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Common Mistakes

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Common Mistakes

Postby Swede » 12 13, 2013 •  [Post 1]

I was going to title this thread "Rookie Mistakes", but remembered I did not quit making them when I could no longer describe myself as a rookie.
One of my earlier tree stand mistakes was to set up in a basin only about 11-12 feet above the ground. My scent stayed in the area during those productive late afternoon and evening hours. Setting up where I was easily seen was another mistake. Setting up a stand on a spot because I had seen elk there earlier was one of my early goof up. Calling, especially answering elk from my tree stand especially took me awhile to realize was a blunder. I discovered I was just warning bulls that the water hole was occupied so they left and went somewhere else.
These are common tree stand errors, but mistakes occur with all hunting styles. The biggest mistake is probably the one you have not figured out yet. What are some mistakes you have made and can warn others about?
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby ORelksniper » 12 13, 2013 •  [Post 2]

When you shoot an animal and he stands there offering you a follow up, no matter how good your first shot looked, TAKE THE SHOT. Common sense? Oh yeh, but in the heat of battle even a veteran can go brain dead.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby JohnFitzgerald » 12 13, 2013 •  [Post 3]

Wind shift. Make sure your always testing it when chasing. I get so concentrated on what to do next that at times it slips my mind.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 12 13, 2013 •  [Post 4]

Don't leave the elk woods until the last shred of shooting light is gone.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby stringunner » 12 13, 2013 •  [Post 5]

When deciding to head back to the truck, after the morning or evening hunt (assuming there is still light enough to shoot) hunt all the way to the truck. Just because you have worked an area earlier that morning or afternoon doesn't mean there won't be elk there when you tramp back through.

Had my buddy and I "hunted" all the way back to the truck this year on one of our run and gun mornings, he probably would have had a great shot at a nice bull who was feeding less than 70 yards from our pickup. :o
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby cnelk » 12 13, 2013 •  [Post 6]

After the shot

Adrenaline is high. A common mistake is not to memorize 2 important things

1 - Where the animal was standing when shot was taken

2 - Where the animal was last seen after the shot
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Common Mistakes

Postby slim9300 » 12 13, 2013 •  [Post 7]

If the elk is inside of 40 yards and you are semi-confident in your range estimating ability, guess and shoot ASAP unless you know you have all day.

If the answer to above is that you are not confident judging yardages... Take your rangefinder to 3d shoots (and don't turn in a card if they aren't allowed) and practice all the time. For me a rangefinder has only been used on 50% of my elk and countless shots were lost due to me choosing to range, despite my guess being easily close enough and the animal being inside of 40 yards.

Don't be timid. Being aggressive has resulted in a good portion of my elk.

Force yourself to aim at something small on the animal, don't just pull the pin up and figure you are in the lungs. (This is something I struggle with inside of 30 yards due to adrenaline melting my brain in the heat of the moment. And I have killed quite a few elk/deer with my bow.)

Always have a reed in your mouth! Cow calling or popping grunts will stop elk, grunting with your mouth will not. Cow calling will also calm down the herd after a shot and can result in a quicker and more effective recovery.

Rory's comment above is crucial in my opinion also. :) Be where you want to be at first light and hunt hard until you can't legally shoot.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby >>>---WW----> » 12 14, 2013 •  [Post 8]

Slim is dead on about taking your range finder to 3D shoots. It will help build your confidence in range guesstimation quicker than any other way I know of.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby twinkieman » 12 15, 2013 •  [Post 9]

Hunt where there are elk, not where you think elk should be. If you are in an area that has little or no elk sign, MOVE! Don't wasts your precious time in the elk woods just covering ground. Hunt where you find elk.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby Bullnuts » 12 16, 2013 •  [Post 10]

Assuming that there are no elk in the area you are hunting. Just because you aren't seeing elk right now doesn't mean that one isn't twenty yards beyond your sight and coming in hard. Always look around before you move.

Assuming that strange sounding call is another hunter just because it sounds goofy. I chased a bull one day that would have never won a contest, but he was bugling like mad and was the real McCoy.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby Swede » 12 16, 2013 •  [Post 11]

Bullnuts wrote:Assuming that there are no elk in the area you are hunting. Just because you aren't seeing elk right now doesn't mean that one isn't twenty yards beyond your sight and coming in hard. Always look around before you move.


