Firstly be sure especially health Secondly go for elk hunting. If you really like to go for elk hunting this is an incredible A to Z guide have shown the overall process you need to follow!
Topics For Elk Hunting To Cover! As a Result, You Will Understand About The Secrets.
- Preparation before the hunt
- Gear and Equipment
- Making Camp
- Scouting
- Hunting Tactics
- After the Shot
- The Harvest
- Sunset
Preparation before the Elk Hunting
Scout From the House for elk hunting adventure
☑ Topographical Maps
- Federal Center
- BLM Maps
- National Geographic Maps.
- Gazetteer.
- Google Earth.
- CPW Hunting Atlas.
Do Research For Elk Hunting Details From Online
☑ Read
- Hunting articles and magazines
- Online articles – Free
☑ Watch
- Online Videos (elk hunting videos)
- YouTube (elk hunting youtube)
☑ Check with CPW
- Wildlife Officers
- Hunt Planners
- Biologists
Before going for Elk Hunting Know about your Firearms and Ballistics
☑ Know your firearm/bow
- Shoot from different angles and distances
- Research your ballistics
- – Different grains, bullet weights, manufacturers
- – Altitude, weather
- – Arrow weights and broadhead weight
☑ Understand shot placement
- Vitals
- We have discussed later on this one!
Good knowledge about your Guns and Ammo will help you for best elk hunting
☑ Shoot a rifle that –
- Fits
- You can shoot accurately and are confident in using
- Hit the range and use several positions
- Consider shooting sticks or bipod for stability
☑ Use ammunition that is proper for the hunt:
- .270 caliber 150 grain
- .308 caliber 150-165 grain
- 30-06 caliber 150 -180 grain
☑ Never hunt with a clean barrel
- Sight in, clean, then foul shoot the barrel. Clean barrels will vary the shot placement on the first round
☑ Buy at least two boxes of ammo. Preferably the same lot number
Check your all elk hunting Gear and Equipment
☑ Optics: Binos/Spotting Scopes
☑ Tripods
☑ Boots
☑ Trekking Poles
☑ Backpack
☑ Rain Gear
☑ Clothing
☑ Lights
☑ GPS and Compass
☑ Cell Phone
☑ Water/Water Bottle
☑ Firearm, Archery Gear
Range Estimation is very important for elk hunting
☑ Best rangefinders for Hunting-very accurate and important tool
- Rangefinder for hunting is a very accurate and important tool (you can check in details here for the best rangefinders hunting)
☑ Use to the pre-range distance to landmarks when still hunting.
☑ The spotter should use the best rangefinder and tell shooter the distance to the target. In this case, see the rangefinder reviews online.
☑ The shooter will repeat/confirm distance before Shooting
Important Documents you need to carry during the period of elk hunting
☑ Personal Documents – Driver’sLicense, Medical Cards
☑ Regulations
- Get several copies. One copy in the truck and one copy in your pack.
- Legal Possession of Licenses
- • Hunter Education Card
- Legal Hunting Methods
- • Antler Point Restrictions
- • Handguns
- After you harvest
- • Carcass Tags
- • Evidence of sex
- • Accidental Take
☑ Check your License for:
- Proper season dates
- The proper unit you are hunting
Next Step -Making Camp
☑ Choose a spot
- Plan and prepare your meals ahead of time
- – keep meals simple and cook at home
- – pre-pack lunches
- Set up camp before the season
☑ bring water or pump lots when you set up camp
• bring wood or gather lots of early
• set up your hunting pack at home
☑ Critters in Camp
☑ A good warm bed
☑ Fires
- Check local ordinances
- Tent stove but maybe no campfire
☑ Leave it Right!
- Pick up all the trash and other disturbance
Scouting is another Important part of elk hunting
☑ Pre-Season
- Get High and be there early
- Have a scouting plan
- Look for rubs, scat, and trails
- Check for water sources
☑ Use maps and aerials
- Maps allow you to look into an area before you get there
- They allow you to see what you can’t see
Find this and find elk!
Rubs, Wallows and trails
☑ Hunt the Timber and tree line
- Elk will hang in the upper regions till snow pushes them down
- Glass the edges of the timber
☑ Glass the entire country you can see
☑ Look at the same area at least 3 times
☑ Look for parts – Legs, antlers, butts
☑ Watch the skyline in early morning and evening
☑ Watch your scent and avoid being seen
Know Elk Biology and Habitat
This is another important part of elk hunting
☑ Know your game!
☑ What elk eat!
- Grasses/Forbs/Shrubs
- Aspen = Elk
☑ Things to Consider
- Largest Elk Herds occur west of the Divide
- Highest elk density occurs in association with aspen, oak brush, and mountain shrubs
- Vast public lands mean lots of opportunity and lots of ground to consider/cover
- Find the Refuge areas – Find the elk
Always keep in mind about Elk Hunting Tactics
☑ Understand elk – Why they do that?
☑ Elk Senses
- Sight –Good vision but trouble with detail
- Smell – the most developed sense
- Hearing – very good but rely on other senses to validate what they heard
☑ Stand Vs Stalk
- Cover, wind, shooting lanes ??
- Play the wind
☑ Keep the Wind in your face if it is possible
- Let’s Look At The Wind
☑ Caught moving?
- Stay still
- No eye contact
☑ The eyes have it – A herd has many eyes and ears
☑ Using Calls
- Cow Calls
- Bugles
Next step: The Cow Talk
Sounds and Calls
☑ Calling is an effective way to bring the elk in close enough for a good shot.
☑ Understand the language
- Bulls bugle to establish dominance and attract cows
- Cows are the communicators and the “secret”
- • Calf call- calves looking for mom (ee-uw-uw-eu)
- • Chirp – (eeu)
- • Mew – (meeeew)
☑ Just calling is not effective, call to “Speak the Language”: Understand what you are saying
- Listen to elk talk and watch what they are doing
Use some Common Sense Tips during the time of elk hunting
☑ Keep sun at back; wind in the face
☑ Be careful with your light
☑ Look under the trees
☑ Stop in a shooting position
Set Shot Placement and Anatomy
☑ Understand the internal anatomy
☑ Heart and lungs provide a large target area
- About 25 inches of the target
☑ Behind the front shoulder is best
☑ Avoid Headshots and Neck shots
After the Shot
☑ Archery
- Watch the direction of the animal
- Give it time to lay down and expire
- Trail slowly
☑ Rifle
- Watch the direction of travel
☑ Try to watch the elk you shot – Difficult in a crowd
- Reload quickly for a second shot
- Keep the animal in the sights until you know it has Expired
Now the Time of the Harvest
☑ Properly complete the tag immediately at the site of the harvest
☑ Take a camera
☑ Take several knives and a good sharpener
☑ Bone out vs quarter
- Evidence of Sex “naturally attached”
☑ Be cool – cool the meat as quickly as possible
☑ Take all edible portions of meat
- Game bags
What you will do during the Sunset?
- Enjoy the hunt and your time in the field
- Take a friend and share the experience
- Do your homework
- Leave the woods as you found them
- Be honest and ethical
Thanks
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