What is your biggest hurdle for elk hunting every year?

I

iccyman001

New member
Apr 30, 2014
5,489
Is is something as simple as drawing in the first place?
Money?
Time off?
Not being physically ready?
Family?




What is your biggest hurdle that you face year after year after year?
 
For me it\'s the same for any hunt. If I\'m hunting and I invited someone or I have any guest in camp, they become my hurdle.

Not in a bad way, it\'s more of a self inflicted hurdle.


I always make sure I go above and beyond to make sure they have a great time. Whether it\'s me cooking good meals, doing a bunch of the choirs, sacrificing my good spots so they can kill, etc etc basically I try to accommodate anyway that I can.

The issue is I do it to the point where I can stress myself out over it!!!!!

I\'ve been getting a lot better, but it\'s definitely a hurdle.

Even more when it\'s a new hunter or someone who hasn\'t killed with a bow or a certain species. I will basically throw my stuff aside to make sure they are having a good time.
 
Both time and money. I work for a small construction company and lately we are swamped with work. Running six jobs now and we are taking on more every week. Pretty much impossible to just say, \'I\'m outa here, see you in a couple of weeks\'. Clients just wouldn\'t understand the Sept. thing.

Dan, I will tell you one thing, I would much rather hunt with, and just spend time with the individual that looks out for the welfare of others. Without getting too philosophical, I\'ll just say that when looking back at 50 years of hunting, a majority of my fondest memories are ones that include the satisfaction of seeing others enjoying the same experience I am and have in the past.
 
\"iccyman001\" said:
For me it\'s the same for any hunt. If I\'m hunting and I invited someone or I have any guest in camp, they become my hurdle.

Not in a bad way, it\'s more of a self inflicted hurdle.


I always make sure I go above and beyond to make sure they have a great time. Whether it\'s me cooking good meals, doing a bunch of the choirs, sacrificing my good spots so they can kill, etc etc basically I try to accommodate anyway that I can.

The issue is I do it to the point where I can stress myself out over it!!!!!

I\'ve been getting a lot better, but it\'s definitely a hurdle.

Even more when it\'s a new hunter or someone who hasn\'t killed with a bow or a certain species. I will basically throw my stuff aside to make sure they are having a good time.
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Dan, you are just too damn nice! Hahaha, I hope one day our paths cross, would love to meet and/or hunt with you.

For me, my biggest hurdle currently is learning a new spot. My family \'get\'s in the way\' of that, but then again, I wouldn\'t change that for anything. I am going to do what I can to learn my new area, including trying to drop game cams when work brings me through the area. If it weren\'t for family, I would definitely spend more time scouting and hunting my area. But as I said, I wouldn\'t ever change that. Family and faith are 1a and 1b for me, so I guess I can deal with eating tag soup every once in a while...just better not be this year ;)
 
its mental for me. i have to fight myself to climb the mountain again, not take a shortcut somewhere. i enjoy riding around and looking as much as i do hunting anymore so mentally i fight myself.
 
This may sound strange, but for me it\'s deciding whether to shoot a bull or pass, knowing I may not get another opportunity. In my perfect world I get to hunt the whole season and kill one on the last day. I don\'t want the hunting to end and my unit doesn\'t have extra cow tags like the old one. So the decision and living with it is my \"hurdle\".

Before I got my hip replaced, the discomfort was a hurdle. But I sucked it up and hunted anyway, despite not being able to sleep. I killed my biggest bull ever a few months before the replacement.
 
I struggle with doing all the work to prepare and keeping up with the excitement.
I been doing it long enough to know how much work it is and how rewarding it can be.
But dang, it can be a tough hurdle.
 
I have the same hurdle as Dan. I try to get as many friends chances as possible and it can be overwhelming. This year I\'ve got 2 friends coming from out of state. My goal for the season is to get them both tagged out. I don\'t care about killing one myself. I will take a back seat and be caller in every setup. I put a lot of pressure on myself to ensure they have a great hunt. It is sometimes tough knowing that every decision is mine to make. That said, I get a great sense of satisfaction helping someone get their first elk!
 
Hunting where the elk are...n\'t

I\'ve seen elk in every unit I\'ve hunted last year but most of the time it was lucky and totally unexpected which meant that we were either so far away there was no way I was catching up to them or that they almost ran us over and turned and ran so fast they were gone in the blink of an eye. The coolest stalk I had was on a bull and I got to watch him push on a tree. But...60+ yards out and he vanished.

I\'ll be asking some questions soon on what I can do differently this year...
 
