The Elk Thread

[a3dhunter]

I hate pumping water. I have had problems with pumps, I just use iodine tabs. Some folks can't stand the taste though.

I would take a rod if I got to hunt for a month, but with only a week I'm only worried about elk.

Vampire, grab Cam Hanes' book "Backcountry Bowhunting" and it will help you out a ton.

I'm taking tablets for this weekend, but when hunting for longer periods of time it's nice to have a dromedary 10L bag full at camp, pump it full once every couple days.

[Vampire]

I hate pumping water. I have had problems with pumps, I just use iodine tabs. Some folks can't stand the taste though.

I would take a rod if I got to hunt for a month, but with only a week I'm only worried about elk.

Vampire, grab Cam Hanes' book "Backcountry Bowhunting" and it will help you out a ton.

Cool will do! Thanks!

[drthornton]

What do you guys do about food and water when packing in? I've done it once but I need some help. I'm new to western hunting and everything from bears to food to finding a dang elk is intimidating to me especially when I'm trying to make the most of my time and money spent.

What 3D and TWP said.
Generally water is not much of a problem in most of Elk country. I run the same pump as 3D and it's a good one. Gravity filters by Katadyn and Platypus are another option if you will be spike camping and want to filter a bunch at one time. Always carry tabs or drops as a backup. Take a few coffee filters if you are gonna pump from unclear streams or pools. It gives you an addditional layer to keep larger debris from clogging your filter.
I am headed to Nevada for a high country Deer hunt in 7 weeks and water is gonna be a serious consideration. I have multiple plans depending on where I find water.

Food is a personal thing and the biggest problem with guys that aren't used to spiking in is they bring way too much food. I have been guilty in the past but no more. I spend big bucks buying ultralight gear and then carry around 3#s of food I don't need...that's insane. I figure around 2500 calories a day with each ounce having a calorie density of more than 100. I am dropping the Cliff type protien bars this year. They are good in theory but I feel like I have to choke them down. I am switching to different varaities of Nature Valley Bars which I really like. I am also dropping instant oatmeal which is also good in theory but takes too much time and energy in the morning.

I don't worry about Black Bears from a physical standpoint but I do for tearing up my stuff at camp. If you know you are in bear country don't leave food in your tent and hang any food left in camp in a bag away from your setup if at all possible. Now Grizzly's are a different story and I don't have any advise on them.

Finding Elk can be easy or really tough and the general theories on how to find them has been covered in this thread and all over the forum boards. One thing is for sure is the harder you work in the field and at home your chances for success will increase.

Get complete confidence in your gear with practice at home and leave your struggles for finding and killing Elk while up the mountain.

[Split Arrow]

Immersion on Vimeo

'Manti Wapiti' Slideshow by F2 on Vimeo

Posted these before, but figured we needed some Monday videos. Just because they are so awesome!

Sitka does an awesome job putting those together!

[Vampire]

What 3D and TWP said.
Generally water is not much of a problem in most of Elk country. I run the same pump as 3D and it's a good one. Gravity filters by Katadyn and Platypus are another option if you will be spike camping and want to filter a bunch at one time. Always carry tabs or drops as a backup. Take a few coffee filters if you are gonna pump from unclear streams or pools. It gives you an addditional layer to keep larger debris from clogging your filter.
I am headed to Nevada for a high country Deer hunt in 7 weeks and water is gonna be a serious consideration. I have multiple plans depending on where I find water.

Food is a personal thing and the biggest problem with guys that aren't used to spiking in is they bring way too much food. I have been guilty in the past but no more. I spend big bucks buying ultralight gear and then carry around 3#s of food I don't need...that's insane. I figure around 2500 calories a day with each ounce having a calorie density of more than 100. I am dropping the Cliff type protien bars this year. They are good in theory but I feel like I have to choke them down. I am switching to different varaities of Nature Valley Bars which I really like. I am also dropping instant oatmeal which is also good in theory but takes too much time and energy in the morning.

I don't worry about Black Bears from a physical standpoint but I do for tearing up my stuff at camp. If you know you are in bear country don't leave food in your tent and hang any food left in camp in a bag away from your setup if at all possible. Now Grizzly's are a different story and I don't have any advise on them.

