My son and I recently did a guided multi-species hunt in Montana, paid a bunch of cash and never chambered a round over a 7 day period so are soured a little bit on guided hunts. He lives in Denver and we are looking to do a DIY elk hunt for both bow and rifle. Having never done this ourselves was hoping for tips on how to get started and things to consider people to talk to about their experiences and advice? Thanks
Get in shape. It’s all up to you. If you don’t have the proper gear, you have a lot of shopping to do. Get in shape. Randy Newburg has some great videos on YouTube about scouting and locating a area. Get in shape. A great pair of boots and a good pack are the best places to spend some money. Shelter and sleep are important to me, so I make sure I’ve got a good tent and bag. Water is probably going to be a big issue depending on where you hunt. I don’t believe you can hunt archery and rifle in Colorado in the same year. Did I mention to get in shape! Good luck to you and your son. There’s a lot of information out there, some of it good and some great. Most of it’s neither.
In addition to the above... Get in shape. There are a lot of good resources available: Newberg has good content on Youtube, his older podcasts and the elk 101 podcasts with Corey Jacobsen. One nugget Newberg shares is to go where others don't...sounds obvious. Another is to understand what the elk are looking for (food, water, protection, cows) at different points before, during and post rut. Elknut, Jacobsen (ueh & elk101) , Dirk (the bugler) Durham, Chris Roe all have podcasts, videos, apps and/or other training covering lots of topics. Scouting - this is tricky as elk move, but as you learn an area you'll better understand where elk are in a unit prerut, rut, post rut. You won't get much benefit scouting for animals during the summer, but you might find old rubs. Weapon proficiency - as a friend told me 'hunting elk is like a rodeo, you might have 8 seconds'. So at that moment of truth, you better be able to know if it is a makeable shot for you, a lethal and ethical shot, and you better be able to make the shot. Oh and get in shape.
