Western Elk Hunting - advice for a flat lander

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SwaneeSR

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I am a Minnesota and Wisconsin Whitetail hunter. I am interested in trying an elk hunt out west. When my father was still alive, he would go out to northwest Wyoming with his buddy Jack and work on Jacks cabin (both retired carpenters) and hunt Elk and Mule deer.

I have one buddy who has gone out west. Although I would say he is 100% greenhorn.

As I stated, my dad passed away (2012). Jack has Alzheimer's real bad. A few of my family members have been to that cabin on one occasion with my dad when they went to Yellowstone. No one in Jacks family has ever been there. I am sure I would be allowed to stay there and check on the place.

How does someone develop a hunting trip for Elk? I understand that getting a license is difficult. Going out there to hunt in the mountains is one of those things on my bucket list. Montana, Wyoming, Colorado? Somewhere not flat.

My assumption is that guided hunts are pretty expensive. I am not ruling it out, but my inclination is to develop my own skills.

Swanee


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Number 1: Get in shape. Those mountains are steep and the air is thin. Find the steepest hill you can and practice climbing it wearing a heavy pack until you can do it without breathing hard.

Because of number 1, you need warm clothing that will let heat out as well as keep it in. If you break a sweat because your parka has knit cuffs you can't open, your soggy T shirt will freeze. I experienced this once and I don't want to do it again. No cotton next to your skin. Your outfit has to be adjustable so you can let heat out while climbing and close up to keep warm when sitting.

Best of luck.
 
if you need new boots get them now so they will be broken in by the time you go hunting. you do NOT want to be breaking in new boots the same day you start hunting
 
You need to look into applying for licenses soon.. They are hard to get and durned expensive.

Conditioning advice is very important. Depending on which state you go to, you may have to have a guide.
 
Guided hunts are expensive. But having a guide with experience with the quary and countryside will greatly increase your odds of taking a bull. How much is a shot opportunity on a great bull worth to you?

Look over Wyoming's fish and game website. If you plan to use that cabin, find out which unit it's in and begin the process of entering the drawing, if it is in a drawing area. Look at other states' F&G sites also. Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington all have trophy class bulls on public land and private.

Get in shape. If you smoke tobacco (or other), or if use other tobacco, quit now and work to strengthen you lungs. Work to build up your legs. Choose an adequate rifle and practice out to at least 300 yards. .270 cal or better. Chances are, your shot will be within 100 yards, but odds are also good that your closest opportunity could be out there a ways. Practice shooting under stress. Work interval training into your rifle practice, and practice in all field positions.

Good luck. Send pictures. :D
 
I will start looking into the application process. I seemed to recall my dad attending a required class. The good news is the class location was just down the road from my house.

So do not go out there with only a T-shirt and a new pair of boots. I thought about firearms and clothing. No thought about conditioning. Not a smoker, although not exactly in "game shape" either.


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Another point... Give yourself plenty of time. Come out a few days early to do some scouting, and to acclimate to the altitude. Altitude sickness is no joke!

We have some impressive mule deer out here, too.
 
Conditioning: Stadium steps. Walk and/or jog up them. Even a gym with a basketball court. Also, partial knee bends with a weight bar.

I went on an elk hunt one time. I lived at 2,600 feet. The hunt was at 10,500. "There ain't any air in the air up there." :D Did okay, but it was a bit of a load.
 
$591 for a Wyoming general season elk tag and they say you should be able to draw a tag at least by the second year. Applications must be in by the end of January so you are looking at 2017 for your first chance to draw. Hunting those far away places can be hard because bad weather can take away several hunting days. Also, hunting steep slopes of black timber like spruce and fir is difficult and after doing it several times I began to despise the stuff. I started looking for flatter areas of pine, juniper, pinion, aspen and oak brush. It takes several years of hunting to be really successful. In the short term you will learn more about hunting in general than you will about hunting elk. It will make a better deer hunter out of you.
 
When you do get a tag, remember this advice: Don't shoot an elk unless you're within two miles of an access road, and preferably above it. The real work begins after the shot... Carrying out quarters and the wrack is the real challenge!
 
Personally, I'm going to be looking at guided horseback hunts. They might cost a good bit more but to me, it beats the hell out of a guy from Florida by way of Tennessee trying to figure out where the Wyoming elk are. Not to mention packing one out. Licenses are guaranteed and an opportunity at a big bull much more likely. I've known guys that did their own thing and spent 10-11yrs trying to bag a nice bull.


