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What's The Deal?

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What's The Deal?

Postby Swede » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 1]

Every year I hear or read how tough and exhausting elk hunting is. The toll is said to be both physical and mental. I read of people hiking 15-20 miles a day through some of the roughest country God created. The elk are so wise and elusive that they can disappear into thin air just hearing a squirrel burp. So why is it that the oldest hunters, age 55+ are just as effective as the younger hunters? Guys in their 70s are still out getting critters on a regular basis.
Does elk hunting need to be that exhausting? Does it really increase our chances at downing a bull? Is it possible that the marathon men, fueled on grape nuts and pinion seeds are just hunters too?
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Joe Schmo » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 2]

"Youth is wasted on the young"

"Wisdom is priceless"
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Indian Summer » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 3]

It’s a marathon when you are in exploring mode still learning how to find and kill elk. Then you learn the sweet spots and slow down. You hunt smarter instead of harder. At 52 I’m more confident than ever and my hunting gets easier every year.

I wouldn’t want to try to learn how to hunt elk at my age! :shock:
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Swede » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 4]

It has been the same story all of my life. Some hunters were consistently getting game while others got something every once in awhile. As a kid I thought slowing down was just an excuse older hunters made for their lack of physical ability. But older guys were passing up game I did not even see.
I am hoping this thread will shine some light on hunting better that will help newer hunters especially the younger ones so they don't get sucked into this idea that they need to come in bone tired every day for the whole season in order to get elk.
There are hard hunts that are good and there are hard hunts that are dumb. There are easy hunts that are ......... Fill in the blanks. :D
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Roosiebull » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 5]

Right now, I work as hard as I can in the woods, banking on by the time I have more physical limitations that I have acquired enough skill to keep effectively hunting.

I honestly don't see it as very hard, it has it's moments, but it's nothing like being on a highliner crab boat the first month of the season.

There are difficult times hunting, but overall it's pretty mellow. I don't smoke myself for no reason, I don't over commit to a hunt that doesn't show hope, I pace myself. It's my time, and I get the most fun I can.
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby saddlesore » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 6]

I sure don't work hard at it.The hardest part of my hunt is field dressing the elk.The only exersize I do is walking and that is for my heart. I'm tired when I get home from a hunt, but I am tired around home too just doing chores
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Indian Summer » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 7]

The one thing I make it a point to do is get up and out the door to be where I want to be at first light. What I see in the first hour can make or break my day. Also I keep my nose to the grindstone and never take a day off. My partners will tell you I work like a dog never letting up. My theory is there is plenty of time to rest after the hunt! I may plan some easier days but I’m always hunting. I think that’s more important than running yourself ragged and then skipping a day. Don’t get me wrong I never take the low road. I just know how to pace myself and cover ground properly in the hills.
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Tigger » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 8]

I have never been able to hunt the same spot twice due to not getting drawn. Secondly I hunt heavily hunted areas so I want to get away from the crowd. Those two things combine to make me work harder than I probably need to. But it is the only way I know. An easy elk hunt? Pshaw! Doesn’t exist!
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Indian Summer » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 9]

Tigger wrote:I have never been able to hunt the same spot twice due to not getting drawn. Secondly I hunt heavily hunted areas so I want to get away from the crowd. Those two things combine to make me work harder than I probably need to. But it is the only way I know. An easy elk hunt? Pshaw! Doesn’t exist!


They do exist! You don’t plan them they just happen. Several times myself or a partner have killed bulls in the first hour of a hunt around a mile from the truck.... all downhill packing. If you hunt elk for a lifetime just about everything will happen eventually! One of my partners this year killed a nice long beamed 6 point bull right on the pack trail 45 minutes into day 1! Your day will come Tigger!
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby saddlesore » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 10]

In one location close to the photos I posted earlier in another thread,I killed three elk sitting within 50 yards of each shot I took to kill each one. All were OTC tags.
In the following photo, I killed 8 bulls in 8 consecutive years in the bowl shown.All up in the timber around the sides.All OTC tags.

So it an be down fairly easily

They were in my earlier years (90's)when my legs worked a bit better though.

Image
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Roosiebull » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 11]

saddlesore wrote:I sure don't work hard at it.The hardest part of my hunt is field dressing the elk.The only exersize I do is walking and that is for my heart. I'm tired when I get home from a hunt, but I am tired around home too just doing chores

What is it about field dressing an elk? I swear that wears me out more than packing, and I have never understood it.

Packing can be very physically daunting, but it seems like I'm shakey and sore backed before I ever start packing. It seems like the first load gets easier before it gets harder again as I recover and loosen up from the field dressing task.

I figure it's being bent over for however long, and using body leverage in awkward positions the whole time.

I still don't consider it that hard, I truly enjoy the whole process. Every aspect of elk hunting is fun, the lows highlight the highs.

I guess I don't enjoy tracking after 100 yrs, that is no fun, and mentally difficult, besides that, I can't think of anything particularly "hard"

I hunt at whatever pace I want, the beauty of being a solo hunter. I can walk away from elk, and restrategize, no pressure to make a move, even if it's just waiting for them to be in a better spot for packing if I have a successful hunt.

