2014 Lessons Learned
- Thread starter cnelk
- Start date
Bob Frapples
Member
- Mar 10, 2014
- 367
Had a large time, can\'t wait for 15 to get here now, bar something major, I\'m going Somewhere next year. I\'m hooked.
Slowly working up my trip to add to journal section. Got to hunt 9 days and spent 5 days to prep/scout. should have tagged out on day one but rushed it and blew it. Got 3 shots off and got close to bulls almost every day. Came home empty handed but in better shape and well educated.
Slowly working up my trip to add to journal section. Got to hunt 9 days and spent 5 days to prep/scout. should have tagged out on day one but rushed it and blew it. Got 3 shots off and got close to bulls almost every day. Came home empty handed but in better shape and well educated.
Eyeeyecaptain
New member
- Aug 4, 2017
- 167
So far this year I have learned:
Stick with your instincts
If the elk were there recently, but aren\'t there now, go looking for them elsewhere and then come back, they should return if they have not been pushed out!
Swirling wind is the enemy and there is little you can do about it.
Freeze dried meals that you just add water to are the best invention ever for tired hunters. (Like Mountain House)
Some people are just plain ignorant and/or stupid and can ruin a hunt you\'ve worked hard for
Will give the whole story once archery season is done. Hope to have a meat pole photo!
Stick with your instincts
If the elk were there recently, but aren\'t there now, go looking for them elsewhere and then come back, they should return if they have not been pushed out!
Swirling wind is the enemy and there is little you can do about it.
Freeze dried meals that you just add water to are the best invention ever for tired hunters. (Like Mountain House)
Some people are just plain ignorant and/or stupid and can ruin a hunt you\'ve worked hard for
Will give the whole story once archery season is done. Hope to have a meat pole photo!
elkmtngear
New member
- Aug 9, 2017
- 1,152
1. If you can hear the creek...you are too damn low!
2. The animals know the best way to get through this crap!
3. Check the wind again!
4. Check the wind again!
5. Check the wind again!
6. Sometimes, you just have to drop back 10, and punt!
7. If you are packing a heavy load, walk like \"ET\"
9. You stink way more than you think you do!
10. Do not try to \"run around elk\" unless you know exactly where you are!
2. The animals know the best way to get through this crap!
3. Check the wind again!
4. Check the wind again!
5. Check the wind again!
6. Sometimes, you just have to drop back 10, and punt!
7. If you are packing a heavy load, walk like \"ET\"
9. You stink way more than you think you do!
10. Do not try to \"run around elk\" unless you know exactly where you are!
Lark Bunting
New member
- Sep 14, 2016
- 710
There is absolutely no comfortable way to carry a bow.
The biggest lesson that keeps coming back to haunt me is that I didnt go to some of the other areas I know when hunting started to get slim in the area I was at.
Sure we were seeing A FEW elk, but they only kept our interest, an opportunities were minimal.
I will admit it, we got lazy and picked the low hanging fruit early, thinking more was available. It wasnt
That wont happen again.
Sure we were seeing A FEW elk, but they only kept our interest, an opportunities were minimal.
I will admit it, we got lazy and picked the low hanging fruit early, thinking more was available. It wasnt
That wont happen again.
It\'s easy to carry too much gear.
What is really needed in a daypack?
For me:
Knife, water, snack, game bags, tag(s), GPS, headlamp. (In cold weather, you could ditch the game bags, too.)
I don\'t think an archery hunter really needs a rangefinder most of the time, nor binoculars. A decoy is nice, but optional. Calls are cool, but I\'m going to take the one (1) that I\'m comfortable with: a diaphragm that I can use with or without a bugle to make cow or bull vocalizations. Paracord is great, but making a quick lattice of deadfall is easier than hanging meat, and still gets air circulating.
Other than that, the pack is mainly there to hold layers that I shed through the day.
What is really needed in a daypack?
For me:
Knife, water, snack, game bags, tag(s), GPS, headlamp. (In cold weather, you could ditch the game bags, too.)
I don\'t think an archery hunter really needs a rangefinder most of the time, nor binoculars. A decoy is nice, but optional. Calls are cool, but I\'m going to take the one (1) that I\'m comfortable with: a diaphragm that I can use with or without a bugle to make cow or bull vocalizations. Paracord is great, but making a quick lattice of deadfall is easier than hanging meat, and still gets air circulating.
Other than that, the pack is mainly there to hold layers that I shed through the day.
I had never seen a Pine squirrel fall from a tree before this year. Plop! He/she was stunned for a while but recovered. He/she just sat on a nearby log dazed for a few minutes after getting off the ground, and waited there to fully revive.
