Share any Elk Hunting Tip 2015

[Killmore]

Stay at home tell you draw a good tag.

[Tbob]

Don't give up! It can happen at any second! It's easy to get sloppy after being out 4 or 5 days and not seeing anything. Just keep at it!

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Get comfortable with walking in the dark, whether early in the morning from camp or late in the evening back to camp. Spend those first and last 30 minutes right where you think the elk should be, even if its miles from camp.

Also, start down in the draws.  I don't know how many people head straight for the ridges in the morning, but the thermals are still going down for a couple hours.  I want to be right in the bottom of the bowl/drainage I plan to hunt when it first starts getting light.  follow the elk up, and make sure you stay to the side before the wind starts to swirl.  You can't be scared of elevation gain.   

One reason I don't see many hunters where I am.
Park at gate, take first spur road towards creek, find game trail along creek and go find where they lead...
They might cross a road, but they like to follow natural contours and trails more.

[WapitiTalk1]

Stay at home tell you draw a good tag.

That's no fun 

[WapitiTalk1]

A bull in the hand is not always worth two in the bush.  In other words, know when to "not" go after a singer.  The pic below is from one of my areas in Idaho and the X is where I've encountered a screamer more than a few times.  I made the mistake a few times of going down there.  There are no user friendly trail systems to speak of in the bottom of the feeder creek, or the main draw creek in the distance, and this area is more than merely steep and thick.  Although it's tempting to go after every singer you encounter, it's not necessarily the best idea to head after one that you may not be able to get out without helicopter assistance .

[steeliedrew]

If all of a sudden you catch a whiff of a barn yard, Slow your pace because you might be right on a good herd.  Me and Addicted2hunting busted a rather large herd last year.  We were hacking our way through an alder choked road and I stopped and said, "hey, you smell those elk"? took one more step and then the woods came alive with thundering hooves and snapping branches.  They had let us get to within 20 yards of them.  Had we have been letting out some mews while busting through the alders they may have sounded off before we got there and then we could have made a plan.

[kentrek]

I just dont see the problem phantom  :chuckl

[mburrows]

Dont rely on trail cam pictures from July on August to guide you to elk.  Have a plan B, C, D, E....

[IBspoiled]

Cover scents are good, but not always....... I was following three bulls down a steep hill when I came across fresh elk pee in a bed. So what's  a true blue elk hunter do that has been foiled by swirling wind for days? Oh yes rub it all over himself. I was in the middle of my rubadubdub when my wife say's your not getting into my tent smelling like that!!!!  Then the fly's attacked me,they came out of knowwhere. Why weren't the fly's on the pee on the ground? I don't know but now they are swarming me. It's a good thing it wears of quick.  And yes I did get to sleep in the tent that night.

[sneakyjake]

Plan for get-homeitis.  We all get a long ways from camp in rough and dangerous terrain that can't be navigated safely in the dark.  Pack to stay if you have to.  Carry the essentials, that includes a few comfort items. The worst for me was when I pushed a bull after I shot him years ago because I wasn't prepared to stay the night.

[WapitiTalk1]

I just dont see the problem phantom  :chuckl

Note to self.. bring kentrek along to Idaho as a pack mule, lol. 

[lamrith]

I just dont see the problem phantom  :chuckl

Note to self.. bring kentrek along to Idaho as a pack mule, lol.

Don't forget the rappelling gear.

[WapitiTalk1]

Practice proper trail etiquette.  If hunter A has ingested a can of Stagg chili (or any other rot gut, flatulence producing concoction) the prior evening, hunter A must by rule, allow hunter B to take the lead going up the access trail in the morning.  If hunter A forgets this rule and accidentally takes the lead, and then feels something coming on, hunter A must immediately move off trail, announce "trail bomb" over his left or right shoulder, and allow hunter B to move into the lead position prior to release. 

[buglebrush]

Cover scents are good, but not always....... I was following three bulls down a steep hill when I came across fresh elk pee in a bed. So what's  a true blue elk hunter do that has been foiled by swirling wind for days? Oh yes rub it all over himself. I was in the middle of my rubadubdub when my wife say's your not getting into my tent smelling like that!!!!  Then the fly's attacked me,they came out of knowwhere. Why weren't the fly's on the pee on the ground? I don't know but now they are swarming me. It's a good thing it wears of quick.  And yes I did get to sleep in the tent that night.

I actually avoid all the cover scent on me or my clothes now.  My nose is one of my most valuable tools for locating elk, and I can't use it when I smell like elk myself.  I do however carry a bottle of it in my pocket for smearing on a stick to hopefully stop a bull that is sneaking into my cold call set-up before he winds me. 

Plan for get-homeitis.  We all get a long ways from camp in rough and dangerous terrain that can't be navigated safely in the dark.  Pack to stay if you have to.  Carry the essentials, that includes a few comfort items. The worst for me was when I pushed a bull after I shot him years ago because I wasn't prepared to stay the night.

Absolutely!  I have been there too        I would add to never hit the elk woods without game-bags, Havalon, Paracord, etc... to completely break down an elk without having to head out.

Practice proper trail etiquette.  If hunter A has ingested a can of Stagg chili (or any other rot gut, flatulence producing concoction) the prior evening, hunter A must by rule, allow hunter B to take the lead going up the access trail in the morning.  If hunter A forgets this rule and accidentally takes the lead, and then feels something coming on, hunter A must immediately move off trail, announce "trail bomb" over his left or right shoulder, and allow hunter B to move into the lead position prior to release. 

I agree with this if I am hunter B, however...          

[Jonathan_S]

I understand what you're saying buglebrush, about being prepared.

However, if I had a dime for every time I forgot something REALLY important but killed a buck, bear, or (this last year) a bull, then I'd had more than a couple dimes