If you smoke tobacco (or other), or if use other tobacco, quit now and work to strengthen you lungs.
Pretty sure that is only going to apply to cigarette smoking. Don't think I need to quit cigars to get into shape for an elk hunt.
 
Get a hold of a WY Big Game book or check the WY DOW website and figure out what area or unit your friends cabin is in. Here in CO they break up the state into Game Management Units, lots of them. You have to the proper tag for the GMU you are wanting to hunt. CO already did the draw but left over tags go on sale next week. I am not sure how WY does it but you may be too late for a tag this year.

As far a preparation goes, cardio is a good thing. Stamina is more important. I am a bit out of shape and have asthma and don't do much cardio. Take it at your pace, and only move at a pace which you can maintain. Sure I may be a bit slower than my hunting partners and they may push ahead and leave me behind but I can maintain my pace all day long. I carry a day pack with my rain gear, food and extra socks and a 10lbs rifle.

There is a sticky at the top of the Hunting forum that we started that covers gear for mountain hunting. Well it is a suggestion thread anyway...
 
Some good advice here. I wonder just where the cabin is and if it is in "livable" condition, considering from your post it doesn't seem as if anyone has used the cabin in years. (???) Might be in very bad shape and unusable as a base camp. If at all possible, you should make a scouting trip before your hunt trip to get the lay of the land there and the condition of the cabin.

Are you going to have a hunting partner with you? Packing out an elk by yourself is one helluva chore. Make sure you take a good, well fitting pack frame.

In addition to above advice, make sure you take a quality binocular. I've been using a 7x42 Swarovski binocular for years out here in the Rocky Mountains and it works just fine for me. A binocular in 8x42 or 8x50 would do quite well also.

In addition, before you leave home, trim your toenails! Climbing up and down steep country each day with long toenails can make you miserable pretty quickly.

As you're not familiar with the Rockies at that time of the year, the weather can change on you in an hour, from "bluebird to blizzard." Here is a very good survival film from Colo. Parks & Rec. made specifically for elk hunters new to the Rocky Mountains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=FV5ShSNIdfY&feature=endscreen

Best of luck.

L.W.
 
An alternative to high mountain elk can be found in the Olympic Mountains here in Washington. The ranges are short, the altitude is low, the hunting is not easy and the elk are big. Did I mention the Olympic Mountains are a rain forest? You might get a little wet. Bring good peep sights on a rifle larger than 30-30, and learn to hit with them. You should do well.
 
Most of what I would suggest has already been mentioned.

Get quality glass. Hunting out west usually means lots of glassing from vantage points and if you're stuck with cheap glass your eyes will start hurting quickly.

Quality clothes/gear. You need good boots that will keep your feet dry and not give you blisters. Also a pack that is comfortable to pack quarters out with. If you are packing out an elk solo you'll be beat no matter how nice your pack is but you'll die if you have a cheap pack.

Get in shape. These mountains are big, steep, and require a lot of work to get around. You don't want to miss the shot of a lifetime because you're too tired.

Learn how to quarter animals. Pretty easy to learn.

Have fun man. Elk hunting is a blast! I love it and would do it everyday if I could. It might be too late to get a tag for that unit for this year, but if it is I would highly recommend hunting a different state this year with OTC tags to get a better feeling for what you're up against. Even if you hunt a unit with low success, you'll get a better feel for when you can hunt the unit you want.
 
I think you should be thinking long term, rather than this Fall. Unlike most Eastern states you can't usually just walk up to the counter, lay down your money and buy a license. Tags are limited and in most places require you to be drawn. Especially in prime areas. You apply in the Spring in most states and if not picked you apply again the next year. Even if you are picked, you can choose not to hunt that year and let the preference point carry over until the next year. Each time you're rejected you get points which increase your odds the next year. For someone living out of state to get into a good area may take 3-5 years. Most of the guys I know here apply every year, but wait to go every 3rd year when they acquire enough points to get a good area.

There are over the counter tags sold in most states, but usually in less than prime areas and often with a higher concentration of hunters. You'll just have to check to see what the odds are of getting a tag in the same area where the cabin is located. In some of the more remote areas of Wyoming out of state hunters are required to hire a guide. Other than parts of Alaska I don't think that is the case in other states.

Colorado issues the most over the counter tags and with the best odds of filling one, but even there the best areas are going to take 2-3 years to get a tag. But lots of folks do their research, pick a likely area where OTC tags are sold and are successful. But a lot of luck comes into play. Elk migrate long distances. There may be thousands in the area you choose to hunt the week before your hunt. But may be miles away when you are there. You can't really control that.

