Beginner elk hunter

Mwilson

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 11, 2020
Messages
122
Location
Georgia
Really really want to try and plan a DIY archery elk hunt on some public land. It would 100% be a learn as I go experience so any and all advice is welcome. Where’s a good location for a first time? I’ve hunted whitetail all my life, but what different gear would I need? Other than the fact I’ve tree stand hunted and elk are more Spot and stalk, what are the major differences?
 

gwerner

FNG
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
8
Your best best is to call them in or at least get them to give up their location so you can get closer to them. Most of the elk (Roosevelt) we hunt on the Oregon coast are in nasty brushy canyons so we don’t do a lot of spot and stalk, we locate with a bugle, move in to a 100 yards or so of where we think they are and depending on the situation will either cow call or challenge the bull to draw him in for a shot. Wind is everything and you have to be in good shape. This works in the country we have here, I can not speak for other states that aren’t as brushy and choked up. There is a lot of podcasts and YouTube channels that have tons of info on calling elk. Good luck.


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Mwilson

Mwilson

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 11, 2020
Messages
122
Location
Georgia
Your best best is to call them in or at least get them to give up their location so you can get closer to them. Most of the elk (Roosevelt) we hunt on the Oregon coast are in nasty brushy canyons so we don’t do a lot of spot and stalk, we locate with a bugle, move in to a 100 yards or so of where we think they are and depending on the situation will either cow call or challenge the bull to draw him in for a shot. Wind is everything and you have to be in good shape. This works in the country we have here, I can not speak for other states that aren’t as brushy and choked up. There is a lot of podcasts and YouTube channels that have tons of info on calling elk. Good luck.


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Thank you.
 

Nick66

FNG
Joined
Jan 17, 2020
Messages
12
Location
Arkansas
read all you can on here. check maps, OnX. Went last year for first time. Being a Texas hunter was in the same boat. Went with a buddy. Get all your gear, lightweight if you're packing in. Shelter and footwear are most important things.
Got a shelter and boots you would recommend?
 

Marble

WKR
Joined
May 29, 2019
Messages
3,219
Your biggest investment will be time. Gear can help you stay on the mountain, but success will come from expereince.

If you can scout, it might save you 3 to 4 days during season.

I think the secret to success in any of these hunts is expereince and learning the land, where water is, difficulty of terrain, pressure, etc..

Prepare to be humbled and half your ass kicked until you figure it out. There is no quick way to learn.

And enjoy.
 

jmez

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
7,404
Location
Piedmont, SD
Pick a state, pick an area and go. I'd truck camp the first year. Get a hunt plan for every day before you leave. If you aren't finding elk or very fresh sign don't be afraid to move and look somewhere else. Elk are where you find them, not where you want them to be or where you think they should be.
A lot of threads on here you can search for gear lists.

You will need to get in shape. No matter what you do you aren't going to be physically prepared for the mountains. You won't understand until you get there. You need to prepare mentally as well. It is huge country and you are literally looking for a needle in a haystack. The only way to find the needle is get out there and get some experience.

It's nothing like deer hunting. Prepare to see and hear nothing for days, quite possibly the entire trip. Fatigue, both mental and physical are a big deal on an elk hunt. It's not easy and it isn't for everyone.
 

smbolan

FNG
Joined
Dec 31, 2018
Messages
52
All good advice. Stay mobile til you find them. It may take you walking crazy amounts of terrain. When you do find them, wind,,, watch it every step.

As far as gear. I’ve done it with whitetail gear, it’s just harder. Some of these companies really cater to the western hunter, and they make great gear. Pricey, but great.


