Hello, new to the site and have a few questions

[rudyc]

Howdy,

First time Colorado elk hunter here, I live in Wisconsin, am really looking forward to my trip this fall and have a few questions:
I've hunted the western states for deer and antelope, however, this elk hunting business is very new to me.
I'll be hunting out of a cabin in west central Colorado the last week of September. I've been hunting with a longbow since the 80's, it works pretty well if I stay within my effective range.

I'm thinking about getting a GPS for use while hunting. I am comfortable with a compass and always have one around my neck, never used a gps.
Which ones are you folks using and why is it your choice?

Also, since this is going to be my first time on the mountain this fall, what would be one piece of advice you'd like to pass on to a newbie. Maybe something you don't even think about that a new fella would never know about??

Thanks in advance,

rudyc

[WapitiTalk1]

A few questions back at you friend (oh, and welcome to "the" elk forum). Are you hunting solo, guided, drop, etc? Base camp hunting or back country? I'm not a CO hunter but many here are. Give us a bit more info and we'll throw a bunch back your way. First thing I would recommend is to get in mountain shape and pick up a few of Elknut's products so you know what these big galoots are asking for in late September... it does make a significant difference to know what they say when they say it.. this is crucial to how you respond, or, don't respond . GPS is nice, I use it as a backup to compass and map; as far as model goes, my old school Lowrance Ifinder Huntc is obsolete so no help fromme there .... RJ

[Swede]

Rudy: Welcome to the forum. To answer your first question--Garmin. It is the easiest to learn and is as fast and capable as any. The one piece of advice I would give is to learn all you can about elk hunting and your area. Frequent Google Earth, Flash Earth, Acme Mapper 2.0. Watch this forum constantly and review old threads. Get a few good books including Elknut's Playbook. Now, if I can add more advice, it would be to have patience and determination on your hunt. Never give up. I have killed elk the last hour of the last day. In fact, it seems I do better when everyone else has thrown in the towel and left for home.

[JohnFitzgerald]

Welcome rudyc.

I own the Garmin eTrex and find it to be a very worthy tool. There's some gear junkies on here that can give better advice!

Being new to elk hunting, I think the first thing you should do is invest in ElkNut's instructional material. It will definitely decrease your learning curve.

One piece of advice, wind direction will give you the opportunity to eat tag soup. Always work the wind!

Just my 2-cents!

[rudyc]

Thanks for the quick replies. Please keep them coming.

I have Elknut's set of 4 DVD's and his playbook, already driving my poor wife crazy! Deer hunting is not so noisy!! Been gathering up all the written material I can get my hands on and have found this site to be very helpful.

I'll be on a drop hunt with my hunting partner and will have some limited help from the outfitter. He'll pack out the elk if we should be so lucky and give some advice and a day of orientation in the hunt area. I'm 62 this summer so keeping in shape is harder than ever. I keep in pretty decent shape and have stepped up my training. Been doing most all my training with my pack on. I use a day pack most all the time when I hunt so it is not much of a change in that respect.

Thanks again

[WapitiTalk1]

Ahh.. Now we're on track. Elknut's information puts you well ahead of the game. Research the area you're gonna hunt (as Swede mentioned) on Google Earth or any of the other web based pages (I like Acme maps also)... Get and study the 7.5 minute topo maps (and bring em with you for yours and the surrouding areas). Learn the area you're gonna hunt as much as humanly possible. Here's my bit... bugle to locate then get in as close as possible before you make another peep.. Unsolicited bugles as you move up/down the trail? Don't say anything... but move towards the bugle until you get within 100 yards before you decide what to do next.. I wish you the best of luck friend and hope you are posting your trophy on this forum when you arrive back home in the cheese state in early October! RJ

[JohnFitzgerald]

Our buddy RJ makes a good point as well. If you plan to use elk calls during the season, practice a lot before. You should be just as efficient with your calling as you are with your bow. About 95% of the elk I've taken I've called in. Do you have to make the perfect sound.....no! Understanding elk vocalization and reaction is the key to success. Learn to immitate as many elk sounds as you can and understand when to use them will increase your chances 10 fold.

My 2-Cents again!

jf

[Magic]

Hello rudyc, and Welcome to ElkNut. There is a GPS thread below that should be of value to you. GPS LINK

[cnelk]

Howdy rudyc
Welcome!

One thing that I can contribute is that you can move a bit more hunting elk than you can WT.
They are not quite so spooky about a little movement, or a motionless stump (you) next to a tree.

They can come in fast or slow. So be ready for either!

You're gonna have a ball...

