What is Different?

[Swede]

A new season will begin before you know it. This hunting season will be unique. What will you do differently? What are your goals.

I plan to start hunting a new area. My goals are to learn as much as possible about the new area(s) and harvest an elk. I would like to see if hunting an area without cattle, or where they are better managed, will help. As a bonus I would like to hear John F. call some. I would like to see how he does his calling.

 

[elky McElkerson]

Me!!

i\'m different. for starters, i am 30 lbs lighter. i can run farther and faster. just got done with my regular mtn bike ride and it was almost too easy. had to take a break from trail running because my knee feels twingy.

i hope and PRAY i draw a tag so i can take my new heathy self out for an elk hunt. last time i hunted it was Idaho. i was decent, good almost..but i never stopped exercising from that year forward. i cant wait to strap a big heavy load of meat onto my back and give it a go.

 

[iccyman001]

There is so much to list, but I can try to touch on some.

First off, I have another year of experience in my hunting book.
This year was filled with successes and many of failures.
So I will continue to use the successful stuff and learn from my failures.

This year I will put much more time into scouting for my elk hunt. I was very successful because of all the scouting I did this year in Oklahoma, so I would like to do the same with elk.

As always I plan to practice timing for drawing my bow. I got caught mid draw this year because I rushed a PRIME situation. If I would have waited and let the buck do EXACTLY what I knew he would have, then he would be on my wall right now.

I want to try to be aggressive this year on my elk hunt. This past year I found an area I liked and sat on it. I want to try bringing the fight to them :mg:

I will be in better shape so that just opens up so my new doors. I cant even wait to see.

These are just a few brief things.

 

[mtnmutt]

Exercise/get in shape. 2014 was the first season that I was not in shape before hunting due to selling house and moving.

Shoulder exercises - increase weights for deltoids, so bow shoulder is not too weak holding bow due to 2 tendon tears. I just finished today\'s arm/shoulder exercises. I am getting close to having adequate strength for holding my bow for longer durations.

2014 scouting was only done in August, so more scouting in 2015. Set trail cams earlier in Summer.

Ambush, Ambush, Ambush. I said that 3 times and clicked my heels together. I may try leaving my calls at camp to hold myself to this. The darn elk always come in downwind to my calls because I can\'t seem to get a good natural obstacle downwind of me. August trail cam pics will be the determining factor.

Spend more time in a new secluded spot which rarely sees another hunter. This spot was discovered last year. It requires more time to pattern the elk.

Deer tag for the same unit that I hunt elk.

 

[elkmtngear]

I\'m going to try to be a little more aggressive in the early AM.

More specifically, moving quickly down into the lower portions of some drainages that I normally avoid, to keep the wind from clearing them out.

I had an epiphany when I went down to get the last two loads of elk this Season...I had more close encounters than I did in all 7 days before, and I was pretty much \"throwing caution to the wind\", and just bailing down into the bottom.

The other thing I noticed is that even though I had pretty much tracked my scent all over 1000 yds of dark timber in every direction looking for my bull, there were elk bedded right there two days later.

In the past, moving down into those drainages aggressively has occasionally paid off. Here\'s one example, we got down into a creek drainage early one morning, and ended up right in the middle of 3 screaming bulls. A \"hooking the cow\" sequence finally broke this nontypical bull down, and he came looking for us, and took an arrow on a frontal shot

 

[cnelk]

Since I will be in WY this year, I am looking forward to bugling more and hunting unpressured elk.
That will be different.

We will be about 5 miles from the truck for a week.
That will be different.

Living on MRE or dehy meals for a week
That will be different (gonna miss my walleye)

 

[Deertick]

I won\'t be hunting alone this year ... that\'ll be different. Three tags in camp this year.

One of the great benefits of having others in camp is getting to see what \"another set of eyes\" sees. Already I\'ve started to look at the area in different ways.

 

[Jason Balazs]

Me. I will be going to a new area. Last year I hunted in a crapy spot, but was hunting with the Sitka Pro Staff and no one, except for my wife, saw an elk. Last year it was hot and the area we hunted had a lot of pressure.

This year, I am going to pack in and do a true back country hunt. Leaving the wife at home (maybe) will help as well. LOL!!!

In all honesty, my wife wants to comfort of the camper when we go. Plus, she wants to wake up, make coffee, etc. I just want to get up and go hunting! We can have coffee when I get back to the camper.