If you are willing to archery hunt you'll increase the chances for a tag in a good area and have a much longer season to hunt. Because of circumstances I can't control it is hard for me to make long range plans at this point in my life. I may, or may not go this Fall. I won't know for sure if it will happen until days before hand. If I go it'll have to be in an area where OTC tags are sold and archery season is looking better for me.
 
Like JMR40 said lots of Wyoming requires guides or Wyoming residents to be with non residents (I think it's just wilderness area, but don't quote me on that) I would doubt that the cabin sits on wilderness area, but def something to think about.

Archery hunting would allow you to hunt longer, usually a few weeks/months (unit depending) which would be really nice as a non-resident because you could plan multiple trips to hunt instead of just one week, or you could hunt different dates if something comes up/a storm rolls in. Utah has uncapped OTC archery tags that allow you to hunt from August through December. Archery units usually equate to lower success ratios, but it is still possible and still a lot of fun.

As already recommended I would highly suggest putting in for quality units in multiple states this next spring. Over the next 20 years I bet you could pick a few different states and pull some awesome tags with great chances at huge bulls. Lots of units with 300+ inch bulls require years to draw. Start now, you'll regret you didn't in 10 years.
 
A good way to start would be to go take a look at the available licenses thru the Wyoming Game and Fish web site. You can many times get a reduced price cow/calf tag. That would give you an opportunity to come out and look things over a bit.
You don't need a guide in Wyoming unless you are going into a wilderness area, so having to have a guide isn't really a consideration, unless you want to go full bore on a hunt.
In addition to the good advice about getting in shape, you'll want to plan on clothing that you can go from 70 degrees and sunny to 0 and a blizzard. The weather during elk season can be extremely unpredictable.
I would also counsel against the urge to buy an "elk" rifle. The rifle you're used to using for deer at home will be a trusted friend, and can make or break the hunt, if the "moment of truth" comes about.
Always beware that even in the best of years something close to 60% of elk hunters go home without filling their tags, and most of those probably never got the opportunity to flip the safety off.
The real work will start if you do get the opportunity to kill an elk.
 
Gutless is the way to go IMO. Most of the time for us it is better to leave the meat on the bones and use the bone as a lever to carry the meat out over your shoulder. Good bags are essential, the ones sold as Allen or Remington seem to be made by the same company and work well without the bulk of the heavier ones. This last fall 5 of us packed out 2 bulls over a mile in rough country in one afternoon. A lot of leapfrogging and hard work but but as I recall me and 1 other guy headed out to help the rest and it took us about an hour to walk in and about 4 hours for us all to get back to the road. Helps to have friends who will come and help when called.
 
Thank you. Lots of good advice in this thread.

I found the cabin. It is located near Clark, WY near Line Creek. I am sure I could offer the family rent money. Difficult to tell condition from Google maps. I will start researching the Wyoming game laws and Elk application process.

I have a couple bolt action rifles that should get the job done. Although I need better glass.

I do have the one friend who would be in for sure. Although younger than me, he is not in great physical shape. A common theme in this thread is to be in good shape. Sounds like the work starts after the elk is down.

It might be worth applying to multiple states. Maybe rotate between a couple of states would mean hunting every other year?

I have some hunting gear. I will check out the Mountain Hunting sticky.

Swanee

Thank you for all the advice.

Oops forgot to mention. Heading to Yellowstone NP on Tuesday. Planning on stopping by the cabin to check it out.


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I'll just repeat some of things already mentioned.

1. Conditioning
2. Good glass
3. Shoot the rifle you are comfortable with and use good bullets
4. Good boots
5. Don't shoot it unless you can get it back to the truck. 5 trips minimum to pack an elk out on your back.
6. There are over the counter and left over tags in Colorado. Over the counter units are low harvest probability.
7. Come with the attitude of having fun and seeing new country. Shooting an elk is a bonus.
 
Come with the attitude of having fun and seeing new country. Shooting an elk is a bonus.
I always liked something Ross Seyfried said about elk hunting. That about the worst thing that can happen the first day or two of elk hunting, is to kill an elk. Because with that, the hunting ended.
 
I always liked something Ross Seyfried said about elk hunting. That about the worst thing that can happen the first day or two of elk hunting, is to kill an elk. Because with that, the hunting ended.



That is true.

I have been fortunate to travel in the Rockies in both the US and Canada several times. For us flat landers, the mountains are something to behold. I have never been out there in the Fall. Mostly summer and once in the Winter.

Looking forward to the trip. Begins tomorrow.


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