Elk Hunting Equipment/Hunting Style

[Swede]

When I think of Indian Summer elk hunting I think of a man with a 300 Canon a sturdy bipod and a 40X scope. I exaggerate some, but you get the point. His equipment reflects his hunting style and the area he hunts. My image of Saddlesore is of a man leading a couple of loaded pack mules and carrying a smoke-pole. When you think of me hunting you likely have a picture of a stationary person perched up a tree in a stand. There is a large pack and coat hanging on one side of the tree and a bow hanging on the other. None of the three of us often need any camo or face paint. The equipment or lack thereof fits the style of hunting.
Thinking along these lines, can you describe what typifies your style of hunting or what makes it different? Joe and Vince, feel free to correct my mental image of you.

[saddlesore]

For many years,my typical hunting clothes were blue jeans, wool shirt and a parka of some kind.Fleece came out and I upgraded from the wool.Now since most of my hunting is in Septmeber, I do have a set of Bass Pro Bone Dry camo pants and rain jacket. Not becauseof the camo,but that is all that is sold. Two years ago I also bought a new Blaze Orange hunting coat from Bass Pro on sale and it has the liner that comes out and over all is 1/2 the weight of my old coats.

Since I normally leave camp at 4 AM or so. I need a good warm coat so I can ride in 5-6 miles and be warm ,yet light enough that I can strap it to my day pack once I reach my hunting area. I also have good supply of the adhesive backed toe warmers.. When riding in, I need a boot that isn't to cumbersome and most are not warm enough.The toe warmers do double duty there and now being older, I sit a lot more and they keep my feet warm. My normal mode of hunting is move a little and then sit for awhile the repeat for a few hours. Less of that nowdays. More sitting and less moving. It doesn't semed to have made a difference in my success rate. In any case, I make sure I am in my hunting area, 20-30 minutes before first light and situated wher either elk will be or move thru.Very seldom do I hunt in the evenings. I don't want to process an elk in the dark and should I screw up a shot, Idon't want to spend time tracking one in the dark,nor do I want to let it sit until morning and take a chance of it spoiling.

The hardest parts of packing an elk out is getting back to the pack mule, dead tired after processing the elk , stashing all the gear in the panniers until I am done pcaking meat . Then getting the pack mule and saddle mule back to the kill site and lifing the meat on to the mules. The rest is easy.

Generaly I am not concerned about weight except what goes into my day pack.That runs about15 pounds. Ridng in or out, the day pack goes into the panniers which also holds my lunch, meat saws, extra knives,ropes, small com-a-along, game bags, extra water,tarp,garbage bags, small cook stove and fixngs for coffee, picket pin, picket rope and a few other odds and ends.I carry a road flares both in my day pack and saddlebags which also hold ML cleaning tools /supplies,extra powder and bullets.Same in center fire rifle season.I carry my cell phone now days,but no GPS or such.

Rifle season I usually had more snow gear, but as of last year, I think I am done with that.I never leave camp without enough gear or food to stay out over night.

Nix the tree stand.Two years ago Luke Kessler invited me to his family farm in Nebraska for a MLdeer hunt.They put me in a tree stand about 20 feet up the first day. I don't do well with heights and every step up,my toes wanted to curl around each rung of the ladder and not let go.Coming down was worse.I stayed on the ground after that and shot my two deer.

Hope this is what you had in mind.

[Swede]

Exactly Vince. Hopefully others will contribute so we can get a glimpse of what makes up their hunt.

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

I adapt to the season. In archery season you will find me walking in on old logging roads, or climbing up steep creek bottoms in the dark. I usually want to be up high to glass and bugle come sunup, though not always. I always have a destination in mind, and I like covering ground in the dark under a starry sky. I carry a recurve bow, with enough food and water for the day. In bear country I may have a .44 on me, as I don't really trust the spray anymore. Too many guys have been getting mauled after spraying a bear down. I might carry a rain jacket, and usually I'll have a puffy vest and a fleece to pull over my baselayers when I get to the top of the mountain. I always have a pack capable of hauling the first load of meat off the mountains. I don't want it to spoil.