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Primetime

FNG
Joined
Jan 18, 2020
Messages
19
Definitely do able. Start researching areas. To help with this a good thing to read for like 15 bucks is diy elk hunting guide by back country chronicles. Also that elk hunting university is a good one as well. I’m from Wisconsin and I read up a ton on stuff watched hundreds of videos but til u get out there, it really doesn’t do it justice. Must haves for me personally is a good pair of boots. The first time I went out west (it was a diy elk hunt) it was with a 3 year old pair of Rockies. I swore by Back home. On the second day was really logging in some miles and got my first blister no big deal moleskin good to go. Note I read up on good socks they are a must as well. After my experiences I really like the hoof it socks that are made of like Bamboo or some something of that nature. Anyways long story short the first blister was just the start of it. Ended that day with 13 blisters total on my feet and the ones on the backs of my heels were the size of a 50 cent piece, both feet. Walked out to the truck at the trailhead bare foot 5 miles. (Not fun) Had to take a week off of work due to feet being wrecked needless to say i could have bought multiple pairs of top of the line boots with the money lost of missing out on work. The second time I was more ready. I bought a pair of meindl ultralight hunters. Carried a frame pack up the biggest hill in my county with weight in it on the hottest days of summer to make sure my feet didn’t have any issues with the boots and also took them on many normal walks. I worked out majority of the year leading up as well. And I had no issues on that hunt (13 days) other then looking back I should have clinched an opportunity at a cow that I didn’t take cause I wanted a bull. a big mistake. Seen a lot of elk. And had a great time. The thing with hunting out west at least to me is there is a super steep learning curve, unfortunately it’s not something you can ease into. You just gotta go for it and keep grinding. Also one thing to take into consideration, consider it a bone thrown to ya. When I first started looking I had planned to hunt a unit that was around 9k in Colorado. Did not find much sign my second time out due to more research. I ended up hunting a much higher elevation unit. I slept at around 10k the entire time. had the most encounters and seen then most elk around 10k-12k in elevation. Note there’s much higher elevation in the area but me coming from the Midwest did not think I was going to have to go to that elevation to hunt elk. I mean finding them on board line subalpine areas was nothing like on tv (private ranches) where there bugling in a meadow with 100 cows surrounding them.
 
OP
Mwilson

Mwilson

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 11, 2020
Messages
122
Location
Georgia
Definitely do able. Start researching areas. To help with this a good thing to read for like 15 bucks is diy elk hunting guide by back country chronicles. Also that elk hunting university is a good one as well. I’m from Wisconsin and I read up a ton on stuff watched hundreds of videos but til u get out there, it really doesn’t do it justice. Must haves for me personally is a good pair of boots. The first time I went out west (it was a diy elk hunt) it was with a 3 year old pair of Rockies. I swore by Back home. On the second day was really logging in some miles and got my first blister no big deal moleskin good to go. Note I read up on good socks they are a must as well. After my experiences I really like the hoof it socks that are made of like Bamboo or some something of that nature. Anyways long story short the first blister was just the start of it. Ended that day with 13 blisters total on my feet and the ones on the backs of my heels were the size of a 50 cent piece, both feet. Walked out to the truck at the trailhead bare foot 5 miles. (Not fun) Had to take a week off of work due to feet being wrecked needless to say i could have bought multiple pairs of top of the line boots with the money lost of missing out on work. The second time I was more ready. I bought a pair of meindl ultralight hunters. Carried a frame pack up the biggest hill in my county with weight in it on the hottest days of summer to make sure my feet didn’t have any issues with the boots and also took them on many normal walks. I worked out majority of the year leading up as well. And I had no issues on that hunt (13 days) other then looking back I should have clinched an opportunity at a cow that I didn’t take cause I wanted a bull. a big mistake. Seen a lot of elk. And had a great time. The thing with hunting out west at least to me is there is a super steep learning curve, unfortunately it’s not something you can ease into. You just gotta go for it and keep grinding. Also one thing to take into consideration, consider it a bone thrown to ya. When I first started looking I had planned to hunt a unit that was around 9k in Colorado. Did not find much sign my second time out due to more research. I ended up hunting a much higher elevation unit. I slept at around 10k the entire time. had the most encounters and seen then most elk around 10k-12k in elevation. Note there’s much higher elevation in the area but me coming from the Midwest did not think I was going to have to go to that elevation to hunt elk. I mean finding them on board line subalpine areas was nothing like on tv (private ranches) where there bugling in a meadow with 100 cows surrounding them.
Awesome. Thank you
 

Primetime

FNG
Joined
Jan 18, 2020
Messages
19
No problem. Also try to talk a buddy into going makes for a much better time. If your not seeing fresh sign like whitetail hunting (rubs, fresh scat,etc) Time to find a different area. Not saying this is legit but for me every time I’ve seen elk, I’ve smelt them first they smell like a horse/rutting buck mix if that makes sense. Also take a little whitetail approach on it and if u find a wallow being used. (Water will be murky, freshly stirred up not clear) Then setup on it with the wind in ur face.
 
