Elk Hunter Competencies

[WapitiTalk1]

What puts an elk hunter in that 10-12% range? I believe all elk hunters that consistently get shot opportunities each year share a common set of competencies or skill sets. Yes, each individual may have specific ways of going about the business at hand but most successful elk hunters I know share a good handfull of these competencies. What are they? Attitude, experience, physical fitness, understanding of elk behavior, mastery of weapon used, understanding of elk vocalization, patience, short memory, expert backwoods navigator, pre-hunt research and planning expertise?

What do you folks think are the core competencies of a good elk hunter? Please, list one or more that I mentioned or other competencies and "expand" on them a bit (explain why you feel it is an important competency and should be in the top ten). We'll come up with a top ten list by the time the thread runs its course!

[hike2hunt]

The first one for me is confidence. Having confidence in all my abilities whether it be the shot, calling, formulating the plan. I trust that whatever I am doing, I know how to do it. I practice my shooting, I practice my calling, I take pride in pushing the limits, I have confidence that what ever I am doing - it is not on a whim.

Second for me is physical ability. Every time you train you are pushing your physical and mental toughness. Your limits will only be determined by your preparation. If you fail to prepare in your quest for outdoor adventure, you will feel the costs of this. When the time arises to chase your quarry, you don't want to be hampered by the thoughts that you don't have the mental and physical toughness, stamina, and endurance to finish what you came to do.

And finally "living in the moment." The fact that I have the patience, opportunity, health, supporting structure, and will allows me to be in that moment at that time. We do what we do because we can, but having a screaming animal at less then 50 meters, approaching with the intent to kick you butt, as you have entered his domain...is a great feeling.

[msd1228]

In my area I think the vast majority of success just comes down to hunting where the elk are, and being willing to search and search and search some more until you find them. Elk aren't that hard to kill once you find them, but most guys get frustrated after 1 or 2 days of no bugles or no sightings and pack it in for home. The guys that are consistently successful will start scouring new ground until they finally locate an animal. Not necessarily a bunch of animals, but AN animal - after all, it only takes 1 to fill a tag. Hunting late Sept with Trav this year it took 5 days before we laid eyes on an elk. Just had to keep moving and checking new spots until we found em. And by check new spots I don't necessarily mean over the next ridge (although sometimes that all it takes), I'm talking driving a couple hours in a completely different direction to try and find some animals.

[Elksniper1]

The number one skill if you can call it that. Has been patience! the last few years I've been huntig with my kids.and yes that does take a different kind of patience.but what they have shown me is that waiting on setups a little longer has tripled our contacts with elk! I think over the years i would move on not worried about how much ground is covered. But with kids you take that into consideration and because of that we have had a better result! take your kids hunting you might be surprised what they will teach you!

[otcWill]

Passion, Determination, and Time. Those three things kill elk for me every year

[Toby]

Good thread and list so far. One that I would add is determination, probably falls under attitude. Those who are very determined carry that into hunting, scouting, training, etc. never say die,find a way to succeed. To me determination can trump some of our weaknesses in other areas.

[Bow4me]

I don't feel like I have a lot of room to chime in on this since I've only taken a couple of elk. But I would go with determination and the willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done. No matter what.

[under H2O hunter]

As a self proclaimed 10% I have these tools in my toolbox to get the job done every season. I dedicate myself to the entire art of elk hunting. To me its an art not just a sport. It takes both physical attributes and mental attributes. However there needs to be more for me. this includes Luck,Time,Dedication,money,confidence,practice,passion, ext ext ext. I personally dedicate every year to this animal. I am obsessed with every aspect of hunting elk. The moment elk season ends I am doing something to get ready for the next season. Fixing my equipment or buying equipment, reading every thing I can get my hands on about elk. I watch one of my 20 something elk dvd videos weekly. Studying how elk move through this kind of set up or that kind of set up. I work out both the body and the mind to sharpen my skill set as often as possible, I am on caltopo or GE every day not to mention the various forums. Once summer rolls around it's scouting and setting cameras, Riding Atv's to check new areas, hiking with heavy packs, I shoot my bow year round and I start shooting my rifle long range in the summer. When Season starts I have my A through z plans planned out, I dedicate the entire month and first rifle season to closing the deal.

To make all this happen I have had to sacrifice something. In my early years I neglected my responsibilities to people I love but as of a few years ago I have learned that I could have these people join me and I have found a new passion for teaching my family and friends how to be successful along side me. They in turn have allowed me to be obsessive about elk and not change what drives me.

