Share a Tip - Episode #1

[WapitiTalk1]

Please share one tip from your elk tool kit.  It can be something very simple or perhaps, a hunting strategy.  Who knows, perhaps your tip will assist a newer elk hunter be successful this fall or in the years to come  ...

[jrebel]

Wind is everything.....

[bracer40]

Don't freak out if you break branches while moving through the woods. Elk are a far different beast from whitetails. You can even use it to your advantage when calling (I've had elk come in to breaking of branches while setting a new stand as well as simulating a bull tearing up a tree).

[EyeTooth]

Just one? Never give up, and play like kids as much as you can!

[jackmaster]

If it ain't broke dont fix it........ two, get out and hunt, dont be a fair weather Hunter, dont be afraid to try different stuff,  dont be a friggin know it all, noone knows everything, be open to suggestions 

[Nice Racks]

Last year my friend shot a cow and we recovered it only 60 yards from his tree stand shortly after dark. After quartering and bagging the meat we moved 2 quarters to the logging road just 20 yards from where we were. Did I say it was dark? We couldn't find our way back to where the rest of the meat was.    After about a 20 minute search we found it. My tip would be to leave a flash light at the animal or even hang a chem light in the tree above the animal. Hanging one at the tree stand would have came in handy too.

[kodiak06]

I carry a roll of ribbon (flagging), reflective tape, and 150 reflective tacks for finding my way back and forth. Also helps get in and out when I don't have a gps with me. Oh, xtra flashlight and batteries.

[WapitiTalk1]

I carry a roll of ribbon (flagging), reflective tape, and 150 reflective tacks for finding my way back and forth. Also helps get in and out when I don't have a gps with me. Oh, xtra flashlight and batteries.

I like the reflective tacks myself.  They're money when going in/out in the hours of darkness with a headlamp.  Nice tips sir.   

[Opportunist]

If you find a good elk hunting spot keep your mouth shut and keep it off the web. I've helped a few guys on special permit hunts but general season stuff stays in the vault.

[6x6in6]

If it's steep and deep and you question whether your up to the task, pull up your big boy pants and get on with it.  You know they are in there.....

[huntingaddiction]

If you don't find them one place move.  Hunting the same place everyday where your not seeing elk is not going to help.  When you find them stay on them!

[kisfish]

never rush a shot. Let it come to you and be perfect. Better to go with no meat in the freezer than to wound it and feed the yotes.

[wadu1]

I carry a roll of ribbon (flagging), reflective tape, and 150 reflective tacks for finding my way back and forth. Also helps get in and out when I don't have a gps with me. Oh, xtra flashlight and batteries.

Started using the flagging ribbon after leaving a deer in the bush at night. We strung TP and one orange vest in a tree to be able to find it the next day.

[wadu1]

OK my muzzy tips;
1. Cary old time whiteout to touch up the front sight bead or post.
2. Cary fingernail polish to seal caps, one small drop is all you need. Push the cap on and put the rifle in half cock, hold the rifle straight up and place the drop of polish on the edge of the cap. The polish will travel around the cap and nipple sealing the cap from moisture. It has even worked in rain like we had this weekend on the very wet side. The only drawback is you will need to peal off the cap with a knife or ?? 

[Rainier10]

If you can see elk, you can get to them, get to hiking.

Never leave elk to go find other or easier elk, play the hand you are dealt and get after it, you have the entire off season to rest. 

Pain is temporary, elk meat is always delicious.

[tonymiller7]

Preseason training!!!  Physical and shooting.

[WapitiTalk1]

Some outstanding tips offered here folks.. I'm never too old or stubborn to learn something new.

1. Practice your calling well before season.  Practice, practice, practice.. it makes a difference for when you need to make the right sound during a particular situation effortlessly. Practice your calling in your truck on the way to work during the off season if need be.  At a minimum, one should be be proficient in cow sounds/calf chirps, locator bugle, challenge bugle, and most importantly a nervous/popping grunt to stop bullwinkle in his tracks for a shot.   

2. Take maps for adjoining areas to where you're hunting.  You never know when you may venture a bit farther than you planned. They're cheap, light, and can pay dividends.  On this same note, one should carry and know how to use a map/compass vs just using a GPS. 

3. Can't remember if somebody mentioned it, but always have a B, C, etc. plan in case hunting pressure, or, lack of wapiti in your A area forces you to move locations. Been there a few times.

4. If you can swing it, do a "dry run" with all your hunting gear, even if it's in the back yard. Make sure everything you're taking to base or a backcountry hunt works like it's supposed to.   

