My 2014 Elk Hunt

R

razorback

New member
Mar 11, 2014
876
I accomplished some of my goals during my first elk hunt. I did get to hear 3 bulls bugle. They didn\'t talk much, one of them only bugled once and I never could figure out exactly which direction he was from me. I did have one bugle fairly close to me, I was sitting on a fresh wallow I found. He didn\'t really respond to some light cow calls, maybe I should have splashed the water and bugled. I wanted to be conservative and not blow him out, I figured I could sit the wallow later on and perhaps get a shot. So that was goal number one accomplished, hearing a bull bugle. My hunting partner killed on the first evening so on the second day I got to help him pack out a bull. Goal number 2 accomplished. Wasn\'t for sure how my knee would do with a heavy load but it did fine. Lastly I did see one cow elk. All in all it was a good trip. Seemed like there were several hunters in my area though. One thing I didn\'t accomplish was getting to work a bull like a gobbler. Maybe I was hunting too early in the season, not real sure. One thing I wasn\'t counting on was all of the blow down timber. That slowed me down a lot, more than I anticpated. Now my goal is to put an arrow into a bull next year. Started my work out yesterday in preparation for next year. I need to find either a different state or just a better spot in Colorado. I\'ve got time to figure that one out.

I hunted with bowhunter (Terry). Couldn\'t have asked for a nicer guy to hunt with. One other thing I wasn\'t expecting was all of the mule deer. I seen about 5 HUGE bucks. I couldn\'t believe they just stand there in bow range and look at you, nothing like a WT. Not sure what it takes to get a tag for that area but when I decide to hunt for a big mulie, that spot will be high on my list.
 
It blew my mind when I first dealt with a mulie. I am also used to how whitetail react.
I just hope one stands within bow range during my January hunt.

Glad you were able to accomplish some of your goals and I hope you had a ball. Any pictures?
 
That was great that you and Terry hooked up.
Packing out an elk is always an accomplishment!
Stuff you learn only when an elk is on the ground in front of you

Can you tell us what worked good and what didnt work very well for the time you were there?
 
Sure can.
An army Molle pack is not idea for packing quarters!!
A treking pole is very handy when packing quarters (Thanks Terry).
I was pleased with my scouting over maps. It seemed like I did identify some areas that had held elk without having boots on the ground. The things that I didn\'t figure out was actually finding elk. The sign seemed to be scattered and not conentrated like I\'m used to finding when scouting WTs. After I felt like I had covered my area thoroughly I just didn\'t see anything that was really promising. At that point I was at a loss, bulls weren\'t talking so it was a lot like trying to find a cottontail in 40 acres of clearcut.
I would like to be able to hunt or scout with a veteran elk hunter to see what tactics they use when they are faced with conditions like that. I wasn\'t for sure if it was time to pull up stakes and move to another area or were the elk there but just holed up somewhere like a mature WT buck would do. More hunters kept coming in to the spot so I made the assumption that the elk had been pushed out of the area after about 10 days of hunting.
One other thing that took me by surprise was distance and time. If my GPS said 1.2 miles, it sure seemed like I walked a lot farther than 1.2 miles and took much longer than it would take for me cover that distance in my normal woods here in SEMO.
I also don\'t care how much wool socks cost, I had a few pairs and I also had cheaper synthetic socks. My feet held up well with both types but wool socks are much better. Next year that is all I will have.
I almost packed my boonie hat but left it at home. That would have been nice to have, ears burnt a little. I\'ve got a new one ordered and it should be here any day.
I was pleased with my bow setup, although I never flung an arrow, nothing on it broke. I say that because I have broken a lot of things on bows before in less rough conditions. I have Spot Hogg sights and a Tight Spot quiver with an Vital X dropaway rest. I will likely swap the rest out for a QAD when I change strings and cables this winter.
The thermals and wind were easier to manage than I thought they would be. Seemed like it was predictable, I used a windchecker a lot to make sure I always had the wind in my favor. Seemed like I pretty much had the wind in my face most of the time. Maybe because I had read a lot about thermals and wind conditions in the mountains. I tried to make it a point to always have it in my favor. I\'m not sure if I can say I was effective or not but I did walk up on some huge bucks and they never caught my wind so I felt like I was doing a good job.

I know I have rambled a lot, these are just things that come to mind right now. The biggest thing I took away from my hunt was no matter the conditions, the mountains are beautiful and whether you are in elk or not you just have to be thankful you\'re there. I found myself just marveling at the landscape and sometimes actually losing focus on the hunt!
I was very thankful I got to go hunting and thankful I had a good hunting partner. I can\'t say enough about Terry, he was an awesome guy to hunt with and share a camp with.
 
I posted in the wrong thread, I meant to put that last post under lessons learned.

I did take several pics but I\'ll have to get them copied to a CD before I can post them.
 
Thanks for the compliments Steve. If I don\'t do the Wyoming hunt next year maybe we can find a place with a few less blow downs and a few more elk.... Keep in touch......
 
all in all, sounds like a great trip.

it never works out exactly as planned, but there\'s always a chance.

getting to pack one out is a fantastic event (once finished).
 
steve, good to hear back from you! did you end up going where we talked about? i am glad you got to go with a hunting partner. i am still not convinced that i could do the trip alone..... having somebody to talk to back at camp is something to look forward to after being on the mtn all by yourself all day.
 
No I ended up going to Terry\'s spot. It was kind of last minute decision but it was nice to have somebody to hunt with.

Wished I was back out there. Already thinking about next year!!!
 
ok, I was feeling bad.... that you had run into a bunch of hunters. I had only ran into one other hunter in the 2 years I was there. they were around, but never where I was getting into elk.
 
Steven,
Sounds like you got a really good feel for elk hunting, glad you accomplished some of your goals, and now you know what to expect next Season!
 
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