old flatlander out of shape still wants to elk hunt!

[archery bum]

First of all I want to thank elknut for welcoming me to the site on another thread. I've been lurking around on four different forums just too get a feel for them and this one seems to be more my speed. Nothing wrong with the other sites, I'm just not a big bs talker. Don't know if anyone can help me, as the subject says I'm a flatlander and not in that good of shape. I went elk hunting this past fall and got my ass handed to me pretty quick. I know it wasn't the best of years with all the rain in Colorado and I'm sure I didn't pick the best spot. I still would like to go elk hunting but with a different strategy ( I hope ). I don't mind walking if I don't have to walk over blow down every step of the way. I understand I can't get away from all of it, if I could get away from the heavy blow down that would be great. Then if I get fatigued I would like to tree stand hunt for a day or two too recoop. If anybody could help me with a decent area where I could do both I would greatly appreciate it. Like everybody states I'm not looking for a honey hole, just a decent place too hunt for meat. As I said I went to Colorado last fall but would be willing to travel to any state with otc tags. By the way I archery hunt.

[Still Hunter]

How were you hunting the blowdown? Still hunting? Stand? Did you know elk were in that area? How did you know? How did you pick that area to begin with. What unit? Did you see any elk at all?

Not matter what. Start to get in shape now!

[>>>---WW---->]

Nothing wrong with blow down. There's always a log to sit down on and rest your weary bones. LOL! Sounds like the cedar breaks somewhere might be a good place for you. Like Still Hunter said, you have 8-9 months to get in better shape and also, a walking stick might be an option for you.

[Swede]

Bum: I would recommend a tree stand hunt for you. You should look for a semiarid area, that has limited water and some elk. It doesn't need a lot of elk, but your stand needs to be where you can reasonably expect to find one. If the place you hunted in the past meets that description, think about some isolated springs in the timber that have some good trails nearby. If that was not your area, now is a good time to visit Acme Mapper and Google Earth to start looking. After you have narrowed down you likely spots, call the local department of wildlife and Forest Service office and ask for some thought about your candidate area. I do not know where you prefer to hunt, but if you share that, someone on this forum will probably give you some general areas. I only get one elk tag each year, so I don't plan to shoot all of the elk in Oregon. I could probably recommend a few spots to hunt, where you could likely get an elk, and you do not need to be a Cameron Hanes.

[Lefty]

I dont want to sound as if you dont need to be in shape, because the better in shape, The harder you can hunt.

Last May I had my hip replaced, I realized why I liked hunting the flats, hill sides caused me more pain than I was willing to admit.

At one time living at 252 feet above sea level then going to my in laws at 5500, then snowmobiling 8500-11000 did cause some problems
I dont think you can train for elevation effectively other than being there.

22 years ago I left sea level and hunted Montana at 7000-9000,.. I had been running 20-30 minutes 1 or two times a day, I over did it the first day of hunting, and the 2nd. I backed off or I knew I would get sick,.. Instead of going full-bore I hunted slower and used my binos.
consider hunting elk at a lower elevation.

Im 55, 50 lbs overweight, but I hunt as hard as possible,
Know what you can do, and know what you shouldn't do, Make the hunt fun and challenging by your standards.
I often take time to rest and nap,.. no shame if no-one is looking I hunt open flat country,.. but glass as much as possible.
Develop your other hunting and woodsman skills and your physical skills wont play as big of a roll in your hunts.
Use other means or methods, Use a horse ( I dont even though I feed those things) an ATV, or hunt elk at a closer location on easier ground
Last year I found elk at the edge of city limits,.. Thick nasty brush. The elk slept and moved where on a summers day primary kids were playing with-in ear shot of the bedding area, the elk just stepped into the cover when the Mt bikers came by.
Find a funky place other dont hunt. The biggest mulie I ve gotten close to was living in a overgrown 40 acre piece of county property on a river bottom miles to the nearest tree. Ive found a small herd of elk living full time in the thick wet thicket beside a mojor highway with forest service road on 3 sides,.. tiny area, but they had everything they needed

