When Is Elk Hunting Not Hunting?

[Swede]

I suppose many of us have gotten off track while out on our hunting trip. We realized we were either wasting time, or demoralized, or something. Maybe our mind was on family or work or anything other than hunting. I am wondering what it was that got you off track, and what you did about it?

I don't work at a paid job anymore, but that used to be a problem at times. Also not seeing game for several days caused me to let down my guard. What invariably brought me back was a bull elk staring at me from close by, and I was busted. There is nothing like giving off a bugle when you are sitting down eating a bite while in a small meadow; then having a nice bull come right up to you.

[Kentrek]

Seems like when ever your minds off its always already too late to try and refocus....it can be so easy to get off track during a hunt....you just can't stay in the zone non stop for a week or two week period

Elk hunting seems to be easier to stay focused because there's always some action going on for the most part....but there are times when after a week of non stop action youl (probably just me lol) will get complacent with how aggressive I'm being and not being on high alert when I'm literally rite on a bull....this seems to be the case more so in thick country then open country

I think complacency is a killer and it affects the unsuccessful and successful alike....they get used to the status of that particular hunt and make decisions based off that....i could go into details about particular stories of complacency I've had but they all sound the same.....wasn't paying attention and then there he was !!! Busted !!! Everything from just getting down/bummed out to just getting carried away in political debates have all cost me animals and usually that's what it takes to refocuse

[Swede]

The other evening I had a lengthy conversation with a lady doing a survey for ODF&W about their management and hunting in Oregon. She said hunter numbers are down and people are giving a variety of reasons for quitting. She asked my opinion about a number of things. It got me to thinking about this matter.
Over the years I have read or had people tell me things like "it doesn't feel like hunting if I can't have a camp fire." Other things in that category include not having snow, or a tent, or having someone in particular with them anymore.
Some styles of hunting don't seem right to some people. Tree stand hunting is foreign to some. It is not hunting as they visualize "hunting". I suppose most of the hunt part is finished when you take a seat in a stand. It is much like other hunting styles, there is a point when the hunt part turns to executing the shot.
For me another style, that I don't usually care for, is hunting out of a truck or ATV. I don't mean just trying to get one on a drive by shooting which is illegal in many places including Oregon. I don't enjoy driving around all day and just stopping here and there to look around. Though done in other areas, this has been popular west of the Cascades where you can go from clear-cut to clear-cut to stop and glass. It is productive on stormy days when the animals are out, but it seems more like visiting with your hunting partner and sight seeing, than actual hunting. You get more callouses on your butt than on the soles of your feet doing that, and you consume a lot of coffee. Maybe it is similar to tree stand hunting, but you are always warm and dry.

[stringunner]

Two things happened to me last year during the first 10 days of the hunt that put me off and required me to refocus:
1) opening morning last year was miserable. Wind gusts so bad I found myself clinging to my tree with nothing more on my mind except not getting blown out of the tree. At one point I looked down and could see the roots of the tree I was in moving under the dirt. That was it for me, I got down. Bitterly cold, I decided to hold out a bit while sitting on the ground. This lasted about an hour or so. With the weather so bad I decided to go check another spot about a half mile away, at least I would be moving and not cold. Walked maybe a 100 yards from my stand and there stood a bull coming up to the water, busted. He ran off. I quit hunting and got busted.

2)About mid way through the 10 day stretch, my wife was growing tired of taking care of our three young kids by herself. My in laws who usually are around to aid, were also on vacation so this was adding pressure and my wife was not in a great place. So I went home mid week to get things on good standing. Was gone for 1.5 days. I didn't want to quit mid way through but alas somethings (wife and kids) had to take priority. Though my dad and then Swede gave me heck for it, it was the right decision. The rest of the week back at camp I had to endure jokes about needing to return home for a congigal visit. Though considering neither of them saw elk while I was gone, if Swedes interpretation of me going home was even remotely true, seems to me I still made the right call.

[Dr. Rx]

Great Post Swede..

I think for me is not hearing an Elk.. But now I've come to realize that most of the time you don't.. but having said that, you second guess yourself and question if you should move or change strategy. Henceforth, the plan now starts to breakdown and discouragement or doubt creeps in.

I just love how elk hunting can evoke all those emotions and being able to recognize and allowing those emotions to exist but not control you is the key.

kris

[Swede]

I probably would have never thought about the reason Stringunner went home, except for the speed he was driving back. Most of the time the dust billowing up behind a traveling pickup is nearly right up to the bumper. Stringunner was going so fast, the dust plume did not begin to show up behind his truck for at least 200 yards. A Jack rabbit tried to cross the road behind him that evening and got rolled by the backdraft. Some people have a more urgent NEED to get home than others.

