The Elk Thread

[Kokanee]

Here are two bruisers taken the week before we arrived in camp this year by family of my buddy. These guys are true elk maniacs!

[Oletrapper]

So much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving.

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We here in Kentucky have lots to be thankful for. Many thanks to those who have helped our QU Chapter make our Bull Elk Tag raffle a great success. To all the states which helped make our herd what it is today. Over 12,000 and growing. We have come a long way since 1997. Many thanks to all.

Yours in conservation, Robert Smith, N. Ky. Chapter #481 Quail Unlimited
thekysportsman@hughes.net

PS: There are still tickets available but you need to hurry. Please email me to reserve.

[TWP]

Awesome news, didn't know you guys had hit 12,000 animals yet. Cool deal. Would be GREAT to hear bugles all up and down the eastern side of the country and elk back into the lands they used to roam out there.

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We here in Kentucky have lots to be thankful for. Many thanks to those who have helped our QU Chapter make our Bull Elk Tag raffle a great success. To all the states which helped make our herd what it is today. Over 12,000 and growing. We have come a long way since 1997. Many thanks to all.

Yours in conservation, Robert Smith, N. Ky. Chapter #481 Quail Unlimited
thekysportsman@hughes.net

PS: There are still tickets available but you need to hurry. Please email me to reserve.

[Chris Martin]

I'm really anxious to get after them next year after not being able to go this fall.

I'll do my normal Apps throughout this next year, although I'm still not sure if I'll apply in NM anymore. AZ, CO, NV, UT, WY are always on the list, some just accumulating points, others I know I can draw this year but may hold out for better areas or the people I party with may not be able to make it.

If not successful in the draws I'll probably go OTC Co or Idaho elk, or Alaska Caribou. Also seriously considering Kodiak deer next November or AZ Couse.

Gear- I've got all that covered and then some. May upgrade boots as my danner full curl's have seen way too many miles. My friends are loving their new Kuiu gear, may half to get a set of their clothes after I hear the reviews after all the hunts are over. Everyone says the attack pants are a must.

Preparation:
It usually takes drawing a tag, buying a plane ticket or just committing to a hunt to get me really motivated. I do plan on watching my diet and getting back to my pre-Dad weight this Spring.

Tommyp,

Thanks for the heads up on Montana allowing the points only option. I'm definitely going to look into that.

[unclefish]

Following along.

We hunt a private ranch in NM.....LO tags, DIY, nice place to stay, have run of the place for a week in Sept. Don't know if the landowners are gonna keep offering hunts next year....so I may be looking for other options next year for 3 hunters.

I've been compiling a backup plan options for a few years now if our sweet NM hunt ever came to an end. Most likely CO.....maybe NM, but it will be DIY. We will see what happens to the place we hunt now.

As far as conditioning goes...I don't take it to extremes. As long as you are not overweight and can walk several miles a day with gear on....you are good to go.

Like Elkaholic said...it is an addicting obsession. I was thinking about our next elk hunt driving home from this years hunt. Nothing like it....its the most fun you can have standing up!!

[TWP]

Hunting in NM and bivy hunting at 11,000 in CO are two different things indeed. Different strokes for different folks. I hunted the Gila a couple times before I hunted the high country of Colorado, had a lot more respect for the mountains.

Following along.

We hunt a private ranch in NM.....LO tags, DIY, nice place to stay, have run of the place for a week in Sept. Don't know if the landowners are gonna keep offering hunts next year....so I may be looking for other options next year for 3 hunters.

I've been compiling a backup plan options for a few years now if our sweet NM hunt ever came to an end. Most likely CO.....maybe NM, but it will be DIY. We will see what happens to the place we hunt now.

As far as conditioning goes...I don't take it to extremes. As long as you are not overweight and can walk several miles a day with gear on....you are good to go.

Like Elkaholic said...it is an addicting obsession. I was thinking about our next elk hunt driving home from this years hunt. Nothing like it....its the most fun you can have standing up!!