Joined
Feb 22, 2018
Messages
18
Location
Cypress, TX
Got a shelter and boots you would recommend?
Irish Setter Vaprtrek. especially early archery you don't need insulated boots.
As far as shelters go, I have a luxe tipi tent with an inner. I'm not much for sleeping directly on the ground especially if it rains. But there are several post about the different brands of shelters. Get one big enough for you that's in your budget and reasonable weight
 

blfelts

FNG
Joined
Jan 12, 2020
Messages
16
Location
Idaho
Definitely recommend the Elk101/University of Elk Hunting. There are discount codes floating around, but still pricey. I recommend going with at least one buddy, and convince them to split the course cost with ya. Get in shape and start practicing your calls. As others mentioned, boots are probably the single most important piece of equipment you can invest in.

Also, I would jot down a list of "non-negotiables", or what characteristics would make up your ideal hunt. Since OTC tags are typically based on population estimates and management objectives, IN GENERAL, where there's more elk, there's more people. Alternatively, where the elk numbers aren't so high, there aren't as many tags and thus less likely to run into other hunters.
 

Peaks&Creeks

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 21, 2016
Messages
289
Location
SW MT
What’s your budget? You can go nuts on top of the line gear for a western hunt. If on a budget, I recommend good boots. Saying that, people have different opinions on what good boots are, but for out west look more into lightweight mountaineering boots or backpacking boots and a good set of socks. There’s many threads on this but the key is to go try them on. Next I would say get a good backpack. Doesn’t have to be any of the Kifaru, Stone Glacier, Kuiu, Exo packs. I got away with an Arcteryx Bora backpacking style pack for several years, but anything like a Osprey, Gregory, Granite Gear etc can do just fine. Hauling out meat will suck, but there’s a good chance you won’t be hauling meat. Also keep things light, get a good lightweight sleeping bag and pad, don’t bring your car camping Coleman bag that weighs 11 pounds.

And the most important thing, get in shape. Seriously.

Forget what you know about whitetail except for the wind part. Prepare for lots of hiking and glassing, once you find elk it’s game on but you gotta play it right. It’s a balance of getting there as fast as you can, but being patient and making the right moves at the right time. It truly is a chess match.


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Mwilson

Mwilson

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 11, 2020
Messages
122
Location
Georgia
Haha. Definitely going to be a budget trip. I can’t comfortably sink thousands of dollars on a first hunt. Boots, shelter, pack, sleeping I can see making a huge difference. I love hunting Whitetail and am fairly positive I could get hooked on a western hunt as well, but I’m not trying to be 10k upside down before I ever try it out. Thanks for all the input. I’ll take whatever info I can get. I have watched a ton of Cameron Hanes videos and of course being in shape seems to be a big focal point.


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cnelk

WKR
Joined
Mar 1, 2012
Messages
6,798
Location
Colorado
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Mwilson

Mwilson

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 11, 2020
Messages
122
Location
Georgia
Hey thanks man. Will definitely purchase this


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jmav58

WKR
Joined
Feb 12, 2015
Messages
546
Location
MT
Irish Setter Vaprtrek. especially early archery you don't need insulated boots.
As far as shelters go, I have a luxe tipi tent with an inner. I'm not much for sleeping directly on the ground especially if it rains. But there are several post about the different brands of shelters. Get one big enough for you that's in your budget and reasonable weight
Would not recommend the Vaprtreks. Don't want to derail this thread, but those boots were junk for me.
 
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