My top 5 Elk Hunting Podcasts

[GPelkhunter]

There is amazing information, ideas and entertaining stories from numerous Elk Podcasts. I have listed my current top 5 and encourage everyone to listen in on these and share yours. Here they are in no particular order:

Elkshape EP 75 - Joel Turner flips the script.

Blue Collar Elk Hunting EP 159 - Elk calling & season strategies w/ Travis O'Shea. (These guys are fantastic and like to banter and laugh a lot. Travis really starts to share his ideas at 57:00)

ElkNut Listener Series EP 02 - Elk hunting early season.

Elkshape - Dan Evans - The best elk hunter I know...

ElkNut Series EP 08 - Elk calling seminar on how to hunt early season bulls.

[Lefty]

Once I figure out my new(er) truck and phone Ill get on those Thanks!!!

[Swede]

Favorite? I have never listened to any of them.

[DKenn757]

I'll add yours to the list to listen to.

Today I listened to Cutting the Distance for the first time. It was episode 39 on locating, calling and setup. It was pretty informative for a new elk hunter like myself.

[Swede]

Dear newbie and one or two hunt adventurers:

Learn all you can but keep it simple. In time what you need to do becomes intuitive. When you watch a podcast or video you can add to your basic skill set. The consistently successful hunters I know still stay with the basics. They have hunted public land for many years. From experience they know where to hunt even if they must go to a new area. The thing that keeps them getting elk is patience and perseverance. They hunt long and hard. They know elk hunting and are often intimately familiar with the area they go to.

You may learn the sounds and set ups the podcasters use and wonder why you do not get the results they claimed you should see. It is likely you are not hunting the same kind of area they hunt, and you have not learned elk. The people doing the podcast are experts and are willing to teach you the things they have learned. I don't think they purposely mislead anyone. With that said, don't be fooled into thinking you will be an instant elk genius and fill your tag with a large bull. That is not likely to happen. The woods are full of video educated hunters, carrying the latest and greatest equipment, and the success rate is just about the same as it was 40 years ago.

[DKenn757]

Swede, I just look at the podcast as another tool in the toolbox. Some of the info I understand and the other I just take it for what it's worth, usually advertisements.

I appreciate the insight you and the other experienced hunters pass on to us new and newer elk hunters.

[Elkhunttoo]

My favorite podcasts are from elknut and Corey jacobson. Pretty much can’t go wrong listening to those guys

[Swede]

Thanks DKenn. My concern for you and others is that if you enter the elk game with unreal expectations you will soon burn out. I have seen many hunters walk away from elk hunting. Most thought if they worked hard, they would have good success in a year or two. A new hunter has a chance, but it is slim. My advice would be to tie in with a good elk hunter and teacher if you can. If you can't do that book a high success guided hunt. My opinion is that most new elk hunters make far too much noise and lack patience. Best wishes.

[ElkNut1]

Definitely continue to listen to the Podcasts where you are picking up tips & bettering your elk hunting & calling adventures! They are for the most part not about taking the biggest bulls on the mountain, they are to assist you in how to attract any elk, Cow or Bull. They can shorten your learning curve by countless years. Boots on the ground are very important but these Podcasts will help you immensely along the way by some of the most successful elk hunters in the industry. Weed out the ones that don't apply to your style & hang on every word in the ones that do!

I promise you they will help. Persistence & dedication will also go along way! Good luck!

ElkNut

[Swede]

tThey can shorten your learning curve by countless years.

With all due respect, I disagree.
If you cannot apply the tips to the right area and situation, you will end up going home with no elk year after year. Many people are out in the woods educated by showmen that profess a quick way to success. They go out with the latest and greatest calls and go home with them but have no elk. I laughed to myself seeing a hunter with at least a half dozen fancy (expensive) calls on a necklace. He too had everything except an elk.
Season before last there were several camps nearby. One camp had 10 hunters including one woman who hunted out of a pop-up blind.
She got a nice bull. All the others, including hunters in the other camps, were only calling or running and gunning. None of them got anything more that sore feet. None at all.
Last season there were hunters around in other camps and none to my knowledge got anything either. When the season started, they were all confident in their knowledge of elk calling.