5. Use finger and main ridges as travel routes for ingress/regress in and out of hunting areas.  They generally have some type of game trail on them. Remember, elk are seldom on the tops or on the bottoms, they're on the sidehills in between ..

Good stuff.. Keep em coming.

Oops.. didn't follow my own thread rules.  Was only supposed to be "one tip" .. OK, free for all. Post up a few tips 

[bowhunterty]

Scouting. Be persistent.

[Bullkllr]

If you can see elk, you can get to them, get to hiking.

Never leave elk to go find other or easier elk, play the hand you are dealt and get after it, you have the entire off season to rest. 

Pain is temporary, elk meat is always delicious.

I think this is really important if you want to be consistently successful- and those are rules I sometimes over-looked when I had only a few years of experience and hunted a good elk area. See elk, go after elk if conditions are favorable. That, and it only takes one elk to make your whole season!

[raydog]

If you think you SHOULD have enough T.P................................you don't

[WapitiTalk1]

If you think you SHOULD have enough T.P................................you don't

Yes sir!

[Rainier10]

If you can see elk, you can get to them, get to hiking.

Never leave elk to go find other or easier elk, play the hand you are dealt and get after it, you have the entire off season to rest. 

Pain is temporary, elk meat is always delicious.

I think this is really important if you want to be consistently successful- and those are rules I sometimes over-looked when I had only a few years of experience and hunted a good elk area. See elk, go after elk if conditions are favorable. That, and it only takes one elk to make your whole season!

Ya, we learned this the hard way, saw some elk on a hillside quite a ways away and let my buddy talk me into going to look for some "easier" elk.  Couldn't find any so he said let's go back to the others. They were gone.
Since then we have always gone after them and his estimate of how long it will take to get there is always off.  He says 1 1/2-2 hours and it really only takes 30-40minutes to be in the hunt.

If you can see them they are not that far away.

[pianoman9701]

If you get busted start aggressively and insistently cow and calf calling. Even an elk that's barked can come back.

[JPhelps]

Don't OVERTHINK elk calling.
Practice and be proficient with a locator bugle, cow call and challenge bugle.
Hear/see an elk, get close to the elk, call the bull into bow range.

[MIKEXRAY]

Be aggressive .   My elk hunting partner is way more aggressive then me and gets way more opportunities for a bow shot. I have always sat back and waited to see what was going to happen while he goes straight at it. I know every encounter needs to be handled differently but my being passive in to many situations has cost me chances at a lot of elk.

Be as ready as possible for the pack out & butchering.  Don't get an elk a mile form any road and stand there with a small pocket knife only. Get a good video on meat prep, have the tools, game bags, meat pack etc .

[rtspring]

Get on them! I hear alot of hunters being afraid to BLOW them out! You will fail, tgats part of elk hunting. But if you play the waiting being soft mode you will never know what would of happened! Its a challenge, get in on them and try your very best to close the deal..  Elk are creatures of habit.  They make mistakes just like those of us that hunt them.

Scout, scout and scout more! Find feeding areas, escape routes, bedding areas.  Learn their daily routines. And learn where they go when pressured. Elk find places they dont get bothered! Find that spot and kill one!

Rtspring

[rsarkks]

Get a good pair of boots and cover ground. If I am seeing more boot tracks than elk tracks I need to get further off the road.

[xXLojackXx]

Don't OVERTHINK elk calling.
Practice and be proficient with a locator bugle, cow call and challenge bugle.
Hear/see an elk, get close to the elk, call the bull into bow range.

This. 

And keep your knives sharp and your Broadheads sharper.

[buglebrush]

Get a good pair of boots and cover ground. If I am seeing more boot tracks than elk tracks I need to get further off the road.

I agree with this, but my tip is that further off the road isn't always farther from hunting pressure.  Key in on those areas that access is just plain not fun.  Sometimes it isn't that far from the road, but there is not gated roads, trails, etc.. and it is bloody steep and brushy. 

[NOCK NOCK]

Get a good pair of boots and cover ground. If I am seeing more boot tracks than elk tracks I need to get further off the road.

I agree with this, but my tip is that further off the road isn't always farther from hunting pressure.  Key in on those areas that access is just plain not fun.  Sometimes it isn't that far from the road, but there is not gated roads, trails, etc.. and it is bloody steep and brushy.

X2
 I have killed multiple elk within 100 yards of a major highway. Sometimes hunting were you least expect them to be is were they are.