Now if I could only make a living at chasing my passion that would be the ultimate for me personally.
James

[timberland]

Being able to capitalize when an opportunity is about to present itself. Knowing when to be aggressive an when to lay back and let an opportunity develop.

[WapitiTalk1]

I really hope some of the newer elk hunters (or even those who have been hunting for years but do not consistently get shot opportunities each year) are taking notes. I have this thread running on three hunting forums and am really getting some great input. Once the threads run their course, I'll capsulate everthing and post.

I personally thing understanding elk behavior is huge! This is a capsulation of what an elk hunter offered on another forum: "Understanding where elk want to be when the weather is X, the hunting pressure is Y, the terrain is Z, etc. is really the paramount thing a hunter needs to know to consistently kill elk. Once you really know elk behavior, someone can drop you off anywhere from New Mexico to Montana to Nevada and you can quickly solve the puzzle. Most of the other competencies you've mentioned revolves around this point, and while you can learn quite a bit from reading and talking to other people, experience will be your best teacher."

[TheBuzz]

Subscribed. And all ears......

[Swamp Buck]

Luck! Can't go to the elk woods without it!

[phall]

ill take luck anyday but luck is random and inconsistent. ill throw out a couple words: outdoorsman / woodsman (woman). a true diy backcountry elk hunt incorporates it all (hiking, backpacking, hunting, shooting, stalking, tracking, map reading, planning, adrenalin control, patience, perseverance, determination) and if your going on horseback you had better be a horseman as well. there just isnt that one thing, messs up any one of those elements and eat tag soup. any hunter who kills elk diy backcountry style in my is a great outdoorsman that displays excellent woodsmanship while being a great hunter that trusts their instincts. having said that i got lots of work to do ive only had elk steaks once in 4 yrs of elk hunting

[Indian Summer]

To me it comes down to 2 things. Knowing your area from actual experience. And being persistent.... really persistent. I think they go hand in hand because when you know the area like the back of your hand you always have a plan B, C, D etc so it's easier to stay confident and therefore persistent.

[Heartwood]

Know your area(google earth and on the ground scouting) we proved to ourselves 2 years ago when we were forced to change areas that we could start fresh and find elk right away. I used to spend way to much time in some areas where there were not many (or no) elk.

Team calling. We know we can kill elk as lone hunters but team calling is hands down more effective period.

Physical fitness. No mater what your athletic abilities, being the best you can be and not being limited by poor preparation is key.

Do somthing every day to become a better elk hunter.

Learn from the hard lessons that we are taught from time in the field hunting elk.

Mental preparation. Visualize (day dream) about the perfect scenario where you stop the bull in the right spot at the right time and aim in the right spot to get the job done. Think about all the details that could arise. Train your brain.

Read and study Elknuts material over and over. There is a lot of information to absorb. Once the techniques are lived out in the woods with real elk you will never forget. (physical fitness and Elknut methods have been the two biggest game changers for me along with hanging out with dedicated and skilled elk hunters like Twinkieman).

All these "keys" to success boil down to creating opportunities. The more opportunities you create the higher your odds of packing meat and antler. If an opportunity is blown but you know that you can make it happen again, well that is confidence!

Being able to shoot well and think quickly and decisively under pressure. I'm working on it. Persistance is key.

Letting an encounter "develope". Having the patience to let a situation develope and knowing when to force things to happen.
Only time in the elkwoods can teach this.

Time. If possible, allow yourself enough time in the woods to find that magic encounter where you connect and achieve success. We average one encounter with a bull in archery range for every two days of hunting. Many don't end in a dead bull, hopefully one does.

Being able to produce accurate and realistic elk sounds on demand. I think we have this one down. Knowing which sounds to use in a given situation. Getting better at this. More often now we just know what to do without thinking about it.

[one_elk]

The number one skill if you can call it that. Has been patience! the last few years I've been huntig with my kids.and yes that does take a different kind of patience.but what they have shown me is that waiting on setups a little longer has tripled our contacts with elk! I think over the years i would move on not worried about how much ground is covered. But with kids you take that into consideration and because of that we have had a better result! take your kids hunting you might be surprised what they will teach you!

I couldn’t agree more with the last sentence of Elksnipers reply. It never ceases to amaze me how valuable another set of eyes with a different level of experience can be, as the old saying goes “take time listen and you will be amazed at what you will learn”… Also Time in the woods, persistence and patients but also having confidence in the lessons you have learned from past hunting experiences and that brings us right back to persistence and patients