That sure leads to a myriad of blunders. i.e. calling/walking from out in an opening, calling and not being ready, resting or eating with your weapon 20+ feet away, not looking around, not hearing that twig snap. Bullnuts, we could start a whole thread on the mistakes I have made thinking there was no elk around.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby Bullnuts » 12 17, 2013 •  [Post 12]

Swede wrote:
Bullnuts wrote:Assuming that there are no elk in the area you are hunting. Just because you aren't seeing elk right now doesn't mean that one isn't twenty yards beyond your sight and coming in hard. Always look around before you move.


That sure leads to a myriad of blunders. i.e. calling/walking from out in an opening, calling and not being ready, resting or eating with your weapon 20+ feet away, not looking around, not hearing that twig snap. Bullnuts, we could start a whole thread on the mistakes I have made thinking there was no elk around.


There's another book in there somewhere Swede! I remember one day sitting and cold calling with my bow leaning against a treee about a foot away when a little bull came waltzing in. I wouldn't have shot that elk, but having my bow a foot away guaranteed it! Then there are all the times I've walked right into herds of elk without realizing what I was doing or where I was until it was too late - walking with my thoughts in the clouds and my head up my...well you know.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby >>>---WW----> » 12 17, 2013 •  [Post 13]

Come on guys! Would someone please list some mistakes that I haven't made myself over the past 35 years or so of elk hunting? LOL!
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 12 17, 2013 •  [Post 14]

>>>---WW----> wrote:Come on guys! Would someone please list some mistakes that I haven't made myself over the past 35 years or so of elk hunting? LOL!


Ok. You asked for it Bill. When staying in a Montana lookout, tie your night time pee bucket down on the wrap around balcony in the high wind that normally accompanies lookouts, particularly when your trucks are parked near the base of the 30 foot structure :0
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby JJ Overkill » 12 17, 2013 •  [Post 15]

don't call from a spot where the elk can pin point your location from a distance. :x still kicking myself for that one!
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby Swede » 12 17, 2013 •  [Post 16]

[quote="Phantom16"]Ok. You asked for it Bill. When staying in a Montana lookout, tie your night time pee bucket down on the wrap around balcony in the high wind that normally accompanies lookouts, particularly when your trucks are parked near the base of the 30 foot structure :0

RJ, would this advise also apply if you are expecting guests soon?
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 12 18, 2013 •  [Post 17]

Swede wrote: RJ, would this advise also apply if you are expecting guests soon?


But of course... This isn't one of your tree stands with rogue bears wandering around beneath :D I betcha Indian Summer knows where this is ;)

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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby elkmtngear » 12 18, 2013 •  [Post 18]

Moving in on a screaming bull, and standing right on a major game trail...odds are good that the bull will take that trail directly to you (they often choose the easiest route).

I always move laterally off the trail 10 to 20 yds now before I set up where I anticipate I will get a shot opportunity. Team hunting/decoying...it sometimes works well to have the decoy/caller guy near the trail, and the shooter ahead and off to the side of it. Bull's focus will be on the decoy/caller...much easier to draw than if he's standing directly in front of you looking "through" you for the caller!
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby JohnFitzgerald » 12 18, 2013 •  [Post 19]

twinkieman wrote:Hunt where there are elk, not where you think elk should be. If you are in an area that has little or no elk sign, MOVE! Don't wasts your precious time in the elk woods just covering ground. Hunt where you find elk.


I really like this one!
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby ORelksniper » 12 18, 2013 •  [Post 20]

twinkieman wrote:Hunt where there are elk, not where you think elk should be. If you are in an area that has little or no elk sign, MOVE! Don't wasts your precious time in the elk woods just covering ground. Hunt where you find elk.


I really like this one, too. Probably one of the biggest mistakes I make.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby otcWill » 12 18, 2013 •  [Post 21]

I believe over-calling/uneducated calling is one of the most common mistakes. If you don't know what you are saying, leave the calls alone! Many an elk has been killed without a call. Also once read an author I have great respect for wrote: "The number one reason for failure in diy elk hunting is the reluctance to leave a decent spot in search of a good one." This is a tough pill to swallow for most who are in this situationbut its the truth. I make a point to scout new areas every year for fun and to acquire information to share with others; some otc units seem like trophy units as compared to others.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby mandrroofing » 12 18, 2013 •  [Post 22]

Phantom16 wrote:Don't leave the elk woods until the last shred of shooting light is gone.

