Encouragement

[Swede]

As I was thinking about the place and role of internet forums like this, one thing that came to mind is the value of encouragement. Have you ever noticed how many more people today are interested in elk hunting because of the different social medias? Elk hunting is presented as fun, exciting and almost always successful. It seems everyone gets a huge bull to show off as a trophy. Sure you may have to be in decent shape and work some to make it happen, but if you do that, you will be rewarded bountifully.
I believe one of the best things we as dedicated hunters can do, to pass on our love of the outdoors, and the love we have for the quest on elk hunting, is to be an encourager. We need to be realistic, as nothing can be more discouraging than shelling out a lot of money and returning home feeling we failed. So how can we as hunters pass on the joy we find in hunting and at the same time being totally realistic?

[saddlesore]

With the already crowding in CO, 't know if that is a good idea.A lot of encouragement from CPW has given a lot of people the idea that there is an elk behind every tree.I have given several younger guys a leg up.I found out some of them should not eve be out in the woods,let alone with a gun

[Lefty]

Ive always been good at promoting and helping beginners. Sort of that giving -teacher mentality.

But you are oh-so-right about too big of a percentage of newbies. But I dont think it is just the internet, media and social media . While I do agree that they can fuel the fire.And rightfully so.

Look how much extra time so many people have. When I was younger it was work work work , and play. So many now work and play.
All those high school jocks aren't playing pro ball, not everyone has a lake place. or 5 six kids to feed And lets face shooting anything is much easier than in the past, Variable burn powders Recoil systems and compound bows.
I can not draw the re curve bow I shot as a 13 year old, my lightest daughter could shoot a 20 ga with little recoil. And the better clothing,.. being gear? And in some cases improved techniques

Encouragement and knowledge can go a long way.
I didnt know a single girl that hunted when I was in highschool. Now I don't have that may facebook friens but two girls( hey I haven't seen them in 40 years,) both got their first deer last year.

[Swede]

I understand that encouraging some people may be counterproductive or even dangerous. It appears to me that forums like this are either a place to brag about ourselves and complain about others, or it is an opportunity to encourage and educate. We can move in and out of either camp as we chose, but these are the two main groups I see. Some take up residence on the complainer homestead.
I believe encouraging people to head out into the forests that have little or no experience, and putting them there with a gun in hand is a really bad idea. The ones I dislike seeing are those that have to kill something just to justify their being there. The greedy ones will generally cheat without regard to anything or anyone else.
I see the question being, how can we carefully and realistically encourage people without commercializing elk hunting, or filling new elk hunters with unrealistic expectations?
Vince; is Colorado getting close to its quota of out-of-state elk hunters yet? I missed their official advertisement in the Oregon big game regulation magazine this year. We can only hope they did not forget California this year. Oregon is small in comparison and probably not worth the bother.

[saddlesore]

Swede,There is no limit on OTC hunts. R or NR. Most draw hunts have the tags sold out except for some big late cow hunts, but there are very few left come the 4th season.

Coming this year, CPW changed a big area in SW Colorado from OTC archery to draw only. Too many complaints about over crowding and less elk.

Colorado has published elk herd counts for the last few years at about 280,00 head, but then they publish articles about drastic herd numbers in several units/areas like the Vail Valley,SW CO. If they didn't publish the inflated numbers , the NR's would not come.

Really,it is down right scary to go hunt in an OTC unit, archery, ML or center fire.

I might complain on here a bit, and have posted a few photos and stories, but I have also offered what I think is a lot of good information that newbies could use and have taken a few under my wing. So I guess I do go back and forth.

However since I hunt with horses or mules, young hunters usually do not have any and are shy about renting one for $650. I either end up overloading my pack animal or the foot hunter can't keep up. Plus very few young/new hunters want to or can't put up with an old grumbling fart curmudgeon.

[Indian Summer]

Here are my words of encouragement: I grew up in the city, in Pennsylvania, and it took me until I was 21 to kill my first whitetail buck. I’m now 54, soon to be 55 and at 5 foot 6 I weight about 210 pounds and I’ve punched 21 elk tags in a row. By God if I can do it just about anyone with some mental toughness can!

[Swede]

Vince, I certainly don't think of you as a complainer or braggart. You say what you think and usually it is just good solid information.