Rifle season, I'm of the old school rifleman mentality. My rifle is older than my grandpa, and I hunt WITH my grandpa most of the time. You're darn right I'm gonna wear that crushable Stetson, cause I like it, and it keeps the snow off my neck! I'll probably be packing trekking poles, cause I like shooting off them when I get the time, but there's never gonna be a bipod mounted on the end of my rifles. I will shoot from a knee, or from a cross legged sit whenever possible, and I'm not afraid to use my pack as a rest.There's no camo for me, unless it just happens to be a layer that I bought for archery season. It's wool base layers, and goretex pants, hopefully in deep snow. Our game plan involves a lot of still hunting through timber, with occasional breaks for a fire in a spot we can glass them up. Once tracks are cut, its time to get down to the real fun business of seeing them before they see us. And yes, I will almost always shoot that grouse in the head with my elk gun. Unless we're closing in on fresh tracks. I like eating grouse almost as much as I like shooting them!

MeAndGrandpa.jpg (166.08 KiB) Viewed 2668 times

[7mmfan]

My style of hunting has been in a state of transition the last couple of years, and frankly, I'm still in the process of fine tuning my equipment.

I used to be a rifle, daypack, food/water guy. Had my binos and shooting sticks, but that was it. Wore walmart camo pants and fleece jackets under my orange vest.

Somewhere along the way I decided I needed to carry enough stuff to stay a week in the woods even though I'd never be further than a couple miles from my truck. That got old fast.

A few years ago I started upgrading my hunting gear to lighter, higher quality gear, and streamlined my pack contents back to essentials. The main changes were a pack I can haul meat on, good rain gear, and merino wool/light synthetic clothing layers. I now move and hunt more comfortably than I ever have and it keeps me in the woods all day, which has resulted in lots of dead animals.

Last year I did my first wilderness backpack hunt. I learned some things on that hunt, and made some gear changes over the winter based on that experience. I see more changes in the coming years as I do more of this style of hunting and learn what I really need and don't.

In general though, the things that you will always see on me should we meet in the woods are my Exo pack, 10x binos, shooting sticks, 100 oz of water, and a rifle that will hit exactly where I aim it out to 500 yards. I move a lot and glass, and this setup suits me well. Hopefully in a few years, I have a bunch of kid snacks, blanket, and foam pad added to that pack for trips with my son.

[Indian Summer]

I adapt to the season. In archery season you will find me walking in on old logging roads, or climbing up steep creek bottoms in the dark. I usually want to be up high to glass and bugle come sunup, though not always. I always have a destination in mind, and I like covering ground in the dark under a starry sky. I carry a recurve bow, with enough food and water for the day. In bear country I may have a .44 on me, as I don't really trust the spray anymore. Too many guys have been getting mauled after spraying a bear down. I might carry a rain jacket, and usually I'll have a puffy vest and a fleece to pull over my baselayers when I get to the top of the mountain. I always have a pack capable of hauling the first load of meat off the mountains. I don't want it to spoil.

Rifle season, I'm of the old school rifleman mentality. My rifle is older than my grandpa, and I hunt WITH my grandpa most of the time. You're darn right I'm gonna wear that crushable Stetson, cause I like it, and it keeps the snow off my neck! I'll probably be packing trekking poles, cause I like shooting off them when I get the time, but there's never gonna be a bipod mounted on the end of my rifles. I will shoot from a knee, or from a cross legged sit whenever possible, and I'm not afraid to use my pack as a rest.There's no camo for me, unless it just happens to be a layer that I bought for archery season. It's wool base layers, and goretex pants, hopefully in deep snow. Our game plan involves a lot of still hunting through timber, with occasional breaks for a fire in a spot we can glass them up. Once tracks are cut, its time to get down to the real fun business of seeing them before they see us. And yes, I will almost always shoot that grouse in the head with my elk gun. Unless we're closing in on fresh tracks. I like eating grouse almost as much as I like shooting them!