I do know some day I will be less capable physically, but by then, I will be a better hunter (in theory :mrgreen: )
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Roosiebull » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 12]

That is a beautiful setting to hunt elk!

I think many times, the areas we are successful often aren't necessarily better than the next spot, but places we like to spend time in, exposure to a good area can make them seem better than others, but it's the time spent there that leads to the area seeming "good"

My deer hunting spots are generally game rich areas that I like to hang out in, rather than spots I scouted a big buck. Areas that pretty generally have a mature animal or 2 by default ;)
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Swede » 02 08, 2018 •  [Post 13]

I have butchered quite a few elk alone. It is very tiring. Roosie you are 100% correct on your observations. It has to be a bad pack out to be harder than field butchering alone. I try to get every morsel bagged clean. I don't want to wrestle one in the dirt, so that makes it tougher.
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby otcWill » 02 09, 2018 •  [Post 14]

As most elk hunting questions, this one is VERY situational. No two areas let alone 2 states can be compared with blanket statements when it comes to elk hunting. I know guys that work hard and never kill anything and I know guys that work hard and kill big bulls every year. This is all assuming public land OTC which is what I do. I am blessed to have a lot of friends that are amongst the best public land elk killers on the planet and I don't know a single one that kills big bulls every year on public land that doesn't work their tail off to do so. Now the "work" might not come in the form of 15-20 miles a day, but work is work nonetheless. I do know some guys that kill cows and young bulls from spots as close as 50 yds from their vehicles but a big bull might come every 10 years or so to these types. So, I guess I'd say that no, it doesn't have to be that hard, but if you are after mature bulls on public land every season, yes, it is a grind in my experience.
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Swede » 02 09, 2018 •  [Post 15]

otcWill wrote:As most elk hunting questions, this one is VERY situational.


Will, you make an interesting point, but what I have found about big bulls is that you need to hunt areas with some big bulls. It is often not necessary to hike five miles back to get there. I can't say the bigger bulls are farther out than the average. I have seen the big bulls are with the other elk.
A few people believe the sweetest apples come off the top limb, so they get a very tall ladder to reach the highest one. I cannot say that is my experience.

When we talk about hunting effort, that does not include scouting or studying elk. It is simply the physical extremes people go through believing they are improving their chances at elk. I think once we get into an elk area, the over looked ingredients necessary for success are patience and perseverance. Sometimes the elk have moved away from their normal habitat. You will need to go where they are to get one.
Certainly there are good elk populations in far out holes. You need to be in excellent shape to get one and pack it out. That does not mean the good bulls are all in those holes. It does not necessarily mean when you get there you will have the place to yourself either. Just my thought.
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby elkstalker » 02 09, 2018 •  [Post 16]

So for those of you who have been hunting elk for a significant number of years, what have you changed about your hunting style that has kept you into elk even though you may not be covering 10-20 miles a day anymore?
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby otcWill » 02 09, 2018 •  [Post 17]

Swede wrote:When we talk about hunting effort, that does not include scouting or studying elk. It is simply the physical extremes people go through believing they are improving their chances at elk. I think once we get into an elk area, the over looked ingredients necessary for success are patience and perseverance. Sometimes the elk have moved away from their normal habitat. You will need to go where they are to get one.
Certainly there are good elk populations in far out holes. You need to be in excellent shape to get one and pack it out. That does not mean the good bulls are all in those holes. It does not necessarily mean when you get there you will have the place to yourself either. Just my thought.



I agree with all of that. I have found my best spots are hard to find or hard to reach but not all that far to get to if this makes sense. My success has come with a combination of hard physical work and a smart "elk sense" that tells me where to look. I definitely agree that often these spots aren't 5-10 miles from roads and that certainly isn't something I look for on a map though I've got some gems that are 4-6 miles in. So to these two questions: Does elk hunting need to be that exhausting? Does it really increase our chances at downing a bull? I'd say, sometimes, yes; sometimes, no :) As I said, its so difficult to generalize anything about elk hunting.
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Swede » 02 09, 2018 •  [Post 18]

Will, what I like about your post here is that they add valuable perspective. We don't all hunt the same. We don't hunt the same areas, use the same techniques or even the same seasons. One answer does not fit everything. Thanks
I hope others can contribute here too. There is a lot more to this whole problem.
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Re: What's The Deal?

Postby Roosiebull » 02 10, 2018 •  [Post 19]

Things are for sure different regionally. Finding big mature bulls here has no relationship to how far you walk, I can only recall seeing one big bull that would have been over a mile pack. My bull this year, which was big for a roosie, I shot about 50yds from my pickup.

I got on them about a half mile away, and skirted them all the way back.

A really big bull I missed a couple years ago was a half mile from my pickup, and a few I was hunting by boat, that were close as well to where I parked.

It's so thick around here, they can hide anywhere, so the challenge is finding an area with a big bull, if that is your goal. Distance has nothing to do with it.

I have lots of areas I hunt, and access to all of my areas from various points, and may check 10 spots in a day if I'm not finding anything.

Sometimes I will go on a long hike and go through a bunch of country, but normally I make several short hikes until I find sign, then hunt it.

This year, my timber company land will be open again, so I will be doing more long hikes, but mostly on logging roads, which is much easier than cross country in mature timber.
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