Aggreeed! The first year that I went elk hunting my partner always wanted to leave the area before dark so we can get back to the road before t was to dark. I didn't quite understand why because I figured those were the best times to be in the woods, but he was the one who had experience so I just followed. That is definitely a mistake.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby mandrroofing » 12 18, 2013 •  [Post 23]

twinkieman wrote:Hunt where there are elk, not where you think elk should be. If you are in an area that has little or no elk sign, MOVE! Don't wasts your precious time in the elk woods just covering ground. Hunt where you find elk.

Help me out with this.if you don't find sign,then how do you find sign of elk with out covering ground?I don't have the privilege of pre season scouting...Mabey this is just after years of hunting the same area,you can check different areas that have produced in the past?
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby twinkieman » 12 19, 2013 •  [Post 24]

I don't have the edge on pre-season scouting either, I live in VERY Northern California, and I have a very long drive to the elk woods. I should have written, don't waste your time covering ground in the same area day after day where there are no elk. If there is no elk sign, yeah, you will have to cover ground to find them. My first choice is to start at 10 pm, and cover ground bugling, to locate elk. If that doesn't work, I pick a good high vantage point and glass all day, I've located lots of elk this way. If I still haven't found elk, then it is indeed covering ground until I find good sign or elk. I mark every elk area I hear or see elk on my map at the end of the day, I am amazed at how theses areas tend to have elk in them at some point in the season year after year. This year we got burned out of our regular area, no scouting in a brand new spot. I didn't hear bulls right away, the day spent on the highest point I could find with binos and spotting scope, located 8 different bulls, and lots of cows. I also spend a ton of time studying my maps before I ever leave home, looking for water on north slopes, and benches on these same slopes. Not every area I mark before I leave home holds elk, but some of these areas have had elk in them. I am not an expert elk hunter by any means, but I have always been able to locate elk every where I have hunted, Ore. ID., Arizona, and while I never drawn a Nev. tag, I have gone there just to play with the elk. Unfortunately, locating and harvesting are 2 different things :D . I hope this answers your question. I Don't claim this to be infallible, there are lots of guys on here more qualified than I, but this works for me.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 12 19, 2013 •  [Post 25]

Another slant on the elk location posts, I'd offer that rotating your hunting efforts in elk spots may pay dividends. Here's what I mean. Most of my elk areas (speaking of two states in particular) are pretty large and potentially contain pockets of elk in various spots on any given day. Although I may get into elk in spot A, I will normally not hunt it again the next day. I like to let things cool down and hit another spot the next day. I'll certainly return to spot A, but again, not normally the next day. I imagine this may seem like an odd way to do business (not hunt where you were into elk the previous day) but I've found that by hitting a spot day after day, chances are higher that those elk will move out for a week or longer.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby ishy » 12 19, 2013 •  [Post 26]

My number one has to be not closing the distance enough before setting up. Seems like every time we do we bump animals so have become a little hesitant. I'm not very good at pinpointing an elks location especially in the jungles of North Idaho, but need to be more aggressive anyway.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 12 19, 2013 •  [Post 27]

ishy wrote:My number one has to be not closing the distance enough before setting up. Seems like every time we do we bump animals so have become a little hesitant. I'm not very good at pinpointing an elks location especially in the jungles of North Idaho, but need to be more aggressive anyway.


Amen to that brother. It's rough to close any kind of distance in that alder/huckleberry brush hell in N Idaho. We do our best to try and use existing elk trails to close the gap but on some hillsides, they seem few and far between. I'm pretty sure I've heard elk "laugh" at us as we try to navigate through that mess :?
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby Willie makit » 12 21, 2013 •  [Post 28]

I seem to commonly forget to pack or bring things. Back years ago when I first "upgraded" to using a release, I found a picture perfect natural blind inside a large hollowed out tree stump, about 20 yards off a heavy used trail. I get out there opening morning way before the butt crack of dawn, pitch black, "unpack" everything, hang my bow, put up my arrows, put on my release,,,,,my release.... oh snap.