We have hunters here on the forum that are 10 percenters too, that have read and heard all the calling stuff that is being presented. At the same time and same area, I am sitting in my tree stand maintaining 90+% success. Those that hunt with me are doing quite well too. They are hunting the same mature elk you wrote about above. (No calves)
What makes the difference? Are all the callers in Oregon a Cluts? No. Some are excellent callers. Many are educated and practiced. They have drunk all the cool aid and charged off fully expecting to get a good elk. I have sat in my stand and watched herds running away from some of the best calling I have heard. This caller could make those guttural sounds I thought only a bull could do. What was wrong then? He was trying to call in the wrong area and he was calling far too much. When he started calling, he pushed the elk off the National Forest onto a nearby ranch where they would talk all day but at a safe distance.
So let me rephrase what has been posted above. If you learn to call well, you can do alright if you are in just the right area with the right situation. It sure will help to go where there are a lot of elk and very few hunters. Also, as one highly respected calling expert claimed, the reason for his success is that he hunts the whole season. He is no 7- or 10-day hunter.

To paraphrase a Canadian fellow I was talking to said. Elk hunting in the U.S. has taken on a cult like following. In Canada it is still not that way.

[Pop-r]

Swede, with all due respect some of these people doing podcast have killed as many elk as you if not more. They are very beneficial to the new elk Hunter and exponentially help their learning curve. I feel as though you confuse these podcast with calling tutorials. That's not what they all are at all. There's so much to learn about elk and to not use these as a way to obtain more knowledge is just staying ignorant. No one knows everything about elk. Besides maybe Paul. Lol

[Lefty]

I enjoy podcasts. In reality I don't listen to enough of them.

I do tend to turn off the ones that are pimping products which they are trying to sell.

I like to mentally ride along for the ride.

Plus I don't mind learning something new or reinforcing an idea, skill, thought, action, or experience.

When I was a young man and instructor made a comment about the ability to learn something from anyone,

[Tuffcrk14]

This time of year, hunting podcasts are all I listen to when I’m driving to work, at work, and driving from work. It gets me in that mindset. There’s been times that I listen to an elk hunting podcast while on my way to the elk woods and applied something I heard (Thanks Paul Medel) that I had never tried and had it work to great success. I just have a hard time hearing someone say podcasts aren’t worth their time and effort. If you’re a student of the game and want to keep learning because it’s a passion of yours, then dive in head first to the world of podcasts. I have my staple of podcasts I listen to and try new ones all the time. Invest time into growing your knowledge of elk and it will pay off. You don’t need to ask anyone to take you hunting and you don’t need to pay $$$$ to go on a guided hunt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Swede]

Welcome to the forum Tuffcrk14. I don't think I have seen you here before. Keep posting and I hope you enjoy all of your time with the Wapiti Talk forums. What I say below is not particularly for you, but may be helpful.

Years ago, I purchased a book on elk hunting. In the book it was describing how a hunter could watch avalanche chutes then stock bulls that came out into them. It looked like a great tip and would have been helpful for me except for one small problem. Where I hunt there are no avalanche chutes to glass.

I have read many elk hunting books and magazine articles. I have watched countless videos and You Tube how to shows. I have even written my own "how to" elk hunting book and about ten magazine articles. When I write hunting articles, I try to accomplish two things. #! I want you to figuratively come along and experience the hunt. I do not like brag articles at all. I do not like articles that are infomercials. #2. I want to offer a tip or two that may help guide you in the right situation.
I am certainly not against any elk hunting "how-to" materials including podcasts. I too have learned things from them including tips from Elknut. I chose to disagree with Elknut, not because he is entirely wrong, but because broad statements like "they can shorten your learning curve by countless years" can be misleading. If you can't put together the tips you hear into the right situation at the right time, you will be about as well off as I would have been trying to watch avalanche chutes in central Oregon.
When you have killed 5 or 6 elk (public land OTC) in successive seasons using tips you learned on podcasts, you will know you have put it together in a productive a very usable way. Please don't be like the fellow that was here years ago. After killing his first bull he was going to write a how-to book on the subject. He also offered me a pack that he designed to make me a better hunter. I wonder what ever happened to our one elk wonder.

