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My 1st elk hunt...

1K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  CountryHart 
#1 ·
Just got back from my first elk hunt and had a blast! This was only my second hunt for anything (my 1st hunt was for black bear) and like my first time out, I learned a lot! My friend showed me more on how to I.D. the difference between elk and deer tracks and even how old they might be…it was an archery hunt and the rut was already over so it was really tough. We got onto a herd that was at least 150 strong and we ID’ed at least 4 bulls and quite a few spikes. Closest we got though was about 60 yds from a few cows one day when a truck came barreling down a forest road and scared the herd off a hill we had spent all morning stalking.

We also had a few incidents that pi$$ed me off a bit (to say the least). Aside from the truck scaring off a the herd on one day, on another day, we got up before sun up and began our track from our camp to where we had been spotting the herd which was a 2+ mile walk. We were almost to our set up spot when another truck full of hunters came driving right by us! The guys get out and start setting up on a spot that was close to ours!! When we got up on them, the guys were pretty cordial about it and apologized but our stalk was blown as we could see the herd running off!!

On another day, we found a ravine that led from one valley over a hill and into another valley that led to private property where spotted the herd on a few nights. We set up on the hill just shy of the fence line in order to intercept the herd and ended up staying there until just before dark…when the herd didn’t show, we headed back down the hill and started back towards our camp in the dark. After a while we noticed that the road was not familiar and realized that we had come down the wrong side of the hill!! My buddy’s GPS had bad batteries so it was useless! Now…I have never been lost in the forest but as Marines, we both knew we had to work together (which is exactly not what we did). Since we had no sense of direction, my buddy wanted to head in the direction that sun had set since we knew that was west…I, on the other hand wanted to walk towards a hill that I could see in the night sky which was near our camp…my buddy told me that was a bad idea because we would be walking in a circle but I told him that as long as we kept the hill to our front and not on our back, we would be fine…he didn’t want to listen and since he had more hunting experience than me, I relented to him and began walking west until we realized that were getting more lost as the temps began to fall into the 25 degree range. We kept trying the GPS with no luck…we had packed MRE’s and water plus I had my .45 me (regardless of what the regulations state for archery season) so we knew we would be okay. I was just freaking out about actually being lost in the forest at night!! Eventually we sat down and tried to put our heads together…my buddy goes into his sack and pulls out a compass!! I was pi$$ed!! Why the heck didn’t he get that thing out from the beginning!? We shot and azimuth the way we both learned in boot camp and ended up walking less than 1/10 of a mile until we came out a road near our camp (AND AT THE BASE OF THE HILL THAT I HAD WANTED TO FOLLOW AT THE VERY START).

Lastly, on my last day, we set up a blind that was near a trail where we had seen the heard disappear into the tree line a few times….after setting up the blind, we went to stalk another spot…by the time we got back where our blind was, it was already pitch black outside and blind was good….even we could not find it!!

We didn’t get an elk on this trip…and to be honest, I don’t think that archery hunting is for me. I learned a great deal of respect for those that do it though. My buddy and I are already planning a rifle/cow hunt for next year. Hopefully I will finally get to learn how dress something out!
 
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#5 ·
Sounds like you love the woods and it'll come together in due time. Try to learn from your mistakes and trust that gut feelin. most of the time it's right. I've killed 1 elk in my life and certainly don't know all i should but it sure is fun learning. Don't give up on bow huntin too soon either, most exciting way to hunt i've found. Best of luck and enjoy
 
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