How long do you stay in elk camp?

[Lark Bunting]

We could only hunt weekends last year due to my work schedule.

This year we\'re planning on arriving Aug. 29 and hunting opening day through Sept 3 or 4.

I\'m torn because I want to be up there longer but I am really focusing on my son\'s (age 12) hunt and don\'t want him to get burned out.

I am wondering if I could take one day in the middle to run to town for a good meal and possibly a hotel stay/shower/good night\'s sleep and if that would make it bearable to stay for a full week and return home on the 7th.

We are tent camping out of the truck and may backpack in for a night if conditions are good.

Thoughts?

 

[Deertick]

Good idea to break it up ... it gives you a chance to talk in a different place about the events. At that age, food, food, and more food is important.

I found that when my boys were growly, 9 times out of 10 they were hungry.

 

[cnelk]

At day 5 or 6 we all head to town to shower, make phone calls, get ice, gas or anything else needed for the next stint.

Absolutely. Head to town

 

[OldMan]

I can go forever, but I come home every night.

 

[Swede]

At age 12, I remember hunting with my dad near where I hunt now. I could have gone on forever. I did not want to leave our hunt and return home and to school. I think every kid is different, but as long as your son is having fun, everything should be fine. I would play it by ear, and ask him a few days into the hunt. A killer hunt will likely turn him against continuing. If you take it a little easy and he is comfortable, I suspect he will feel the way I did over 50 years ago.

 

[otcWill]

Can\'t you swing to town for a shower and a bite to eat without burning any hunting time? You\'ve got a pretty short hunt planned to be taking any mornings or evenings off. Either way, concentrate on making it fun for the lil guy and you\'ll not be dissappointed. I hope he sticks one on day 3 and it never becomes a decision you need to make!!

 

[cohunter14]

At age 12, I remember hunting with my dad near where I hunt now. I could have gone on forever. I did not want to leave our hunt and return home and to school. I think every kid is different, but as long as your son is having fun, everything should be fine. I would play it by ear, and ask him a few days into the hunt. A killer hunt will likely turn him against continuing. If you take it a little easy and he is comfortable, I suspect he will feel the way I did over 50 years ago.

THIS!!! Well put Swede :clap:

When I was 12, you had to pry me away from elk camp. I couldn\'t get enough of it. I would suggest exactly what Swede said, ask your son how he is doing and what he would like to do. Missing a morning, evening, or full day of hunting is definitely worth it if he wants to, instead of risking ruining it for him. However, he might surprise you and want to stay as long as possible. As John said, at 12 all you care about is food. Couple that with a potential afternoon nap each day and he might never want to head to town.

To describe the nap portion, let me share a quick story for you on my first year elk hunt at age 12: we arrived late at camp Friday night because I had hockey practice. Fortunately, the others set up camp, which helped. Either way, opening morning I was so pumped and I was trying to convince my dad to keep up with me. I had that much energy and excitement going. Anyway, we covered a bunch of ground and made it back to camp for lunch. After a quick meal, I laid down for a quick nap. While I was sleeping, my grandfather shot a doe literally 50 yards out of camp (with his .270)...and I never woke up! :lol: Even at age 12, you go hard and you crash hard, hahaha! All that said, a nap each day or two might be all he needs. 12 year olds don\'t care about showers

 

[Deertick]

Just don\'t forget that it\'s a \"trip with Dad\" not ONLY a hunting trip.

Let it go where it takes you.

And DO NOT blink ... when you open your eyes, you\'ll need to look UP to see him, and you\'ll get all misty-eyed and he\'ll think you\'re a sentimental old fool ... until he does the same thing with his boy!

 

[bnsafe]

i love to head to town for a shower an refresher. it lets me hunt harder when im there

 

[cnelk]

Just don\'t forget that it\'s a \"trip with Dad\" not ONLY a hunting trip.

Let it go where it takes you.

And DO NOT blink ... when you open your eyes, you\'ll need to look UP to see him, and you\'ll get all misty-eyed and he\'ll think you\'re a sentimental old fool ... until he does the same thing with his boy!

In the past 6 months I have learned to \'look up\' to my son . He is now at least 3 inches taller than me, and Im already begining to miss that \'little boy\'.

Tonight I watched him shoot his bow out to 50yds with great groups. Then his girlfriend came over and I watched them drive away....

 

[WW]

Don\'t overdue it with him. At that age, he\'ll probably walk circles around you the first day. But the next morning you\'ll have a hard time getting him out of the sack. :yawn:

Have you told him about Sasquach yet? :mrgreen:

 

[Colorado_Lew]

With a good water source you can use a solar shower or a zodi.
The zodi will provide a good hot shower, while the solar shower is normally just above freezing.
My brother and I have been hunting elk with our kids since they turned of age and they have no problem staying up in camp and hunting daily. Nowadays we are both hunting out of fully contained travel trailers and having the option for a good hot shower daily is there. Plus they can do homework at the table during the time between hunts.
We still set the zodi up most years to conserve water if staying for more than a week.

