Is there any elk hunters on this site? are you going this year? bow hunting or gun hunting? where are you going? which season do you prefer? public ground or privet? with a outfitter or on your own? with a group of hunters or by your self? triditional or modern bow? team leader or just a groupie? do you and your budies film your hunts? best camera to use in the cold high country? The last two questions are the ones i'm going to try this year. I've tried with the old tape type movie camera years ago but either the tapes would freeze up or the batteries would run out of juice. need some good input on aset up to buy. i know some of you a a little shy about getting your words down on this forum but here's a chance.
Lol!! Is there any elk hunters on this site? A few are you going this year? Yep bow hunting or gun hunting? Bow where are you going? Colorado which season do you prefer? Middle of the elk season I've always preferred public ground or privet? Public with a outfitter or on your own? On my own with a group of hunters or by your self? Going with a large group this year but on a few different trips I've went by myself traditional or modern bow? Traditional (Recurve) team leader or just a groupie? Neither do you and your buddies film your hunts? Haven't done so yet but will be trying this year best camera to use in the cold high country? Don't know As far as a camera Sony Handycam DCR HC52. That's what I'll be using. It's nothing fancy but It's good enough for what I want It for.
Schultzy, Where are you headed in colorado, 3 of us are headed out on the 9/02/10. Hunt this year the week before and the first few days of muzzy. season. We will be up north on the little flat tops. Have a 1000 acers of privet ground that abutts a million acres of public.but the privet gound doesn't produce much. One of the neighbor ranchers feeds then quite heavely to get them on his property. but there is a couple spots where they cross on the public ground especialy when they are being pushed around by hunters and we take full advantage of that. Thats where the decoys truly help. Like ducks on the pond. I got hooked on elk hunting 18 uears ago, and go every year. Wish we had mts. and elk here in Iowa. picked my first compound in 71, a wing made by amf. still have it though its a little tired. nothing comparied to the new rocket lonchers they have today. I shoot a bowtech 82nd airborn. Singing down range easton axis 400 full metal jackets with muzzy 120 gr. tips. Fast and flat. I shoot in the Iowa games every year and the last years have managed 2nd and 3rd place. Won't make the games this year, My wife has me doing a national geographics film trip in Cosa Recia for a couple weeks in July. Going to try to learn how to run a vedio camera and what to shoot for a good presintation, Then I'm going to try shooting this elk years hunt and some deer hunts. A couple of us are working on my property trying to get in about a 5 acre food plot in the middle of my timber. it's been a lot of work getting it cleared wood cut and trash burned, wev'e been working at it for a couple three weeks now. just 2 days ago we got about 4 " of rain just north of us and yesterday the creek came out of its banks and flooded the whole area. it was still runing a good 2 feet deep this morning. can't tell what it did back there in the middle. i know one thing it posibly took my cut and split lumber( fireplace ) wood for a ride. oh well.
These three word line's are starting to drive me nuts but here's goes Is there any elk hunters on this site?Yes are you going this year?Absolutely bow hunting or gun hunting?Bow Only where are you going?Nun-ya Creek which season do you prefer?Last two weeks of September public ground or private? Public all the way with a outfitter or on your own?On my own with a group of hunters or by your self?BY myself and with Dad triditional or modern bow?Modern team leader or just a groupie?Neither do you and your budies film your hunts?NO, want to start, though best camera to use in the cold high country?Idk
you could always answer with a story. We used decoys in heavy timber last year. It was in the pitch of night as we made our way back, a good 2 miles in the dark, we knew this place well. having taken a couple nice bulls, 3 to be exact over the last 4 years, this fruitful ground hold many cows, and where you find cows, a couple hundred +-, you'll find bulls. Yes there are still plenty to be had here, by the early glimmers of light we were finally there. We caught the herd as it was going up in the morning. This part of the story will be picked up at a later date. But (2) satellite bulls fell that morning, as well as a cow, and by the end of the day we were pretty well whooped from cutting and packing. But the conclusion I'll share with you now. We all took the next day off. That day off wasn't good for the lad who didn’t fill his tag though. He moved around camp, kind of whimpering and complaining about just about everything in life. Convincingly we all assured him that letting the area relax for a day was good. That day seamed to last forever for him especially as he groper around. Stopping in front of the elk racks leaning up against the trees, He’d shake his head , mutter some words to himself then he'd go pick up the ax, chop up a few chunks off the logging tree, place the ax back in the stump, then go off to his next little can-do project. by the end of the day he’d made it back to that chopping log a lot of times. This was