FIT FOR YOUR ELK HUNT

[Swede]

I received my Cabela's catalog for guided hunts the other day. As a bow hunter I look over some of the guided archery elk hunts and drool. I was surprised to see that the physical fitness required is only a "2" at the highest for all of those archery elk hunts. The scale for the various other hunts goes from "1" to "4". One means your fitness needs to just be a litle better than just being able to shop Walmart with an electric scooter. The four level is for those in peak condition. You must be quite athletic.
I know many elk hunters hike for miles into wilderness or make long daily treks into steep mountainous areas. Think Elknut and Co. I recognize the value on maintaining good physical conditioning for all of life. It is not just for hunting. I would consider the requirements for my hunting needs to be somewhere between a 2 or 3. Certainly a 2 would generally be enough if I did not need to pack out my animal or help others.
What are the physical conditioning requirements for your elk hunts? How old do you think you will be when you have to finally hang up your gun or bow? I really think I can go on past the age of 75 if the Lord continues to bless me with good health.

[easeup]

I agree with you. this past year on my hunt, my knees bothered me for the first time in my life.
I think it is a wake up call that there may not be too many hunts left in the 2-3 category for me.
but,....If the Lord wills it, it will be.

[Lefty]

I I really think I can go on past the age of 75 if the Lord continues to bless me with good health.

a few years back I ran into an old timer,.. Almost makes me cry,.. It was his last waterfowl hunt. His grand daughter had delivered an ATV to the farm he hunted,.. with a handfull of decoys he spent the day among the watercrees filled spring he had hunted for 60 years. He had waited all day for me to show up on the adjoining property to retrieve a teal that was only 10 feet into the soft mud of the spring I hope Im as able at 89
My fatherin law killed a desert bighorn at 79. He was walking 14 miles a day to prepare,.. yet at age 19 the military woulnt take him.
This year 6 weeks after surgury he was on the mountian hunting with us( from the truck) he spent a day in the duck blind and wants to go on a depredation elk hunt with us,.. he promised he wouldnt help gut and drag ( grin)
My dad was a stage 4 cancer He sat in his truck with a bow he couldnt even walk. Two years later the fall before his passing he trapped 1600 muskrats and over 50 mink and 40 coon.
While I hope I have a lot more years of archery elk it may not be what it has been the past 4 years,.. I hope at 80 years old finds me in a box blind at a waterhole with a 45 lb draw bow maybe a cross bow my grandkids set for me,..
It wont be what it is now, but it will be something
With a new hip before fall I hope I can continue cat. 2-3 hunts for another 10 or more year

[bnsafe]

i dont know where i fit on that scale, but i will say i worked my tail off last year to get in shape and one stinking hill beat me. granite it was a b....h of a hill, but still. i can say that at 41 i struggle with trying to decide if i even want to put in the effort to do it. i still wanna hunt, just not sure i wanna go 6 miles in. not sure if im old or lazy or a combo of the 2.

[a3dhunter]

I would say that being in shape makes it easier, but I hunted elk several years weighing 300-325 lbs.
There are places where you don't have to be in the shape needed to hunt the sangre' de cristo's, and you can still see elk and just take things slower.

[ElkNut1]

Yes, the areas ones hunts & their style of a planned hunt all comes into play. If you plan on blind or treestand hunting then less physical exertion will generally arise! But, running & gunning elk can require lots of energy day after day, at times dogging the herd is needed to get position or just trying to stay up with them if not spooked. Things like this can & will come up, hopefully we don't just leave that encounter because we can't physically do it! Being in bad condition will limit ones abilities as different encounters as mentioned can arise! I'll take being in the best shape I can be so I can meet any challenge head on, I just hate to see one slip away because I was tired & out of shape! (grin) It's a personal decision for sure & you're the only one you have to answer too!! My opinion to any who elk hunt & any who want to elk hunt is to be in the best shape that is reasonable for them & their style, hunting elk & packing elk need to enter the equation & we have to be up to the task as it arises!

ElkNut1

[pointysticks]

One means your fitness needs to just be a litle better than just being able to shop Walmart with an electric scooter.

this made me chuckle!! heehhe..funny. very funny.

this past year, i went with two guys that were clearly out of shape. if i pulled out a map, the very first question from their lips was, "is it steep?" they found the inner strength and for the most part kept at it. the last few days, one guy quietly loaded up his gear and left. the other guy, did alot of sitting and "you go, i'll cover this valley". hahah.

my cycling and jogging saved me. i found myself looking forward to a big hill. the satisfaction of creeping over the edge and seeing a "virgin" (to me) valley was intoxicating. my brother is younger than me, and keeps in shape for his LEO job. he never had issues.

so can you do it at all levels? yes. doing it in better shape is much more enjoyable.

if i didnt hunt, i would be a lard-arse. fat as a toad. i stay in shape for hunting. it is my motivation. kinda backwards, but i'll take it. i'll take motivation from anywhere.

[cnelk]

My elk areas encompass about 100 sq miles. From the continental divide at 11000 ft to edge of sage brush at 8500 ft.
Hunting the divide can really tear a guy down, no matter what kind of shape you're in.
When I hunt that country I plan to hunt some less rugged areas the next day.
All depends what I see for sign. Lately most sign/elk is about the 9500 ft range.
So I guess I try to be in that 2+ level of being in shape

If I have to dedicate time toward something, shooting my bow at all distances trumps being in the level 4 conditioning