The real difficulty of elk hunting

[RadSav]

The difficulty in elk hunting is getting them out of the woods once you shoot them.  Never found finding elk much of a problem.  Finding a spike on the east side...much more difficult!

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

Everyone has great insight and information on this Jeff. If I had to throw a little of my experiences in there on top of what others have offered and what I have learned over the years, it is the little things. I completely agree with some that its not about total physical fitness, although that helps. I also agree with the weapon choice you are planning to hunt. Statistically, muzzleloader is the your best option for success, according to harvest reports. Finding the elk in an area you are going to hunt is also key and learning them...their holes, their patterns...etc. But when all this is done pay attention to the small things. Anyone can go out in the woods and find animals, but practice playing the wind, and learning to keep track of it in relation to your prey. You can fool elk slightly with vision, you can even fool them by their hearing, but their nose will always be the ultimate determining factor. Become extremely proficient in your weapon. Research and buy the best gear you can afford, this will/can really make or break your time in the woods, especially in western Washington. Have backups...anything from alternate places to hunt, modes of travel (mountain bikes on logging roads vs. a truck), and other buddies you can call when you get one on the ground. Take advantage of the 'system' and research already done...call WDFW and talk to some biologists on the west side and get their input. Some say they are not knowledgeable, but I have actually found them useful in most regards.
All of this is my opinion and hope it helps on top of what everyone else has offered....best of luck!!

[wooltie]

Last year I found some areas that had elk, lots of elk sign, lots of trails, elk on cams, etc.  This was in July/Aug.  I scouted those areas by spending hours finding trails, going to the bottoms of draws, up the other side, over to the next ridge.  This was a valuable use of my time...but...

Come September they were not in those areas.

I wish I would have spent more time in July/Aug searching more areas in less detail than searching less areas in greater detail.

As someone said earlier, once you find them, you run after them and kill one.

[mburrows]

Last year I found some areas that had elk, lots of elk sign, lots of trails, elk on cams, etc.  This was in July/Aug.  I scouted those areas by spending hours finding trails, going to the bottoms of draws, up the other side, over to the next ridge.  This was a valuable use of my time...but...

Come September they were not in those areas.

I wish I would have spent more time in July/Aug searching more areas in less detail than searching less areas in greater detail.

As someone said earlier, once you find them, you run after them and kill one.

I learned this one the hard way too. Learn as much of the gmu and how to navigate it as possible so you can have several contingency plans in place because once the woods fill up with hunters and traffic increases the elk definitely shift their habits.

[rosscrazyelk]

90%of elk use 10% of the woods. . Find that spot  and you are golden. .

[Chukarhead]

The annual success rate for elk hunters in Washington is roughly 7%, while the deer success rate is roughly 25%.  As the saying goes, if elk hunting were easy, it would be called deer hunting.

A lot of elk hunters go camping or driving for a few days in fall.  They escape their wives (or husbands) and jobs for a while, see some woods, and go home happy.  I'm not one of those guys, so I run, lift, and spend a lot of time on elliptical machines year-round so that when I need to be 900 vertical feet higher at a brisk jog, I can do it.

I have a hunting buddy that is chronically out of shape for elk season.  He *hurts* after a couple of days in the steep and deep, but guts it out.  Watching him pack quarters up a steep hill is painful.  He takes the mind-over-matter approach, and has killed more than his share of elk over the years.

I've harvested elk five out of the last six years.  If I wasn't in shape, it would have been two of the last six.  Those two, though, were "lucky."  I was in the right place at the right time early on opening day for one and the second day for the other.

How long did it take for you to get your first?

First year big game hunting, first elk.  It was a permit cow in the Manastash.  Walking up to it was pretty intense--I was alone, and I'd never shot anything bigger than a goose.  For a variety of reasons, I didn't seriously pursue elk until six years ago.  We ate a lot of deer in the interim.

[coachcw]

Wind number one, elk are where they want to be not where you want them to be . Go there or live with the results . The season is short spend it Hunting not camping .never let your gaurd down . When you  least expect it there they are.

[JeffRaines]

The annual success rate for elk hunters in Washington is roughly 7%, while the deer success rate is roughly 25%.  As the saying goes, if elk hunting were easy, it would be called deer hunting.

A lot of elk hunters go camping or driving for a few days in fall.  They escape their wives (or husbands) and jobs for a while, see some woods, and go home happy.  I'm not one of those guys, so I run, lift, and spend a lot of time on elliptical machines year-round so that when I need to be 900 vertical feet higher at a brisk jog, I can do it.

I have a hunting buddy that is chronically out of shape for elk season.  He *hurts* after a couple of days in the steep and deep, but guts it out.  Watching him pack quarters up a steep hill is painful.  He takes the mind-over-matter approach, and has killed more than his share of elk over the years.

I've harvested elk five out of the last six years.  If I wasn't in shape, it would have been two of the last six.  Those two, though, were "lucky."  I was in the right place at the right time early on opening day for one and the second day for the other.

How long did it take for you to get your first?

First year big game hunting, first elk.  It was a permit cow in the Manastash.  Walking up to it was pretty intense--I was alone, and I'd never shot anything bigger than a goose.  For a variety of reasons, I didn't seriously pursue elk until six years ago.  We ate a lot of deer in the interim.

How awesome. I hope to be that lucky my first year out!

The difficulty in elk hunting is getting them out of the woods once you shoot them.  Never found finding elk much of a problem.  Finding a spike on the east side...much more difficult!

I found the guy I need to go hunting with...

[mrgoodwrench]

Always hunted modern and on the westside in fact I've never hunted far from the coast.
I think there is a big difference in the how tos depending on where a person hunts. Me, it is brushy or in the timber, very seldom have I got elk in a clearcut. It has happened but more often it is where I start them not where I get one.
If there is one thing I can suggest is to get real good at reading sign. Elk are not everywhere. They range over a large area but they are only occupying a small area at one time.
One way or another almost every elk I have ever got, reading sign/tracking played into locating the elk.

Humptulips hit the nail on the head.  I'd say 95% of elk hunters these days are inept at tracking an elk.

[shootnrun]

This last year was my first year chasing elk with a bow and Iam aged to notch a tag. It was my fifth elk overall, the first coming with a muzzleloader. I can only really credit my success to time. I hang cameras in may or June, visit them a few times, and overall spend a mess of time in the woods adjacent. There are those that get lucky and find them in cutts  or wandering a road (not me.. ever). Those that I know that kill elk year in and year out know their resident herd like the back of their hand.