When Skill and Experience becomes Routine Success

[elk-n-walleye]

I truly enjoy the stalk of the spot and stalk hunt and when I started hunting elk my previous mule deer hunting experience carried me through to successful rifle elk hunting. Understand that spotting scopes and long distance shots don't play a role in the local area I hunt since the terrain really doesn't lend itself to that style. So my hunts consisted of creeping through the woods looking, listening and smelling for sign. Once I pick up on sign the fun begins. Last year I knew I wanted to extend my hunting season into the archery season so I began researching/practicing everything archery. Unfortunately I didn't draw a tag so my education in archery theory continued with out gaining practical experience. Now, I'm hoping the knowledge gained after 2 years of reading, reviewing online footage, set ups and calling will give me a chance at an elk. I would even settle for a bit of luck (in terms of everything falling into place) the first time archery hunting since all I have in my favor is my rifle hunting background, 2 years of archery book knowledge and a willingness to work hard.

So my question to the experienced archery hunter is when did your successes transition from simply good fortune to being a product of knowledge and skill? I'm not really looking for a time frame rather experiences of how that hunt unfolded compared to previous hunts.

And to the newer archery hunters, how did circumstances unfold that, looking back, you could have been in more control of or better prepared for?

[Indian Summer]

I gotta run to work but in a nutshell.... as soon as I stayed put and hunted the same area for over 4 years. Just the other day I was in a new spot and said I hope this pans out enough for the 4 years plan. Until then I don't expect to know much or be consistent. I'll have to hunt harder and hope for some luck. But after 4 years I expect to be on top of them regularly.

[twinkieman]

I agree that knowing your hunting area is HUGE in the terms of success, that being said, every place I have ever hunted elk I have been able to find them within the first 2 days of my hunt. I expect to kill a bull every year. To me, calling and understanding what elk are saying are far more important than knowing the area I will be hunting. I believe that hunting skills transfer from one species to another, so if your are already a competent hunter, success can be achieved in elk hunting fairly quickly. You need to remember that any elk is a good elk, and start with realistic expectations, and get some elk on the ground before readjusting your expectations to bulls only, or 6 pt. bulls only. There are tons of things that accompany success, but being the most prepared you can be in knowledge of you quarry, woodsman skills, proficiency with your weapon of choice all will help make you successful.

[Trophyhill]

great question and great place to get started. as a newer archery hunter this being my 6th, I've made a ton of mistakes so i'll just list one for now. bad set ups have cost me shot opportunities time and again, but i'm getting much better at picking shooting/calling set ups. I've made every mistake on a setup imaginable. I've called bulls into "the moment of truth" zone a lot which is exhilarating to say the least and something i'm proud of but at the end of the day all you have is a story to tell if anyone will listen. so I've worked hard to try and set up and call from locations that the call really carries if possible. setting up with shooting lanes is critical. I hunt a lot of black timber and not many lanes to shoot thru. this has cost me dearly. but I've had a lot of action and interaction with the elk this way. last year I was able to put the final piece of the set up puzzle together when I had all of the above the + the advantage of setting up in a position in which the bull had to look for me (the other elk). it's a great feeling when you can watch an elk come in knowing that everything worked the way it's supposed to and the rest is up to you making the shot.

[elk-n-walleye]

if your are already a competent hunter, success can be achieved in elk hunting fairly quickly. You need to remember that any elk is a good elk, and start with realistic expectations, and get some elk on the ground before readjusting your expectations to bulls

I can't agree with you more on this! My previous 3 rifle elk hunts have ended with success because I have hunted for the sake hunting and getting a good clean shot regardless of the size or sex of the elk. To date I have not harvested a bull. Perhaps because I was a little impatient... my last hunt I had a herd passing in front of me in thick forest and I only had 1 good shooting lane to view the elk. I knew the border of my hunt area was just over and down the hill they were passing over so I wouldn't have time to get around them for another look. So I watched cow after cow pass (upwards of thirty) waiting to see if any horns would show up. About that time I decided, again, that I would rather have meat in the freezer and if the last elk sauntered across that opening and I had not taken my shot I would probably be kicking myself later. Not to mention my wife would get in a few jabs too.

An elk lasts my family about 2 yrs so if I can fill my freezer this year perhaps I'll be a little more selective next year.

Thanks all and good hunting! Love the info but not necessarily the 4 yr plan Indian Summer

[Bullnuts]

I guess it probably took about 4-5 years before I started to really know my area and know where the elk were and why. I mark every elk sighting as a landmark on my GPS and over the years I've been able to accurately predict where the elk will be during the season based on their history. Knowing the area cannot be emphasized enough and knowing not only how the terrain looks, but how the wind will blow at certain times of day, where the elk will bed, how they will get there - that's all stuff that turned luck into a more calculated effort. I imagine that if I went to a new area I would be behind the curve again, but only until I started seeing elk again and then I would be able to put a lot of learned lessons back to work.

[KMT]

I'm no sure I would ever call success routine. But I attribute my success to 3 things. First, know your area. Where I hunt, I have a few places relatively close to each other. If one area isn't holding elk, the others probably are. And the one that doesn't have elk today may have several tomorrow. Second, experience helps a lot. My first year if archery, I was surrounded my what seemed like hundreds of elk. I called in about 20 bulls that season and made 19 critical mistakes. But I got 5-6 years worth of experience in that one season. I still make mistakes, but I learned a lot about hunting elk in general and during the archery season. Third, I hunt with the idea that success is the only option and bust my hump to make it happen. I leave my camp before sunrise and hunt until the end of legal shooting hours. I'm willing to hike up any hill or down any canyon to get my bull.