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School a newb on elk hunting

2JZ

Well-known member
Joined
May 30, 2020
Member Number
1672
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120
Just got my elk tag today. Wife got one too. Unit 1 in eastern AZ. November hunt I think. Neither of us have ever hunted anything in our lives. Total newbies.

Looking for any advice.
 
Around here. $1k in sitka PJ's, Rifles buttstock down, camo can of keylite in every cup holder, windows all rolled down with luke brian wailing at full blast, 5mph max no matter how many people are behind you, 9 light bars plus ditch lights turned on at all times for safety. Dont forget to park at an angle on a blind corner and get out to take a selfie for the 'gram. Gotta doccument all the hardcoreness goin on up in here:lmao:

If you hit em in the rear shoulders it will slow em down enough to get off a good shot on the front shoulders.

Anymore questions on how not to do it should be forwarded to captincall:flipoff2:
 
In CO, elk hunting means finding the owner of private property in your unit and paying him/her ~$1800 to hunt their property, otherwise, hunting on BLM land means you're going to wake up to a sea of orange on opening day.
 
Steve300xcw pretty much nailed it other than needing 300 rum, 300 lapua, 50 bmg or other big magnum. Because those are the only ones with enough "killing power" . "You don't need to be a great shot with --------(fill in blank with the largest rifle cartridge) because they have enough killing power that if you hit them they go down"


But seriously, at least here in Utah, plan on it be a learning experience your first time. Youtube generally does not really show elk hunting. Get a rifle you can shoot well. Get good at the farthest range you can find to shoot and then limit yourself to 50-75% of that yardage for hunting. Be in shape. Research where and what elk like to reside in your area. Look at Google maps and pick a place that looks like it fits those parameters. Then go hiking in that area. Realize(at least in utah) that elk migrate lots. They may be in one place one day and can be 10 miles in a different direction the next. Don't plan the success of the hunt around killing the elk. A successful hunt for me is learning and experiencing the mountains. Some years I'm pretty lucky and find them and some years I don't. Find a gun that you can shoot well, my opinion is that shot placement on an animal will always win over bullet weight and speed. My wife killed her elk last year with a 6 creedmoor at 375 yards. One shot, double lungs and it ran 50 yards before dumping.

Good luck
 
Steve300xcw said:
Shoot em up hill of the truck is also an important thing to remember. Everybody always kills shit in the bottom of a canyon, an I never understood why:laughing:
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I looked at elk in the bottom and said "you win this time elk" I tell people the best tasting animals are by the road. The farther from a road the worst they taste.
 
All jokes aside, your first time hunting everything is goona be a shit show.:grinpimp:

If theres no animals in the area, go the fuck somewhere else! Hunting country just cuz its pretty dont work most of the time

Slow down. I'm not sayin belly crawl everywhere, but slow up enough that you can see and hear shit.

I can hunt a lot more country sitting on my ass looking through some binoculars than I can on foot. Tripod is a gamechanger for glassing.

Gutting and dragging animals makes zero sense.

What do you have for gear now? The real work starts after you kill something. Elk is a big animal to start with. Goona be moving it quarter at a time. I'll hunt with a cheap rifle an a good pack before I go cheap on a pack.
 
Steve300xcw said:
Around here. $1k in sitka PJ's, Rifles buttstock down, camo can of keylite in every cup holder, windows all rolled down with luke brian wailing at full blast, 5mph max no matter how many people are behind you, 9 light bars plus ditch lights turned on at all times for safety. Dont forget to park at an angle on a blind corner and get out to take a selfie for the 'gram. Gotta doccument all the hardcoreness goin on up in here:lmao:

If you hit em in the rear shoulders it will slow em down enough to get off a good shot on the front shoulders.

Anymore questions on how not to do it should be forwarded to captincall:flipoff2:
Click to expand...

It's almost like you've lived in the PNW for a while.... :lmao:

This brings back memories from 20+ years ago. We road hunted most of the time. No beer though, and no music, and LED lights weren't even a thing.
 
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Yotota said:
It's almost like you've lived in the PNW for a while.... :lmao:

This brings back memories from 20+ years ago. We road hunted most of the time. No beer though, and no music, and LED lights weren't even a thing.
Click to expand...

I forgot to add in that the passenger bailing out while the driver keeps the rig rolling, is a time proven tactic :grinpimp:

Also during muzzleloader season be aware that a flintlock can fuck up the headliner of a truck. So think about it:laughing:
 
2JZ said:
Just got my elk tag today. Wife got one too. Unit 1 in eastern AZ. November hunt I think. Neither of us have ever hunted anything in our lives. Total newbies.

