat tops.  Me the wife and our two little girls in a pop up camper.  My Ford Torino was not exactly a back country vehicle but I had a dirt bike.

Spent three days on the bike approaching canyons and valleys from above and called down and finally located elk. ( All travel on the bike was legal).

Next morning I was in the valley before daylight and raised a call from a bull on up the valley.  I stalker him and was able to get the shot.

Took the rest of the day to get the meat out to the bike and it was too late to transport five miles to camp.

About midnight a father and son who I had met while packing roared up to camp in there jeep with my elk on board.  That's the kind of folks you like to meet in the woods.

[-Zor]

I missed the part where it said "not long and drawn out". Things I learned:
-Be prepared to not be the only apex predator on the mountain. Things might get interesting.
-Cutting up a bull elk on the ground is a HUGE undertaking for one person. Be prepared to get creative when it comes to rolling over an animal that big and bring a tarp or two to set the meat on as you debone, if you debone.
-Go farther in than you think other hunters are willing to go and don't be surprised if you see other hunters or hear their bugles.
-The experience is the most valuable part. Don't forget to breath deep and enjoy your surroundings. You'll be surprised at how soon you'll miss the quite and solitude.

[-Zor]

[-Zor]

[-Zor]

[Michael Arnette]

Two stories from my first elk hunt in 2015:
Total learning curve! I had a very exciting encounter with a mountain lion that was pretty intense.
Also, I didn't bring enough grouse arrows and ended up emptying the remaining few arrows into a grouse only to see a cow elk walking at the steady pace the elk love alongside the opposite side of the canyon. By the time I recovered my last two arrows the elk had disappeared...Now I have an 8 arrow bow quiver that I use to avoid this dilemma and still allow me to shoot at all the grouse I want to.

[Michael Arnette]

Ohh and the other story has to do with fletching treatment to waterproof the fletchings, the fist year I applied the waterproofing but didn't test it and my fletchings were useless for the wetter part of the trip. Now I use goose feathers and also apply a dry fly fishing spray to the feathers for extra water proofing.

[longbow fanatic 1]

The biggest thing I learned on my first hunt to the Cabinet Mountains in western MT. was take care of your feet. Carry extra wicking and wool socks. Change them mid day while airing out your bare feet and boots. Carry moleskin and duct tape and get after "hot spots" on the first day you feel them. I had a friend with me who developed blisters on day four of a six day hunt. Game over for him, unfortunately. This was a fully guided hunt and you don't want to pay that kind of cash only to have these problems.

[Michael Arnette]

Ohh and the other story has to do with fletching treatment to waterproof the fletchings, the fist year I applied the waterproofing but didn't test it and my fletchings were useless for the wetter part of the trip. Now I use goose feathers and also apply a dry fly fishing spray to the feathers for extra water proofing.

[Julian]

A few friends and myself drove  from Alabama to Jackson Hole last year. Not knowing what to expect we took everything but the kitchen sink and did a modified truck camping hunt where we floated a canoe in to our hunting area and camped. We didn't need half the stuff we dragged up there, I would say make sure everything you take has a good reason to be there. All the other information I've read has been solid. I needed ten times the grouse arrows I brought!!! Also I would say don't get to caught up in feeling like you have to do everything "out west style" I caught my biggest cutthroat trout in the slack water behind a bridge piling in the snake river with traffic roaring overhead, with a spinning reel and a rapala. It just like hunting back home with bigger meaner critters!!!

[stevem]

My brother shot a cow the first year we hunted elk (with a Bear grizzly recurve).  We were in shock at how big she was.  Just reaching in to deal with the guts was way past the elbows.  We didn't have packs, and carried out legs and backstraps and pieces.  For sure be prepared at the vehicle with bags, packs, etc.  We probably didn't think we would kill anything, and were not prepared for dealing with an animal of that size.  Luckily we were only a mile or so from a road we could get to.

[Missouri Sherpa]

I went bowhunting for elk in 1994 for the first time.

I was lucky and killed an elk.

Big mistake.  I was hooked.

I have been many times since.  It will consume your life.  For many years my mind would wander to the elk timber several times every day.  I couldn't seem to get enough of it.

I am not fully cured of it yet but doing better.
 
Be careful what you ask for.

[ESP]

I went the first time in 94. Killed an elk never thought much more about elk hunting. I did get addicted to muledeer. Still have not got one. Go figure.

[newhouse114]

I am fortunate to live in the middle of rosy heaven. Bad part is that a lot of the timberland is now going to private leases. I still have a few ranches to hunt though. One of the best is a place where the owner limited me to shooting cows. Didn't bother me in the least. I had my fill of trophy hunting as a guide in Alaska. There was a small clump of tall grass in the middle of a clover field with me kneeling down in the center of it. When the herd came out I was surrounded on all sides with elk, mostly cows but one nice bull that I couldn't shoot! The cows were staying just beyond the 30 yard limit I had placed on myself. Most of the herd wandered away and I was wondering how I was going to exit the field without spooking them into never never land. At almost dark, two cows came out and fed to within 28 yards. I drew, aimed released, saw the arrow skylined above the elk, it dropped down and I lost sight of it. Then the "plock" of a hit. I had no idea where the arrow hit. The cow took off down the field to the rest of the herd and stopped. Then made two full speed circles around the herd, stopped again, then took off for the timber. The rest of the herd follows after a couple of minutes. I got out of there and my son and I went back in at daylight. We found a whole one drop of blood in the field. We went to where she went into the timber and the blood trail was such that Stevie Wonder could have followed it. About 80 yards in was my first trad elk. Many more have followed that one over the years but there is only one "first"!

[KodaChuck]

Opening day in Colorado - 2015. First time elk hunting. I was hunting with a buddy and we split up after walking in about an hour in the dark straight uphill. Not real sure about what to do....I found a likely looking spot and sat down next to an evergreen to watch the sunrise. Shortly thereafter, I look up the side of the mountain and a big bull is headed my way. I say to myself "this Elk hunting business is pretty easy." He keeps coming. I count several points on a side and then stop looking at the antlers because it is only making me more anxious. The bull stops at 35 yards raking his antlers behind a tree....Two more steps to a 25 yard shot. My wind indicator powder is slowly roll ing straight to  the big fella. He never took the next 2 steps....In 5 seconds, he winded me, and bolted keeping the tree between me and him. My first lesson....And I have been hooked ever since.

[J-dog]

Originally posted by Missouri Sherpa:
I went bowhunting for elk in 1994 for the first time.

I was lucky and killed an elk.

Big mistake.  I was hooked.

I have been many times since.  It will consume your life.  For many years my mind would wander to the elk timber several times every day.  I couldn't seem to get enough of it.

I am not fully cured of it yet but doing better.
 
Be careful what you ask for.

Haven't you posted some of those hunts here on Tgang?