how many guys have successfully still hunted elk?
by that I mean how many guys regularly sneak up into close range and shoot elk,
before the elk know they are there!
MOST OF THE GUYS I STARTED HUNTING ELK WITH,
basically knew the traditional elk movement patterns in the area we hunted and set up as snipers on terrain movement restricting choke points , being dependent on the rifle they carried, having the ability to reach out several hundred yards,allowing other hunters to push elk by them as elk moved out of the easy to access canyons to more remote drainage's to get their elk.
the magazines almost universally suggest you glass the areas find the herds
and try getting into shooting range, now that makes sense because elk cover a huge area and don,t consistently remain in a single canyon ,
but theres a huge difference between glassing from ridges and trying to shoot elk from 300-400-500 plus yards like you see frequently on TV programs,
and basically getting down into the area where the elk bed or feed,
once the herds been located and trying to get into much closer range.
yes that white tail mentality is a bit hard to deal with at first. many guys seem to think that they can simply find a good overlook point and wait for stupid elk to wander by. while that approach does occasionally work, its not very productive, year after year, as a hunt method, because elk don,t usually limit themselves to a single canyon or drainage year round and travel routes change radically when hunt pressure increases.
your far more productive in my experience if you locate the herd glassing from good look-out points or have prior experience in an area to know where escape routes and bedding areas , water supplies and good cover are located,before you start hunting every day and then look over the area and plan your approach accordingly
yes you need to be selective in the areas you hunt, success depends on several factors and areas where the elk have limited escape route options helps a good deal, as does selecting areas with a high number of animals per square mile, it makes little sense to hunt areas with really low elk numbers, or easy road access , where your under constant outside competition in my experience, so youll be restricted to some miserable steep canyons and hard to access areas.
Ive used several methods, but the most productive in my experience is a team approach basically combining those skills where, once the herds located we get out topo maps if we don,t know the canyon well,and after a herds located a couple guys get into local terrain movement restricting choke points , allowing other hunters to try still hunting into the elk, for close range shots, obviously they are not always successful, so elk are moved by them as elk moved out of the easy to access canyons to more remote drainage's move past the pre positioned blockers in canyon saddles and side canyons in likely escape routes.
In our group thats the most successful method,personally I take a great deal of pride in getting into under 100 yards before shooting any elk, and I prefer archery range kills with my rifles. but it requires people that can read a topo map and cover terrain quietly and guys that know how to read thermals, and move thru areas without being obvious , guys that can get in close, without alerting the elk, and guys that understand that they need to be where and when they are needed to make that method work effectively, and guys that don,t quit hunting as a team member once they shoot an elk and guys willing to help pack out elk they may not have personally shot. (and yeah we share meat and the shooter keeps any horns)
by that I mean how many guys regularly sneak up into close range and shoot elk,
before the elk know they are there!
MOST OF THE GUYS I STARTED HUNTING ELK WITH,
basically knew the traditional elk movement patterns in the area we hunted and set up as snipers on terrain movement restricting choke points , being dependent on the rifle they carried, having the ability to reach out several hundred yards,allowing other hunters to push elk by them as elk moved out of the easy to access canyons to more remote drainage's to get their elk.
the magazines almost universally suggest you glass the areas find the herds
and try getting into shooting range, now that makes sense because elk cover a huge area and don,t consistently remain in a single canyon ,
but theres a huge difference between glassing from ridges and trying to shoot elk from 300-400-500 plus yards like you see frequently on TV programs,
and basically getting down into the area where the elk bed or feed,
once the herds been located and trying to get into much closer range.
yes that white tail mentality is a bit hard to deal with at first. many guys seem to think that they can simply find a good overlook point and wait for stupid elk to wander by. while that approach does occasionally work, its not very productive, year after year, as a hunt method, because elk don,t usually limit themselves to a single canyon or drainage year round and travel routes change radically when hunt pressure increases.
your far more productive in my experience if you locate the herd glassing from good look-out points or have prior experience in an area to know where escape routes and bedding areas , water supplies and good cover are located,before you start hunting every day and then look over the area and plan your approach accordingly
yes you need to be selective in the areas you hunt, success depends on several factors and areas where the elk have limited escape route options helps a good deal, as does selecting areas with a high number of animals per square mile, it makes little sense to hunt areas with really low elk numbers, or easy road access , where your under constant outside competition in my experience, so youll be restricted to some miserable steep canyons and hard to access areas.
Ive used several methods, but the most productive in my experience is a team approach basically combining those skills where, once the herds located we get out topo maps if we don,t know the canyon well,and after a herds located a couple guys get into local terrain movement restricting choke points , allowing other hunters to try still hunting into the elk, for close range shots, obviously they are not always successful, so elk are moved by them as elk moved out of the easy to access canyons to more remote drainage's move past the pre positioned blockers in canyon saddles and side canyons in likely escape routes.
In our group thats the most successful method,personally I take a great deal of pride in getting into under 100 yards before shooting any elk, and I prefer archery range kills with my rifles. but it requires people that can read a topo map and cover terrain quietly and guys that know how to read thermals, and move thru areas without being obvious , guys that can get in close, without alerting the elk, and guys that understand that they need to be where and when they are needed to make that method work effectively, and guys that don,t quit hunting as a team member once they shoot an elk and guys willing to help pack out elk they may not have personally shot. (and yeah we share meat and the shooter keeps any horns)
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