DIY elk hunting- how to get started

[Beanbag]

Great advice in this tread, keep it coming. JG

[Autumnarcher]

Strategy- Pre season scouting is impossible for me, so like most NR hunters, we have to find them sneaky buggers when we get out there.

I'll be in camp a couple days before the season, so we can do a little scouting and glassing.
First week- check oak brush on the north slopes if hot, to see if theyre in there eating acorns.
If not, then get up high, and glass and scout some north facing cooler benches, try to find some active wallows and feeding areas.

AS the weather cools, and the elk start moving a bit more, try to stay on any we have found, start doing a little calling as we still hunt benches etc. I bugle very sparingly, unless I find a bull I want to annoy, and try to get agitated enough to come in to fight. Otherwise, I just cow call a little here and there.

If we can locate a couple groups of elk, just prior to muzzleloader season we'll head in a little deeper, in hopes the ML guys will push them to us. hopefully be in a postion to cut them off.

Later season, I do more calling. By then it depends on pressure in the area, weather, and stages of the rut. Like I mentioned before, Im surely no expert, there are a lot of guys with far more experience than I. But Im flexible.
Im taking a treestand along, whether it ever comes out of the truck remains to be seen. I dont mind sitting a hot water hole in the evenings,or for a few hours mid-day.

If all else fails, I can take a day off here and there and catch some trout for the campfire.

[Overspined]

In colorado, my buddy's flashlight died in the bush, on a dense mountainside 3 miles from a road. I happened to be able to radio him and directed him out as I thought I was relatively close to him, lucky for him I was right and just decided to try him.

I have run into both bears and a cougar at very close range. I kind of wish i had a sidearm to pack. No scares, but a little nerve wrenching knowing you're sharing the top of the food chain.

[Autumnarcher]

Read this today, and it makes a world of sense.

As a DIY elk hunter- YOU ARE YOUR OWN GUIDE- you client has paid good money for this hunt. Give him nothing but your best effort.

That is from an ebook my Jim Deeming called Do It Yourself Elk Hunting. Its a great info packed read.

[Potoo]

I know its been a while since this was posted but I just got Mikes book too and while I was already one who fantisized a diy elk hunt, now I'm in a planning mode. I hope to start next year with a diy moose hunt [its closer]

[Autumnarcher]

Thanks to everyone who commented and contributed to this thread. Im down to 6 days and a wake up before months of planning and dreaming are set aside, and piling in the truck and getting  this adventure underway.

To say Im climbing the walls doesnt do it justice. The gear is packed,staged and ready. All that remains is a few very minor things,adding the last item to each of the food packs,picking up some batteries and a little more 550 cord.

Im blessed to have the means to be able to take such a long hunting trip, and to be able to finally realize the dream of doing such. God willing I can repeat it again next year, but for now Im happy to get this one underway.

Just a couple of side notes- the arrows I hunt with are fletched with turkey feathers given to me from many friends who are far better turkey hunters than I am. I carry a small arkansas stone for touching up broadheads that was my Dads, he used it to sharpen his woodworking tools and pocket knife. The extra couple oz it weighs is worth it. My pack is stuffed with quality gear- obtained through the advice and help from many.

But more special to me is the opportunity to have my son with me, to see the amazement in his eyes the first time he lays eye on the Rocky mountains, and to see the fire it will light in his soul flicker to life. He has no clue what he's in store for.

And if our dreaming, planning and preparation pays off, I can realize a dream I've had for many years- to sit by a small fire, cooking elk tenderloin on an arrow shaft skewer, along with a couple of trout, as the sun sets on the mountain range behind camp, sipping a couple fingers of good bourbon from my tin coffee cup.

But should the elk elude our ambitions, the thrill of the hunt, and the sweat of the chase are fine by me.

I wish all the TradGanger's venturing after the great wapiti good luck,and a safe hunt that refreshes your soul.

Bring on those mountain mornings!  I guarantee a good thread when we return, and hopefully a few updates while we're there if I can get a data signal for my iphone.

Lifes short-hunt hard, and remember those who blazed the trail before us.

[Whip]

Travel safe John, and enjoy every second.  As one who shares your passion I know exactly how you feel and know what you have in store.  You are truly living the dream!  

This thread has been a step by step guide that virtually anyone who has the desire can use to pursue their own dreams.  I'm willing to bet there will be more that a few people that will have been motivated by it to take that leap and JUST DO IT!!

[swamprat26]

this is one of the best threads I read yet.  While I may not be going on a elk hunt, I am planning a camping/hunting trip opening week of whitetail season here on public land....The only thing that could make this thread better would be game pics.