all a good thing, cause by the end of the day we had a sweet pile of wood stacked, all our messes cleaned up, and the camp was looking spiffy. That evening thing got better, I think it was because he know somehow, maybe it was his sixth sense told him that tomorrow was going to happen and that it was only a dreams time away. The next day came early, I don't know if Fred ever went to sleep. Fred was up stirring around in the cook tent when I finally crawled out, 4:00 am, A quick something warm to eat, that’s what I needed. Now our cook tent is rapped W/ 3 tables and coolers galore. Like walking into a grocery store all the tables are loaded with grub. All the snack food is places out neat and orderly on the tables for all to see. Kind of set up in smorgasbord style with just about anything you need for you days pack, it’s real scary for a person who has been in bear country to see such, heck been doing it that way for 18 years. And that’s why we keep it in the cook tent. Rather have him in there chewing down there then in my tent eating a feather sandwich. Anyway I need something warm, my typical breakfast is couple bags of instant oatmeal poured into a coffee cup and hot water followed with a coffee chaser. Mike was right behind me as we entered the cook tent. Said morning to each other and Fred gave a nod and commenced packing our packs and fixing our grub. 4:15 and we were heading out, we were heading back to our honey hole. Like I said we found this spot about 4 years earlier, a sinkhole valley with a supper pasture and ridged all around. Black timber on the north face and it was on that side we came in on. That day 2 of us went with Fred and to call and run the decoys. Even in the darkest timber they work. The morning went without locating a good cow; Fred had just that a cow tag. Basically all the cows were with the herds now with the rut going at full tilt. So finding that loan cow meandering around was like looking for a penny in the creek. You weren’t going to find one. So by midmorning we made our way towards the area we were sure the elk would frequent. Stopping lessening and discussing strategies, we had reached a spot about 3/4 the way to the top and about 300 yards to our right was their bedding area. We were at around 10,000 ft. elevation according to our GPS. Now that little gismo is a story by its self (later) The wind was in our favor, nothing but the natural up flow caused by the heating of the day. We could see the top ridge, it came right down to us. It would be easy walking if we had to get to the top. We decided to plant our selves there. Our location was about 35 yards or so above a saddle to a connecting arm that branched off into a different valley and we knew if there was going to be any putt zing around of the elk that this would be a good catch them spot. So we to shut up, we didn’t make a sound for about 2 hours. Like wise they too weren’t talking either. Knowing the elk would come to a water hole for an afternoon drink we set up on the open side, placing 3 elk in line heading down the trail going toward the sweet spot (water). It was 1:05 pm when we heard the first twig snap then another I glanced at my watch, gave myself a little grin , the trick was about to happen. We all got to our knees in a flash. Out of our resting beds we had made in the pine needles. Fresh pine brows placed on the ground as a bed smell so good. And it’s a good cover up scent. Staring hard looking down hill I wondered, did they somehow get past us, were we all asleep. I know I was or just resting. Oh no! Then a mew, it came from our right. I softly called back with a little purr, followed by mike, Fred snatched up his bow, I chirped to him, he looked back at me and I motioned that I was stepping back and heading down closer to the water. Both he and Mike nodded. Mike halted me with a hand jester and pointed at the Instant Elk decoys. Then he made his way to me. I grabbed another decoy out of his pack. Quickly we moved down just past the decoys, set up another and began calling. We saw a calf then another crest a saddle to our right. They were on a trail that was to cross below us about 40 yards. We mewed on our calls. Instantly the kids looked at our location and stood at full attention. Then their mothers appeared they too were looking and walking up to our location. taking a connecting trail, if you have ever been in the dark timber you will know all trails lead together somewhere, and they were on that somewhere trail coming straight to us. The lead cow had our decoys fixed. Without even the slightest hesitation they came up our way. As if they wanted to say hi what going, who ar... Mewing and talking back and forth the whole time. Holy smokes we even had the herd bull screaming, with a couple wantobes trying to get into the act. Now this usually doesn't happen on a afternoon stretch to get water. Our hair or at least mine was standing on end. Fred came to full draw on what may have been the herd cow. She passed within 20 feet or so below him. Fred let her own his arrow at a perfect going away shot, she jumped with the sting then settled down still focused on our decoys. She stood her ground for no more than 30 or so seconds then she sat down, then she laid down. She was gone. It was like she had said, "hay lets lay down here" and so the whole bunch of them did. We lithely had to scare the rest of the elk away to take care of that girl. Enough said. The decoys work, and work great in dark timber.
