Ive hunted DEER and ELK for almost 40 years now, rifle,archery,muzzle loaders, if theres a season and IF Ive got the time and cash you'll find me in the mountains of Colorado,Wyoming ETC.
given a choice Ill prefer still hunting the aspens and conifers with a rifle, but almost any excuse used for getting into the mountains in autumn for a couple weeks will do
think drugs are bad for you
ELK HUNTING has you beat badly
when hunting ELK you pay THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS for EQUIPMENT, so you can PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in things like licenses fees, and travel costs, spend days or at least hours, and usually pay guide fees so you can spend 7-14 days sleeping in a tent with at least one guy who snores, and you get to spend most of the year avoiding getting into physical shape you KNOW you need to be in to function, then spend several months both forcing yourself to exercise , knowing that NOTHING you can do at sea level helps much to prepare you, for the mountains, and worrying about if you've selected the correct location so you can spend your time learning to run or crawl up mountain slopes at 7000-11,000 feet altitude while you puke and have migraine headaches as altitude sickness kicks you butt,you spend dawn to dusk either over heated or freezing your butt off, in the hope that you can shoot a damn 450lb-700lb elk, and carry his body out in several 70 lb back packs, on several trips into and out of a canyon,(usually covered in mud loose shale, thick brush or snow) loaded with meat , for the 2-5 miles hike out of some steep canyon, (ELK ALWAYS seem to live in the next canyon, never above your camp) where you slip and fall on your face at least every 1/2 hour , while you try hard to give yourself a heart attack , while asking your freinds if your having fun yet?
and do it year after year, and even look forward to it, in fact you feel cheated if you miss a season.
why not call the local game department biologist and ask a few questions then the local game warden, for his input,
about the area that you intend to hunt before making a decision, I found that generally helps improve your success rate a bit.
i generally hunt the area north or south, of gypsum meeker, or eagle Colorado the officers are generally willing to talk with you if your polite, brief and have specific detailed questions
Ive hunted elk mostly in Colorado and Wyoming about every other year , sometimes I get two or three years in a row, or two states in succession in one year, hunting for over 50 years,
guys worry far too much about rifles caliber and long range , I think all but two of the elk Ive shot were at well under 200 yards and any decent 30/06 would have got the job done splendidly.
I prefer and have a great deal of confidence in my 340 wby and 375 H&H, but my late hunting partner used a 358 win BLR for decades successfully, the key is not in the rifle or cartridge is mostly in being in good physical shape, confidence in your selected skills and equipment, research on the area hunted, and knowing how to find game and dogged unrelenting persistence. If you look over the kill statistics most states show less than a 25% kill ratio to licences in even good areas, in my opinion thats simply because if you drive around any area youll see guys sitting in camp at any time of the day after the first two or three days and most guys pack it in well before the seasons over.
given a choice Ill prefer still hunting the aspens and conifers with a rifle, but almost any excuse used for getting into the mountains in autumn for a couple weeks will do
think drugs are bad for you
ELK HUNTING has you beat badly
when hunting ELK you pay THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS for EQUIPMENT, so you can PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in things like licenses fees, and travel costs, spend days or at least hours, and usually pay guide fees so you can spend 7-14 days sleeping in a tent with at least one guy who snores, and you get to spend most of the year avoiding getting into physical shape you KNOW you need to be in to function, then spend several months both forcing yourself to exercise , knowing that NOTHING you can do at sea level helps much to prepare you, for the mountains, and worrying about if you've selected the correct location so you can spend your time learning to run or crawl up mountain slopes at 7000-11,000 feet altitude while you puke and have migraine headaches as altitude sickness kicks you butt,you spend dawn to dusk either over heated or freezing your butt off, in the hope that you can shoot a damn 450lb-700lb elk, and carry his body out in several 70 lb back packs, on several trips into and out of a canyon,(usually covered in mud loose shale, thick brush or snow) loaded with meat , for the 2-5 miles hike out of some steep canyon, (ELK ALWAYS seem to live in the next canyon, never above your camp) where you slip and fall on your face at least every 1/2 hour , while you try hard to give yourself a heart attack , while asking your freinds if your having fun yet?
and do it year after year, and even look forward to it, in fact you feel cheated if you miss a season.
why not call the local game department biologist and ask a few questions then the local game warden, for his input,
about the area that you intend to hunt before making a decision, I found that generally helps improve your success rate a bit.
i generally hunt the area north or south, of gypsum meeker, or eagle Colorado the officers are generally willing to talk with you if your polite, brief and have specific detailed questions
Ive hunted elk mostly in Colorado and Wyoming about every other year , sometimes I get two or three years in a row, or two states in succession in one year, hunting for over 50 years,
guys worry far too much about rifles caliber and long range , I think all but two of the elk Ive shot were at well under 200 yards and any decent 30/06 would have got the job done splendidly.
I prefer and have a great deal of confidence in my 340 wby and 375 H&H, but my late hunting partner used a 358 win BLR for decades successfully, the key is not in the rifle or cartridge is mostly in being in good physical shape, confidence in your selected skills and equipment, research on the area hunted, and knowing how to find game and dogged unrelenting persistence. If you look over the kill statistics most states show less than a 25% kill ratio to licences in even good areas, in my opinion thats simply because if you drive around any area youll see guys sitting in camp at any time of the day after the first two or three days and most guys pack it in well before the seasons over.
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