Confidence & Your Weakest Link

[Indian Summer]

Three part question.... tell us about your hunt plan. A little about your area and your saily strategy

Next how confident are you in your area and plan?

Last what is your weak link? The one thing that could make or break your chances of killing an elk this year?

I’m in a familiar area which is really nice. Day one will find me hiking a ridge trail that elk cross right over going from feed to bedding areas. At that point they won’t have a clue that it’s hunting season so it could be over right there. That’s a great plan on day two as well but I’ll leave it to my partner while I head up higher to my spike camp. I’m very confident that we will kill bulls and that everyone will at least have one or more in shooting range.

Interestingly what makes my area so user friendly is also the thing that can come back to bite me in the hind quarters. It’s the fact that it’s semi open there. That’s great for locating elk which is at least half the battle. But it can make it tough to get close. So my downfall can be be looking at bulls that are too far to shoot with no cover to use to close the distance.

The main thing I can do to sway the odds in my favor is get better at shooting longer distances. Wish me luck!

[Swede]

I have one year of hunting experience in my area, and have scouted in and around there twice now. I am always confident in my hunt plan, but I can be disappointed too. I have several spots where I can set up a tree stand and be effective. The weak link I have is that I do not have a great backup place. I have other locations, but will need to check them out on the ground during the seasons if my prime locations is for some reason not good.

[Indian Summer]

I have one year of hunting experience in my area, and have scouted in and around there twice now. I am always confident in my hunt plan, but I can be disappointed too. I have several spots where I can set up a tree stand and be effective. The weak link I have is that I do not have a great backup place. I have other locations, but will need to check them out on the ground during the seasons if my prime locations is for some reason not good.

That’s scary. A stationary hunter with no real backup plan. I could see my confidence level dropping if plan A didn’t look good. I’ll pray for you Swede.

[Swede]

Sincere prayer is always appreciated. You may be asking for something I rarely petition God for. I don't want an unfair advantage. I am relatively new to my area, but am committed to it, so my flexibility will be within my daily commuting range.
God has shown my how to hunt, and revealed some good locations to ambush elk. He has made me capable. If you have a relationship with the Lord, please ask for my safety and the sufficiency of my preparation.
Thanks

[Lefty]

Ill just jump to my weakest link,.. I have messed up at the shot too many times. I feel right taking the shot, A few have been total misjudgment of distance I tend to think they are further.
Im confident concerning getting in on elk,. creating shot opportunities for my daughter on mature bulls.

As far as back up plan,.. I sort of have a never ending list . Plenty of quality places to hunt by myself, and or with my daughter. One of my goals is two mature bull in Idaho ( 2nd tag)

Swede Ill add you to my prayers in the morning, I ask for a safe and enjoyable experience, clean shots or clean misses.
Ive been blessed with a bunch of clean misses

Last week I was at scout camp. A neighbor was up and showed me some of his last year footage. He has a number of places he hunts. He passes on some great bulls
He wants his kids or dad to kill them. He had three days of footage of the same 320 bull coming in. And one cool footage of a spike walking right up to his camera,.. all you see is pert of the nose He had lots of incredible footage of bulls from his blind on the ground,.. a downed spruce.

[>>>---WW---->]

I probably won't hunt this year. But when I do hunt, I always go with complete confidence that I will be successful. If you don't have that kind of confidence you might as well stay home.

I suppose my greatest weakness would be telling others some of my best hunting spots. It gets a little crowded sometimes.

[Swede]

What does hunter confidence really amount to? In one form or another this question seems to come up every year. Before the season starts we are all fairly confident. That is good, but 100% confidence is a 10% unit seems unrealistic to me. I do not go hunting with complete confidence I will be successful in getting an elk. Still my success record is for over 90% year to year all on DIY public land hunts.

As we all know, confidence and success are not the same. I am satisfied that I generally know what I am doing and where the elk will normally be, but there is no 100% confidence here. So how confident should I be?

[Indian Summer]

If you have a 90% success rate in a unit with a 10% overall rate you should be extremely confident.

Confidence comes from consistent success. You’ve been 9 times more successful than 90% of the other hunters.

What is confidence? FUEL!!! It’s what gets you out of bed and up a mountain. It’s what gives me strength to go to the top or dive into hell holes. I tell myself.... go for it and tomorrow you might be able to sleep in and wake up to the skull of a bull leaning against a tree outside of the tent.

I firmly believe that confidence is what helps us maintain a sharpness, a level of awareness, instead if sleep walking through elk country.