[MTLongdraw]

Welcome RudyC,
In regards to your question about GPS I really like my Garmin Oregon 450. I'm not a very techy guy and I found it very user friendly. Can usually get a few days out of the batteries too. Also you may want to think about investing in the Hunting Maps product. Even if your hunting back country it will show districts, trails, topo lines, mountains, water, and roads. Also shows good Backcountry Camp spots.

[Willie makit]

I'm new here as well and wanted to ask about the GPS's, In my case Ill be in sevearal states drawings but no idea what location I could land for my elk hunt, it is higly probable it will be somewhere where there are OTC tags. My logic is to find a small GPS that can be loaded with local maps and in particular showing private land. Is there a particular mode or system funtion that I should look for when I start shopping for a GPS that will do this?

Also do you guys leave the GPS units on as you are hunting/moving or turn them on periodically to stamp locations? My $99 etrex eats batteries so i would only use it to "postmark" locations if I dont get a new one.
Thanks,

TA

[JohnFitzgerald]

I don't leave my GPS on while hunting. I have things marked and I will turn it on to find those or mark something else.

+1

[mtnmutt]

I recommend a used Garmin GPSmap 60CSx because it has buttons. The newer version costs a bit and the old version is good enough. I lived at 10Kft and my fingertips were too cold 10 months out the year to get my phone's touchscreen to respond, so I do not like touchscreen models Plus, the buttons allow easier use with gloves on.

Use only lithium batteries.

Load the GPS with HuntingGps maps with plat as someone mentioned.

Get a smaller paper map from mytopo.com or similar place in 1:24000 scale with relief shading, UTM and lat/long. I prefer UTM. Once you have your map, open Google Earth and fly over areas and make notes on your small map. Note the Google Earth fly over date in lower left of screen. The best fly overs are in Sept when the aspens turned yellow or dropped their leaves.

Just in case you have not used this tool: Visit CO Parks and wildlife Hunting Atlas http://ndis.nrel.colostate.edu/huntingatlas/ On upper bar, select Goto GMU. In left pane in Visibility, select for Game Species and select elk. GMU elk population/migration areas will be marked on the map. This is good starting place. Google Earth will give you more details of likely elk spots: travel routes, shelter, water, food. This method worked for me and I found the elk.

Get a good quality compass like the Silva Ranger and practice at home in woods using it. CO has very dark timber that makes it hard to see reference points.

I have the same map(s) each year. Marks spots and notes around map with elk sightings, weather conditions, moon cycle, and date/time. I prefer having my notes on the map then marking everything in the GPS. Later, when at home, I will put some of these notes in a notebook. Elknut Playbook has a place at the back to put notes. I know this sounds stupid, but take a couple sharp short pencils. Take down and review your notes when back at camp. You will see patterns if you take notes. Maybe you have great memory. I do not.

Good luck and have fun!

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

Willie makit: LOL! Love your handle. Are you the one that wrote the book, (50 Yards To The Outhouse) by Willie Makit?

Oh well, here is what I'd do if I were in the market for a GPS. I would be sure to buy a Garmin that had a slot for a Micro SD card. The reason for that is right now I believe Garmin is the only one that can use the HuntingGPS.com maps SD chips. Mine covers the entire state of Colorado.

Also as mentioned, I prefer the buttons to the touch screens. Cold fingers and touch screens just don't mix for me. But hey, the choice is yours. Also, I think you will find that a set of batteries will last just about the entire season if you turn it on only when you need it. The rest of the time, use your compass.

[mtnmutt]

For HuntingGpsMaps.com, buy the computer version rather than the SD version. It allows you to use their software on your computer, plus load it onto your GPS.

A year ago at an expo, I talked with HuntingGps and they recommended the computer version for more flexibility of use on both the computer and GPS, plus I believe you can update the map for the entire year if they have updates. The computer version will allow you to load it to 2 different places. I only used one so far.

On the computer, you use Garmin's BaseCamp to view the HuntingGPS map and start marking waypoints. You can then push those waypoints to GoogleEarth.

Develop the skills of using all these tools and you can save a lot of time on scouting or at least, it narrows down your scouting/hunting potential areas.

[rudyc]

sorry double post

[rudyc]

Thanks for all your replies, looks like I may need to get GPS savy!!


Here's a couple of more questions:

What do you folks use in your day pack for carrying water? Platapus bottles?? Bladder?? Other??

Do you use just water or add electrolytes?? Gatorade / other??

Do you use a walking stick / trekking pole??

BTW Phantom, I like your avatar, I do a bit of trout and salmon fishing here on Lake Michigan

[cnelk]

DO NOT ADD GATORADE TO YOUR WATER!!!