[unclefish]

Hunting in NM and bivy hunting at 11,000 in CO are two different things indeed. Different strokes for different folks. I hunted the Gila a couple times before I hunted the high country of Colorado, had a lot more respect for the mountains.

Very true.....we hunt at 7,500 in NM....but I don't plan on hunting @ 11K feet in CO either!

[Gerald G]

Here are two bruisers taken the week before we arrived in camp this year by family of my buddy. These guys are true elk maniacs!

You can really tell they are family, they look just alike!



There is nothing better than the mountains in Sept. chasing elk! I`m always thinking on the trip home, What will I do next year? Am I going back to the same spot I just left? What am I going to do different?
You never quit learning about the unit you are hunting. It gets better the more times you hunt the same unit. Finding spots that you never see other hunters, where you`re seeing elk, what they are doing and feeding in the mornings and evenings.
We hunted around Rifle, Co. again this year but different unit from the last two years, less people, more elk but a lot more rugged terrain.
There is really nothing you can do down here at low elevation to prepare yourself for the high altitude. Being in good shape helps but the best thing, if you can do it, is get there a couple of days before your hunt and do a "little" hiking and scouting. Don`t over-do it on the first couple of days, that can really wear you out before the hunt starts and it takes a lot longer to recover.

[TWP]

Was playing online looking at some training articles. Some folks are training in gas masks to simulate the lower 02 levels at altitude. Looks like it is the new thing to do with all the MMA fighters. I get enough funny looks running with a pack on, this would make me look like I was prepping for WW3 or something. ha ha ha

[Kokanee]

You can really tell they are family, they look just alike!



There is nothing better than the mountains in Sept. chasing elk! I`m always thinking on the trip home, What will I do next year? Am I going back to the same spot I just left? What am I going to do different?
You never quit learning about the unit you are hunting. It gets better the more times you hunt the same unit. Finding spots that you never see other hunters, where you`re seeing elk, what they are doing and feeding in the mornings and evenings.
We hunted around Rifle, Co. again this year but different unit from the last two years, less people, more elk but a lot more rugged terrain.
There is really nothing you can do down here at low elevation to prepare yourself for the high altitude. Being in good shape helps but the best thing, if you can do it, is get there a couple of days before your hunt and do a "little" hiking and scouting. Don`t over-do it on the first couple of days, that can really wear you out before the hunt starts and it takes a lot longer to recover.

They take after their mom's side of the family!

This trip was my first that lasted more than two days in the up-zone before having to race back to Texas for work Monday. I am used to a regimen of Ibuprophin stacked with an Acetaminophen chaser every two hours to counteract the altitude change from 300' to 11,000'+ headaches, but after two days in and good sleep at night I was fine. There really is no way to train for the altitude that I have found aside from a hyperbolic chamber or blood doping! The key is to train your recovery from Anabolic Threshold (AT), meaning getting to max heart rate and being able to dial it down enough to drop your heart rate and exersion to a manageable level which allows you to maintain activity without dropping to the dirt, or resting at every bush constantly. I think that if I expect to get the type of hunt in that I want, I will have to get my buddy in on the training regimen as he has "ahem", a little more insulation than I do!

[rhendrix]

If you draw OTC in CO, how do you determine what Unit you'll be in?

[Kokanee]

Over the Counter (OTC) is not a drawn hunt. It is a purchased tag for public units. You buy the tag, and hunt in a public unit of your choosing from the available public units.

It's like a combination of your general license and the APH license here in texas, for a specific species, and/or gender of said species.

[rhendrix]

Not sure why I said "draw". Wasn't sure how they determined where you hunted and wasn't aware that you could pick. Thanks for the info.

[Txnrog]

What is the best call for some with a very small mouth and a very very strong gag reflex? I carried mine in my mouth for a week before my last hunt and still gag every time.

You can use the promos sonic domes closer to the front of your mouth, and it helps. You'll need to practice a bit cause it's more likely to squeal than further back.

[ladrones]

What causes this coloration on the legs?