Elk Hunting Secrets- A to Z Guide, Overall Process You Need to Follow!

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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