Tips To Up Your Game #1

[Swede]

Here I want hunters with some experience to share their ideas and tips that will help others improve newer hunters success at elk hunting. On this thread lets start with pre-season preparation. I will start off with a trio of mine.

1. Knowing elk is more important than knowing your hunting area. A skilled elk hunter can go to elk country and kill elk, even on their first hunt in the region.

2. Plan to be more versatile. Try to determine why things you have done are not working. We can discuss it here on this forum if you like.
If what you have been doing has not brought you success; change something. Most likely it is not the area, but if you are not seeing elk or fresh sign, then you need to move.
Regardless of your hunting style; if it is not panning out add some different techniques. Learn some elk calls and when to use them. Learn to make the calls sound realistic.
If you are tree stand hunting, change your set-ups, especially if elk have quit coming around. That was one of my early lessons.

3. Read and study elk and elk hunting. If you prepare before hand you will have reason to be more confident, and hunting will be more fun.
There are a lot of resources available now that were not around when I started hunting. Some are excellent, and probably most have some value.
I give Elknut some crap every once in awhile, but his materials have a treasure trove of information. There is good information for anyone that wants to hunt elk. Most of it is focused
on calling, but the Playbook has other information too. I would advise new hunters to read and watch his material, but not to use it like a cook book. Study it, go hunting and then return and
review it to see where you can improve. Elknut's materials are like training wheels on a bicycle. As long as they are attached you are never going on you own. Personally, I feel the people that
get the most from Elknut's information are those with some experience, and want to improve, but if you are a first time elk hunter, it offers a lot for you too.
I feel a little funny plugging the tree stand book, but if you need help getting elk, it is a good resource. Some people just want to add another dimension to their hunts. I think the book still
has everything a tree stand hunter needs to be successful.

[WapitiTalk1]

Swede: "Knowing elk is more important than knowing your hunting area. A skilled elk hunter can go to elk country and kill elk, even on their first hunt in the region." You may be on to something there mister . I agree for the most part. Elk are creatures of habit (that "habit" varies a bit with the area they live in, but yep, they'll keep to a static feeding, bedding, rutting routine for the most part till it is disrupted beyond the point of continuing the pattern to preserve their safety). I will add say one "however", however, even in more remote areas where the hunting pressure, wolf pressure (yes, I consider wolves different than normal predator pressure) is increased due to mentioned phenomenon, elk will change their mannerisms and one must be adaptive to that to be successful.

Swede: "Read and study elk and elk hunting". There is more readily available information now than there has ever been. I can't even imagine how many more bull noses I would have put in the dirt if I had, at my fingertips, some of the information available now. For me personally, the Elknut information was a slap in face a handful of years ago. Geesh, where was Mr. Medel at when I was grunting at big bulls in the 80s and wondering why they took their cows and left .

Tip to up your game: Pretty simple I spose but effective...if you get an answer when bugling (or cow calling).. or, hear an unsolicited bugle, it's time to tuck your tube/reed away and plan your approach to get as close as possible before making another tweet. If you get there before he/they've moved, then it's probably an evening hunt and you have the waning minutes of day light, make a plan and work your plan to either pull a SAT off the herd or pee in the big boy's cheerios. Morning adventures are another case, the vocalization you hear is usually as the critters are moving from feeding to bed and brings a whole new bunch of considerations/variables into the mix... fun times.

Tip to up your game:

Less can certainly be more. Yes, there are times when you get close to a group of elk when it seems like you're close to a bunch of teenagers at a mall (yakking on like there's not tomorrow), but, that is not the norm in the hunting season elk woods. When you're in that position to give some cow calls (come hither mister, I'm the gal you want/need), it's normally best to give 2 to 3 cow calls max, if not just one! Yes, he can hear you... you don't have to get off the scale with your cow mews.

Tips to up your game:

The wind is your friend or nemesis. Seems common sense, yes? Elk rely on their sense of smell as much or more than anything. If you hear (or spot) elk at location X, even though it may mean diverting your morning hunt pre-determined route, you must make that diversion/sweep to gain the wind advantage. Yes, I've had elk come screaming in willy nilly (dilly dilly? ) without regard to the wind that that is absolutely not the norm.

Good thread Swede, hope to keep this one rolling along.

