HOW to elk hunt?

[Mad_Angler]

So, I\'m an absolute beginner. I\'ve never even seen an elk.

How do you elk hunt? I mean specifically.

I have a StartMyHunt map coming. Now what?

Do I approach from downwind calling like a cow? Bugling like a bull?
Do I find a good spot and just glass?

I know how to hunt deer: Find obvious funnels or travel paths, setup a treestand and wait.
I know how to hunt turkey: Set up in a good spot and wait. Or walk along, calling every once in a while. Setup when one answers.
I know how to moose hunt: Find a good spot. Call a bit, shoot them if they come in. Or glass the hillsides. When you see one, go kill him.

Will any of those technigues work for elk?

 

[Swede]

There are several main ways to hunt elk in the archery, and in the rifle/muzzle loader seasons. There are proponents for each of these styles, but it can depend on many factors including the habitat, terrain, time of the season, even time of day, Mostly it is a matter of personal preference. I think using a combination of a couple of different methods is a good way to start.
Spot and stalk hunting is productive in some areas. I have a friend that uses that method almost exclusively. There are the go slow, still hunters. Many people want to call using bugles and/or cow sounds. Some people want to tree stand or blind hunt. I believe getting the right area, and learning to call effectively, for your area is the most difficult. As stated on another thread, we have some good information here that will put you years ahead of where I started. The best part about this forum is, you get various opinions fully discussed. What you need to recognize is that what works for one person, where they hunt, may not work everywhere.
I am primarily a tree stand hunter, that calls some. If you are interested in the how to book I wrote, it is advertised here and available through Elk Mountain Gear. Jeff also advertises on this site and has other products at a great price. An advantage of tree stand hunting elk is that, you can learn all you need before hand about specifics for hunting elk. Another advantage is that you can effectively hunt from a stand without tiring yourself excessively, and you can rest while you hunt.

 

[cnelk]

All of those techniques will work for elk.

What did you do when first went moose hunting?
You just went and learned!

Turkey... same

Deer... Same

How I hunt elk may not work for you or anyone else.
Whats works for others may not work for me.
Find your way, youre a hunter, elk arent much different than most big game.
Go find them, hunt them.

 

[elkmtngear]

Tim,
Here are a few things that can lead to success in relation to HOW you hunt:

1. Get up early, hit the sack late.
2. When you think you can\'t go any further...go another mile. (be willing to do the extra mile)
3. If you locate elk by sight/sound or steaming fresh sign...take notice of every detail of that area (get to know the areas that hold elk).
4. No matter how hopeless it seems, keep hunting, pre-dawn to dusk, every day (just enjoy being in the elk woods)!
5. Commit every elk encounter into your memory bank (learn from every encounter).

In my opinion, the one thing that separates successful elk hunters is persistence! NEVER give up! :upthumb:

 

[cnelk]

Get Matt Dworak\'s book, Public Land Elk Hunting - his banner on here is ThinAirOutdoors.

I usually shoot 3D with him on Wednesdays

 

[Jaquomo]

+++ on Matt\'s book. That will definitely get you going in the right direction. I\'ve been bowhunting elk for 40 years and still learned some stuff from reading it.

 

[iccyman001]

So, I\'m an absolute beginner. I\'ve never even seen an elk.

How do you elk hunt? I mean specifically.
Im new too, but I treat it similar to deer because it\'s all I know. A lot of people talk about calling, but it\'s nothing like turkey calling. The idea behind it is the same, but it takes practice to learn it. Even with me learning it, I still need to find out when and were to use it. I won\'t learn that until I get more woods time. So back to my original statement, I hunt them like deer. I am looking for bedding, food sources, water, and their traveling routes, then putting the pieces together. Im focusing on elk bull patterns early season and then cow areas as the rut starts kicking off

I have a StartMyHunt map coming. Now what?

Do I approach from downwind calling like a cow? Bugling like a bull?
Do I find a good spot and just glass?
Again, I would learn the calling and understand why and when they are using it and what for. There are many different types of bugles, all with different meanings. I\'d spend some time talking with some of our seasons callers. Troy and Travis are both call makers and will gladly spend time with you working on stuff. They have both taken time from their day to help me. John and Bill are also fantastic callers. Then you have your hybrids like Brad, who uses probably every method in the book to make things happen. Glassing is also very effective. Back to me original post when I said I hunt them like I do deer.... glassing time will always pay off. You sacrifice some time and see how they are moving, where they are moving and then figuring out why, it pays off dividends in the long run.

I know how to hunt deer: Find obvious funnels or travel paths, setup a treestand and wait.
I know how to hunt turkey: Set up in a good spot and wait. Or walk along, calling every once in a while. Setup when one answers.
I know how to moose hunt: Find a good spot. Call a bit, shoot them if they come in. Or glass the hillsides. When you see one, go kill him.

Will any of those technigues work for elk?
Yes, they pay off. Again, find their food, bedding, water, and travel routes. Then you can either set up on them or do like you mentioned with turkey calling. I will be doing the same at some points of this years hunts. Walking around to areas, letting out some calls and see if I get responses. if no response I will move on. That is unless I am doing a cold call sequence. Some say 45 minutes to an hour is good for a cold calling set up.

See bold^