MeAndGrandpa.jpg

I’m going to post a link to a really cool piece of gear that you might be interested in. It’ll be on the gear forum... of course.

[saddlesore]

I did forget my firearms. Centerfire, I use a pre 64 Winchester Model 70 in 30-06 with a Leupold 2.5-8x scope firing 220 g rvRN or 180gr Nolser Partitions depending on the area I am hunting. Muzzle Loader I use a Thompson Center Impact, 50cal, FO sights, shooting a 370 gr Powebelt over 80 or 90grs of BH209

[opie]

In archery season you will find me walking in on old logging roads, or climbing up steep creek bottoms in the dark....

MeAndGrandpa.jpg

You're a natural story teller, Trumkin. Well written.

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

In archery season you will find me walking in on old logging roads, or climbing up steep creek bottoms in the dark....

MeAndGrandpa.jpg

You're a natural story teller, Trumkin. Well written.

Thank you!

[Indian Summer]

I think it’s safe to say that anyone who has hunted elk for a long period of time has changed techniques and equipment over the years. We all started out as rookies at ground zero so if you haven’t made changes you haven’t learned. When you learn you adapt and with that comes more specialized gear. The other thing that brings about change are the never ending advancements in technology. If you are reading this on the internet you are using one of the biggest advancements ever! My first elk hunt was guided. Back then if you were looking for an outfitter you went to the back of a hunting magazine, picked out a few ads, dialed their number on a rotary landline phone, asked some questions and got a list of references. Before that Swede had to send smoke signals or request information using a carrier pigeon.

Most of us old farts hunted in jeans. I’m younger than some of the relics on here so I had camo jeans. At some point I bought a pair of Cabelas gore tex fleece bibs. Eventually I switched to wool which I still love other than the weight. These days I’m adding and subtracting layers of Sitka gear as I go. I love it and I can’t imagine anymore advancements in clothing. But somehow I know I’m probably wrong. One day motorized clothing will probably get hunters up mountains with zero effort. Go ahead and laugh but we though it was unthinkable to have phones with no wires like Captain Kirk and Dr Spock!

The other thing about elk hunting... mountain hunting, is that you go through phases. Actually for lots of hunters the same scenario takes place with deer hunting. Half the fun is exploring. Covering ground and seeing the sights. It’s a necessary evil because we have to learn an area before we can zero in on the best places to spend our time. But as you get wiser you slow down. Some hunters slow down to the point of becoming stationary. Tree stand hunters like Swede. When it comes to whitetail hunting I’m a statute from dawn to dusk. I’m up a tree in the dark and I will NOT come down until dark unless I shoot something.

When I first started elk hunting I was like a kid in a candy store in perpetual motion. We’ve all been there. We’ve all had similar results too: Thundering hoofbeats and if we were lucky a few flashes of a light colored rump heading the other way fast. Lots of “almost opportunities”. But it was fun and we learned. We had to get it out of our system!

These days I hunt elk more like a lion on the plains. They get on a little rise in the topography where they are used to seeing animals feed or migrate. Then when they see an opportunity they decend from there vantage point, close the distance, and then pull the trigger with a final short sprint. Kinda like my .300 Remington Ultra Mag! Actually lions let the females do most of the hunting but I haven’t mastered that yet. Don’t want to!

As Swede said a hunters equipment is suited to his techniques. Just like a lion I conserve energy until it’s time to put it to good use. For that reason I use horses for my initial elevation gain. The other benefit of that is I’m not sweat soaked when it comes time to sit down for first light. If you’re going to sit you have to be able to see right? So not only have I adapted my gear but I’ve also taken the time to find areas that suit my style which means semi open country. Sometimes large openings but sometimes a serious of smaller ones. A few avalanche chutes in a row surrounded by timber will do just fine. Back in the day we’d pick an area and hunt it the best way we could. Not anymore! I’m not interested in hoofbeats and flashes of fur.

