FlyGuy
WKR
I thought this might be a good topic to discuss since we are all just itching to talk elk hunting while pretending to work for the next 3 months while we scour google earth and inhale all the info we can until September gets here...
My past experience with Archery Elk has either been solo or with a group of 4 hunters operating out of a base camp and paired off for the day in two teams of two. Each pair was typically alternating with each elk encounter between shooter and caller.
This year I'm changing things up and we will have 3 hunters. We are planning on all hunting together for the most part, potentially just splitting up to cover more ground in order to locate elk. The two guys I'm with this year are no strangers to mtn hunting but this will be their 1st archery elk hunt ever. The question was raised today by one of them about what is the role of the 3rd guy? Obviously there is a Shooter and a Caller, but what is the role of the 3rd guy?
I have my ideas on the subject, but it got me to thinking more and more about it and I realized there could be a number of scenarios where three could be more useful (or more problematic) than two. For those of you who have experience hunting in a group of three, what are some of the ways that you like to utilize that third person (aside from the obvious extra set of glassing eyes, smaller pack-out loads)? What are some of the unexpected ways that a 3rd person has gotten you into trouble or cost you opportunities?
Do you now prefer to hunt in 3's, or have you changed to 2 or solo, and if so for what reasons? Hope this stimulates some conversation and that I can learn a thing or two in the process.
My past experience with Archery Elk has either been solo or with a group of 4 hunters operating out of a base camp and paired off for the day in two teams of two. Each pair was typically alternating with each elk encounter between shooter and caller.
This year I'm changing things up and we will have 3 hunters. We are planning on all hunting together for the most part, potentially just splitting up to cover more ground in order to locate elk. The two guys I'm with this year are no strangers to mtn hunting but this will be their 1st archery elk hunt ever. The question was raised today by one of them about what is the role of the 3rd guy? Obviously there is a Shooter and a Caller, but what is the role of the 3rd guy?
I have my ideas on the subject, but it got me to thinking more and more about it and I realized there could be a number of scenarios where three could be more useful (or more problematic) than two. For those of you who have experience hunting in a group of three, what are some of the ways that you like to utilize that third person (aside from the obvious extra set of glassing eyes, smaller pack-out loads)? What are some of the unexpected ways that a 3rd person has gotten you into trouble or cost you opportunities?
Do you now prefer to hunt in 3's, or have you changed to 2 or solo, and if so for what reasons? Hope this stimulates some conversation and that I can learn a thing or two in the process.