Your worst mistake/What to not do

[bow82]

As some of you know from my first post I am completely new to elk hunting. I am a member of a few Midwest whitetail groups and the amount of self proclaimed "experts" that put down newcomers is astounding. I would like to thank those of you one here that lend your advice and hunting strategies with us seeking help on this forum as well as other elk groups. It is very much appreciated.

That being said I wonder if anyone is willing to share some of the worst mistakes they have made while out in the field or in preparation. If there is anything that you would say to absolutely not do. I believe I learn more from my mistakes more than my victories in pursuing big game.


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[Swede]

Bow82: You have just hit the jackpot. I can claim with confidence that I am an expert on mistakes and blunders. It is hard to know where to begin.

#1 Returning a call (bugling back or cow chirping) while waiting in a tree stand.
#2 Setting out a decoy while tree stand hunting elk.
#3 Moving on from a cold calling position too soon. Normally wait at least 1/2 hour, but it can pay big to wait 45 minutes to an hour.
#4 Letting down my guard so to speak, or calling from an exposed location. Lesson: Always be on the alert and never call from a position where you will be busted if an elk comes quickly to check you out.

I really don't want to hog the thread or get all the; "eh-hem" glory, so I will leave room for others. I am sure there are a few more out there that have messed up.

[BrentLaBere]

This could be a very long discussion. Ill start with a couple that come to mind right away.
With preparing for an elk hunt, dont go over the top on buying new or must have gear. If you are hunting whitetails and have camping equipment, you're probably good to go with most of the things you will need. There are plenty of items that can make the hunt easier and more enjoyable but they aren't things you "need".
If you have your hunting area picked out and you have drawn the tag, try to plan a short scouting trip. If its possible. Scouting trip can cover a lot of things. Road conditions, road closures, nearest town, nearest butcher with a cooler, and then all the elk country.... Having a plan in place to take care of meat and emergency needs will let you concentrate on the hunt instead of the what ifs happen.
If I could do it over again, I would car camp and plan for a possible extended stay from the vehicle if I found elk a long ways off the trial. I have seen it almost every year where a camp intrudes on an area where elk like to pass through. I have done this myself. If you do plan to be backpacking in, stay QUIET! Always talking in a softer voice. Youd be amazed how loud camps are, again ive learned from my own mistakes.

Havent even started with the hunting mistakes yet.....

[Elkduds]

Do not park you vehicle for the night within a hundred yards of where you heard elk, lock the vehicle/set the alarm, and sleep in the vehicle.

[saddlesore]

Don't move too fast and use your binoculars in the timber. t took me along time to learn these two simple rules.

[bow82]

I do not have any camping equipment as I have access to private land 10 minutes from my home. I can literally be in my stand 30 minutes after leaving my house. I'm pampered I know! I have public land less than 2 miles from my house as well. So I am behind the game as far as camping. I have my bow and most likely all the clothes I would need for archery season. I will need to find a pair of boots, a pack, and camping gear. I do plan to pack in and stay. I will have to upgrade my arrows and broadheads as I'm setup for whitetail.

Swede you never disappoint. Enjoy reading your responses to topics on here!


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[baddaddy]

Bow 82,

Don't ever underestimate the weather.
Don't ever think you are in good enough shape for elk hunting. That's when you find out how out of shape you realy are.
Being new to elk hunting, don't be affraid to get aggressive with your strategy. With your new camping gear do trial runs near home to work out the bugs.

[TimeOnTarget]

1st biggest mistake, thinking i was in shape.
2nd biggest mistake, Thinking a flatlander can EVER be in good enough shape.
These are both false, I've come a long ways in the fitness dept but certainly not like i would be if i lived at 8-10k elevation.


3rd biggest mistake was/is getting frustrated. The more frustrated i got, the quicker i moved, the quicker i moved the more elk i spooked, the more elk i spooked the more frustrated i got.


Slow down, glass even in the thick stuff but don't be afraid to get aggressive when you spot elk. Make a plan and go put them on the ground.

[WapitiTalk1]

Excellent topic!

Hmm, worst mistakes and lessons learned the hard way. I've got a barrel full of them . Some have been mentioned but here's a handful (including some that have been previously hit upon).