I see all of the threads about ultra light this and that. But I won’t sacrifice performance to cut weight. Again the horse comes in handy so that I can have the right tools for the job where I need them. When I tie off out comes the Swarovski 20-60 power scope and the Bog Pod tripod. No bipods Swede those are for Army men! My tripod serves 3 purposes. My way of cutting weight is to have gear that can multi task. I can pop off the spotter and click on the Swaro 10x42 binos. I can also pull that mount out and insert the gun rest. No more carrying a tripod for glassing AND a gun rest. I have a simple foam pad to keep my butt dry.

If the weather sucks... rain or snow I deploy the silnylon tarp using my trekking poles and I’ll also pop up the Helinox chair. I may cover a little ground under those circumstances to get somewhere worth sitting for the duration of the precip but once I’m there I’m all about staying dry and productive. The military would refer to that as a bunker! If it’s not dumping moisture of some type I’ll do the same thing but skip the tarp.

Don’t get me wrong I still cover ground. It’s fun! And it has a value. And since I’m not trying to hunt all over creation. I go slow and sometimes I do kill bulls doing that though it’s a gamble and not my preferred method. Unlike deer hunting spots elk country is never ending so there will always be the urge to poke around. But as I’m doing that I’m still like the lion looking for new perches where I can bed down and let the game show itself instead of trying to force the issue and dig it up.

I plan on being where I need to be before first light and I sit at the money spots until dark. Like everyone I’ve had days where said “Well I guess I should start moseying back now. Maybe I’ll see something along the way”. Nope! Instead I think “If I stay glued to this spot I might punch that tag in my pack right here and now!”. So I make sure I know my way out. I keep two Black Diamond headlamps AND an led flashlight as well as extra batteries. If I need to I’ll use the Garmin Montana 650t to stay on track. Whatever it takes to spend the maximum amount of time in the elk zone!

Open country can mean long shots hence the Bog Pod. But I can’t afford that $4000 forty power scope Swede painted the picture of. One day soon I hope to top my gun with a Leupold Mark 5 7-35 power. For now it’s their Mark 4 6.5 to 20 power. Most people think wow that’s a bit much but if you hunt in country that suits it 20 power is nothing! And I’ve shot bulls in timber at 70 yards on 6.5 power no problem. Not even half of my shots are beyond 250-300 yards. The trick is to see them first! To me a 3-9 power scope where I hunt is like iron sites. When I’m sitting even if a bull is at 100 yards I’m at 20 power. Aim small mis small or better yet don’t freakin miss!

The rest of my gear isn’t specific to the way I hunt. It’s just suitable for hunting mountains. Kenetrek Mountain Extreme boots. Badlands 2200 pack. Replaceable blade knives because I’m not interested in stopping what I’m doing to sharpen a blade plus I don’t want to carry a sharpener. Folding bone saw which doubles for getting a bit of fire wood at times. Tag Bags because the investment of synthetic is worth it if you’re killing elk consistently. Several Bic lighters because I’m not a caveman. Some fire starter. Toilet paper and flagging tape for obvious reason but also (Tigger is cringing) that’s my first aid kit. Double duty! Nalgene water bottles because a frozen tube on a bladder SUCKS and so does cleaning those things. Leg gaiters, neck gaiter. Oh and a top notch Leica 1600 rangefinder because well... because I don’t plan on seeing a puff of dirt above or below an elk!

You’ve all seen some of my most important gear. A rock solid wall tent base camp with heat. My spike camp is just as solid just smaller. I value both my sleep and dry clothes.

So that’s about it. Everything I need to effectively spend 45 years looking for the right place to hang a tree stand when the time comes. Yes Swede tree stand! Every dog has his day. I’ll never quit elk hunting. I’ll just switch to deer hunting for elk. And when I do I can tell you they will be up Schidt Crick!!!

Sorry it took me so long to reply to your thread buddy!