[Tigger]

Hunt plan....fairly confident. This will be the 2nd time hunting that area so that alone give me confidence that I know where elk are going to be. I know about hunting pressure, entry/exit points, what NOT to do (big time saver), etc. But obviously I still have a ton to learn. Weakest link? We have 2 good areas that held consistent elk last time. But what if they don't produce? So Plans A and B are solid. Plan C? We know of a good area, but entry and egress sucks. Plan D? I have one, but haven't put boots on the ground. Plans E and beyond are there but confidence in those is not as high, although I am sure some of them are great areas. This is big country...yeah, I know all of the west is big country, but this mountain plays bigger than most. The first day last time we were here we had a half hour ATV ride to our jumping off spot. 2 hours after we left, we arrived at said dropping off spot in the daylight. That is the kind of thing that is so much better the second time around. Now we know that trail really, really sucks.

Daily plan is to get out on the ridges and bugle into the drainages. Then: find bull, call in bull, shoot bull, quarter bull, haul bull, eat bull, talk bull.

[7mmfan]

This is always tough for me. I frequently second guess myself, and it's usually because of lack of time in the area. This will be year 4 hunting this general area and we've developed half a dozen zones that are all proven to hold elk consistently. We have the luxury this year of getting there a few days before the season opens so we can do some scouting and find where they are and aren't. The wild card this year is 2 additional hunters in camp, so I won't have free reign of going wherever I feel like it... maybe.

My game plan is to scout a couple days, find elk, be in position pre daylight opening day and be done by noon like I was last year. Hopefully the elk cooperate.

I'm confident that I will have opportunities, we have every year we've been there. It's just a matter of converting those opportunities.

My weakest link is probably overall knowledge of the area, and willingness to go into some of the ground where the elk are consistently because it is THAT NASTY. Just need to pack a box of Wheaties with me and hit the hills.

[Swede]

My weakest link is probably overall knowledge of the area, and willingness to go into some of the ground where the elk are consistently because it is THAT NASTY.

Don't forget you need to break in those new cotton shorts before the hunt, or you will be done before noon each day.

[Fridaythe13th]

We have 3-4 valley that have held elk every year we've been there. Some days vocal some days their not. We do a run and gun style with a mid day nap. Lol.

I'm confident that I well have fun and do my best, the rest well work it self out.

Weak link i like to eat a big steak by the fire and bs the smell of rib eyes and a cold one bring me back to camp a little early some days.

[Old school]

Hunt plan - very confident. It will be the second year bow hunting elk in this spot. We learned a lot about their patterns 2 yrs ago when we hunted it and I’m looking forward to 9 days of getting after them.

Weak link - closing the deal. We’ve learned how to find elk and get them to respond, it’s just closing the deal that’s alluded us so far. With a gun - haven’t had that issue. With the bow, that’s a different story.

-Mitch

[7mmfan]

My weakest link is probably overall knowledge of the area, and willingness to go into some of the ground where the elk are consistently because it is THAT NASTY.

Don't forget you need to break in those new cotton shorts before the hunt, or you will be done before noon each day.

That's fine. If I don't kill one before noon, I don't want him. Some may consider that another weak link.

[Trophyhill]

The area I will hunt is between 6500' and 8000'. Short ridges. A lot of up and down. The terrain is very Rocky in places. Elk can be hanging in any crevice. I've seen abundant water, and I've seen very little or no water in this unit.

I will hunt solo. I'll be setting up camp 2-3 miles in from the truck. I'll take my camp, food (5 days worth) and water in a week before my hunt. I will also have a truck camp set up with all the comforts. I will hunt out of my tent camp for a few days at a time, and truck camp for a few days at a time depending on what the elk are doing. Both great spots to start hunting from camp. I won't leave 1 area for the other if i'm into elk though.

My plan is to call early, and call often as i'm moving to find elk. I like to choose my calling spots where the sound travels and is far reaching, but also from a location where I will have an up close and personal opportunity. I will be "running and gunning". Although this doesn't mean I won't be patient. When I call from these spots, I'll give it a little time if necessary. You generally know pretty quick after a response or 3 from an elk if he's coming, or if I'll have to go to him. I'm ok with either scenario and very flexible ready to change tactics on the drop of a dime. The elk will tell me what I should be doing. As long as I read the situation correctly.

