The Elk Thread

[ELKAHOLIC]

Just a reminder Valentines day is next Tuesday!








Also known as the deadline for the AZ. draw! Got mine handled yesterday.

[unclefish]

Does anyone use a mouth diaphram call? Any recomendations? I have an imaka da bull crazy and hoochie momma but wanting a mouth call i can use while drawn if need be.

I've used the Primos diaphram calls and they work good. Also just about any single reed turkey diaphram call will work for elk. I like the call with the bubble that goes on the roof of your mouth. You can cow call and bugle with these.

[unclefish]

I haven't seen many people talk about when to go. Full moon, new moon, etc...

This year the full moon is on Sept 1st I believe. That means hunting mid Sept will get you a new moon. In my experience a full moon can get them fired up a little more but mostly at night. I like a new moon and cloudy days where we hunt. Seems like they are more active during daylight during those times. I love rain too....cause when it stops you will see lots of elk.

[drthornton]

I haven't seen many people talk about when to go. Full moon, new moon, etc...

This year the full moon is on Sept 1st I believe. That means hunting mid Sept will get you a new moon. In my experience a full moon can get them fired up a little more but mostly at night. I like a new moon and cloudy days where we hunt. Seems like they are more active during daylight during those times. I love rain too....cause when it stops you will see lots of elk.

This is sort of a "can of worms" topic and ultimately boils down to opinions and experiences. Plenty of Elk killed in both phases and in between. The one thing you can say for sure is that animals can see better at night during full moon phases and will tend to move more at night during those phases especially if pressured. Also note that weather trumps moon phase every time.

I hunted Elk during a Full Moon last year. My experience was we only had action in the early morning...no action in the evening and 1 mid day encounter. I killed my bull early morning after if had rained all night.

I will be hunting mid-sept again this year and am quite happy it will be during a new moon phase.

[unclefish]

This is sort of a "can of worms" topic and ultimately boils down to opinions and experiences. Plenty of Elk killed in both phases and in between. The one thing you can say for sure is that animals can see better at night during full moon phases and will tend to move more at night during those phases especially if pressured. Also note that weather trumps moon phase every time.

I hunted Elk during a Full Moon last year. My experience was we only had action in the early morning...no action in the evening and 1 mid day encounter. I killed my bull early morning after if had rained all night.

I will be hunting mid-sept again this year and am quite happy it will be during a new moon phase.

In '09 the full moon was Sept 4th. I shot a bull in the morning during a new moon phase on Sept 20th. Bugling was good pretty much the entire trip. It was epic after a rain.

In '10 the full moon was Sept 23. My brother shot his bull early on Sept 11th during the new moon phase in the evening. I shot a bull 6 days later on Sept 17th. No rain at all that hunt. Had plenty of chances at bulls during the week but it was hard hunting. They were vocal only during early morning hours the closer it got the the full moon.

Last year the full moon was Sept 12th. We arrived on that day. Hunting was tough at first. Bugling only for for about 30mins in the morning then shut up. We had rain a few times and the hunting was really good during the off/on light showers...the elk were out in the open. I shot a bull on day 4 of the hunt but never found him. Weather really helped us out last year. All of us got shots last year.

What does all this prove....not a thing. Hunt whenever you can....but I prefer somewhere around the new moon phase if you can swing it.

We are actually going a little earlier than last year hoping to catch them pre-rut...not all bunched up.

[rhendrix]

Ok, so I've figured out what I'm gonna do about gear (planning on renting)...now I need to figure out the rest of the details for this trip...

Trying to factor in the cost of gas and I'm looking at spending roughly 500 to 600 bucks in gas if I drive all the way from Houston to Denver, then Holy Cross National Forest. Plane tickets through Southwest for a roundtrip ticket are around 350ish, once I factor in the cost of a car rental it's going to cost me the same, the only think I'm really saving is 35 hours of driving, which is going to suck if I'm doing by myself...so my question is, if you fly up there and rent a car, what other associated costs are looking at in order to have your meat and/or horns sent back to your home?

I'm leaning towards driving, that way I have a truck to pack everything into and if Lord willing I get an elk down I'll already have coolers and the whole nine so processing won't be a pain. That 35 hours of driving is just killing me though...

[unclefish]

Ok, so I've figured out what I'm gonna do about gear (planning on renting)...now I need to figure out the rest of the details for this trip...

Trying to factor in the cost of gas and I'm looking at spending roughly 500 to 600 bucks in gas if I drive all the way from Houston to Denver, then Holy Cross National Forest. Plane tickets through Southwest for a roundtrip ticket are around 350ish, once I factor in the cost of a car rental it's going to cost me the same, the only think I'm really saving is 35 hours of driving, which is going to suck if I'm doing by myself...so my question is, if you fly up there and rent a car, what other associated costs are looking at in order to have your meat and/or horns sent back to your home?

I'm leaning towards driving, that way I have a truck to pack everything into and if Lord willing I get an elk down I'll already have coolers and the whole nine so processing won't be a pain. That 35 hours of driving is just killing me though...

Yep its a heck of a long drive by yourself....maybe you can get a partner.

If you are hunting with a guide then flying would be an option. But if you are DIY...I see no way to to get everything you need up there on a plane. There is way too much too bring for a DIY hunt.

[Ironman]

This is sort of a "can of worms" topic and ultimately boils down to opinions and experiences. Plenty of Elk killed in both phases and in between. The one thing you can say for sure is that animals can see better at night during full moon phases and will tend to move more at night during those phases especially if pressured. Also note that weather trumps moon phase every time.

I hunted Elk during a Full Moon last year. My experience was we only had action in the early morning...no action in the evening and 1 mid day encounter. I killed my bull early morning after if had rained all night.

I will be hunting mid-sept again this year and am quite happy it will be during a new moon phase.

I will be leaving on Sept. 12th this year. I'm glad that it will be the new moon as well.
I lived in CO for eleven years, and always liked the second half of the season the best.
Plus, my wife's B-Day is on the 11th. Win-win situation for me.

Oh, and I plan on staying till the end of the season.

[rhendrix]

Yeah, at this point and time, I think I'm gonna be stuck driving 35 hours. Dang that sucks.

[unclefish]

Yeah, at this point and time, I think I'm gonna be stuck driving 35 hours. Dang that sucks.

Depending on when we go maybe we could get a caravan of trucks going out of Houston. We will probably leave sometime around Sept 9th or 10th....but nothing has been decided yet. We go up I-45 and hit 287 in Ft Worth to I-40 in Amarillo.

Remind me when the time comes and maybe it could work out.

[rhendrix]

Will do.

[supertrooperl14]

All this elk talk has me pumped already and it's only February. Come on Sept.

[unclefish]

All this elk talk has me pumped already and it's only February. Come on Sept.

You should have better odds of drawing this year huh Super?
What unit you applying for?

[supertrooperl14]

You should have better odds of drawing this year huh Super?
What unit you applying for?

Man I'm not sure yet. I can't make up my mind. 34 as my 1st choice mainly because it is 2 1/2 hours from my house and I could hunt a couple days and then come home and work a couple of days. Then I could go back up and hunt till the end of the season.

Going to start putting in for pref points in other states this year as well. If it all fails might buy a landowner tag in NM or OTC in CO. Either way I will be in elk country. I might not see any but I'll be there.

You have a gameplan together?

[BuckSmasher]

I have skimmed this thread and found a lot of information about what to carry etc.

I didn't see anything on total weight for those of us that backcountry hunt via backpack.

Do any of you weigh each individual item to cut down on weight? How much do you head off into the wilderness with (total weight)?

Last year I had WAY to much on my back.