Evolution of an Elk Hunter

[WapitiTalk1]

The Evolution of an Elk Hunter

How does this obsession, this journey begin? For many of us (not all), it starts with being raised in an outdoor/hunting family and at some point, hearing that first bugle deep in a draw, standing in awe watching a migrating herd, or witnessing in almost disbelief as an adult tells us “well, let’s get busy…the real work starts now” as we stand over the first downed elk we’ve ever seen somewhere high on an alder choked Montana hillside. For others, it’s reading elk hunting articles in Outdoor Life and Field and Stream in a barber shop somewhere far, far away from elk country while our pop gets a haircut and knowing somehow that “this” is what I want to do as soon as I can humanly make it happen! When the obsession finally hits deep, I mean in our souls deep, it can be a love that lasts a lifetime. Once the passion grabs us to start our elk hunting journey, how in the heck do we start in this day and age, particularly if we live far, far away from the elk woods? Back in the day, it was a bit of a slower process (not bad, just slower) as we learned from those who have been down the road we’re traveling, and, from trial and error (lots of error) trying to get to success. For those of you starting on your elk hunting journey, I salute you and in a way envy you. Why? Well, because there’s nothing quite like the first part of the adventure. We’re here to help you get started on the right foot. Guys like Elknut have spent a good part of their life putting together material that will help shorten your learning curve and is quite possibly the best jump start out there to get a new elk hunter on the right path. Indian Summer, Wapiti, Swede, Saddlesore, Elkduds, Lefty, Ishy, jmez, Slim9300, welka, otcwill, lostdog, cohunter14, underH20hunter, Trophyhill, Dotman, heartwood, wawhitey, elkonthebrain, 2MANY, curly tail, ridgrnr, to name a very, very few of the accomplished hunters on Wapiti Talk, are here and more than willing to share a bit of knowledge to help shorten your learning curve. I’m grateful and glad to have all you WT members here and wish you nothing but the very best as you travel through your elk hunting evolution. RJ

[Heartwood]

I was lucky to have a dad that got me started on deer, turkey and elk. We even had private land to hunt deer and turkey and our friends joined us. I grew up in NewYork, dreaming of hunting western game. I was fortunate to harvest my first elk in Colorado when I was 16. I didn't hunt elk again until I moved to Idaho at 27. To all of you who aren't part of an outdoor/hunting family, don't let that stop you. Many of the most accomplished hunters that I have hunted with did not grow up in hunting families but had someone who introduced them to the sport and helped them along in their evolution as hunters. I think most who hunt are willing to help others to get into the sport and that is certainly true of the many great people on this forum. We all learn and pick up new ideas from one another. The two people whom I have learned the most from about elk hunting are Elknut and his vast knowledge and Twinkieman who is one of my elk hunting partners. Phantom, thank you for taking on the hard job of keeping a great forum going and prospering.

[Swede]

My dad was a hunter and logger. We lived right next to the vast forest of the Cascades in Oregon. We spend a lot of time out cutting wood, picking berries, etc. and hunting. Still I did not think much about elk hunting. For years, even after harvesting some elk, I was not fixed on them. Elk season was just another hunting time, until much later.
One year I saw something special. I realized that by planning and observing, elk could be harvested on a very regular basis. At that time I set about ambushing them from a tree stand and became focused, obsessed or addicted to elk hunting. Probably at first it was as much an obsession with proving to myself that I had figured it out, and building on that understanding, as anything else.

[Indian Summer]

LOL... you opened a huge can of worms here Rory. I am living proof that anyone can do it. I was born and raised in sight of the city of Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania is a big hunting state but my dad didn't hunt and neither did any of my friends or their dads. We were city kids... but until we were old enough to own hotrods we spent every waking minute either in the woods or knee deep in the creeks. We were mostly riding bicycles and building cabins, which were later used to drink beer in, and catching carp and catfish in the Allegheny River but we saw deer from time to time. All the while everything we watched on tv other than the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour had to do with animals or the outdoors. Animal Kingdom. Bor free. Daniel Boone. Grizzly Adams. You name it. We were lucky to be able to pay the bills so there was no Field & Stream or Outdoor Life magazines and there was no such thing as a hunting show on tv.

Eventually my mother remarried and my step dad was a deer hunter. We were still too young to hunt but the big thing was when him and his partner got home from deer camp. That's where it all started. We went nuts over those deer! So we hunted up north once we were old enough, for about 6 or 8 years. I killed some does but I never killed a buck until I was about about 20 and that was down near home on the last day of the deer season that year. One thing I learned for sure was how to stick with it. In all those years I never once even thought about giving up.