Heck Im still proficent with fingers, no I got time before light to run to camp and retrive my "new" toy. Off I go, back to camp, grab my release, hurry back to my bow and arrows safely nestled in my "stand". Yep, You guessed it, first light, 40 yards sepearated by my stump housing my bow and arrows walks a nice 8 point. I SO would love to have a video of my face when that buck casually meandered broadside in front my bow and arrow while I held my release a safe distance away :shock:

Great news is leaving my release IS NOT a common problem for me any more, now I might forget my bow, arrows, calls, hoist string, jacket or hat, but not my release!
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby cohunter14 » 12 24, 2013 •  [Post 29]

I know a lot of you are bow hunters, so this might not apply to you, but for the rifle hunters out there be ready to shoot at any time and don't waste the opportunity to pull the trigger. I have screwed up two opportunities by not taking the shot when I had the chance. The first one I was waiting for a bull to continue along a game trail for a 'better' shot at 100 yards when he winded me and took off. I could have easily taken the shot, but I wanted everything to be perfect. The second opportunity I screwed up was meandering down a road back to camp when a cow came running right up to the road 20 yards in front of me. I shouldered my rifle, hesitated for a split second, and my shot opportunity was gone. You always have to be ready to pull the trigger any time you are in the woods!
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby Washington Wapiti » 01 03, 2014 •  [Post 30]

Taking too much stock in outside information while on your hunt. Much like my younger mountaineering days, when my glacier travel instructor emphasized "not blindly following other's tracks in the snow/ice," blindly following someone elses info or advice may end up with undesirable results. 2 hours before I shot my bull, I was at camp getting some lunch, etc. A gal on horseback who was guiding some others, rode near my camp. They stopped and we b.s.-ed for about 15 minutes or so. She informed me her uncle had shot an elk the day before on opening day, and that her friend shot a bull that morning. Both guys had shot these bulls 7 or 8 miles above where I was hunting. She had informed me that the elk had ALL moved up higher. These folks were all local, so I listened intently. I felt the wind leaving my sails, and already feeling defeated because of the harsh storms over the last two days and nights, and that morning . . . that little tidbit didn't do much to improve my mood. As I walked back to my stand I became even more irrritated/defeated/pissed. After all that work scouting and planning, tiptoeing into my site, hanging stands, and checking cameras, etc, and now it was all for nothing??? My spot's dead??? Mind you, I saw NOTHING on opening day, so I was starting to believe it. Well . . . 40 minutes after I climbed into my stand 'ol Mr. Rosie came down the trail and is now in my freezer. Turns out the irritated/defeated/pissed feelings is what was all for nothing. LOL Others may be well-intentioned by providing whatever information, but don't let it derail you. They could be WAY off. In this case she was. It was a near mistake and I'm glad I didn't move my whole set-up, while I debated it. Do your due diligence, have confidence and stick to your plan that you've worked hard on developing in the pre-season.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby Still Hunter » 01 03, 2014 •  [Post 31]

I forgot toilet paper once.

It wasn't pretty.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby nippip » 04 23, 2014 •  [Post 32]

I forgot my tag one morning and did not figure this out until two hours from home and just getting ready to hunt.
Some how it still worked out because our morning hunting efforts amounted to squat so we buzzed back to town to grabbed my tag and then went back out to a spot only an hour away for an evening hunt. Just as we got back into the area two elk came into view and within a minute we both had our tags filled.
Lesson was to not leave your conservation (fishing) license and tags in your fishing gear from the day before :shock:
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby 8upbowhunter » 04 24, 2014 •  [Post 33]

Bring a spare rangefinder battery. Last year in the middle of nowhere on the 2nd day of our hunt my partner text me saying his rangefinder battery was dead. I told him I had a spare in my pack and he was like you're kidding me right. Lucky for him when I bought a spare for mine they only had a 2 pack. Probably explains why my pack weighs so much, but I like to be prepared for everything I can think of.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby Trophyhill » 04 24, 2014 •  [Post 34]

I've heard of guys inadvertently cutting their follow thru off and trying to peak around there bow after releasing an arrow. It ends bad when this happens.
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby elk.addict » 04 24, 2014 •  [Post 35]

Don't setup behind a bushy tree. While it's great for concealing, doesn't leave the shooter with many shooting opportunities. Believe it or not, I've seen this a number of times now with various people I've hunted with. :roll:
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Re: Common Mistakes

Postby elk-n-walleye » 04 24, 2014 •  [Post 36]

When stalking an unseen elk based on his calls look up and around as much as, if not more than, you watch the ground for noisy debri. Didn't do me much good to silently sneak to within 30 yds since he saw me first and took off.
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