how many elk hunters are on this site? i'm always looking for advice about elk hunting. relatively new to bowhunting and am hooked on elk. i want that herd bull.
If owning golf equipment.....and playing the course qualifies one as a "golfer"........then it stands to reason I can hopefully (after Sept.) call myself an "elk hunter"!.....lol I know nothing about it....but I'm looking forward to walking amongst them. Blank slate. I'll be watching for the "advice" part, also. Good luck to you.
right on GMMAT, where are you going? i went to CO last season after i didnt draw a tag in my home state of NM. I hope to draw this year but if not i will go back to CO. i found a honey hole last season and was into elk every day and made my first ever archery kill on a cow. been bow hunting for 2 seasons now for deer and elk and it is way more of a challenge than rifle ever was and i am hooked. wish i woulda started along time ago.
I'll be heading to CO (Unit 45) with a large contingency from this site (Sept). Congrats on your early accomplishments. Doesn't matter when you started. Just do what you can from here on out. I'm still relatively new to this, myself. Only hunted turkeys and whitetails, so far. So, I'm looking forward to adding elk (pursuit) to the list. Keep us posted on your prep.. I've already started mine. At 45, I'm gonna need it.
Herd bulls with a bow, a great challenge, one of the toughest around the mountains I call home. Good luck!
right now my prep consists of asking alot of questions on a couple sites and bought the dvd's and playbook from ElkNut1. google elknut outdoor productions. he also has a few videos on youtube and is well respected in the elk community. i highly reccomend "The PlayBook" and dvd's. since i got back from my deer hunt last month (0-2 so far on deer) i have been buried with work and havent even had time to shoot my bow but hope to start shooting again soon. i need to get into better shape for next year though. i did ok at 10,000 ft but want to be in better shape next season. at 46 i aint gettin no younger
Never killed a herd bull, but I have killed 7 archery elk. My hunting buddy has killed 3 good bulls, one 300+. We've put down a total of 14 elk in 10 seasons, all on public land One of these days, everything will work perfectly, and we will lay the big boy down. We have come VERY close over the years, and learned something every time we have failed. You've just gotta get out there into them. Best of Luck, Jeff
I live in CO and have been elk hunting for 18 years now. It is a learning experience every year. What are your ?'s. If you want the heard bull, it takes alot of time before the season scouting and locating a bull you want. Getting in to the heard bull can be easy if you know the area and the bull your looking for. Timing the rut is critical as well, if you know the bull is hot it makes getting close to him alot easier. Hope this helps, if you have any other ?'s let me know...
I'm hoping to join the ranks this fall. If everything follows through with school and the planning process, then I'm headed west in September.
k, here we go. i learned 2 great areas in the last 2 seasons. one in my home state of NM and last year in southern CO. my first hunt was in NM 2 years ago and hunted for 19 days. the first half of the hunt i didnt see any elk but knew they were there and knew nothing about calling at all but the second half of the hunt i called in 6 big bulls with the hoochie momma but didnt have a shot. i had some golden opportunities but couldnt get the bulls to step out due to inexperience and not knowing what the elk were saying to me. learning experience. year 2 i hunted the first 3 weekends of the hunt for a total of 11 days as i work 4 tens and was going to stay from the 11th til the 27th but closed the deal on the 14th on a cow. i was into elk every day accept 3 varying my calls. so this being said during the 2nd weekend, Labor Day weekend, i called in a big 6x6 in the dark timber pre rut. when i saw him appear out of nowhere i stayed silent and drew waiting for him to step out as he was pacing and looking but staying silent. i had to let off. he paced for a few more minutes back and forth at 30 yards but would not step out. what would you have done in this situation? the calls i had were 3 different double reed diaphragms, sceery cow/calf, hyperlip, hoochie and carltons squeeze calls and my chuckler bugle tube. anyone?
each situation is different, but when i have a bull that is close and want to get him to move i give a very quite cow call from a double or single read diaphram call. you do not want to do it very often as the elk will pin point you very quickly but enough to get him interested and move him. I usually wait awhile and see if he will move on his own. If he seems to be losing interest or leaving the area this is when i will cow call, one tone very short and quite. If you are hunting pre rut it is very very common for bulls to come in silent. I will set up to call and wait for a good 30 to 60 minites before moving on. During the rut you can locate call and go after the bull if you hear him. Once your close you can either sneak up on him or set up for a call. I shot a bull last year where we located him with a call and got into his area and i put the sneak on him to 25 yards and killed him. The bulls are so pre occupied that you can get very close to them if your in aspen of timber. Let me know if this helps or you have any more questions.
good information. i love hunting the dark timber. all my encounters the past 2 seasons have been up close and personal. still learning the ropes