I started running printing presses when I was 18. I ran them for 17 years. During that time I read every hunting magazine known to man. I was also a life member of the North American Hunting Club. So I was seeing the stuff from guys like Bob Robb and Jim Zumbo etc. Of course I knew who Fred Bear was too but to me he was like the Pope!

I had heard that they reintroduced elk to Pennsylvania and I did some trout fishing up in that neck of the woods but I had never bothered to mess with them. My step dad had been hunting out west. Elk in Colorado and mulies and antelope in Wyoming. One year the old dudes asked me if I want to go to Wyoming. Things progressed fast from that point. Mind you there was still no internet. I hunted there for 3 years always getting my antelope and my buck. I saw some nice bulls around there. One time I topped out on a small ridge on a private ranch and there were two 6 point bulls standing there together just looking at me. I pulled up my 7 mag and got each of them in the crosshairs and said bang. They stood there forever before turning and trotting away. I'll never forget that. So naturally the next step was to hunt those incredible creatures.

I rounded up my brother and one friend and we did the same thing that thousand of guys have done. Looked at the ads in the back of those magazines. We decided on Montana because it sounded cool and picked out a few and called them. One gave us a reference from Pa. The guy lived up near where the elk were. We called him. I kid you not this guy was the original ELKNUT. I mean he was addicted to them. He had sheds all over his house. He knew the guys who released the original herd and everything about the herd. In the winter he trucked feed corn into the back country on a sled with cross country skies so that they'd stay away from the tourists who fed them and stay wild. One time he fell through the ice into a creek with skis on and nearly died. He was hardly ever home. It was so bad that one day his wife told him he obviously loved the elk more than her and she left! He said she was right anyway. He drove us all around and showed us some insane bulls. We hiked off the beaten path and learned our way around some. He showed us a hell of a time and he also gave us a really good report on the outfitter. So we booked the hunt.

Like any Pa deer hunter we insisted on hunting the opening day of the season. It was hot as heck out the entire week. We heard a few bugles but those bulls all just vanished. We got lost one night with our guide until about 4 in the morning. It was our guide's first year there. He was from Connecticut and didn't know a single thing about an elk. We saw one cow the entire time. It totally sucked. We loved every minute of it too. We went home with 3 unpunched tags. I immediately looked for another outfitter for a gun hunt because that license was killing me to look at. I went back and hunted up near Noxon Montana..... and never saw a single elk all week. My guide wasn't too bad actually. He was from Pennsylvania about an hour and a half north of where I lived. I was far from done. I knew one thing though and that was that I damn sure did NOT need a guide. I was also a Boy Scout as a kid and I was right at home camping and living in the woods. I made some adjustments, bought a better crappy tent, and started hunting them on my own. My very next hunt I killed a nice 5 point bull on day 1 of the hunt. I was 12 miles from the road and we learned some lessons there too. Jesus!

After that I hunted the Montana/Idaho border from top to bottom for about 15 years and got pretty good at it. I learned I could kill elk camped at my truck so I bought a wall tent. I zeroed in on 2 main areas that are pretty far apart and learned them really well. I have to say it was pretty cool bringing home bulls bigger than my step dad and all his buddies ever killed down in CO. During those years I also fell in love with the west... and got bored running the printing presses. I had worked my way to the top of the food chain in that industry and even owned my own printing business at the same time. Then one year I decided it was time for a mid life crisis.

My brother had moved to Missoula in 96 so the Bitterroot was like home away from home. I had already been getting the Rocky Mountain Employment Newsletter. We had also stayed in contact with that very first guide and he now owned a pretty big outfit. I called to ask him some questions about the business aspects of outfitting. He was and is still the world's worst elk hunter and he asked me some questions about hunting. He knew we had been slaying bulls. He also knew that I knew his outfitting areas better than him so he just hired me on the spot. My idea was to buy an outfit but first I'd guide and pack for a season to see what I thought... even though I already knew that. While I was there I shopped around and met a few people. The following year I bought an outfitting business.... and built it to be one of the best in the Bitterroot. I had more repeat clients than any of the others. I'm pretty proud of that. And.... I never imagined it was possible but I quadrupled or maybe even went tenfold on what I knew about elk & the ways of the mountains where they live. I was now punching my elk tag every year and starting every season knowing it was just a matter of time. Yep, I was destined to become an Elknut for sure! Better yet I made some really great lifelong friends along the way in the form of employees, clients, and other outfitters from Alaska to Africa. Not too bad for a city boy from the east who took 8 years to kill a damn deer!