Or find a basin that fits your needs,.. a willow flat , Heck last year I spotted 3 nice bulls 2 miles from town feeding in a large pastured river bottom living in the cottonwood trees just like whitetails

[archery bum]

thanks for all the reply's. I'm going to try and workout as much as I can, seems like life gets in the way most of the time for me. The older I get the busier I get it seems like. My mom is getting more dependent on me the older she gets, so I spend alot of time at her house taking care of her and her house instead of working out. But I will try harder this year as last year was a big wake up call to me. Went to Co gmu371 last year, that was just to much for me. I did see elk, just couldn't get to them with all the blow down. I was told I didn't go in far enough, after a couple of miles I guess the blow down thins outs. I went out alone so I figured 1.5 to 2 miles in would probably be my limit to get one out. I'm really open to any area to try and hunt. I do have google earth downloaded but not real savvy with it, getting better the more I'm on it. Never heard of acme mapper, I will look into that thank you swede. I hunt alone most of the time, if I do hunt with someone it's my boy. So if someone would be kind enough to give up an area, I wouldn't be bringing a bunch of out of state people with me. If you don't want to use the public forum you can pm or email me. lhamstra@frontier.com thanks again for the reply's

[Bullnuts]

On the subject of working out and time: Anything you can do is better than not doing anything. That means if you have 2 minutes to do deep squats, then do deep squats for 2 minutes. Those are squats you wouldn't have done otherwise. If you have 4 minutes to do cardio, do burpies for 4 minutes. It's 4 productive minutes that you would have wasted! You don't have to go to the gym or join a group to get into shape. You don't even have to have a lot of time. Just do what you can do in the time and space you have and you'll see results. The point is, anything is better than nothing.

[Still Hunter]

Never ever use an elevator. Stairs are your friend.

I live on the 3rd floor. I always make a point of doing 20 laps on the stairs everyday, and I don't even consider it part of my workouts.

[Indian Summer]

First I'll tell you at least a little of what you want to hear. Yeah anything you can do ahead of time will mean a little less pain when you get there BUT..... you can do this by learning to hunt smarter instead of harder. I said that on Bowsite once and the fitness fanatics there about poured gas on me and lit me on fire. To them olympic fitness was the only way it was possible. Why? Because that is their 24/7 way of life and was before they elk hunted. To go from where you are now to the point of great shape would mean not just a little work... it would mean a big change in your lifestyle and time management.

Listen dude... I'm 5 foot 6 and just a hair under 200 pounds. Sometimes a hair over! To me blowdowns might as well be a pit full of alligators. I'll tell you this: Massive amounts of "pixie stix" blowdowns are a worst case scenario. You really did pick a place that is as bad as it gets. The good news is since you started at rock bottom the only way to go is up right? Right!

Elk go around those fields of blowdowns.... or they have a single path that will wind through them. But they don't live there. They may put an obstacle like that between their bedding area same as they do rockslides and such because they get plenty of heads up when danger tries making it's way to them.

Since you are new here instead of starting to talk about an area I'll just finish by saying there's already plenty to read. Threads on what states to hunt, what part of the states, and where on the map to look for elk once you get there. I will say that you should think about your daily routine a bit. Hunt up in the morning while thermals are dropping and you are fresh. That way you can let gravity help get you back to camp each evening AND when the time comes to get an elk DOWN from where you kill them.

Feel free to ask any questions you want. This is THE place to do it. You can also PM anyone here if you care to and I'm sure you'll be happy with the replies.

[Still Hunter]

Indian...........I hate to disagree with you again after our conversation on the 30-06, but i'm going to have to. Sorry.

Blowdowns are exactly where the elk are during the day. The more pressure in the area the worse the blowdown will be, and the more the elk will like it. They can move through it like it isn't even there. It's where they bed down, and hang out. It's about all I hunt as a still hunter, and it's exactly what I look for in areas to hunt. Is it a pain to hunt? You bet, and it's hard to be quiet in there too. However, if you want to find elk during the day. That's where you should be. Ok, maybe I should say that's where i'll be. Some guys won't hunt it no matter how many elk it holds. I don't recommend it for someone new to elk hunting, but if someone wants to put in the time to learn how to hunt it. It can be a fun challenging way to hunt.