Gatorade is full of sugar. Bacteria grow very happily in sugar solution.
And when your water pack gets warm during the day, especially in the suction tube, the bacteria grows fast.
It can be a terrific unwanted weight loss program
Believe me, I've done it and its not something that you want to do during an elk hunt.

Water during the day, gatorade at night

[Indian Summer]

"Water during the day, gatorade at night" Yep... and Tang (which goes well with Captain Morgan (grin)

A short piece of advice: Get that GPS so you have no limits on how far you can comfortably & safely hunt. The huge advantage is also to be able to get there early and stay until late. I know lots of guys who "work their way back to camp" and leave the sweet spots before they should be because they aren't comfortable being so far from camp after dark... especially if they are in unfamiliar country.

I have a Garmin Montana 650 but you don't need one that pricy. BUT, I would say spend enough to get a user friendly one that has preloaded maps on it.

Good luck & welcome to Elkaholics Anonymous!

[bnsafe]

i was in your shoes last year, had never been before. im still learning everyday from this site. these guys are very very good and very helpful, friendly. i did not spend a ton on my setup. bought a cabelas framepack on sale for around 100 bucks. a backpacking tent on sale for around 130, my cooking "stove" was a coleman max i bought at walmart for 28 bucks. looks like an msr and worked awesome. i bought an msr water filter and have never used it. so, i will tell you you dont have to buy everything in the store to hunt elk.
now for the gps question. i had a old piece of junk gps and was going to use it. when my cousin decided to go with me he bought a garmin rino 655t. after seeing his and reading up on them i went and bought the rino 610. its a basic unit of the 600 series but does everything i needed it to do. it is bigger than i would like, but, the ability to send texts to each other with it, use it as a walkie talkie to contact each other, send waypoints to each other, etc was worth its wt in gold. if i had hunted the mountains before and was familiar with my area it wouldnt have been such a big deal. but because we were both new to elk hunting we had an extra sense of security when we split up knowing we could contact each other whenever we needed. he scouted one way i scouted another yet i could see where he was on my gps anytime i wanted. all of the newer gps are good, you cant go wrong with a garmin though.

[BobcatJerry]

All good advice, and bnsafe petty much nailed it with the Garmin Rino, I leave it on all day as I like... no love to see and study my tracks when I get home, and also know how much I've traveled each day. I have hunted the same place for the past 4 years, I can load all my tracks and way-points from those years and see them on GE, Garmin base camp etc. I mark where I see excellent sign, wallows, and special features like a trail head to follow back to camp in the dark. I study those tracks and piece together some history for the area. Like 90% of the elk encounters have been above 8500 feet. You can bet I will check out the wallows next fall that I just found and marked this past fall. It's not a place you would easily get lost in, but I carry it for all of the above.

If you can afford it I feel it's worth the money, plus if you fall, or have an issue, or even get an animal down, you can radio for help. I have the 655T and it's a great tool. Also check out GPSfiledepot.com for maps for Garmins. They are free and quit good.

Enjoy yourself and welcome

[mtnmutt]

What do you folks use in your day pack for carrying water? Platapus bottles?? Bladder?? Other??

Do you use just water or add electrolytes?? Gatorade / other??

Do you use a walking stick / trekking pole??

Since last year, I take 2 trekking poles, but I don't always use them. I have joint issues because of bike and skiing accidents. I can go longer and faster using them then without them. I solo hunt and backpack. They have saved me on a couple near nasty falls.

Platypus Hoser 2L - not always filled. Avoid the zip ones, they leak eventually
backup 1 L platypus, optionally filled
Endure Performance Electrolyte - Trace Minerals. Comes in 4 fl oz bottle, add to water, no sugar
cheese cloth to filter large items out
Katadyn Micropur Water Purification Tablets - I even used this for lake water without issue. I prefer running stream water which is safer.

In the past, I used a SteriPen, but I had to also take a cut off 0.5L bottle to be able to put the pen in the water. Platypus openings are too small. I would still take the water purification tablets as a backup.

For backpacking, I also take a MSR 4L DromLite to minimize trips to the stream

I have never used a filter. They clog and have moving parts which I avoid for emergency items.

Katadyn Micropur Water Purification Tablets Specs: Needs to be in opaque container or put your clear bottles in backpack out of sun after adding tablets.
One tablet treats one quart of water
Each tablet is individually wrapped
Kills viruses in 15 minutes
Kills Giardia in 30 minutes
Kills Cryptosporidia in 4 hours <- I only wait 30 minutes before drinking the water and I never got sick, but I have been drinking CO water for over 20 yrs. I could have built up an immunity. Cryptosporidia cysts can be found in 87% of US surface water and does get past water treatment plants.