Hey all!

[ELKrazy]

Hope this is in the right spot. I just wanted to say hi to everyone and introduce myself.

My name is Matt and unfortunately I've never elk hunted before.

That's about to change though. I'm planning a DIY elk bowhunt out to Idaho this year with my brother and 3 friends. One of our friends moved out there to Idaho going on two years ago so we have some assistance in the scouting dept.

Elk hunting with my bow has been a dream of mine since I started bowhunting 23 years ago. I've never had the money or the time though (time seems to be easier to find than money). This past turkey season I had the scare of my life, had some serious health issues, almost died and ended up in the hospital for a while. One year later and I'm still on a long and difficult road to full recovery, BUT....I've decided that life is too short to keep saying..."I'll go elk hunting one day".....that day will be later this year. I'm pinching every penny I can and putting it in my elk hunt jar. Laying on the one hospital table getting all kinds of scans I realized that I can't keep putting off lifes adventures.

While I was lightly working out after the hospital, the thought of elk hunting has driven me to work out like crazy (within my limits), eat better, basically just trying to get in shape for the mountains and hopefully bettering my health overall so I can go on many more hunts.

I've also been reading and reading and reading and reading some more about elk hunting. I always keep coming back to the advice of Paul Medel aka ELKNUT though....A lot of his advice seems sound and kind of relates to the crazy tactics I use for mature bucks. I like guys that think outside the box a bit. That would definitely be me. I do some crazy things that people give me some strange looks for, but hey, they work! So finally I bought one of his DVD's (worse than wolves vol4), the sound CD and the playbook and have been practicing with my Bugling Bulls Bully Bull tube and diaphragm calls for about two weeks now.

I think my next purchase will be his "scouting elk country" dvd. I need to know exactly what I'm looking for on the topo maps since I can't put boots on the ground until I get there.

I might be crazy too, but I'm planning on bivouacking for this hunt. Seems like the best way to increase my odds for success on the short 6 day hunt.

I will probably have a million questions to ask and a ton of enthusiasm as the trip draws closer, so I hope you all can put up with me.

Have a great day. -ELKrazy

[Swede]

Welcome, ELKrazy to the forum. Remember you do not need to be Marathon Man to git-er-dun. Good luck.

[otcWill]

Welcome! I see you're from Jersey. I moved out here (Colorado) 11 years ago from Newton. I'd be glad to help a fellow Jersey boy out!

[planebow]

Welcome, You came to the best forum on the net for the serious elk hunter.

[ElkNut1]

Matt, welcome to the El Forum sir! Good to see you here & it sounds like you're kicking 2013 into gear as to ready yourself for your long awaited elk hunt. Getting in shape is a must for the style you plan on hunting. Bivy hunting can be very demanding on a body especially if you've not been involved with it before. If at all possible consider a couple overnight practice runs even if not far from home. This will help work out any kinks before the real hunt starts. Get in shape but don't overdo it partner! Good Luck.

ElkNut1

[Indian Summer]

Welcome.

Man I love your attitude. You already made this a better site. Ask away......

[WapitiTalk1]

Welcome to "the" elk forum.

[Buglemaster]

Welcome elkrazy. If you cant get some good advise here, your not spending enough time on the pc ...Or, your wife/girlfriend will just say your elk posessed....

[Willie makit]

Welcome Matt, glad you've got everything on the upswing for this year. Sounds like you are off to a good start for your 1rst elk hunt; I second Elknut1's suggestion and will be doing that myself very soon as I’m a 1rst timer going solo on a Bivy style hunt this year. I would defiantly include as many of your buddies as well to see who has what and who needs what to help save some cash.

Look through some of the gear threads and get some ideas on stuff you'll potentially need, this way you’ll have time to shop around. Hopefully your buddies are just as excited and will be involved in this early planning and learning stage, utilize them to help know what to ask here. I've learned a ton of things that would have never crossed my mind in the first place. It’s hard to ask if you don't know enough to know....... like me
Good luck and welcome aboard.
Now, back to lurking...

[LckyTylr]

Awesome introduction!

Welcome.

Sounds like you are already on the right path for an awesome adventure this fall.

[easeup]

yes sir, mr. krazy.......the dream is alive here.
elk country is not far behind either.

[ELKrazy]

Wow, thanks so much everyone for the warm welcome!

OTCWill, glad to hear that people can escape from NJ to America. LOL I'm just South of Newton near Lake Hopatcong.

Elknut (can't believe I'm actually talking to you, you're really a legend in my eyes).....I have already begun some testing of gear here. Because of the bivouac plan and small budget, I'm trying some slightly unorthodox methods for keeping things ultralight in my pack. I figured I need to test this stuff before travelling 2300 miles to sleep in the woods. I also plan on hitting the Appalachian Trail for a little bit to get some practice and might do a week of Turkey season out of my pack.

My brother is also a Marine that has been overseas before in combat, wear your house, food and water on your back situations.... and he stressed to me the importance of testing all of our gear, making sure to put it all in use together (practice) and make sure it all works together and you have no issues, redundencies, etc. He'll most likely be my bivouac buddy through the trip too.

I am fortunate enough to have friends that are all as enthused as I am too and we've been trading ideas and suggestions, sharing gear purchases, etc for about a month or so now. Besides our buddy that moved to Idaho, this will the first elk trip for all of us. So we're all driving our families and neighbors crazy with elk sounds.


I do actually have two questions for Paul. First is: You refer to "parks" a few times "basins, draws, parks"....I've never heard the term before. I know the other terrain features but was curious as to what parks are?