[Swede]

RJ, you reminded me of a couple of things. I said knowing elk is paramount. Elk adapt to the area. Like you said, wolves have changed your old stomping grounds, and so has the brush regrowth after old fires. Where I hunt there has been a rapid change too. In my area the hunting pressure has increased significantly since about CY 2000. In addition there is significant over grazing by cattle. Changes in the elk's natural environment can cause the elk to change too. I could argue that is a part of knowing elk, but sometimes it is difficult or impossible to say how much the change in the area will effect the elk. I know I am not smart enough to predict, but I can sure see it after the fact. Sometimes it takes a few years to understand a change was not just coincidence or a one time affair.
Here are some of the common major causes of change: Fire, wolves or other predators, cattle grazing, logging, hunting pressure. Animals like cougars have been increasing in population since hounds have been prohibited in many States. The change for elk is slower than with the wolves, but it is just as real.

[stringunner]

Whether you are truck camping or bivy hunting, makes sure to scout multiple areas in the general area you plan to hunt. Meaning don’t throw all your eggs in one canyon or on one ridge line. Where we hunt, from a truck camp, we have 10-15 different spots to hunt. In the past, especially when starting in a new area, I did not scout multiple spots and found opening morning the one or two spots I had planned to hunt were a bust for various reasons and we then had to guess based on what we knew or thought to know about elk.

Given this is about pre-season preparation for new hunters , if you can scout multiple spots in a area. Even though we have been hunting the same area now for 10+ years, we still scout and expand our options each year.

[Lefty]

Here I want hunters with some experience to share their ideas and tips that will help others improve newer hunters success at elk hunting. On this thread lets start with pre-season preparation.,,,,,,,,,,,.

I use to do this during trapping season also. All required maintenance is done on my truck, days or weeks before. With enough time to fix any real problems. all fluids full, windows clean ??
Being completely prepared before the season, as best possible).

Use, know and prepare all your "stuff" right before season with time to make adjustments
Prepare your gear and know how to use it. I have hunted, hiked ,camped too many times with someone Just pulled new stuff out of packaging Kids size, !
Old gear; cracked waders and rain jackets.Too stiff of leather boots, sleeping pad that oozes air.
My pet peeve with one other hunter; I showed up, and he needed to look for his waders at 5 AM, They were somewhere

One fellow had a "deal" on backpacking tents, A fair weather tent the rain fly didnt even cover the vent/bug screen.
As a scoutmaster one of my biggest problems is scouts( and there Parents) bring a cheap 30 degree bag and the kid "froze" at 50 degrees. Know what it takes to stay warm at night with what you use!!!
An adult friend whose son was at scout camp, spent the worst night of his life in a sleeping bag. This guy was an triathlete. But a July night in the lower elevation Tetons beat him bad.

I quit hunting with my BIL because they didnt prepare before season. We pull into camp and his only used twice before Montana Wall tent fell apart,. He packed it wet and had all year to fall apart.
His three boys had nice lockers full of hunting clothes,.. . They had all outgrown their stuff, nothing fit) . We pooled gear for the oldest, the youngest two just moved up into their brothers gear.

I was at the trail head and something stunk. Another hunters pack really smelled bad, he hadnt washed the pack after packing a deer out,. eeww,.. But the same applies to new or unwashed items
Wash all your gear in some form of sport wash.
I wash all my underwear and base layers in silver.
All clothing is washed in UV killer and packed in sage brush ( you dont need to pack in sage but I do) inside my clothing lockers.

Start clean": tent, backpack, sleeping bag and pad, wash them all in a sport soap , borax or baking soda. I use my bathtub or clean livestock tank.
Seam seal your tent, seal boots, lube your gun and bow with time for odors to dissipate.

Lens clea:, anti fog your binos,range finder, scope before season.

Know your body: dont make big changes in sleep, diet, or calorie intake and use. the first day of the hunt. Isnt life grand, your partner is needs to be dragged out of bed, and a 1/2 mile from camp he has the runs because he ate too much camp chili, and stayed up too late and got up too early discovers he forgot "his" toilet paper,

Our body's do not handle burning 2800 calories each day for a month than going a week straight burning 6500 calories

Be smart about your surroundings. I use to hunt isolated parts of the desert. I had extra water, large shade, and a floor in my tent to keep out snakes. Mosquitoes/bugs, make sure you have what is needed to keep them at bay.
Know what to do if you meet aggressive wolves or curious cougar, We hunt in bear country, black bears are easy, but be smart about grizzlies.
do you have a plan when you make a kill ( a good plan)

I do not like to smell, or smell other hunters

[Tigger]

These are great!

I do not like to drive all night to get to elk camp. Elk hunting is going to wear you out, why start exhausted?

How many people have you heard talk about getting diarrhea? Yet how many pack Immodium?