Until this season, I had never seen where elk wallowed in a water hole with no mud and only clear water in a hard sided pool and bottom. Both Green Springs and Skeleton were hit. I am sorry not to have been there at the time.
It is time for me to move hunting areas. Everyone in my camp saw little or nothing for the second year in a row. Things have changed in the area where I used to have up to a dozen elk shot opportunities to consider.
I did not give the Slip System a fair opportunity to prove its value, but it is easy to use and is obviously a quality decoy. I just needed to get into some elk.
Until this season, I had never seen where elk wallowed in a water hole with no mud and only clear water in a hard sided pool and bottom. Both Green Springs and Skeleton were hit. I am sorry not to have been there at the time.
It is time for me to move hunting areas. Everyone in my camp saw little or nothing for the second year in a row. Things have changed in the area where I used to have up to a dozen elk shot opportunities to consider.
I did not give the Slip System a fair opportunity to prove its value, but it is easy to use and is obviously a quality decoy. I just needed to get into some elk.
elkmtngear
New member
- Aug 9, 2017
- 1,152
\"Swede\" said:
Swede...did you pee on that squirrel? :haha:
Billy Goat
Member
- Sep 5, 2017
- 332
\"elkmtngear\" said:
Swede, if you did, I owe you $20. Provide address and I\'ll mail it to you. Countless are the mountain squirrels that I\'ve cursed! :mg:
Billy Goat, your $20 are safe. The squirrel did not fall out of my tree, and I had nothing to do with its misfortune. The squirrel was running away from another squirrel when the accident happened. The squirrel told me that he learned: speeding over loose pine bark is dangerous. He said I should post for him as, he \"is still busy now, squirreling away food for the long year ahead.\"
BTW: Another lesson learned is that just because elk are all over your trail cams immediately before the season, does not mean they will be there after the hunting season starts. Moral of the story, do more scouting, and have a viable backup area.
BTW: Another lesson learned is that just because elk are all over your trail cams immediately before the season, does not mean they will be there after the hunting season starts. Moral of the story, do more scouting, and have a viable backup area.
- The absence of fresh elk sign does not mean the elk are not frequenting the area. An area with compacted dry dirt with pine needles in a sunny spot will not allow tracks to be laid or droppings to stay fresh. 60 yards behind my camp was a prime example.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Trail cams in an area with little fresh sign may yield surprising results.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling on where the elk are frequenting. I went on a hunch from last year of a lost cow sound at 2 pm during a violent thunderstorm behind my tent and how the terrain dictated where the elk would travel.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Your camp for 10 days in one spot will not necessarily disturb nearby travel routes and feeding areas.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Listening to a herd bull bugling on a ridge while tending to his ladies will make your elk fever worse. You will never be the same.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Elk pushed out of an area may return to that area in short order, therefore, do not give up on it. If it has shelter, water, food and infrequent pressure, they will likely return.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Bugling starts as early as Sept 7th in my hunting area. As Chris Roe, wildlife biologists, had indicated: a cow may be in estrus as early as Sept 6th if they are fertile and do not have a calf. This appears to be true in my hunting area.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- In order to experience bugling, take the 2nd week off for hunting and not opening week.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- The rut ramps up higher in the waning days of archery season, therefore, hunt the last week of archery. It appears for 2015, the CPW will extend archery to Wednesday, Sept 30th, instead of ending on the last Sunday of September. Plan accordingly.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Experienced hunters make great mentors for newbies. If someone offers for you to tag along, take them up on it. You may learn much more in those days than you did in your previous 4 seasons.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Learn calf chirps and lost calf sounds for high pressure hunting areas.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Sneezing from a cold does not help call in elk.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Do not eat food you are not used to eating. It may ruin or shorten the next morning\'s hunt.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Hitting a chattering squirrel with a pine cone does not make them shut up. It makes it worse.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- If a squirrel ate your tent the year before, they will likely try to eat it again. Stack rocks around each corner of the tent to prevent their nibbling on your tent.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Elk camps are fun and full of good laughter. Plus, you may be able to steal their food and they won\'t care.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu]
- Tag soup does not mean you weren\'t successful. It is hard to swallow, however, if you had memorable and fun experiences with some extraordinary first time experiences, you were absolutely successful.[/*:m:3jkqbbcu][/list
:3jkqbbcu]
elkmtngear
New member
- Aug 9, 2017
- 1,152
Welcome back Pat...sounds like you had a very rewarding hunt :clap:
Lark Bunting
New member
- Sep 14, 2016
- 710
There was NO reason for me to put on camo athletic tape on my windicator bottle. Made for a PITA to find when I dropped it. I also felt hopeless without it.