I also wanted to make sure that I was clearly understanding how elk usually bed about 1/3 from the top of the mountain they are on. So if you're on a mountain that's say 7800' and the lowest parts of draws or a basin below is about 6200'....I should be looking for a heavily forested timber bench at about 7200'. Correct? (generally North facing slopes) I know I know....It's animals and nature and there are no rules, but I have found that you can put together patterns like that to some extent so I hope I'm understanding what you have figured out.

I guess I have a third question too. Sorry. The elk generally move up to feed in open meadows for the evening, right? But I also read that the wallows in the drainages and low areas will be the ones they use at night. Do they then work their way down into the basins after feeding?

The wallow and feeding movement may not greatly apply to us since we're going to be hunting from the 21st to the 27th. Sounds like that's either peak rut, or just towards the end of peak rut. Right? (South Eastern Idaho)

Closest I've been to wild elk is in Western PA a few times. Once I actually got mixed up in a herd of cows and calves while I was out stalking bears. I felt like I was in Jurassic Park after the fences failed. They were mewing and chirping and just moving through a very misty/foggy dense forest all around me. It was insane. I can't really imagine how I'm going to react if I actually get an elk in bow range. If that elk happens to be a decent bull I might need new underwear after the encounter.

If it melts my face with a scream, I won't need to change underwear, because I will have died and gone to heaven!

Thanks again all. Sorry for the long posts. I have always been long-winded.

[cnelk]

Hi Matt
Welcome....

A 'park'is a meadow. It can vary in size from small to large.

In my experiences, Wallows that are higher on the slope tend to be more used during 'hunting hours' while lower ones are used at night.

Below is a pic that should keep the fire going... I called in a raghorn that my buddy shot on the last day

Cant go wrong with the playbook!

[ELKrazy]

Sweet! Congrats to you and your friend! Last day success is great too because you don't have to stop hunting too soon, but still get delicious elk steaks!

Yes that certainly feeds the fire.

Also thanks for clearing up what a park was.

[Swede]

ELKrazy, let me try to help until you hear from Paul. Parks are large grassy meadows in the forest. The elk generally go down from their bedding area to feed at night, then return uphill in the morning to bed. They do not necessarily return to the same bedding area. They normally move to another, Elk can and do bed lower and higher on the slopes. They prefer cooler areas in the warm Summer, and get up and move around some to avoid direct sunlight during the heat of the day. They can bed on a nob or bench just above the canyon floor. The elk cheat often and don't play by the rules, but what you read are good generalities.

[Pop-r]

Elkrazy.... Welcome!.... I find the best bedding areas to typically be north & east facing slopes with "northeast facing areas" on the north & east slopes being the "choice" spots.

[RockChucker30]

ELKrazy,

I was in the same position as you last year, planning my first elk hunt. I did a DIY, OTC, public land hunt and had the trip of a lifetime. I can't wait to go back! Good luck to you, and if you have any questions ask away.

Nathan

[elkmtngear]

Welcome ELKrazy!

I went on my first Elk Hunt about 18 years ago, and I learned a whole new group of terms that apply to elk hunting. Here are some of them:

Park- an open area or meadow
Dark Timber- Thick pockets of spruce, fir, lodgepole, etc. (depending on where you hunt). Elk love to bed down there!
Quakies- Aspen groves
Range Maggots- Domestic Sheep (if you have ever watched a flock on an open ridge from a distance, they move like maggots on a carcass)
Bench- a flat (or "flatter") shelf on an otherwise steep mountainside.
Blowdowns- a miserable array of downed trees/logs.....similar to jackstraws. Blowdowns are trail clogging nightmares !
Playground- an area on a steep bank that is chewed up by elk stomping it.
Slow Elk- Moo Cows

I'm sure there are a bunch more that the Forum members can contribute. Looking forward to your submissions!

[Willie makit]

Elkmtngear, thanks for that definition run down, there were some new ones I've not seen yet and some I've been wondering about like the "blowdown".
I guess that is an area where wind took down a bunch of trees?

One other shortcut I've see a lot is ttt, what is that? Usually it's just in a reply.

[planebow]

to the top

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

Range Maggots- Domestic Sheep (if you have ever watched a flock on an open ridge from a distance, they move like maggots on a carcass)

"Also referred to as Meadow Maggots" LOL!

[cnelk]

Cattle Guard = This is NOT a division of Homeland Security

It a 'open gate' with bottom rails that range cattle cant cross

[Willie makit]

To the top, dang, I should have figured that one out.
I'm learn'n me some stuff now.

[ELKrazy]

LOL...

Thanks guys. I already knew some of the more general terms, but knowing some others could definitely help out. I will have to remember range or meadow maggots lol....slow elk, quakies and playground. Never heard any of those terms before.

Here, blowdown means pretty much the same, but it could be referring to a single blown down tangled mess of one or two trees. I often use them as natural ground blinds.

And if an area is full of sign, (like playground)... I usually just say "torn up". That inside corner is torn up.

I also hunt a lot of "edge"....and "terrain funnels". Edge can be any two types of habitat meeting up and creating basically an edge. These areas always seem to hold animals.

For terrain funnels here, I mostly look for saddles and benches (seems you guys use the same names). They usually do the most to narrow down movement. For the little tiny saddles that I find bucks using (often can't even be found on maps) I call them "chutes".

Thanks again. If I run into anymore terms or phrases I don't know from you Western guys, I'll be sure to ask.