I definitely qualify. I'd welcome any feedback.
I successfully killed a Bull in an OIL Draw in the Wichita Mountains in 2017. But the success rates there are ridiculous, and it took very little true hunting experience to accomplish. So we can toss that out.
I've coached Little League Football for 12 years, so hunting Elk out west, was on the backburner. 2022 we got eliminated from the playoffs early of my last season, and I decided Spur of the moment I wanted to go Elk hunting. Had no idea what I was doing. Bought an OTC tag. I was ill-prepared. Had limited knowledge of the hunt area. I saw elk and tons of Muleys. It was a start. And that mattered more than anything.
Year 1: 2022 CO - 2nd Rifle for Elk (Bull tag). I hunted 4 1/2 days. Only had 2-3 weeks of planning. Had no idea what I was look at E-scouting. Just can't fathom what the side of a mountain looks like with just topo lines until you see the side of the mountain. Learned a crap ton every day.
1st full day hunting, i found fresh sign on a seep in a meadow, set up on it that evening and saw a lone cow feed out in front of me. Saw elk again on Day 4, a herd of 20 or so Elk, working across the opposite ridge. I was set up and ready, but never had a Bull step out.
Year 2: 2023 CO - Archery. I hunted 6 1/2 days. 1st 3 days Solo, Days 4-5 with a non-hunting partner. Planned for this one for 6 months. Tons of OnX and Google Earth E-scouting. But still very difficult to compare what I'm seeing on OnX to real world based on limited time in the Wilderness.
Day 1: Hunting top of a mountain near treeline. Heard a Bugle first thing in the morning, saw glimpse of a bull. Lots of fresh sign throughout the day.
Day 2: Same area. Early morning Bugle same bull. I bugled back. Couple exchanges, they I heard him bolt. I'm 100% confident, I botched the Elk talk test.
Day 3: Down the mountain, different area. Stumbled in to a meadow that had fresh sign/bedding. I set up, and had 3 Cows come through. Took a long shot at a Cow, misjudged distance, clean miss.
Day 4: Work down a mountain from middle to drainage below with the "main road" in it. Saw a Nice Bull with small herd of cows. They saw us first, and bolted. We tracked for a 1/2 mile. Long gone. Found a well used saddle/travel corridor.
Day 5: Got in early and setup on the travel corridor. Saw nothing, heard nothing. Weather got bad. Spent time in the truck with my buddy who knows the area. That Evening we went to another area with a big valley at the top of a mountain. Scouting around found fresh sign. Saw heard of elk moving inside a treeline across the valley.
Day 6: Hunted the big mountain valley. Setup and had a bull come in, but bail about 100 yards out. Found a nice Muley dead head and Elk Wallow. Got in a calling contest with another hunter. Tracked fresh elk tracks all the way down a hillside.
Day 7: Last Day Morning Hunt. I went back up the mountain from Day 1. Worked in to a Bench in the thick stuff on Northside. Again in fresh sign. Had an elk chuckle at me after I bugled. But nothing else.
I'm on here year round. Elk Hunt, Elk Talk, Cutting the Distance Podcasts have replaced my Football Podcasts. Worked through Elk201 course. etc. I've already spent dozens of hours on Onx planning for Sept. I'm even taking my teenage boys to CO next weekend to camp/scout/hike for 3 days just so I can get back out there and see what else I can learn. I "should" have a 0PP Archery tag in South CO this year, and I drew a Big Game Combo for Montana. Will make a 10 day trip to CO in Early-Mid Sept. And a 7 day trip to Montana in November.
Self-Assessment......I've primarily based out of a friends cabin with 45-90 minute ATV rides from there to my hunting locations. I get in right at daybreak, which is too late. I've mostly hunted very thick stuff. Which with my limited to poor calling ability isn't ideal. Spent too much time chasing "Tracks". I'm impatient on "setups" bcuz I don't trust my calling ability, and I can't see shit in thick stuff. I typically do 5-6 miles in a day, so not afraid to cover ground.
Changes: More hunting time. CO trip will be solo. MT trip I'll have my old son with me. Truck/Base Camping this year in an area I can glass from camp, or can hike to an effective glassing location. (It's more basecamp, but can be broke down in less than an hour, to move and relocate if necessary.) Be on location 30 minutes before sunup. Work to find elk before dedicating a day(s) to a thick mountainside hoping to find some. Call much less. Focus on Cow/Calf calls. Focus on Finding Elk.
I'll take whatever critiques, ideas, encouragement you got. This thread or DM. I'm a guy trying to learn anything and everything I can. Best learning is in my boots on the ground. But anything I can do between trips to the mountains to get better, I'm here for.