Finding time for myself to hunt these last 6 years. A few guys in our hunting group have drawn some good tags (elk, deer, goat), so I put my hunting aside to help them with their hunts. Sometimes this left me with a weekend or two to hunt. Before these good tags, I would help my college buddy to learn my style of hunting, as he wasn\'t confident to go out on his own.

I like to help others with their hunts that took a few years to obtain tags for, and give all I can to help them be successful. I don\'t think me helping out will change, as I think every year for the next 7-8 years our group should draw good elk, pronghorn and deer tags; as well as the other big 3 (moose, goat and sheep) as 3 of us have 7-8 weighted points for each of those species.
 
dan, i dont want you coddling me..... :D i am just looking for a partner(s) who have the same amount of passion, drive, and willingness to do whatever it takes to knock an elk down, no matter where it falls. and to be able to maintain a positive attitude when something doesnt work out. i am still fairly new to this game and still have a lot to learn.... thats all i need! just being in the elk woods is a great time for me.
i do agree on your statement with the person being a first timer as they would be needing a little extra help.
my hurdle..... over thinking everything. i have a lot of time, training, and money into my hunt and the 11 days that i get to be out there go by so fast! i dont have the comfort level of knowing my quarry well enough, like i do of the animals back home, so i constantly battling with myself on what i should be doing. whether its on what to do to find them or what to do when i do find them.....
i have the luxury of currently being in a financial state that the cost of the trip isnt a burden
my wife is very understandable with the time i take to head out west
i have been at my job a good amount of years that i have plenty of vacation
i am in decent shape and keep training to be able to go anywhere i need to on the mtn
 
The place I have hunted is just not the same as it used to be. I need to find a new place where I can get into elk fairly frequently.
 
Early years: Time and money. I had a hunting license for 2 seasons before I could finally afford to buy a bow. At least I got PPs.

Last season: physical and mental hurdles. It was a weird year. Between ear surgeries and summer moving, I was not at all prepared for September. Plus, work messed with me for opening week when I had to reply to emails from camp.

This year\'s hurdle: Work. I just got word a major project was moved from late June to September. The Project Manager went silent when I told her I was out 2 weeks in September without any internet access. This will be interesting since there are very limited resources to do that project work.

Previous years and last year: Not committing to trying different tactics. This one I pondered a lot during the off season. Calls will stay in camp. Ambush hunting on well used game trails will be the priority for the first time.
 
Same as mainebrdr. I have a small construction business and September is usually very busy. I can usually be \"booked\" that time of year, but it takes a lot of work. I have one job this year that keeps getting delayed and I\'m pretty sure is going to fall right onto September. I sent an e-mail to the owner, architect, GC and engineer saying I am hunting the middle two weeks of September PERIOD. It did not go over well, but too bad. Fortunately the owner is a serious hunter. I told him if I have to miss elk hunting then I\'m doing something wrong with my life. He was good with that answer.
 
I have plenty of vacation and could take the whole season off if I wanted, I can manage to save the money for an elk hunting trip 1000-1500 miles from home. I have all the gear needed to hunt. I struggle with the sanity.

Staying sane waiting 11 months for next season. The closer it gets the worse it is. I have my clothes washed and the new tent treated. I will start packing next week.
 
Well, I have trouble with vacations period. I have a fairly busy life and I have a little trouble unwinding -- which makes things like hunting all the more important. Short weekend trips seem to exhaust me because I\'m not \"really\" on vacation, and I get to feeling like I\'m wasting time.

Elk hunting is good because it\'s a full week, and I\'m committed and resigned to getting out of \"home mode\".
 
I think another hurdle for me is that dreaded wait time.
It\'s not just one wait either.

Put in for a draw/wait for draw time.
Draw tag/wait for hunt

Then you have these last few months before season starts and it REALLY gets itchy and crazy.


I\'m in double digits finally until I am hunting :D
 
Getting time off during Sept. is my main issue. I always have a ton of vacation days saved up, but August-Sept-Nov is crunch time at my job. And it requires the skillset they hired me for, so I can\'t delegate... I can usually swing long weekend or an occasional string of weekdays, but I often don\'t know until the day before I leave. It\'s an additional source of stress, but I\'ll take any hunting time I can get.

This year I drew a Nov. elk hunt, so I\'m in pleasantly uncharted territory!
 
\"ABQ_Chica\" said:
Getting time off during Sept. is my main issue. I always have a ton of vacation days saved up, but August-Sept-Nov is crunch time at my job. And it requires the skillset they hired me for, so I can\'t delegate... I can usually swing long weekend or an occasional string of weekdays, but I often don\'t know until the day before I leave. It\'s an additional source of stress, but I\'ll take any hunting time I can get.

This year I drew a Nov. elk hunt, so I\'m in pleasantly uncharted territory!
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