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Not far behind you I leave out on Aug 23rd from Texas pointing the truck to Idaho , and dont come back til Oct 2nd.All this has helped me with new ideas for my trip ( Thanks everyone ) will also try keeping everyone informed as the hunt goes on , I will backpack in a week then out to hunt private ground a week then back in a week then out a week on my friends place again a week then home for the whitetail opener for a week then back to the firehouse.These days are going so so slow. Good luck to all and be SAFE ,,,,,,,Sam,,,,,,,,,

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Last years Idaho Bull ( my first ) ,,,,,,Sam,,,,,,,
 
 

[swamprat26]

thats what I'm talking about

[Autumnarcher]

Whip, good luck to you this fall a well. We just might have to combine our efforts next year.
That tent I bought from you will be our base camp, Im looking forward to waking to the smell of the canvas, mized with the pines and quakies.

[3arrows]

The hardest part to DIY elk hunting is the first step west.Glad i did it 30 years ago.

[Beanbag]

Nice bull Sam, I see your using the " twinke " tents lol.Thats the joke when we go to CO. Hard to beat that tent for the price.Heading out on the 24th for CO , getting antsy. Good luck JG

[Talondale]

Still doing last minute prep work.  Re-seasoned skillet set for base camp, waterproofing boots (trying Nikwax, will let you know how that works) and chasing down little things I'm missing.  BTW, I bought 1,000' spool of 550 cord off *bay for a little more than a couple of short sections and just cut my own lengths, much cheaper in the long run.  
 
Hunt safe!

[Mark Normand]

3 annual trips 10 years+ ago, 7-9day intense backpacking trips in..what I remember/learned:

Slow down to a super crawl almost stop speed when discovering fresh signs. Elk are around and amazingly hard to spot sometimes.

Bet some of you guys remember that 'chucking' thread on the LW way back then? Was working a bull in the area, late morn came, thermals changed so I bailed and rested all day nearby, moved in late that pm, and a few light cow calls with lots of chucking sticks, rocks, stomping, brought him -almost...- within range. Man that was close...

Never put your bow down too far out when hunting. Know how you'll get/draw an arrow. Thats all I'll say about that. I blew one, learned, and success the next time a quick opportunity arose.

Backpacking trips... prepare to lose weight, came back 15# less each year from pre-trip weight, and I thought I was already at a good weight.

Filtering water.. I'd do it very often, and keep my bags topped off and drank lots. Never got caught short. It was enjoyable stopping at tiny seeps to take a break and re-fill.

Well good luck to all, and safe travels and hunting!

I lucked out and had perfect weather for every trip, but I remember one year I went later than most, they got hit hard, lots of them had to bail. Bummer. (San Juan Mountains)

[swamprat26]

to good of a thread to let fall

[eidsvolling]

Here's an example of why you never want to be separated from your pack without knowing EXACTLY where it is and how you will find it again, even if it's after sundown:    Lost in the Woods

This is one of the reasons I carry lightsticks. But then, I was always paranoid about leaving my pack, long before my former SAR colleagues in Minnesota had to go find this guy.

[Autumnarcher]

Great link to some good articles. It amazes me how many people venture into wild places without any thought of carrying at the very least a way to make a fire. Then if they do, many never practice the skills. Nothing short of a dam shame to read about someone dying for the sole reason they didnt carry $3.0o worth of prevention in thier pants pocket. I keep a whistle on a lanyard with a compass either around my neck or in a pocket all the time. Small fire kit too,regardless of where I hunt.

I've had guys laugh at me for it when hunting a fairly small and familiar tract of land. Bt hwat happens if you fall and get hurt?

As far as leaving my pack, I dont ever get too far from it.

[Autumnarcher]

It's time. Today is my last day of computers, phones, and the usual daily going's-on. Today we unstring our bows, and place them in their travelin socks. Gear gone over one final time. PAcks closed up, tents and all get carefully loaded into the truck. Maps at the ready, good supply of CD's to listen to, thermos for coffee sitting patiently by the coffee pot for morning. Truck is fueled, and at 0600 tommorrow morning, the road trip begins. Today I'll pop Primal Dremas in the DVD player, so I can watch the elk one more time.

A good dinner with the family, and hopefully early to bed, although I think sleep will come hard tonight.

A long drive across all that America has to offer, through the farms of the midwest, and the plains of Kansas and eastern Colorado. Through cities like Indianapolis, Kansas City, St Louis and Denver.  But the prize starts on the exit from Eisenhower Tunnel, whre the western slope of the Rockies begins.

Its time.