Runnin Gunners

[Trophyhill]

seeming how a lot of elk hunters/killers are using this tactic more and more I have a quick question for you Run n Gunners. how much ground do you cover in a typical day and what are the most miles you've put on in a day and still made it back to camp before midnight?

[JohnFitzgerald]

Anywhere from 2 - 7 miles in a day. I've had some 9 mile days but the older I get the less I see those.

[Bullnuts]

Anywhere from 2 - 7 miles in a day. I've had some 9 mile days but the older I get the less I see those.

No kidding! Most days I'm right about the same with John. 3-5 miles on a morning hunt. I typically sit on water during the afternoon so no running then.

[cnelk]

In my style of R&G, we can put on over 10 miles before noon.
On average its about 6-8 miles.
It seems that mornings are the payoff time where I hunt.

In the afternoon/evenings we will select an area that isnt quite so large, hunt more softly, either tree stands or still hunt, and get a feel for the next day's hunt.

Yes. The days are long.
With legal shooting light until after 8pm, and you end up 3-4 miles from the truck/camp at that time, its going to be a short night.

[easeup]

If I have found some elk to play, a typical day is 4 to 6 miles.
when I cant find them 10-12 in one day has been done.

Keeping in mind that open arid country down there in NM you can cover more ground than in other places.

[Sucobowhunter]

I agree with CNELK. My area is good in morning then we are fighting shooting light when they finally decide to come out. We usually put on about 4-6 miles in the morn then find your afternoon zone and play it easy. Coming back to camp in the dark.

[JohnFitzgerald]

It usually doesn't take me very long to find the elk. At times I will wait hours for the wind or thermals to change before proceeding. Sometimes it's easy and slow going while other times it's humping hard to get to the next canyon. Elk population will play a big role in this. Sometimes ElkNut will go miles or even days without hearing a bugle. In the country I hunt, it's rare to go over a mile and not get a response.

Don't put on miles unless you have to! If you have an elky area between you and the next ridge take some time to cold call. I would estimate about 1/2 the elk I've killed or had killed in front of me have been on cold call setups.

Terrain is also a factor. Not saying I hunt harder country than everyone else but the area's I hunt are really thick. The steepness of the country doesn't affect me that much but lodge pole thickets that lay like pick-up sticks are a major factor is how far one can go in a set amount of time.

Not about how far you travel from point A to point B! It's about what you do in between those two points.

Just my 2-cents.

[WapitiTalk1]

Average I guess is around 3-5 miles for a morning hunt. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Starting the trek well before daylight is included in my broad brush estimate. I use "mainly" existing trail systems (USFS or known game trails) to cover a good portion of the ground, or, to position myself to head into known elk zones. The area I hunt in WA has multiple small bunches of elk but they are ususally spread pretty far out, and oftentimes, are not where they are supposed to be . I don't call it run & gun; I call it movement to contact. I'm doing kind of a mobile base camp thing this year (minimal gear as if I was backcountry hunting). Duke and I will do numerous sweep hunts where we stage one truck at point X and drive the other to the start point. This prevents the same route in/out, and, provides the ability to cover a larger portion of ground. Farthest, most miles put in during a day? I've had a couple of ridiculous days but one in particular was close to 15 miles. Probably 9 in the woods (some trail/mostly timber and brush) and the rest walking back up a remote WA road.. The road hiking was the wortst part for me. There were actually a few rigs that passed us but did not stop to offer a lift. They were not hunters, just campers that were obviously afraid of camo ..

[flystrait]

Great question trophy!

It really depends on the country you hunt and the number of animals in the area. A average day for us in Idaho is between
6-10 miles I know that’s broad but it’s the average. The big wear your feet out for us have been 13 and 15 miles respectively a day. In Montana the elk population is higher than where he hunt in Idaho hence the most miles are from the trail heads average 2-4 miles than hunting elk through out the day can range another 2-5. When we choose to stay in for a couple days than usually not more than 5-6 miles is needed from camp.

Last year we did 78 miles in 5 days. Needless to say we were pretty tired. All in all last year I had over 95 miles for the month of September.

This gives us multiple opportunities a year

[Mikeha33]

So another question, based off of a lot of your above answers. Will you hit the same area's the day after not getting any response? Example, on a Monday morning, if you cold-call an area, but have no response, but the area looks "elky", would you hit the same spot Tuesday morning, with another cold-call set in roughly the same spot? Or wait 2-3 days, or not touch it again that whole trip? If you don't find any elk after 4-6 miles in a day, do you try to go 7-8 miles the next, or just be persistent within the 4-6 mile range you're comfortable traveling in? We will be following the elk, with no specific base camp, but if we were willing to go too far, we could easily end up 10+ miles from our truck, which I damn sure don't want to have to make 3 or 4- 10 mile hikes carrying meat and antlers in tow.

Do any of you limit how far you'll go from the truck, in consideration of getting a tagged animal back???

[cnelk]

I have found that by hunting a good area on Monday morning that doesnt produce, I will go back in to that same area Tuesday afternoon/evening.