Then after you get good at hunting in there. You can work even harder trying to figure out how you'll get the elk meat out.

[Indian Summer]

OK Still The blowdowns are trees that have been burned and weathered several years before finally falling. There is no green timber there which means no cover or thermal protection. The elk don't spend any substantial amount of time there. They just pass through on their way to more suitable areas.

One thing about blowdowns or any type of terrain or cover: It has to be somewhat user friendly. Has to be realistically huntable. If it's all but impossible to make your way though and effectively and consistently kill elk there then surely one can do better elsewhere. Also... I'm sure you know the little winding paths through your spots. I have places where I go through blowdowns and we either make blazes on trees or use reflective tacks to make SURE we stay on track. Otherwise you can end up at a dead end and turning around to be able to accomplish anything. You are right though in saying to elk nasty means safe. No question about that and often what we consider nasty is nothing to them right! Sorry to agree with you one that one bud!

[Still Hunter]

We have a different definition of what a blowdown area is. It's not a dead area, or caused by fire.

See what the dictionary says it is.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blowdown

[Still Hunter]

Indian...You're thinking of deadfall. That's more difficult to hunt. I do that too. It still has plenty of cover, and is usually described as dark or black timber. Sort of my hangout. A great place to get lost.

[Indian Summer]

OK I clicked on your link.

blow·down noun \ˈblō-ˌdau̇n\

Definition of BLOWDOWN

1: an instance of trees being blown down by the wind

2: a tree blown down; also : an area of such trees

It fits. The trees I'm talking about stay standing until one of our annual wind storms rolls through. Then we have to relearn a few routes and the Forest Service has to go trail clearing again.

But yes... we are picturing different places. I know some like yours. I know a little of every kind of place in elk country. I know places where I can and will hunt but wouldn't think of dragging any old client there. The fact remains though: You have to be able to effectively hunt it. In this case our new member archery bum was not so we need to help him out with some other ideas.

[Bullnuts]

I personally hate hunting blow down areas just because they are a pain to get into, a pain to hunt in, and God help you if you get one down in there. I prefer the fringes, and have hunted successfully on the edges of blow down areas early and late. I'm not in tremendous shape, but I can get around pretty good for a big guy, 6-3/235, and I still prefer to take the easy way. The way I see it, elk will be on the trails and using the easy routes until they're spooked, so as long as I hunt smart and play the wind, I will find the elk in areas that are easier for me to access without killing myself.

[Indian Summer]

access without killing myself.

Which is a good point. I'm no safety fanatic but we've talked about emergency situations and what people carry in their packs in case of an emergency. One of my replies said I don't carry much really but I am always careful to make damn sure I don't get hurt in the mountains. Climbing over greasy blowdowns can be a recipe for disaster no doubt.

[Still Hunter]

You just need more practice doing it.

[Indian Summer]

You just need more practice doing it.

LOL... always learning. But my brother and I have been like monkeys since we were kids. I'm a bonafide tight rope walker. I dance across them... but I'm as careful as can be when I do it. More careful the older I get too. Especially when out solo too. You can walk right down 99 of them and all of the sudden there's that one that is as slimy as can be.

I can remember when Seminole went and hunted with Elknut. When he came back all he kept saying to me was "holy heck can those guys walk around on the blowdowns..... like YOU!" No doubt it's not for everyone. I think being short helps me.

[Still Hunter]

I'm 6'1", so I hit my head a lot.

[archery bum]

sorry it took so long for a reply. Been trying to get some late season whitetail hunting in when the weather breaks. It's been brutal here with the weather. Thanks for all the replies and advice, summer you are right to say I would like to steer clear of as much blow down as I can. Still thanks for your input, read your profile and you said you are 71 years old? If this is true and you are going through this blow down like you say you are, you are a stud. I'll tell you what I can't do that at 50, so good for you! I'm going to try and do some scouting on google earth and see if I can come up with something a little bit easier for me to hunt. If I can figure it out maybe post an area up to see what you guys think of it. Bullnuts I'll try a little harder at doing little things here and there instead of waiting til I have time for a full workout. thanks again for the replies.