What's Your Elk Hunting Weakness?

[nphunter]

Shooting too small of bulls, I really want to kill a big bull but always shoot the first 6 point in front of me. I really feel I need to do a better job of passing up decent bulls, otherwise, I’ll just have to get lucky to get a big one which I don’t like to rely on.

As far as evening hunts I prefer to hunt evenings, mornings are great but elk are always on the move in the morning. I find if I can get a bull talking after about 11 am then there’s a good chance I can get in on him and have an opportunity. I suppose it really depends on the type of country a person is hunting.

 

[hunterjmj]

Not having patience in moving slowly. My Dad loved elk hunting and killed a lot of elk in his lifetime because he moved slowly through thick timber and blowdowns. I'm more of a deer hunter but when I'm hunting elk I just don't have the patience he did.

 

[Marine4life]

Too many to list


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[sdboyle73]

Bailing off into the deepest thickest canyons without thinking about the pack outs

 

[Jaquomo]

Not taking my own advice from my articles and seminars, and second guessing myself...

 

[mtwarden]

I can’t sit for very long, even when I know I should be. I’m always thinking, just get to that next ridge and you’ll be in elk, when in fact I probably was already in elk.

You’d think with age you would have more patience (and less hiking!), I don’t.

⬆ this often leads to this ⬇:

Bailing off into the deepest thickest canyons without thinking about the pack outs

 

[WMag338]

Lack of tags!

^^^This!

 

[grfox92]

Lack if experience, lack of horses.

No one hunts where I hunt without horses. Just me and my hunting partner. Quite literally never see anyone on foot.


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[sdboyle73]

⬆ this often leads to this ⬇:

unfortunately my hunting buddies do the same so we don’t have anyone telling us it’s a bad idea

 

[jtrips]

Right there with you! Patience, those bulls often come in awfully quiet and I have blown it numerous times on those quiet satellite bulls as I just get impatient

 

[5MilesBack]

Mine is evening hunts! Just rarely hunt them. When hunting 23+ days in Sept. I may hunt 2-3 evenings.

I love evenings! But I do hit a spot in the morning and generally come back to camp until evening and then hit a different spot. Then start over the next day hitting two other different spots. And that is exactly because I get bored out of my mind if the elk aren't actively talking. Ya, I could work some bedding areas mid day and afternoons, but on average those are just boring times of day. So I conserve energy and attention span by limiting my exposure to those down times.

But my biggest weakness seems to be limbs, twigs, leaves, etc that I don't see at all......or are visible but aren't in my line of sight to the vitals. That's been a problem for me over the years.

 

[gelton]

I am rarely able to get ahead of the elk early mornings as they head up. Much better suited to find their bedding area and catch em mid-day or late evening.

I also find that since spending more time hunting out of a wall tent instead of backpacking in, it's harder to get out of bed, and then a truck ride and a hike in steals too much of my time to be in good areas at first lite. It's nice to be mobile and certainly more comfortable but I think it robs me of valuable hunting time.

This is never a problem when I am backpacking though because when the alarm goes off I want to get up and move around instead of laying in a cold tent, and because I am already fairly close to what I would consider a good area, the hunting starts as soon as I walk out of camp.

 

[Jethro]

Inability to accurately pinpoint bulls location by their bugles. Some sound close to me and they’re not, and vice versa.

 

[Gutshot007]

Started to late in life was my biggest mistake . Chased alot of other outdoor pursuits ,which i dont necessarily regret . Young men dont make the same mistake !

 

[elkguide]

My elk hunting weakness is.............

"ELK HUNTING!"

 

[AppalachianHollers]

Appreciate everyone’s reflections, here. Hopefully next year I’m in a position where I have to avoid making mistakes.

 

[23cobowhunter]

Not enough vacation time at work so I feel like I have to be in a hurry.

 

[Still Hunter]

Staying in one GMU too many years. I am older and my hunting years are dwindling. This unit is steep and rugged but I just don't have time to earn points to hunt elsewhere and living 1100 miles away prevents the opportunity to try to scout other GMU's. This unit went draw a few years back and I know it pretty well now. Kind of stuck. I will be lucky to physically make it another 3-4 years.

I also hunt all day, everyday, for 9 days. I can't kill one in camp or sleeping.

 

[long hunter]

The never-ending point creep, might have enough when I die.

 

[Elkoholic87]

Spending money on expensive hunts.


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