Is there any elk hunters on this site? Yepper are you going this year? Yes, but if I don't I must be dead !! bow hunting or gun hunting? Bow where are you going? New Mexico (if I draw) or Colorado which season do you prefer? 3rd week public ground or privet? Public with a outfitter or on your own? NM will be guided, Colorado on my own with a group of hunters or by your self? Two triditional or modern bow? Modern team leader or just a groupie? TL do you and your budies film your hunts? Yes sir, I have a video out there somewhere from 2 years ago best camera to use in the cold high country? Canon
Surely you have some photos to share with us elkmaster, eh? I would like for my buddies to take elk this year. They sure are a lot of work.... Sorry to hear about your flooded food plot. Hope you can savage some of your effort.
I'll be heading out elk hunting this year for my first time in over 10 years. I will be going with my dad and brother and a few others. We head out to the Crowsness pass in Southern Alberta Canada. It is all public land out there, but there is a bunch of it so we don't usually come across too many hunters. We all use modern compound bows. I would say over the last 10 or 12 years my brother, dad and their group have probably taken 6 or 7 elk out of the area so the group has had some good success. We usually do either a spot and stalk/bugling after riding our dirtbikes for a few km's to get us into some fairly remote spots. Than walk for a few more km's. I'm excited about the trip and will probably be trying to film it with my motorcycle helmet cam. The Go Pro HD helmet hero. It has awesome picture quality. Just a little distorted since it is almost like a fish eye lens. But it will be hands free and easy to use.
the food plot checked out to be just fine, only god knows why I happen to pick that exact spot but it was just high enough that the water didn't run over it. we finished it out this last weekend, clearing and such , now its time to spray it down with round-up and disk it up this week in the evening and plant it this weekend. we are going to go for clumps of forage look. 20'- X 90'- areas figure we can make about 90 different patches like in this 5 + acres. weave them all together, corn, beans, red clover, oats, sorghum, turnips, have a couple bags of food plot mix also, going to keep a couple areas open for straight grass & plant beets later in the summer. should be quite the site.
GREG/ SOMBODIES MO. sorry bud, but I'm not into pictures, never had the camera to really take any. though at home i do have a lot of photos, I'm going to try to learn how to run a movie camera and take some this summer, and at the moment working on getting a good camera/ something to shoot films with. I'v tried over the years, but the equipment would freeze up, tapes break, batteries die ,or would shoot on disposables and loose them. never was much of a brager on what i shot, was more into helping my budies fill out their tags. But i do always fill my tag,or most of the time. I'll dig thru my junk/ hunting photo albums and see what I can come up with. I've got some mic. here
Ryan brought out a Montana decoy last season, cow.. I dont think he needed it but I have always wanted to use one when I hunt alone.. Its a sweet decoy and easy to set up.. light weight
Yes, unfortunately the times I had it set up, I never called anything in, I am very curious to see the response from the elk. I know there were several times in previous years that I'd wished I had a decoy out.
i have brought them in from hte far side of valleys its no dif. then duck, goose or turkey hunting, using decoys gets their attention. if they see them they will come.
I have been elk hunting in colorado with a rifle for the past 4 years and killed 4 elk. (2 cows and 2 bulls). I will be going back again this year and in fact will be flying out there for a week vacation this month to kick back and enjoy the scenery and do some scouting. I hunt a mix of private and pub lands and hope to try it with a bow or possibly ML next year. I never tried decoys and can't imagine carrying them. Hard enough just getting myself up some of those canyons and mountains.
Is there any elk hunters on this site? Yes are you going this year? Yes bow hunting or gun hunting? Bow where are you going? Western Washington which season do you prefer? Late public ground or privet? Public with a outfitter or on your own? My self with a group of hunters or by your self? By myself triditional or modern bow? modern team leader or just a groupie? Niether do you and your budies film your hunts? no best camera to use in the cold high country? The last two questions are the ones i'm going to try this year. I've tried with the old tape type movie camera years ago but either the tapes would freeze up or the batteries would run out of juice. need some good input on aset up to buy. i know some of you a a little shy about getting your words down on this forum but here's a chance.