1. Nothing gets you in mountain shape like the mountains do. Best way to prepare is to train like you fight (Army term); do your very best to start early in the year and hike, hike, hike with weight on your back, up and down and sideways on slopes whenever possible. No slopes around where you live? Stadium stairs can be a decent substitute.
2. Not paying attention to the wind/thermals will blow an elk hunt before it begins. You can bathe in and gargle scent free products but nothing disguises human scent, nothing.
3. Regardless of the type of hunting you're doing, stop-look-listen-smell (yes, smell) often, perhaps even as much as you hike.
4. Keep your calls in check when moving in on a vocal elk. If you're calling and he's calling back, progressively moving away... he's just keeping you located.
5. Don't skimp on night time sleeping gear; ensure your bag will in fact keep you warm, and, your sleeping pad protects, insulates you from the ground. As hard as a person works while elk hunting, getting quality ZZZ's are extremely import and being cold, wet, or having rocks poke you all night will slowly drain your elk hunting energy level.
6. Don't underestimate the importance of learning basic elk calls, and, understanding what those stinky galoots are saying. They are not just tooting their horns because they like to hear the sound of their own voice.
7. Don't walk under Swede's tree stand
8. Ensure you vet potential elk hunting partners well; not all folks are good teams when paired together.
9. Stay away from cheap boots for elk hunting; its a different ball park "up there" and a hunter needs quality, well fitted, broke in boots.
10. Don't over estimate your maximum range with any weapon; ensure you know your maximum accuracy limits well before season and stick with them during season!
OK, I'll stop now

[Swede]

Ensure you vet potential elk hunting partners well; not all folks are good teams when paired together.

Oh boy: That could be a thread of its own. I love to be out hunting, but to be honest, I too am not a good fit for some people. I hunt the entire season, how and where I want. I normally hunt alone. I like company in camp and will go out on occasion to call for someone, but that is rare. I have never asked anyone not to come back to my camp, but many don't for one reason or another. Do ya suppose sitting in a tree 10 plus hours per day is not for everyone?

[TimeOnTarget]

Ensure you vet potential elk hunting partners well; not all folks are good teams when paired together.

Oh boy: That could be a thread of its own. I love to be out hunting, but to be honest, I too am not a good fit for some people. I hunt the entire season, how and where I want. I normally hunt alone. I like company in camp and will go out on occasion to call for someone, but that is rare. I have never asked anyone not to come back to my camp, but many don't for one reason or another. Do ya suppose sitting in a tree 10 plus hours per day is not for everyone?

I get all the tree time i can stand waiting on whitetails. No thanks when elk hunting!

I've got one excellent hunting partner. Both on the same page 90% of the time and both willing to bust our balls to get an elk. I've went separate ways from a few other hunting partners though....

[TimeOnTarget]

got another one...

Do not rely on a cell phone app to be your GPS. NEVER DO THIS.. Ask my how i know.

[Mathewsz7-elkridge]

Ensure you vet potential elk hunting partners well; not all folks are good teams when paired together.

This is the number one reason why I am not eating elk right now. My partner just wasn't cut out for archery hunting elk. We were sitting a meadow for the last couple hrs of daylight when a big cow and her calf gave him a wide open broadside shot at 30 yards. His bow was not in his hand. Not to mention he was ready to go home by day 3.

Always be prepared for elk. When branches start braking you don't have a whole lot of time. They cover a lot of ground very quickly.

Knowing when to leave your setup and when to stay put. I think it's easier said then done. For me last year when I stayed I should have moved and when I moved I should have stayed put. If any one has some advice on this subject please share away! Every time it was in a advertising sequence I would get a distant bugle one time. Thinking he might come in quietly I would stay put. Would you say the ones that come in quietly never make a sound?

Camping where the elk are is a big no no. Read about before my trip seen someone do it first hand on my trip.

Don't rush the last 100 yards if your stalking in and they don't know about you. And before you let them know your location with a bugle or a cow call make sure you are close enough.

[sleepymoe]

Had a good buddy put down a bull elk archery hunting. We've both killed before and we thought it was expiring. Went down < 100 yds within view. Over next 45 minutes it got up and laid down 3 times, finally stood and ran up and away to regroup with cows. In hindsight we could have (at least tried) snuck in and got another arrow in him. We didnt want to spook him as the pack out would have been bad enough as it was. I guess the moral is shoot til you know they're finished or at least get into position the get another shot

[six]

Don't camp right next to the trail. Animals use the trail system at night. I had a very large bull Moose smell my tent at 3 a.m. I was glad my tent didn't have a floor as I was about ready to exit the opposite side of the Moose.

If you stop for a break make sure you are near cover and your bow is within reach.