Finding Elk can be easy or really tough and the general theories on how to find them has been covered in this thread and all over the forum boards. One thing is for sure is the harder you work in the field and at home your chances for success will increase.

Get complete confidence in your gear with practice at home and leave your struggles for finding and killing Elk while up the mountain.

Thanks for all the info. Do you happen to know anything about OTC Colorado? Is it worth more the tag money to try to shoot a cow or a bull in your opinion? I missed on the draws I put in for this year and this looks like my only option if I want to go but the money is a lot for this young chap.

[TWP]

Heck yeah it is worth the money!!!! We are on page 16 of this thing. Ha ha ha OTC is the best way to get out there. Remember, you don't have to have all of this gear, believe me, tons of elk killed with Bear recurves, Alice packs, jeans and sweat shirts. Save your cash for gas and tags. I'm having to do OTC also. Find wilderness areas and call biologists in that area. Find out where the elk usually are in that area during the time you are looking to go hunting. Then have fun.

[a3dhunter]

wow, long weekend for me.(or short depending on your view)
Left Amarillo at 5:30pm and hit the trailhead at midnight. .
Caught about 5 hours sleep and packed up and hit the trail.

Hiked 3.6 miles and 2500 feet elevation to get to the lake above timberline.

Ended up waking up Sunday morning sick, the mountain house beef stew meal from Saturday lunch did not digest.......won't be having it again!
Was also feeling a touch of altitude sickness, though not as bad as I've had previously.
I knew the best thing was to descend.
Packed up about 7:30AM to head home, didn't see any deer or elk but had a very strenuous hike and was able to check out some gear that was recently purchased.

[TWP]

Nice!!!!! Got to find out what doesn't work too. Just as important. How far are you from the trail head from Amarillo? I would be up there quite a bit also if I was in Amarillo. Get any pics to make us jealous?

[Vampire]

Heck yeah it is worth the money!!!! We are on page 16 of this thing. Ha ha ha OTC is the best way to get out there. Remember, you don't have to have all of this gear, believe me, tons of elk killed with Bear recurves, Alice packs, jeans and sweat shirts. Save your cash for gas and tags. I'm having to do OTC also. Find wilderness areas and call biologists in that area. Find out where the elk usually are in that area during the time you are looking to go hunting. Then have fun.

Awesome! Great tip!

[TWP]

http://stores.elknut.com/Detail.bok?no=140

Anything by these guys is good too.

[a3dhunter]

Nice!!!!! Got to find out what doesn't work too. Just as important. How far are you from the trail head from Amarillo? I would be up there quite a bit also if I was in Amarillo. Get any pics to make us jealous?

I am about 6 hours from where I went this time.
I do have pics, but wasn't able to make it home last night.

A wind storm came through while I was out of town, knocked down a tree limb which took out the power at the house. When it did it also shorted one of my flat screen tv's and possibly my dryer. Won't know until they get power to the house restored.
Haven't had time to get pics downloaded yet.

[Vampire]

http://stores.elknut.com/Detail.bok?no=140

Anything by these guys is good too.

Cool, do you know where those guys are from?

[drthornton]

Thanks for all the info. Do you happen to know anything about OTC Colorado? Is it worth more the tag money to try to shoot a cow or a bull in your opinion? I missed on the draws I put in for this year and this looks like my only option if I want to go but the money is a lot for this young chap.

I do know a little about OTC CO...Steep and thick!
You'll have to decide whether to shoot a cow or not. In my experience it is no easy task to kill a cow and may actually be more difficult than a bull in Sept. I will say that you should take the 1st legal animal(your choice cow or bull) you get an opportunity at. If this is something you plan to do on a regular basis you need experience and yes the tag $ is worth it. You probably won't know what I mean until you hear an 800# bull screaming but you will after.

If you get into Elk and kill one with a bow in an OTC CO unit you've really done something IMO. If you get to a point where you consistantly find and kill Elk in OTC units most draw hunts will seem like a cake walk in comparison.

What unit(s) are you looking at and what dates? I'm sure we can help critique your choice and maybe give you some ideas on where we think Elk will be.

[Vampire]

PM sent. Thank you!

[TWP]

Cool, do you know where those guys are from?

Idaho