Physical or Mental?

[Fridaythe13th]

I'll take luck anyday. Nothing better than stepping out of the truck and there's a 6x6 standing at the end of your barrel or arrow. Lol

 

[*zap*]

if your very tough mentally then you will have no troubles becoming tough physically.

 

[hibernation]

If it’s so much more mental, why do so many guys workout to get in shape for their elk hunt?

Like others have said, the physical and mental complement each other. When I'm in better shape, everything else becomes easier: I don't have to draw on "grit" to get up a steep hill for the 10th time, I can just go. If someone's already sucking wind on the hills, or waking up sore everyday, they're going to have a harder time finding motivation through the days where you aren't seeing elk.

 

[5MilesBack]

If it was all about the physical, I wouldn't make it out of camp most days just because of my knees and back. But for me, it's all about the mental.........for now. But at some point I'll have to pay the piper because of all the damage my mental is inflicting on my body.

The only cardio I do all year is elk hunting, and never have much of a problem with that come September........but that's also probably when the mental comes in........just keep pressing on regardless how winded I get.

 

[CAElkhunter]

Both, but I don't care how tough you are mentally, If you show up 30 - 40 lbs over weight and haven't been hiking you can't show up and mentally tough it out. I have seen many a tough mental guy die in the high altitude hiking environment of Elk hunting. Many think you book an outfitter and you are going to drive up
in an ATV/Suburban, get out walk a few hundred yds and whack an Elk. After day 2 of hiking they are spent.

 

[cnelk]

I workout physically to elk hunting.

I go elk hunting to workout mentally.

 

[4rcgoat]

I workout physically to elk hunting.

I go elk hunting to workout mentally.

That sums it up very nicely!

 

[mtnbiker208]

Don't ever, ever ring the bell!

an older gentleman who will forget more about hunting than i will ever know, told me this: very few people can hunt hard for 10 days. But most can hunt hard for 4 days. Break your hunts down into 4 day hunts. that might mean hunt hard for 4 days, take a day off and get back after it, keep repeating. I did that and on the 10th day of the season, i got my bull.

 

[elknailer]

as a 72 yr old elk hunter i would say 80% physical, 20 mental. If I had not been in top condition this year I would have been in deep do do on the pack out !

 

[rayporter]

flatlander here- i never worked out until i was 55. at 60 i could still walk many to the ground. its mental!!

at 63 things began to change and i am done now at 71. but it was a hell of a ride while it lasted.

 

[trophyhill]

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is heart. If you’ve got heart, you can overcome the mental and physical aspects. The desire that drives you to be successful can overcome shortcomings in other areas.

Being mentally ready, physically fit, and having an unwieldy desire from within would be the best of all worlds.

 

[Indian Summer]

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is heart. If you’ve got heart, you can overcome the mental and physical aspects. The desire that drives you to be successful can overcome shortcomings in other areas.

Being mentally ready, physically fit, and having an unwieldy desire from within would be the best of all worlds.

Heart is the same as grit. So is “unwieldy desire”. They are mental attributes. Certainly not physical ones.

I don’t work out. But I don’t sit behind a desk or watch a lot of television either. I’m a union carpenter. I’m 55 years old, 5ft 6 inches and 210 pounds. Definitely NOT an olympic athlete. My legs are strong but they’re short and they have a lot to carry. But no matter how many guys I see at a trailhead I think to myself.... one way or another I’m going to outhunt 90% of those guys. If that isn’t mental I don’t know what is.

If the mental aspect wasn’t the big factor there would be an age limit to elk hunting and it would probably be a lot less than the age of some of the guys that are knocking them down year after year. I think you know my vote.

 

[ffgoss4606]

I have never been elk hunting but plan too. I have no idea what to expect other than pain and all great rewards come through pain. That being said after 15 years in the fire service I am nothing physically compared to what I once was but somehow I can do some physical things easier now in my 40’s than in my 20’s. Oddly enough I can work circles around most 20 year olds at fire today. I think it helps tremendously when your stubborn as hell and refuse to give up under any circumstances. Like I said I have never been elk hunting and have no fear of it. My only tangible that I can’t account for is altitude. No way to train for that in the flatlands.

 

[Jethro]

A positive mental attitude can overcome a lot of physical shortcomings. But if your head is not in the hunt, you’re done, and it doesn’t matter how great shape you’re in.

 

[cnelk]

I dont care what you say, you can always catch your breathe and have the desire, but if the legs give out, you are done.

 

[Bubblehide]

I dont care what you say, you can always catch your breathe and have the desire, but if the legs give out, you are done.

I took a guy on a deer hunt to one of my honeyholes; put him on a buck, and packed the vast majority out for him. His legs gave out on the final mountain (all downhill to the truck) he wasn't done. He somehow managed to slide down the steep downhill (it was a very long and steep downhill) on his ass, and then walk the las 50 yards to the truck. In short, there is done, and then there is done. Granted, gravity played a significant role in the above outcome.

 

[cnelk]

I took a guy on a deer hunt to one of my honeyholes; put him on a buck, and packed the vast majority out for him. His legs gave out on the final mountain (all downhill to the truck) he wasn't done. He somehow managed to slide down the steep downhill (it was a very long and steep downhill) on his ass, and then walk the las 50 yards to the truck. In short, there is done, and then there is done. Granted, gravity played a significant role in the above outcome.

I hunted elk for 27 days in two different states this past fall. Finally killed my bull on the last evening.

My legs were the only thing that kept me going.

 

[Bubblehide]

I hunted elk for 27 days in two different states this past fall. Finally killed my bull on the last evening.

My legs were the only thing that kept me going.

I guess I need to add smiley and laughing faces to my posts, as it was meant to be funny, much more than anything else.

 

[trophyhill]

Heart is the same as grit. So is “unwieldy desire”. They are mental attributes. Certainly not physical ones.

I don’t work out. But I don’t sit behind a desk or watch a lot of television either. I’m a union carpenter. I’m 55 years old, 5ft 6 inches and 210 pounds. Definitely NOT an olympic athlete. My legs are strong but they’re short and they have a lot to carry. But no matter how many guys I see at a trailhead I think to myself.... one way or another I’m going to outhunt 90% of those guys. If that isn’t mental I don’t know what is.

If the mental aspect wasn’t the big factor there would be an age limit to elk hunting and it would probably be a lot less than the age of some of the guys that are knocking them down year after year. I think you know my vote.

Jesus was a carpenter. Great trade!

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

If it’s so much more mental, why do so many guys workout to get in shape for their elk hunt?

If you aren't using the physical workouts to train your mental toughness you're missing out IMO. All the muscle in the world won't mean a thing without perseverance, but you don't learn grit by reading Rokslide.