I'm telling you if I can do this anyone can!

[WapitiTalk1]

Make sense now. I thought I saw a glimpse, a very brief glimpse.... of somebody running the ridges in the high country between Heron and Troy, with a Penguins jersey, back in the early/mid 80s. The odd part is that I wrote it off as an illusion brought on by some bad jerky because the image I thought I saw had a knife clenched in his teeth and appeared to be trying to run elk down in the snow. He had a real scary look about him. It's all coming clear now who that crazy person was

[bald9eagle]

I'm the Playdoh that you guys are helping shape into something that resembles a wapiti crazed hunter. I've wanted the experience for years. I'm a self made turkey hunter that is as obsessed with that critter as you guys are with elk. Listening to guys that tell me that hunting during the rut is like chasing turkeys with 4 legs and noses get me pumped.

I've been West of the Mississippi River 4 times in my life...Shreveport, La.; Stuttgart, AR.; South Dakota; and finally the grand loop...Denver to Cody to Jackson Hole to Grand Canyon to Mesa Verde to Breck and back to Denver. During that trip we avoided interstate and let the gps take us wherever it wished. We hiked The Narrows, watched elk gather out of the timber in Yellowstone, saw Bighorn sheep in the Shoshoni Pass in Wyoming, watched mule deer graze from the porch of a cabin near Silverthorne, Co., stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon, counted speed goats out the window of the car, watched a bald eagle soar above Yellowstone Lake. It was our last great adventure as a family before losing our oldest. Last year was to be me and my daughters big elk hunting adventure but God had other plans.

I found a certain love and freedom with those giant mountains in that one trip. The solitude is what calls to me. Being a turkey hunter I also know the rush of hearing that first bugle of the morning while you sit on quiet ridge listening to the world wake up.

I'm not going to stop asking questions. I'm a sponge that wants to soak it all up. I'm 41 years old and despite being in good shape I've experienced a couple of heart attacks. The clock is ticking on how many seasons I get to hunt elk. Im trying to reduce the learning curve as much as possible.

Thanks to everyone that is helping to mold me.

[Indian Summer]

I think you will make it for the long haul Baldy. You have a solid foundation for an elk hunter and you'll be really excited and appreciative when your time comes and there's a bull on the ground.

Just think.... some guy never even thought about elk hunting until a buddy sad hey wanna go hunt out west? Then if they kill a bull it's not nearly the same as guys like us. They say oh that was pretty cool... and go back to their regular life. I can't believe that can happen but it does. I forgot about your situation last year. I'm really looking forward to your hunt.

[saddlesore]

Small world Indian Summer. I was born and raised south of Pittsburgh ,outside of Monongahela. Hunted deer in Clinton CO a few years, but left PA in 64.There were very few deer in SW PA back then, so most hunting was small game. The limit was 4 rabbits ,two pheasants,as we went a field with 6 shotgun rounds and were severely rebuked if we didn't bring back 6 carcasses or any remaining rounds. Therefore we practiced with 22 shorts. As I remember they were less than 25 cents a box of 50 and we were very seldom outside without an old 22 single shot rifle.

I moved to New Mexico because I loved to hunt I went on my first elk hunt in about 66.We killed 3 bulls within 5 minutes of each other. I was hooked, but it took me another two years to convince myself that all that work was fun.

After ten years I moved to Colorado because I wanted to hunt elk every year. Now in New Mexico it got so every three years was the norm.

That was in 74, and I doubt that I have missed no more than 3-4 seasons of elk hunting in 39 years. I am retired now and the last several years , I have been able to buy two elk tags ,so I hunt Muzzle Loader season and rifle season. At my age,I am trying to get as many elk hunts in as I can before I get too old, so many of those hunts are for cows.I have killed enough bulls that I don't need to do that now.

I seemed to have forgotten a lot of the techniques of elk hunting, but every year really really stupid elk walk out in front of me

[Lefty]

I was raised near duck hunters Mecca. Swan Lake near Nicollet Mn.
My dad was raised on a farm trapping and guiding pheasant hunters. My dads love for ducks and pheasant waned because of his guiding -However my dad was a bass then a walleye fanatic. We fished as a family nearly every weekend during open water.
We lived on the edge of town where a short bike ride put me into squirrel hunting and trapping.I also had a neighbor who was a trophy hunter and champion archer and rifle shooter. He got me shooting a bow and made all the .222 shells a 13, 14, 15 year old boy could shoot
Fortunately I developed my trapping skills as fur priced increased and used fox fur for gas and shotgun shells and drifted from my dads deer camps..after highschool trapping became a big source of income, well even before graduation. Everything else was in the way of trapping. I still killed a few ducks and squirrels, and if everything was frozen I may go up to my dads deer camp.

