Whats your formula for success?

[ElkNut1]

Rules I go by on OTC DIY hunts! These simple things have led us to success for years. >>>>>>>>


Be in good physical shape for the type of hunt you've chosen


Don't worry about elk numbers

I Don't worry about success rates, they are misleading

Hunt where others don't, most elk are taken in under 2 miles from roads

Have no fear of the woods, learn how to navigate them

Know how & when to call, understand what you or the elk are saying

Read each situation & adapt to it

The more days I can hunt consecutively the better my chances

Have multiple areas to hunt or fall back onto, leave area the same day if no elk are there

Don't be afraid to use your bugle for finding elk in dark timber, find them before they find you

Elk hunters are good sufferer's, BY ALL MEANS NEVER GIVE UP!!!

ElkNut1

 

[Agla06]

The don't see your camp during the daylight and burn lots of headlight batteries is a good insight.

I see this often and would love someone to give more insight. The last thing I want to do is blow out bedded elk and waste lots of energy on elk ai could have hunted otherwise.

 

[Ross]

The country I'm hunting is straight up or straight down. A good portion has no road at the top. If you don't start early you miss the best time to be in the woods especially early in archery when the bugling may only last a couple of hours. For rifle it is the same because if you don't start early you again miss the opportunity to cut them off as they head to bedding or when there may be the occasional bugle. MANY of my bulls have been shot in the first hour of daybreak and I can recall many times seeing many driving with headlights in the distance when I have been hiking for an hour already. Yes you will bump elk occasionally but for the success it has generated I don't worry about it. I believe this is all contingent on the country your hunting and how difficult it is to access. For the evening I've killed several bulls within the last hour of light knowing I will be out late to process them with a smile. Some years bugling can be super for evening hunts and if so I don't worry about coming out in the dark just taking it slower to avoid any injuries.

 

[Jon Boy]

I see this often and would love someone to give more insight. The last thing I want to do is blow out bedded elk and waste lots of energy on elk ai could have hunted otherwise.

I've found if you bump them in the dark they rarely go far. If I'm hunting a herd its fairly easy to skirt around them. If I'm searching for elk and have no idea where they are and happen to bump them in the dark, I'm better off that way than never seeing them as it gives me a place to start

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[ElkNut1]

When I head in at dark thirty towards a destination I will bugle from the rig & every 1/2 mile in distance as I go to avoid bumping into elk that may not be calling on their own. Doing this greatly reduces the accidental bumping of elk! I do not cow call at this time, I've found over the years the Bugle is a much better producer at night in receiving a vocal response!

ElkNut1

 

[njdoxie]

This is a good thread, it's interesting see folks strategies boiled down.

I've hunted a lot of different ways over the years, but over the last 10 years, I find a good park and glass it. I hate hunting solid timber. It has worked for me.

 

[ElkNut1]

My # 1 reason for our success is Calling! No kidding, bugling to find bulls first is by far the fastest way that has worked well for us. Where more open country hunts come into play Glassing is a huge asset as well. Between the two you will find hunt-able elk! The hunt starts after you locate elk, before that you are in search of them!

ElkNut1

 

[Bar]

Paul.............You don't think still hunting for elk is hunting? When I find them, i'm shooting.

 

[ElkNut1]

Pete, of course still hunting elk is not considered hunting!! Gotcha!! (grin) You're just trying to stir the pot! (big grin) Of course there's lots of ways to hunt elk, some are better than others, it depends on the type of country & terrain ones hunting! In dark timber & being mainly a bowhunter I find calling the quickest way to locate elk, once located the hunt is on. What I do to try to get him to bowrange depends on the response I receive? That's the fun part! (grin) I may slip in silently on him too if I have good odds in doing so!

ElkNut1

 

[Bar]

Yes, but the difference is once you know where the elk are you're stalking. Still hunting is not knowing where the elk are, but though tons of scouting you have a good idea. I never know an elk is there until I see it and it's almost always close enough for a shot when I see it, so I never actually have to stalk. My range is almost always at bow range with my muzzleloader.

I find it the most excting way to hunt, but that's me.

 

[5MilesBack]

I find it the most excting way to hunt, but that's me.

Still hunting timber where elk may not even be? That's the most exciting way to hunt for you?

Pretty much what I did for years with a rifle, and it isn't even in the same ball park for fun and exciting as bowhunting, and there were only 3 years when I didn't tag out. I wouldn't go back to that if I was paid to hunt that way. But that's me.

 

[Bar]

I was bow hunting before you were born. 1950

 

[5MilesBack]

I was bow hunting before you were born. 1950

And yet, still hunting elk that may or may not even be there is STILL the most exciting way to hunt for you?

This is what I've always found odd.......the ML lobby in CO is huge in keeping that rut hunting week during archery season, yet I have never met a single ML elk hunter that even takes advantage of it being the rut. Every single one I know, or have met while hunting.......hunts that season like the rifle season. Most just seem to sit and wait but some still-hunt like you do. In either case, they're missing out on the most fun.....hunting the rut.