Not to be confused with any need from the above sentence, but bring chapstick.

Anyone worth a hill of beans as an elk hunter realizes the importance of being able to sit in one spot for a long time. Glassing, calling, heck, even lunch break is made so much easier with a foam seat pad. they weigh next to nothing and WILL keep you more comfortable which directly translates to sitting longer and being still.

A little pocket stove and Mountain House make for a really nice break from sandwiches. Speaking of sandwiches, might as well just sit on them and smash them as soon as you make them. Just cause.

A Clip Shot from one of our great sponsors here makes for a some great pictures. Not sure how anybody could go on a hunt without one.

Smarwool socks. Enough said.

OnX maps phone app. Enough said.

[Lefty]

,.... Speaking of sandwiches, might as well just sit on them and smash them as soon as you make them. Just cause.,,,,,.

A sign of an experienced sandwich maker

[Roosiebull]

To me, preseason is a time I like to familiarize myself with new areas I'm interested in, and how game uses it.

I also like to go check out and keep tabs on my areas I know well, just to see if patterns seem how I would expect, and how things may have changed.... things always change, even if you don't know why, areas don't seem to stay the same, even in national forest doesn't change (I think different generations of game have their individual routines)

I don't do much t cams, or scouting particular bulls, but when I have, it seems around opening day (in my region) a bull's program can change dramatically, as they go from their summer grounds, to checking competition, seeking cows, and finally breeding, these are things that will help understand how to find your bull that was so predictable all summer, that has now vanished.

One year I witnessed this in a big way, found him where he has been all summer 2 days prior to season, opening day was the first day I had not seen him when trying, lost him, went back to my normal plan, and I found him on Monday, over 5 miles away as the crow flies, by complete luck... that was where my luck ran out.

I made some good strategical decisions that morning, had him top pin range at full draw, never got a shot, and lost track of him again, a friend killed him a couple days later.

Pre season scouting to me is learning a few new areas, keeping tabs on my normal areas, and just getting comfortable around elk, I don't consider it to be a very important aspect to my personal hunting, but if learning areas, it can be very valuable.

My basic program is having lots of area I know well, start checking areas one by one (may walk out 6 or 7 areas a day if needed) until I find something that holds promise and start working it, I stick with it until I mess it up, or find success, and keep repeating that until I fill my tag.

Scouting has never helped me that much, I'm always scouting until I see an elk I want to shoot. Scouting is more just warm up, getting among elk, getting comfortable around them, and keeping tabs on patterns that may exist.

I have never killed an elk opening day, 2 on the second day, neither in the area I started opening day.

[scubohuntr]

These are great!

Not to be confused with any need from the above sentence, but bring chapstick.

And if you do need chapstick because you forgot the Immodium, do your lips FIRST!

[Roosiebull]

These are great!

Not to be confused with any need from the above sentence, but bring chapstick.

And if you do need chapstick because you forgot the Immodium, do your lips FIRST!

Haha haha

[natek24]

Great info

[Navesgane]

I picked up these last year and they're worth their weight in gold, to me anyways. Well not really but you know...
Prior to these I was ripping the latex on my reeds taking them in and out of my pockets or wherever I happen to put them. The clip on one takes a little getting used to on my hat because it's in my vision hut the stick on one I put on an out of the way spot on my bow and it's great. Not sure if it upped my game or not but it sure makes things a little more convenient, which goes a long way sometimes.

https://www.bend-able.com

[CurlyTail]

For maximum enjoyment, pick a "rut" hunt , which runs the month of September into early October. In most states, this means an archery hunt, but Colorado has a sweet muzzleloader hunt during the rut, and some states have rifle seasons that hit the tail end of the rut. When the Bulls are giving up their location by Bugling, the hunt is amazing.

Learn to call. If you are a competent caller, you may call often and call loudly. If you are a poor caller, you should not call often or loudly. It takes time to get good calling and experience to develope an ear for good calling. Not everyone can get there in one year.

Give yourself adequate time. It takes time to find the elk, and time and patience to get the job done. 10 to 14 days is ideal.

Commit to the longterm. If you don't get one your first year, keep after it. If the first location you try is over run with other hunters, try another location. It takes some experience to get into the elk regularly.

Do it Yourself if at all possible - the feeling is magnificent

[elkstalker]

One that just popped into my head is to be aggressive, if you locate a bull, don't spend too much time thinking about what to do, close the gap, especially if he is on the move. I rifle hunt primarily, so I usually have a pretty short window to get onto elk if I locate them. I spend too much time preparing to miss an opportunity!