As far as calls are concerned, let me make the point I have made here many times before. Elk calls are not musical instruments to be blown indiscriminately in the elk woods in hope something will come rushing in or call you back so you can come rushing in. They are a tool. And just like many other tools it takes a craftsman who knows how to use them right in order for them to produce the desired results. Think of it this way: Just like a fender hammer can be used to take out a dent in your car, it can also make a dent.

[ElkNut1]

Swede, please give it a rest. Allow others to share their thoughts without your rebuttal. It may surprise you that others do know what they're talking about!

Paul

[Swede]

Paul, it is my considered opinion that you and some others in the business have become like snake oil salesmen. Here is why I continue to try to educate new hunters to the problems of trying to follow your advice.
1. Hunting is expensive, hard, and time consuming. People want to believe there is a short-cut to consistent success.
2. It has been my observation over numerous seasons now, that trying to follow your advice is the recipe for many unfilled tags. I really don't care if hunters buy your sales pitch or not. I just don't want to see anyone on WT mislead.
If you would like to debate this, let's start by comparing the success rate of tree stand hunters with those that go your way.

[Tuffcrk14]

Welcome to the forum Tuffcrk14. I don't think I have seen you here before. Keep posting and I hope you enjoy all of your time with the Wapiti Talk forums. What I say below is not particularly for you, but may be helpful.

Years ago, I purchased a book on elk hunting. In the book it was describing how a hunter could watch avalanche chutes then stock bulls that came out into them. It looked like a great tip and would have been helpful for me except for one small problem. Where I hunt there are no avalanche chutes to glass.

I have read many elk hunting books and magazine articles. I have watched countless videos and You Tube how to shows. I have even written my own "how to" elk hunting book and about ten magazine articles. When I write hunting articles, I try to accomplish two things. #! I want you to figuratively come along and experience the hunt. I do not like brag articles at all. I do not like articles that are infomercials. #2. I want to offer a tip or two that may help guide you in the right situation.
I am certainly not against any elk hunting "how-to" materials including podcasts. I too have learned things from them including tips from Elknut. I chose to disagree with Elknut, not because he is entirely wrong, but because broad statements like "they can shorten your learning curve by countless years" can be misleading. If you can't put together the tips you hear into the right situation at the right time, you will be about as well off as I would have been trying to watch avalanche chutes in central Oregon.
When you have killed 5 or 6 elk (public land OTC) in successive seasons using tips you learned on podcasts, you will know you have put it together in a productive a very usable way. Please don't be like the fellow that was here years ago. After killing his first bull he was going to write a how-to book on the subject. He also offered me a pack that he designed to make me a better hunter. I wonder what ever happened to our one elk wonder.

As far as calls are concerned, let me make the point I have made here many times before. Elk calls are not musical instruments to be blown indiscriminately in the elk woods in hope something will come rushing in or call you back so you can come rushing in. They are a tool. And just like many other tools it takes a craftsman who knows how to use them right in order for them to produce the desired results. Think of it this way: Just like a fender hammer can be used to take out a dent in your car, it can also make a dent.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. We’ve all got our own learning styles and we should stick with what works. Paul has a product to sell and he’s got competitors like everyone else in the hunting industry. I like utilizing the app and I’ve enjoyed his podcast appearances. Seems like I have to listen to the same one a few times to get everything out of it, but that’s neither here nor there. I do suggest listening to the Hunt Talk radio podcast and also more specifically Episode 219 “Managing Elk where they Aren’t with Ian Wargo.” It speaks nothing of tips, tactics, or products. They speaking of the area I live in and hunt, which is experiencing a 100 year low in terms of elk numbers and agencies are trying to figure out why that is happening. (I guarantee they know why.) However, it is a good listen and I enjoyed it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Swede]

Tuff, I have no issue with anything you are saying, and if you enjoy a podcast and are getting something out of it, that sounds like a winner to me.

I frequently recommend new people on the forum be careful about trying to apply a lot of things they hear from salesmen. I have no particular interest in Elknut. I just don't buy all of his recommendations. Caveat emptor.

[WapitiTalk1]

And…unfortunately, this thread is now locked.