Looking for any advice.
Click to expand...

I have no idea what the unit is like you'll be hunting. But if at all possible, find someone who knows the area and the herds and how to kill and elk and process it and move it and .... Everything.

I wish you luck. Gutting an elk in the field is an experience, that's for sure. Even if you're used to deer it's a whole new ballgame. The person on the downhill side will have their boots covered in blood and guts (teenage me learned that one the fun way) :lmao:.

Then moving and loading the animal is... fun. Sarcasm. It's not fun. Elk are big and heavy.


You better learn fast, HANDS ON, how to:

  • Find the elk
  • Find a shot
  • Humanely kill an elk
  • Gut the elk
  • Quarter the elk to pack it out
  • Or load it if you can get a truck to it
  • Handle the elk so you don't ruin the meat
  • Get it to a known GOOD butcher who you trust, who will actually give you the meat from YOUR elk


Good luck. You'll need it.
 
Steve300xcw said:
All jokes aside, your first time hunting everything is goona be a shit show.:grinpimp:

If theres no animals in the area, go the fuck somewhere else! Hunting country just cuz its pretty dont work most of the time

Slow down. I'm not sayin belly crawl everywhere, but slow up enough that you can see and hear shit.

I can hunt a lot more country sitting on my ass looking through some binoculars than I can on foot. Tripod is a gamechanger for glassing.

Gutting and dragging animals makes zero sense.

What do you have for gear now? The real work starts after you kill something. Elk is a big animal to start with. Goona be moving it quarter at a time. I'll hunt with a cheap rifle an a good pack before I go cheap on a pack.
Click to expand...
I'm fully expecting it to be a shit show. I'm pretty fuckin clueless.

The only gear I have at this point is the rifle. 30-06. Ive never shot it. But I tend to be a pretty good shot with all my other guns.

My biggest advantage at this point is I'm hunting close to home. Within 10 miles. So I can easily go scouting without having to make a whole trip out of it. We spend a lot of time driving the forest roads around here, so I have a good idea where to start.
 
'06 is more than plenty. Get a decent pack thats capable of hauling meat. A lil reading on the gutless way to process an animal wouldnt hurt.

How many tags are they giving out for that hunt?
 
Steve300xcw said:
How many tags are they giving out for that hunt?
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I really dont know the answer to that. There's already a few butthurt people that dont like that I got a tag on my first try, in one of the most desired units in AZ. It's not a bull tag though, which everyone seems to want. I'm not in it for the trophy. I'm in it for the experience and the meat.
 
I rather have a cow tag in my pocket. Don't shoot the lead or biggest cow if you have choice the second to smallest in a herd is the one I want.

1000002373.jpg
 
If you want I can put you in touch with a guy I shoot PRS with. His family owns a taxidermy shop in Scale, and he's an avid hunter. Cody would know who the good butcher's are.
 
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Cover ground. Probably wont find anything standing in the road, so you'll spend a few days wandering around with no real plan. Blow on the call a few times and hear nothing. If you find sign, you'll run out of daylight by the time you figure out which way they went. Hunt the same area the next day or two to find out that they've moved a few draws over in the night. Repeat that til you eventually push them into the National Park or some weekend warrior who shoots the big bull in the road and scatters the herd.
 
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Roc Doc said:
If you want I can put you in touch with a guy I shoot PRS with. His family owns a taxidermy shop in Scale, and he's an avid hunter. Cody would know who the good butcher's are.
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Rusty's in Springerville is supposed to be good.
 
I do have a bit of an advantage. I have a cabin on the edge of Unit 1. So I'll be "day hunting" and sleeping in my own bed at night. I wouldn't want to do a December hunt,
camping in the forest.
Hell maybe I should just wait for them to come to me like they did today :)
IMG_9058.jpg
 
Steve300xcw said:
You just fucked up:homer: Glad you took a pic, cuz its the last time you will see that herd:laughing:
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They are around at least a day or two a week. Sometimes it's 2 or 3 of em, sometimes more.
 
That changes things.

Hang a snatch block. Bail of alfalfa, corn, salt or what ever under it. Shoot one in the face when it comes in to dine....then use snatch block to lift your bag of meat:grinpimp:
 
Biggest bull Ive seen in person, on my property. Was last October. We have them here pretty much year round.
IMG_4743.jpeg
 
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