[saddlesore]

Here are my words of encouragement: I grew up in the city, in Pennsylvania, and it took me until I was 21 to kill my first whitetail buck. I’m now 54, soon to be 55 and at 5 foot 6. I weigh about 210 pounds and I’ve punched 21 elk tags in a row. By God if I can do it just about anyone with some mental toughness can!

Dang Joe. We are at opposite ends the scale. At 5'-6" my usual weight was about 155. When I past 70 I started to lose body mass and now weigh 135 . I indeed have the mental toughness, I think, but my darn body is shirking it's duty.I give it all I can,but anymore it isn't much.So far still killing elk every year, but it sure is a lot tougher. My goal is to hunt until I am 80,3 more years.Think I will hang it up then.

I read where some of these guys feel they are slowing down at 40.I don't think they have the mental toughness that you mentioned.

My father was the toughest man I knew he was shorter than me. My brother was the next ,but he is in hospice care now with about 3-4 days to live they tell m.e

[Indian Summer]

We are at opposite ends of the spectrum Vince but that just goes to show that elk hunting is more mental than anything.

Very sorry to hear about your brother.

[Tigger]

Sorry to hear about your brother Vince. My wife is a nurse who sometimes does on-call Hospice.

I think elk hunting is an activity that should not be a person's first hunt. The odds of getting one are low, the learning curve is steep, significant mental toughness is required, expense is fairly high, and there is some danger associated with the mountains if you haven't been there before. My encouragement is aimed at getting people to start out with small game or birds, move up to local deer, start the western hunting experience with antelope and then graduate to elk.

[Indian Summer]

Since most elk hunters have killed deer here are some encouraging words: Elk are way easier to kill than whitetails! In my opinion a semi mature buck is a survival expert. You can know for a fact that he’s in an area no bigger than a square mile or so and never see him. With elk it’s just a matter of finding them. Once you accomplish that it’s just a matter of patience. The main obstacle is the fact that there can be 4 to 20 plus sets of eyes. But that’s still easier to overcome than a wary whitetail. Much easier in my opinion. I don’t want to say elk are dumb but they aren’t exactly rocket scientists.

[Lefty]

Tigger
There is so much that can go into elk hunting
I see no problem an elk hunt being your first hunt.

18 months ago Andrews first ever of any type of hunt was archery elk.

Maybe we spoiled him first morning put him in front of a bull under 60 yards the next day they got into more bull
The next Week he killed two limits of 4 geese with 8 shots
Then mid October a rifle buck then piles of duck present and geese

Having reasonable expectations is important having hunting background is helpful

My FIL took most the grandsons and son in laws on an elk hunt
But a bunch of 8-13 year old boys in the montana back country was a fantastic experience for all

My oldest nephew had never hunted or fished My FIL had him tag along on opening day of a trophy bull hunt, It is the only hunt he was ever on and his only hunting experience and with good memories
It was so nice having a super fit 21 year old pack that bull

[Swede]

Dennis and Joe make some great points. If you want to hunt elk, then go on an elk hunt. As Joe says, they aren't that smart. The do have good eyes, very sensitive ears and a nose that can detect you before you know they are even near. They are very easily spooked, so you must be smarter than they are. To get elk you must be where the elk are and that also may be difficult for the new hunter. Learning their habits and routines can take time. It helps to know elk which can come some from reading posts here, but is still best experienced. As has been said above, "be patient" and have "reasonable expectations".

[Indian Summer]

Unless elk smell you I don’t think they spook easily. Like mule deer they can be a curious animal sometimes even moving toward something to investigate.

My niece’s first hunts were for elk. My brother was ruining her by dragging her all over the place at 12-13 years old. I found a herd in the right place and her first ill was a big cow elk. I think deer hunting can be tough on kids. Telling them a hundred times to be quiet and don’t move isn’t always their idea of fun.

[Swede]

Joe make a good point on elk spooking. You can fool them and they will actually try to call to you. I.e. I have walked along slowly, making stepping on dead branches, etc. All I did to fool them was to let out a small cow call every once in awhile.
On the other hand, I have had them run off when I approached where they were, and all they had to go on was the sound of me walking their way. The difference was that I was walking a normal hiking pace and not making a cow call. I was walking like I was going somewhere. Also if they both hear and see me they will run off. Just seeing me if I was not moving may make them nervous, but sometimes they will settle down and go back to feeding. I guess the bottom line on all this is as Joe suggested, they won't spook until they are pretty sure that something unhealthy is coming their way.