I'd rather have fun with the elk for 10 seasons and not shoot a one, than hunt silently and have 10 big bulls on the wall. But why not do both, regardless of weapon........since it is the rut?

 

[Bar]

And yet, still hunting elk that may or may not even be there is STILL the most exciting way to hunt for you?

This is what I've always found odd.......the ML lobby in CO is huge in keeping that rut hunting week during archery season, yet I have never met a single ML elk hunter that even takes advantage of it being the rut. Every single one I know, or have met while hunting.......hunts that season like the rifle season. Most just seem to sit and wait but some still-hunt like you do. In either case, they're missing out on the most fun.....hunting the rut.

I'd rather have fun with the elk for 10 seasons and not shoot a one, than hunt silently and have 10 big bulls on the wall. But why not do both, regardless of weapon........since it is the rut?

I've actually tried every form of hunting when I was young. My dad was a still hunter and that's what he taught me and my brother. I curious like every youngster and tried all methods. I came back to still hunting, because that's what I enjoyed the most. I never considered it easy. I did find some of the other methods easier. Especially calling and long shots with a rifle. Most of all my hunting was done with a Win 94 in 30-30 with open sights. In the early 80's I switched to a flintlock. It added a bit more challenge and I enjoy hunting like our forefathers.

I think still hunting is exciting, because you never know when an elk/bear/muley will be there. Sometimes we see each other at the same time and the animal will take off leaving me to take a running shot. Something my dad taught us to do as youngsters. Stll hunting reminds me of bird hunting. Te game appears fast and you have to shoot fast. It's the unexpected and surprise that I like. I also enjoy being quiet enough to sneak up on whatever i'm hunting. That's not always easy with noisy ground. Some hunters will still hunt when conditions are perfect. I do it 100% of the time and that can make it more difficult. I'm convinced i'm not using the easiest most effective way to hunt and that appeals to me too.

As for the muzzleloader season? I hardly ever hunt it. For one it's too hot and I find much easier too. Elk are predictable in the rut. I hunt the rifle seasons with my target a lone bull who's hiding is the worse terrain ever. I use a flintlock or sometimes a caplock to add a bit more challenge. Like i said before. My shots are close enough to use a bow. No matter what weapon I use the hunting is always the same. Still hunt as close as possible.

Still hunting isn't for everybody. To do it right takes infinant patience. Not everybody wants to do that. I actually like that, because if everybody hunted like me the dark rough terrain would be full of hunters. A still hunter needs solitude to be effective.

Anyway, that's the best I can explain it. I won't rag on your method of hunting if you'll give me the same courtesy.

 

[5MilesBack]

I knew you used a ML, but had no idea you were hunting the rifle season. That makes a BIG difference. Ya, for rifle season still hunting is all I did as well. The last bull I shot with a rifle was a 5-point from 25 yards in the timber. I remember thinking at the time (while I was trying to find him in the scope), that I should have had a bow in my hands. The next year I did. Now the sight picture is much better at those close ranges.

And I got tired of the "cold" seasons, archery is much better. I love the heat, even during elk season. Carry on.

 

[cnelk]

Pete
You would have liked it when I 'still hunted' up to my trail cam location Friday morning

Nothing better than seeing elk before they see you


Scouting Elk 2017 - YouTube

 

[Bar]

You were surrounded Brad. Nice going getting close.

 

[njdoxie]

This thread has morphed into an explanation of why folks hunt like they do...I'm enjoying it....I love spot and stalk hunting with a rifle and might stop elk hunting if I had to do it another way, I prefer it to archery/calling and way prefer it over still hunting. Still hunting is just too stessful, being on edge day after day all day long, I need to relax a little while I'm hunting. And I know calling in elk should be more exciting to me, but it isn't, I don't know why. The least enjoyable hunt for me would be still hunting solid dark timber void of parks.

 

[5MilesBack]

And I know calling in elk should be more exciting to me, but it isn't, I don't know why.

I'm more of a "call and stalk, or chase down" kind of bowhunter. Think of it like your "spot and stalk", except you haven't seen them yet but know they're there because of the calling. And based solely on that calling and response, you have to try to determine what kind of bull you're dealing with, the mood of that bull, and anticipate what he's going to do.......all while trying to influence what he actually does......while you're moving in and keeping the wind right. Ya, if you want relaxation while hunting........this is definitely the opposite of that.

I get bored easily and quickly. I have to keep my mind working and on edge at all times. This method does that.

 

[sneaky]

Burning boot leather, sweating a lot, cursing and mumbling under my breath, cold beer, sweet and sour pork with rice, 4 hours of sleep, rinse and repeat. Oh, and in the middle of all that forget to check my surroundings and let bulls sneak in silent on me. Least that's how last year went.

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