I base this reasoning on personal history.
If I dont encounter elk in the morning, chances are pretty good I will in the afternoon/evening.
If I encounter elk in the morning, its been documented that the evening hunt will be poor...
But I never hunt the same area twice in one day.

I have killed several elk 4-5 miles from the truck.
Yes. That makes for a long day... 20+ miles by the time you're done.

[JohnFitzgerald]

So another question, based off of a lot of your above answers. Will you hit the same area's the day after not getting any response? Example, on a Monday morning, if you cold-call an area, but have no response, but the area looks "elky", would you hit the same spot Tuesday morning, with another cold-call set in roughly the same spot? Or wait 2-3 days, or not touch it again that whole trip? If you don't find any elk after 4-6 miles in a day, do you try to go 7-8 miles the next, or just be persistent within the 4-6 mile range you're comfortable traveling in? We will be following the elk, with no specific base camp, but if we were willing to go too far, we could easily end up 10+ miles from our truck, which I damn sure don't want to have to make 3 or 4- 10 mile hikes carrying meat and antlers in tow.

If I feel the elk are still in an area I will hit it again the next morning. But more importantely, I try to figure out why the aren't talking. (ie full moon)

I've never traveled 7-8 miles to find a vocale elk. Maybe I hunt a big population or better spots. Just seems like a lot of wasted energy.

Do any of you limit how far you'll go from the truck, in consideration of getting a tagged animal back???

I take a lot of crap because I don't shoot or allow my shooters to take smaller bulls and cows. Distance from the truck or trailhead is the reason I get picky. We usually spike camp 3 miles in and then hunt another 3 miles farther. In my rough country, it takes 2 days for 3 men to get an elk out 6 miles. Know your limits and be respectful of others in your party. If the elk his worth the pack, then fling an arrow.

[elkmtngear]

We've done some 10 mile "death marches" in the past, between areas that we knew held elk. A couple of those have ended up with a bull on the ground.

Both of those required us to go back to the rig and drive to another access point before packing the meat out. We know the trailheads in and out.

Anymore, I'm hunting smarter, not harder. 3 to 5 miles max.

[flystrait]

Great question trophy!

It really depends on the country you hunt and the number of animals in the area. A average day for us in Idaho is between
6-10 miles I know that’s broad but it’s the average. The big wear your feet out for us have been 13 and 15 miles respectively a day. In Montana the elk population is higher than where he hunt in Idaho hence the most miles are from the trail heads average 2-4 miles than hunting elk through out the day can range another 2-5. When we choose to stay in for a couple days than usually not more than 5-6 miles is needed from camp.

Last year we did 78 miles in 5 days. Needless to say we were pretty tired. All in all last year I had over 95 miles for the month of September.

This gives us multiple opportunities a year

I wanted to put a little explanation together about the mileage we put on. We are not out there for any elk or any bull. We are after mature bulls for the area and we will and do pass on multiple elk each year searching for what we are looking for. With this approach we typically need to put on the miles to find and kill that type of bull. Every once in a while it can happen with less effort on our part “mileage” but not very often. The more boot tracks we make the better our odds our on finding that bull. We never set up and cold call, after 3-4 minutes max if we do not hear a awnser to the bugles we throw out we keep moving. Some areas "terrain dependent" we might call every 1/4 mile or as much as 100-200 yards. And yes when you knock a bull down that far out it is a long and sometimes painful endeavor.But hey thats why we are there, to kill a bull. I go hiking in the summer to enjoy and absorb the sights and sounds. Good luck to everyone this year and look forward to the "success thread"

[Trophyhill]

Great question trophy!

It really depends on the country you hunt and the number of animals in the area. A average day for us in Idaho is between
6-10 miles I know that’s broad but it’s the average. The big wear your feet out for us have been 13 and 15 miles respectively a day. In Montana the elk population is higher than where he hunt in Idaho hence the most miles are from the trail heads average 2-4 miles than hunting elk through out the day can range another 2-5. When we choose to stay in for a couple days than usually not more than 5-6 miles is needed from camp.

Last year we did 78 miles in 5 days. Needless to say we were pretty tired. All in all last year I had over 95 miles for the month of September.

This gives us multiple opportunities a year

I wanted to put a little explanation together about the mileage we put on. We are not out there for any elk or any bull. We are after mature bulls for the area and we will and do pass on multiple elk each year searching for what we are looking for. With this approach we typically need to put on the miles to find and kill that type of bull. Every once in a while it can happen with less effort on our part “mileage” but not very often. The more boot tracks we make the better our odds our on finding that bull. We never set up and cold call, after 3-4 minutes max if we do not hear a awnser to the bugles we throw out we keep moving. Some areas "terrain dependent" we might call every 1/4 mile or as much as 100-200 yards. And yes when you knock a bull down that far out it is a long and sometimes painful endeavor.But hey thats why we are there, to kill a bull. I go hiking in the summer to enjoy and absorb the sights and sounds. Good luck to everyone this year and look forward to the "success thread"

thanks for clarifying Craig. makes perfect sense. had I stayed in a 5 mile radius last year I don't think i'd have seen near the # of elk I saw.