[Tigger]

I will second the "make sure your bow is within reach" comment. We stopped to glass on a pile of rocks over 100 yards away from the nearest tree. no elk would come anywhere near that location. We threw out a locator bugle and spike ran out on the rocks to us. We were not ready and he laughed at us. Literally laughed at us. It is humiliating to have a spike laugh at you.

[WapitiTalk1]

We were not ready and he laughed at us. Literally laughed at us. It is humiliating to have a spike laugh at you.

Damn flippant spike

[bracer40]

Not having plans B,C,and D.
Sticking to an area lacking elk or fresh sign for too long.

[>>>---WW---->]

Listen to the guys with whiskers on here. (Saddlesore, Elkduds, Swede, and a few others). They all come from the school of hard knocks. No computers, fancy books full of so called expert advice, TV hunting shows, etc:

On hunting partners: No thanks! I can mess things up bad enough all by myself. Besides, nothing is more satisfying than beating an animal at it's own game all by yourself.

Calling: If you don't know what you are doing, just plain DON'T! When it comes to calling elk, you need to know what to say, when to say it, and where to say it. And most importantly, HOW to use the call and make the proper sounds.

Scouting: Scouting out an area is great but don't over do it. Too much tromping around in an area can spook game out. Do it quietly and carefully.

Still hunting: Many guys say you need to cover ground to find elk. That is often true. But don't go at it like a bull in a china shop. Stop and smell the roses! Again, quietly and carefully.

Fitness: This is one that really ticks me off. You don't have to be a Cameron Hanes type to hunt elk. Let your body tell you when you need to slow down. I'll be 74 this year. I'm also handicapped with bad knees and shoulders. But I can still hunt. I've just learned to do it at a slower pace. I see more game now than I ever did when I was younger.

Weather: Be prepared for anything in the mountains. Rain gear is important. Not only for rain, but it is also the best wind breaker you can find when a cold norther blows in unexpectedly.

Optics: I can't begin to tell you the importance of a good set of binoculars. Spotting scope? Eh! Not so much for me. But a good glass will save a lot of leg work.

Equipment: Buy what you can afford, but you don't have to break the bank and get the latest and greatest. Just get what works for you.

Enough for now. I'll let someone else take over. Again, This is a great thread.

[jmez]

#1 mistake by far is not having a full understanding of prevailing winds, thermals and how the two interact. Along with this, thinking that you will ever beat an elk's nose. You can't and won't. If you think the wind is good it is marginal. If you think the wind is marginal it is bad. Forget any kind of scent control, hunt the wind period.

#1b mistake hunting them like a whitetail. If you see one, get the wind and go kill it. They aren't just big deer. If you have the wind elk are not hard to sneak up on. Don't worry about making noise, if you hear any moving on your trip you will see why this isn't a big concern. They are big and they make a lot of noise.

#1c mistake spending all your time in a small area sneaking around looking for elk. I'll go against the slow down advice. Elk are where they are, not where you think they should be, not where they have been and not where you want them to be. Cover ground until you see, hear or smell them or find very fresh sign. Any of these happen, then slow down and start looking for them. The country they live in is huge, you have no idea how huge until you actually get there. They travel a lot, as in miles, every day. Hunt them accordingly.

[TimeOnTarget]

#1 mistake by far is not having a full understanding of prevailing winds, thermals and how the two interact. Along with this, thinking that you will ever beat an elk's nose. You can't and won't. If you think the wind is good it is marginal. If you think the wind is marginal it is bad. Forget any kind of scent control, hunt the wind period.

#1b mistake hunting them like a whitetail. If you see one, get the wind and go kill it. They aren't just big deer. If you have the wind elk are not hard to sneak up on. Don't worry about making noise, if you hear any moving on your trip you will see why this isn't a big concern. They are big and they make a lot of noise.

#1c mistake spending all your time in a small area sneaking around looking for elk. I'll go against the slow down advice. Elk are where they are, not where you think they should be, not where they have been and not where you want them to be. Cover ground until you see, hear or smell them or find very fresh sign. Any of these happen, then slow down and start looking for them. The country they live in is huge, you have no idea how huge until you actually get there. They travel a lot, as in miles, every day. Hunt them accordingly.

Hey fellow SD'er!

As someone who grew up in SD hunting whitetails, I whole heartedly agree. Wind on the plains is from the direction its from, thats it. Mountains though, are always swirling and have thermals to deal with. Which always seem to be wrong for me.