After getting married my wife wanted to teach in a Washington school. I worked full time in construction,, fur prices were low I was a duck hunting machine still trapped but took advantage of public land and deer hunted.

My father-in law is a hunting nut too, a houndsman, chasing lions bears , even rouge grizzlies, but mostly chasing big mulies often with my wife as his hunting partner. My father-in law set me up on a Montana hunt where I killed my first bull elk. A friend invited me for a three day elk hunt,
Moving to Utah I put in for Montana hunts with in-laws. Then put in for some Utah hunts However with a young family I mostly waterfowl hunted because it was minutes to the" Greatest Bird Refuge in the world" ; Bear River Bird Refuge. Water fowling and trapping fit into my life with kids and it was easy.
Moving to Idaho My FIL put me in for trophy bull hunt I killed a bull the first morning.
I ended up with some exceptional goose hunting properties . One field set up less than 250 yards out the back door. My daughters hunted with me when ever possible . When I hunted alone I could often be home before breakfast.

As my daughters entered College and boyfriends I felt I had more time to commit to other hunts. On an antelope rifle hunt with my daughters we kept coming across bull elk. My shoulder had been messed up for 25 years, for the past 20 I hadn't picked up my childhood bow. A buddy wanted me to shoot his bow,.. I was surprised I could draw and hold the bow,.. I bought his bow and he bought a new bow. I look back those first years I had exceptional desert elk experiences with huge bulls. And the bulls kept winning
With 20 something daughters I could hunt all day and not be missed.

Im also a freak about doing things well,. and am very personally competitive, I had felt I had "conquered home construction, bass, watersking, mink, fox muskrat beaver coyotes, ducks, geese. I also knew the likely hood of putting a mule deer on the wall bigger than many of my wifes deer was slim.
I enjoy physical outdoor activities( I hardly fish anymore)
I still have a ways to go to feel Ive conquered elk,.
Next year My wife and I are starting a new chapter, She wants a rifle bull elk tag So my September and October Saturdays will filled.
I dont consider myself an expert elk hunter,... and may never, until after I retire.

[Indian Summer]

Lefty how old are you anyway?

By the way.... I'm a lefty.

[cohunter]

I grew up in a totally non-hunting family. Not against hunting - just a bunch of farmers and city folks. They DID all love the outdoors fishing, exploring, hiking backpacking... I did too. I spent every spare hour outside. Living on a farm we had elk wreaking havoc in the winter (a pattern not observed before a large fire destroyed quite a large chunk of winter range). I was always fascinated by them. Reading books piqued my interest in hunting. In 4th grade a received a BB gun for my birthday. Shortly after I got a hunter's safety card. Then I found an old 16 gauge single-barreled shotgun made by western arms company behind the door in a relative's shed. After cleaning it up, I went after ducks and geese, but my passion was always elk. Unfortunately, I had to wait until 14 at which time CO changed the age to 12! In 7th grade, I bought a new 12 gauge shotgun with my winnings from science fair. (I'm a nerd) In 8th grade I borrowed a 30-06 from a family friend and my dad and I went on our first ever elk hunt. I ended up killing a nice 6pt mostly through dumb luck and know-nothing confidence. With my 8th grade science fair winning I bought my own big-game rifle. After that I always had a tag or two until college when I had to work to keep my grades up. Then came a wife and kids and first job and it was a couple of years before I found myself back in the elk woods. Sometimes you have to be away from something for a while before you really know how much you miss it! I hunted 3 or 4 years before moving to Kenya. Most people think Africa and associate it with heat and perpetual summer, but where we lived it felt just like those warm early fall days year-round... the kind with hunting season right around the corner. For three years I felt like elk season was just around the corner and it drove me crazy! When we moved back to CO, I gratefully dove into hunting again. I also starting looking for a bow having loved shooting a 20 year old compound I'd gotten from a friend. I finally bought one on eBay got it set up and practice all summer. Loved it! Not only that, but my dad, after tagging along as pack mule on every single hunt, not complaining about ridiculous terrain or pack jobs, camp food or rough campsites, bought a bow of his own and his very first elk tag. I ended up harvesting a nice bull and my dad at age 60 took his first elk during a late season. Elk nut forums have been a great resource for learning tricks for elk hunting! Thanks, Guys!

