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School a newb on elk hunting

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:
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Fawk you.:lmao::flipoff2:
 
My go to gun for elk is my go to for everything... .270

Your 06 is just fine.

If you have em at the house just shoot em there. :flipoff2:

But, when you're hunting them they seem to not come around. :laughing:

Plan on putting on some miles on foot. Wear good boots.

My brother lives near your area and seems to do quite well on the elk hunts he does but he goes deep on foot and spends a lot of time out.

Good luck.



Oh, make sure your knife is sharp.
 
Steve300xcw said:
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:
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Now that I have my tag, I'm seriously tempted, as I could take it to a processor. My nearest neighbor is about 500' away, but they aren't around much. Beyond them, it's about a 1/4 mile. In the winter there's no one up here hardly. Nobody would really know where that random gunshot came from...
 
2JZ said:
Now that I have my tag, I'm seriously tempted, as I could take it to a processor. My nearest neighbor is about 500' away, but they aren't around much. Beyond them, it's about a 1/4 mile. In the winter there's no one up here hardly. Nobody would really know where that random gunshot came from...
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As long as it's 1. Shoot twice they'll find you.:flipoff2:
 
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2JZ said:
Now that I have my tag, I'm seriously tempted, as I could take it to a processor. My nearest neighbor is about 500' away, but they aren't around much. Beyond them, it's about a 1/4 mile. In the winter there's no one up here hardly. Nobody would really know where that random gunshot came from...
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Cut it up yourself. Its not a big deal.

How many acres do you have up there?


All joked aside, and depending on how many neighbors you have.Do a lil reading in the regs about baiting....
 
Steve300xcw said:
Cut it up yourself. Its not a big deal.

How many acres do you have up there?


All joked aside, and depending on how many neighbors you have.Do a lil reading in the regs about baiting....
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I'm on 7 acres. Neighbor 2 houses away has a refrigerated room, with a hanging rack. I'm fairly convinced that he has taken elk on his 7 acre property. Maybe I should show up over there with a nice bottle of bourbon and become his friend. :smokin:
 
2JZ said:
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 :)
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We had the same situation not too far from Golden, CO. Go out on the deck in the morning and the mountain side would be covered with an elk herd... until opening day... There was only one spot that allowed hunting, about three minutes from the house. It was an extremely limited lottery in a small unit (a mountain bike park from Feb to Nov). Hear one gunshot and we wouldn't see another for a long time. I've seen moose, bear, bobcat and big horn sheep (almost ran into three on my mountain bike). My personal experience is if you're not hunting them, you probably will run into them on a bike, sling a rifle over your shoulder and you might as well be on the Moon... :))

Good luck and, yes, bring a very sharp knife (Elk are not as easy to "process" as deer)!:beer:
 
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2JZ said:
I'm on 7 acres. Neighbor 2 houses away has a refrigerated room, with a hanging rack. I'm fairly convinced that he has taken elk on his 7 acre property. Maybe I should show up over there with a nice bottle of bourbon and become his friend. :smokin:
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Do you know how to field dress and quarter an animal? If not, watch some youtubes and as others have said, have a high quality sharp knife for the job.
 
2JZ said:
I'm on 7 acres. Neighbor 2 houses away has a refrigerated room, with a hanging rack. I'm fairly convinced that he has taken elk on his 7 acre property. Maybe I should show up over there with a nice bottle of bourbon and become his friend. :smokin:
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Those small lots always make me a bit nervous when I hear folks are hunting them. Shit goes sideways every so often. Last thing you wanna be doing is putting a finisher in an animal underneath suzies swingset 4 houses down:laughing:
 
I haven’t hunted in the SW, but in the states with more elevation change you generally want to identify glassing locations where you can sit and look for them in the mornings and evenings. You don’t need a spotting scope, but will want some decent 10x binos, not $60 Wal-Mart specials.

Pre-snow, they are generally bedded down during the day, so you’re walking around looking for fresh sign rather than actual animals. When you find fresh sign, slow WAY down and glass as you’re moving, pay attention to the wind or you’ll never see anything.

Watch videos on butchering, you’ll want a real pack and probably a buddy or two to call if you shoot one a little ways in from the truck. No way my wife and I would be packing out two elk with just the two of us. Good thing is if it’s cool you’ll have time on your side. Last one we packed out was 7 miles in and it was September!
 