[Indian Summer]

There is nothing like being focused. In the zone. There are lots of different things that can distract us. We are all different ages with different situations. But there's no question that the one thing we all have in common is a limit to how much time we can hunt. Whether you have 2 months or 10 days to hunt we all have a last day. If your time is running out it's hard not to feel more pressure. If you are on top of them fine but if not it can be even worse. Pressure can affect your decisions. But it also leads to thinking of things like I'll be home in a few days or I wonder what's going on at work. If there are any problems at home or work then you can really get caught daydreaming. Things can change in a hurry but not if you're in the wrong frame of mind and unprepared.

I feel like if I am letting pressure get to me I'm not hunting or at least not doing as good of a job of it.

[saddlesore]

I don't need to shoot another elk in my lifetime. Since I adopted that attitude a few years ago I enjoy the hunt even more. And yet I seem to kill an elk every year. Younger, I could only hunt a week.Now I hunt two 9 day seasons.I go up the Wednesday before the season opens and come home the Monday after it close. That Monday after the season closes gives time to reflect back on the hunt. Going up Wednesday gives me a day of rest after setting up camp,before the season starts. Having to do everything in a hurry just isn't any fun.That is about 4 days Not Elk Hunting.Sometimes I take day off ,get up at sunrise instead of3 AM and take a ride over the next mountain just to see what is ther.e

The days I stayed in a wall tent with a warm wood stove because of snow or rain, were just as much fun as the hunting (I don't hunt in either). Yet I can remember sitting on a mountain top in a saddle with then snow blowing sideways and it was ten above thinking how much fun it was. I also enjoy a nap about midday in a meadow, laid back in the shade.

Yes,there have been times when I was snoozing and a bull walked up t me and I remember a cow elk with her nose not five foot away, and 5-6 elk came down a trail almost running into me and we were both surprised.

[Kentrek]

Here's a quote from a guy who killed over a 100 bulls In his life..."if your heads not there..the elk already won"

You spot elk with your imagination....with out it there's only the obvious ones left

You can't think if your desperate

[Elkduds]

The most offputting thing to me is encountering other hunters. I get distracted by avoiding them and lose focus on detecting elk. One day a small private plane flew in low circles over me for a few hours. I called the county sheriff when I packed out, was told there was a search for a lost plane in my area. That was definitely disruptive. This was in CO GMU 85, where landowners have been known to drive elk via planes and helicopters. No matter how far you pack in, you can't get away from that kind of aerial assault.

[saddlesore]

As things progress more and more, you will not be the only hunter in the field. The thing to do is learn what the elk do from hunting pressure and hunt them with that thought.

[Lefty]

When Im spring bear hunting. I say that half joking. My bear hunting is way too much about watching and finding elk.

I stay very focused on the elk hunt. I use to do the same thing while running traplines. My non-trap-line-trap-line, my pre season warm up I often made daily catches that many would be thrilled to have as a yearly take only running 100 traps.

Saddlesore I have gotten much like you stated about elk,. only with geese. A great hunt could be anything. a single goose showing up, then missing a shot, yep that happened this year. Missing a busy day at work. roasting marshmallows with my granddaughter over the heater , Or just watching the dog nap on the pit floor

Even when I take a nap Im elk hunting,..HMMMM,..Even sleeping at night, gotta love it when the elk show up in camp. As soon as I turn off the "main road" I hunting,.. Well come to think of it as soon as washup and put my hunting clothes on Im hunting

[Deanmac]

I don't need to shoot another elk in my lifetime. Since I adopted that attitude a few years ago I enjoy the hunt even more. And yet I seem to kill an elk every year. Younger, I could only hunt a week.Now I hunt two 9 day seasons.I go up the Wednesday before the season opens and come home the Monday after it close. That Monday after the season closes gives time to reflect back on the hunt. Going up Wednesday gives me a day of rest after setting up camp,before the season starts. Having to do everything in a hurry just isn't any fun.That is about 4 days Not Elk Hunting.Sometimes I take day off ,get up at sunrise instead of3 AM and take a ride over the next mountain just to see what is ther.e

The days I stayed in a wall tent with a warm wood stove because of snow or rain, were just as much fun as the hunting (I don't hunt in either). Yet I can remember sitting on a mountain top in a saddle with then snow blowing sideways and it was ten above thinking how much fun it was. I also enjoy a nap about midday in a meadow, laid back in the shade.

Yes,there have been times when I was snoozing and a bull walked up t me and I remember a cow elk with her nose not five foot away, and 5-6 elk came down a trail almost running into me and we were both surprised.

Great memories, I enjoy reading your experiences, you need to write a book.