[NYbowhntr]

Well new to this forum. I have watched all of the Elknut videos and have his App. Have hunted mostly archery in Wyoming. Have a great group of guys that have let me into their circle and we are generally successful when it comes to closing the deal on bull/cow elk. My issue is i can't draw wyoming every year and have resorted to otc units in colorado. Thus....my weakest link. Calling ability and reading an elk I am getting very comfortable. Camping and hunting off my back is a wonderful experience. Last year I hunted Colorado unit 77 in Pagosa Springs. Hot and dry very little elk interaction. Older sign and a glimpse of 2 300+ bulls. The last day we were there I got it figured out and found where we should have been. Or at least the guy packing out the elk in front of me had it figured out. I was just a half mile off. So this year we didn't draw wyoming and are headed back to colorado but with different plans. I have several spots picked out in Unit 14 and Unit 15. I have some info on unit 14 and some areas to look into. With that said no boots on the ground. I have read several other forums and with not much luck I feel that the members on this Forum are very sincere in their info and advice. So I'm ready to handle any advice or criticism handed my way. Thank you all in advance.

[>>>---WW---->]

[quote="Indian Summer"]If you have a 90% success rate in a unit with a 10% overall rate you should be extremely confident.

Confidence comes from consistent success. You’ve been 9 times more successful than 90% of the other hunters.

No truer words ever spoken Joe . I'm beginning to like you more and more every day.

Swede: I use to pray before and during ever hunt. Not for my own success but to make my arrow fly true. Either a quick and humane kill or a total miss.

[ElkNut1]

My weakest link is age!! I don't let it stop me though, it's still full steam ahead! (grin)

ElkNut/Paul

[scubohuntr]

Well, my whole chain is weak links. My strategy is to continue getting out and putting boots on the ground. This will be, I believe, my fourth or fifth year elk hunting. I am waiting out probability, and statistically, I should have an elk within about six more years. I have pretty much zero confidence in my area(s) and my plan, but eventually I am bound to stumble across an elk. I don't really know anything about elk or elk hunting beyond what I read here and elsewhere, but I hunt in what are, statistically, pretty decent units. I did find tracks once last year, and followed them for several miles without seeing any elk. So I have a starting spot that I know at least one elk has walked through at some point. I don't bugle, because I have even less confidence in calling elk than I do in finding elk. I carry a cow call in case I need a desperation tool to stop a moving bull.

[CurlyTail]

Hunt Plan - Colorado Archery. 4 guys, 2 Tags. Our shooters this year are our most inexperienced hunters - and getting up there in years. We will probably hunt all 4 together with 2 shooters out front and two callers hanging back. I suspect we will shoot any legal elk. Our main goal is to get our 67 year old hunter his first every archery Elk. We will mostly be calling during rut and pre-rut. Our hunt area does lend itself well to ambush on trails but none of us enjoy that style of hunting enough to really commit to it. We hunt pretty open country, and I am going to experiment a bit with decoys this year as the caller.

Weak Link - Neither or our shooters likes to get up early. I will be rousting them out most days but that does get old quickly. Our physical conditioning is not ideal. My brother has had a couple of bad health issues this summer - mononucleosis, and a nerve impingement issue - that has not allowed him to be as active as usual. I am afraid he is only going to be good for a day or two before needing a rest day. We are just going to make the best of it and have a great time regardless. We are also hunting during muzzleloader week and I suppose that could be a problem.

Confidence - Moderate. I think we will fill at least one tag. Not sure the guys are committed enough to fill both tags. Totally confident that we will have a great time.

[six]

This year we will be hunting a new state. A state my partner and I will be stepping into for the first time next Monday. My confidence level is running at about 50%. We have agreed this is going to be a learning year “hiking with bows”.

My weak link is me missing my family. I start getting terrible homesick about day 5.

Our make or break point is we will be able to shoot elk, bear, deer, lion, and wolf. Any one of these animals under 50 yards is getting an arrow. Always nice to bring home a critter.

[Indian Summer]

This year we will be hunting a new state. A state my partner and I will be stepping into for the first time next Monday. My confidence level is running at about 50%. We have agreed this is going to be a learning year “hiking with bows”.

My weak link is me missing my family. I start getting terrible homesick about day 5.

Our make or break point is we will be able to shoot elk, bear, deer, lion, and wolf. Any one of these animals under 50 yards is getting an arrow. Always nice to bring home a critter.

What state Six?

[six]

Idaho

[Indian Summer]

Idaho

You should be confident in your bear, lion, and wolf tags.