I was lucky to have an experienced elk hunter show me that you gotta go to em once you see em. In all my dreams of elk hunting I never dreamed I'd be literally sprinting through a forest to get on spotted elk before it was dark. I had my 1st dead elk after that sprint and about a 200yd shot though

[jmez]

I'm amazed at the wind in the mountains every year. I've never seen it blow from four different directions at the same time anywhere else.

Take a wind puffer and use it often.

Two examples from my hunt last year. There was an area where some cows were coming out feeding in the open every evening. I went to set up one evening along a rock face that was about 40 foot tall and 150 yards long. As I approached the wind was hitting me directly in the back of the head, 180 degrees opposite of where I needed it. I decided to walk down the face where I was going to set up and check it out for future reference. When I got to where I would sit I pulled out the wind checker, the powder went straight down the rock face about 15 yards and then took a 90 degree turn out onto the meadow. WTF? I sat there a while and used almost an entire puffer bottle trying to figure it out. I threw some grass and leaves and the same thing. I still have no idea what was causing the eddy in that location but something was. There was no change in contour, nothing?

Fast forward a couple days later. I see a big group of elk feeding up a canyon. The canyon gets very narrow at the top. Elk are out in front of me and wind hitting me square in the face. It is about 10 am so the thermals have also switched and are coming up. I watched the elk until I knew they had committed to coming up the canyon. Got in the top of the canyon and headed down. All the while checking the wind, coming right at me. Got to a spot where some rocks stick out, peeked around and the entire herd is in the bottom of the canyon feeding up 116 yards away. I get all set up, I'm behind the rocks, they won't be able to spot me until they are already past me and the farthest they could pass would be 40 yards. Check the wind several times, coming right at me. I sit there about 5 minutes, can hear them down there but resist the urge to peek again. Out of nowhere the entire herd goes straight up the side of the canyon at mach 12 about 60 yards from me. Right over the top and gone, they left in a hurry. Now I peek, all of them gone. So I sit there trying to figure out what happened. Has to be the wind. I moved out from the rocks actually into the canyon and start puffing my wind checker. Keeps coming right back in my face. Puff it a few more times and watch where it goes behind me. Goes up the canyon about 10 yards and then about half the cloud goes straight up into the air and heads right back down the canyon, the other half continues right up the canyon.

I've said it before, elk would be easy to hunt and kill if not for the mountain winds. It is bar none the most frustrating thing with bowhunting them.

[TimeOnTarget]

I'm amazed at the wind in the mountains every year. I've never seen it blow from four different directions at the same time anywhere else.

Take a wind puffer and use it often.

Two examples from my hunt last year. There was an area where some cows were coming out feeding in the open every evening. I went to set up one evening along a rock face that was about 40 foot tall and 150 yards long. As I approached the wind was hitting me directly in the back of the head, 180 degrees opposite of where I needed it. I decided to walk down the face where I was going to set up and check it out for future reference. When I got to where I would sit I pulled out the wind checker, the powder went straight down the rock face about 15 yards and then took a 90 degree turn out onto the meadow. WTF? I sat there a while and used almost an entire puffer bottle trying to figure it out. I threw some grass and leaves and the same thing. I still have no idea what was causing the eddy in that location but something was. There was no change in contour, nothing?

Fast forward a couple days later. I see a big group of elk feeding up a canyon. The canyon gets very narrow at the top. Elk are out in front of me and wind hitting me square in the face. It is about 10 am so the thermals have also switched and are coming up. I watched the elk until I knew they had committed to coming up the canyon. Got in the top of the canyon and headed down. All the while checking the wind, coming right at me. Got to a spot where some rocks stick out, peeked around and the entire herd is in the bottom of the canyon feeding up 116 yards away. I get all set up, I'm behind the rocks, they won't be able to spot me until they are already past me and the farthest they could pass would be 40 yards. Check the wind several times, coming right at me. I sit there about 5 minutes, can hear them down there but resist the urge to peek again. Out of nowhere the entire herd goes straight up the side of the canyon at mach 12 about 60 yards from me. Right over the top and gone, they left in a hurry. Now I peek, all of them gone. So I sit there trying to figure out what happened. Has to be the wind. I moved out from the rocks actually into the canyon and start puffing my wind checker. Keeps coming right back in my face. Puff it a few more times and watch where it goes behind me. Goes up the canyon about 10 yards and then about half the cloud goes straight up into the air and heads right back down the canyon, the other half continues right up the canyon.

I've said it before, elk would be easy to hunt and kill if not for the mountain winds. It is bar none the most frustrating thing with bowhunting them.

Agreed, this flatlander certainly hasn't figured out the mountains winds.