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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.
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1st off scan the area one is planning to hunt on foot with a pack loaded up looking for critters. Deer, elk, squirrels it really doesn't matter cuz it gets you into the habit of looking for critters hiding and gets one adjusted to the concept of getting winded at altitude.

Practice getting your sneak on and being quiet while walking and practice gauging wind directions best to be down wind or critters will get a whiff and split.

Practice long range shooting out to about 600 yds try to get to where you can get a 1 MOA group at 600 (6" group IIRC). You may not have to shoot that far but it helps get adjusted to the idea of possibly having to.

Same thing with range estimation. If you know someone with a range finder borrow and use it while yer out scouting via estimating the range then check it. Good gages can be telephone pole or fence post separations to use as references sometimes.

Recognise that sometimes a hunt is nothing more than a walk in the woods with a rifle...especially where the "Ghost of the Forest" AKA elk are concerned.
 
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Get enough gear together to quarter one and a pack frame to haul it. I use a break down bow saw, a big knife and a small knife, and hatchet to split the back. Don’t worry about the hide, leave it on if you can. Watch some YouTube on gutting and quartering.

If you pull the hide it takes time but saves weight. If the terrain allows a wheel barrow or game cart is handy.hauling is 90% of an elk hunt most of the time.

They are big so get it gutted and cooling quickly or the meat will spoil. I would find some 180gr soft points for the 06. Nov is way past rut, so the bulls won’t be the best shape.
 
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Steve300xcw said:
.


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:
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Seen a lot of deer killed with the passenger bail out technique. Fucking deer just watch the truck. :homer:
 
Norm said:
Get enough gear together to quarter one and a pack frame to haul it. I use a break down bow saw, a big knife and a small knife, and hatchet to split the back. Don’t worry about the hide, leave it on if you can. Watch some YouTube on gutting and quartering.

If you pull the hide it takes time but saves weight. If the terrain allows a wheel barrow or game cart is handy.hauling is 90% of an elk hunt most of the time.

They are big so get it gutted and cooling quickly or the meat will spoil. I would find some 180gr soft points for the 06. Nov is way past rut, so the bulls won’t be the best shape.
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We got 2 cow tags. It was my first time applying for the draw. There's no way I would have gotten a bull tag, especially in one of the hottest units in AZ. I'm just after the meat anyway.
 
Look into doing a gutless method too. Basically just get the quarters off without gutting then there's space to get to tenderloins once most of the meat is off. Getting the meat off and cooling quickly seems to help with taste.
 
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Gatorgrizz27 said:
I haven’t hunted in the SW, but in the states with more elevation change you generally want to identify glassing locations where you can sit and look for them in the mornings and evenings. You don’t need a spotting scope, but will want some decent 10x binos, not $60 Wal-Mart specials.
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I was at my local range and dude pulled up a little early for his time on the platform and I told him I was OK with him setting up early as I was by myself and just about done. Sets up his Really Right Stuff $1200 tripod and mounts a 120mm Swaro scope with the bino eyepiece, so that's bout $7k worth of carbon fiber and glass, easily the most impressive spotting scope I've ever looked through, and he said when he's glassing with his buddies he can usually still see effectively a half hour earlier or later near sunrise or sunset. Too rich for my blood, but damn that was a nice setup.
 
Steve300xcw said:
And as much as I like a good fixed blade knife. My havalon gets the nod for most things
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I like the outdoor edge better than my havalon. Larger blades, and easier to change out.


Don't be like a prominent member on this board, and flock shoot a herd, poach extra animals, then laugh about it and post here how you're taking more home than you have tags for. That would make you a piece of shit.

And elk are bigger than deer. A lot bigger.

And once you're over that shock, and think you have elk figured...try walking up on a moose:laughing:
 
Squamch said:
I like the outdoor edge better than my havalon. Larger blades, and easier to change out.
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Seen those. I never minded the blades on the havalon, wish there was a bit more to the handle though. I'm also a cheap fucker so probly wont ever replace it:laughing:
 
Had both havalon and outdoor edge. Both have pros and cons. Havalon has slightly cheaper blades, the blades seem to stay shaper longer, and the havalon is less bulky. The havalon blade retention is worse. Much harder to change out blades, and the havalon blades are more brittle.

Outdoor edge blades are easier to change out and is a much sturdier blade platform. But the blade sharpness is not as good and doesn't last as long as havalon.

I currently run outdoor edge for the blade sturdiness.
 
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