 

[sojourner65]

Ha ha, as long as it takes! I\'m retired, my partner has 4 weeks vacation, we\'re going for the duration if need be. Which brings up something I\'ve been thinking about. A lot of posters have stated the success rate for 1st timers would be low, need to learn the land, find the elk, learn their habits and patterns, etc. I just can\'t accept that. I learning from this site, watching videos, reading the stats, pouring over the CO Atlas, etc. I know elk are located throughout CO, same as deer are located here back east. If I had (have) a month to find a deer, and get a shot, I know it would happen, I figure the same for elk. Not being bold here, but if I can\'t find an elk in a shoot-able position in a month\'s time, I think I\'m in the wrong sport. :dk:

 

[bowhunter]

I have 3 weeks planned this year. I hope the monsoon season is over this year before season starts. Last year was a bit wet lol.

 

[elkmtngear]

Last Season, about mid week, I took my solar shower, filled it about 3/4...then took my Jetboil Stove, and did about 4 burns worth of boiling water, pouring them in the shower bag. Mixed it up thoroughly.

Nice, warm, refreshing. :upthumb:

I was a new man!

 

[cohunter14]

Ha ha, as long as it takes! I\'m retired, my partner has 4 weeks vacation, we\'re going for the duration if need be. Which brings up something I\'ve been thinking about. A lot of posters have stated the success rate for 1st timers would be low, need to learn the land, find the elk, learn their habits and patterns, etc. I just can\'t accept that. I learning from this site, watching videos, reading the stats, pouring over the CO Atlas, etc. I know elk are located throughout CO, same as deer are located here back east. If I had (have) a month to find a deer, and get a shot, I know it would happen, I figure the same for elk. Not being bold here, but if I can\'t find an elk in a shoot-able position in a month\'s time, I think I\'m in the wrong sport. :dk:

Just keep in mind that deer are way different than elk I tend to see way more deer than I do elk when hunting.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with the play it by ear strategy. Watch the weather, if possible, and maybe take a rainy, windy day off?? Definitely don\'t push too hard. Make it fun. Have fun hunting with your son!!

 

[mainebrdr]

Tramper, how in the world can you actually make yourself take some time off or not push yourself too hard when you have only a matter of a few days a year and a few years remaining in your hunting career and have yet to close the deal on an elk! Easier said than done! Sound advice though!

 

[cohunter14]

Tramper, how in the world can you actually make yourself take some time off or not push yourself too hard when you have only a matter of a few days a year and a few years remaining in your hunting career and have yet to close the deal on an elk! Easier said than done! Sound advice though!

All of that goes out the window when you are bringing your son on his first elk hunt. Gotta revolve it around him, not just finding success.

 

[Baby Huey]

LB, May want to step back and see how fit your 12 year old is. My buddy took his nephew up 2nd season elk hunting in CO one year and the poor kid had a tough first day. A rough hill hike to get to the top of a ridge on the main trail about killed him. He was sobbing pretty well because it was tough, but he stuck it out and finished the few days he was up there. My buddy did take it easy, it is just that the nephew wasn\'t into athletics up to that point and wasn\'t in shape. But, if your boy is in good shape, he may out walk you! This was the case with my other buddy - his 10 year old constantly plays soccer and is in better shape than his dad. If a youngster is out of shape it can be a tough deal to believe you are having a good time. Like most on this post, assess how he is doing and adjust to him. Also, make sure to have him in good layers, as the young ones are usually pretty cold in the mornings and don\'t realize how warm their bodies will get when they start walking. Then if they have a lot of layers on the sweat will kick in and start soaking clothes and that can also be miserable for a young hunter. My nephew was so cold one morning rifle hunting that he really layerd up - too much. He had to stop after about 1,000yds and start taking layers off. He was nicknamed \"Chad Many Pants\", as he had on 4 layers of pants! You may want to take an extra top base layer for him to change into if he is sweating really badly. A fresh dry shirt can make a world of difference, compared to wearing a soaked shirt that will start to rob him of body heat.

The above advice is assuming you want to get him interested in hunting - rather than just tagging along. On a similar front, I know I really give up any of my fishing time when I take my boys (6 and 8 now), as they didn\'t know how to do anything the first few times fishing (still learning too) and they need constant tutelage and encouragement. I basically don\'t fish on my own when I am with them, as I want them to enjoy the outdoors and if I am off trying to get into fish, it takes away from time tutoring them and they lose interest. If they are casting well, and getting the hang of it, I will pick up my line and do some casting. Whenever I hook one, I have them take turns reeling each fish in, as they love to land the fish and it keeps them happy and excited.

Same type of scenario with hunting, you may have to give up some of your precious time to be the mentor, but it will likely be well remembered by both of you. I would guess that he will appreciate it then and more likely have more appreciation later in life as he matures and starts to understand the time you took out to help him become a hunter.