[Lefty]

Lefty how old are you anyway? By the way.... I'm a lefty.

Im not a true lefty, shoot firearms left, hockey stick left. put a fork or hammer in either hand, draw a bow right, swing a bat right,.. Yeah serious problems

Born in 58,.. you can do the math on that one
But its not about being a lefty its the ADD

[bald9eagle]

I think you will make it for the long haul Baldy. You have a solid foundation for an elk hunter and you'll be really excited and appreciative when your time comes and there's a bull on the ground.

Just think.... some guy never even thought about elk hunting until a buddy sad hey wanna go hunt out west? Then if they kill a bull it's not nearly the same as guys like us. They say oh that was pretty cool... and go back to their regular life. I can't believe that can happen but it does. I forgot about your situation last year. I'm really looking forward to your hunt.

I've never done before but I am planning (attempting) to keep a journal. I want to be able to share everything that happens.

[Dr. Rx]

Thank you Rory.. of all the online forums.. this is by far the most kindest, most helpful gents I have had the pleasure to talk with..I know you are truly sincere when you say guys like you, and Elknut are here to help us rookies..

lucky to have found you guys as a resource.

Kris

[Trophyhill]

my brief elk career started after my last rifle mule deer hunt. while field dressing my opening morning deer about 10 yards below a ridge, bullets started ricocheting of the ridge from the other side. I looked at my buddy and said " f this chit, I'm a bowhunter next year. it's getting too dangerous out here". so i applied for both a deer and elk hunt with a bow and drew both. i had never hunted elk before and had no idea what i was in for. my passion at the time was hunting mulies with my 7 mag. that first elk hunt changed my life forever. I've learned a lot since '08 and have a lot to learn. i started out a very passive elkhunter. then it was sort of passive aggressive. now it's pure aggression.

[Bullseye]

I must "blame" my Dad for setting me on my elk hunting journey. And I use the word "blame" with the utmost respect! My love for hunting and the great outdoors is rooted in my early days growing up in Pennsylvania. The memories I have of watching that big den tree for squirrels, flushing pheasants from the hedgerows, jumping rabbits from brush piles, hearing that thundering gobble up the ridge, watching that spike buck slowly makes its way to my stand, and loading up the truck to head for various hunting camps in North Central PA, are engrained in my mind forever. Elk were just something of my dreams. I recall seeing them in Field & Stream magazines and seeing their massive mounts during our yearly ventures to the Harrisburg Sportsman show. But to actually hunt them? I never thought I'd have that opportunity.

I joined the US Air Force in 1990 and ultimately spent about 16 years overseas. While those assignments were adventures in there own right, they did cause me to miss out on several hunting seasons. On occasion, I did get back to chase deer or turkey with my Dad in the PA mountains. Fast forward to 2010 when I got stationed in Colorado. My dream of chasing elk was about to come true. I immediately set out to learn all I could about elk, what I needed for DIY hunts, and where I could hunt in remote wilderness areas. To say the least, I have put in a lot of "boot time." I believe measuring success is relative. For example, even the years where I never pulled the trigger on an elk ... I was successful. The sights, the sounds, the camaraderie among friends, and everything else offered by the great Rocky Mountains in special in itself. However, I have been fortunate in the last few years to start regularly putting elk meat in the freezer. And this year, I was blessed to be with my 14 year old Son as he killed a beautiful 6x6.

I'm still in the Air Force and will be retiring in June of this year. I am going to settle here in CO in large part due to my proximity to the mighty Wapiti. Guess I've got the bug!

[ishy]

My dad is at fault too. He started me calling coyotes pretty young. I loved tricking an animal into running at you, it was quite the adrenaline rush. Then scouting for a spike rifle hunt we went to the head of a canyon on the Manti unit on September 15th, 1990. I don't think we even saw an elk, but the canyon lit up as the morning light just started to creep from behind us. The noises that came from that canyon were unreal. Antlers crashed, and bulls screamed at each other for what seemed like forever. I haven't been the same since.
I have hungered to get to that figurative canyon again every fall. I feel like we all only have so many hunting seasons, and in each season there are only a handful of those magical days when the elk action turns into a firestorm. I was lucky enough to work a summer in the Tetons that gave me lots of time just being around elk. Then I worked a few years for an outfitter. All this just seemed to keep me one step away from being as successful as I would like as far as punching tags, but leaving me plenty hungry trying to get back to that same lit up canyon next season.

Lefty, I shoot right handed and eat/write left handed. So just as serious problems, but in the opposite direction?