Whats your Elk hunting plans?
08-05-2005, 07:30 AM
#21
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 38
RE: Whats your Elk hunting plans?
I decided to never retire and have booked a guided rifle hunt in Montana during the third week of September. Hopefully the rut will be on and a decent bull will fall victim to my insatible blood lust ( please note the intended humor). Its an expensive trip for anyone who works for a living but I feel this way; when I pass-on to my next life I want to regret the things I've done in my life and not the things I didn't get to do.
I've told my wife this for years and it still seems to get me out of the house for a week or two each year.
I've told my wife this for years and it still seems to get me out of the house for a week or two each year.
08-05-2005, 02:11 PM
#23
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Posts: 1,964
RE: Whats your Elk hunting plans?
I'll have two rifle tags (1 bull, 1 cow) [maybe three if thereare"herd reduction tags)for first rifle season in Colorado.
[I like lots of tags: money goes to a good cause AND it eliminates all the "party hunting" hoopla folks get so wound up about.]
My wife, myself, and five other close friend hunters will be in camp.
The schedule (13 days):
Advance party leaves Friday afternoon (8 days before the season) with the elk trailer (7x14)to the main camp.Wife leads secondary party up early Saturday (7 days before the season opens)morning.
Set up the main camp on Saturday the weekend before the season.
Saturday night use electronic equipment to listen for the elk in 3 different basins.
Two horses delivered on Sunday (6 days before the season opens).
Camp caretaker arrives Sunday with5th wheel trailerand 4WD pickup in case I need to leave for any reason.
Sunday night use electronic gear to listen for elk in the different basins.
Depending on basin selected, set up the spike camp (4+ miles in)on Monday [5 days before the season opens]
Scout liteon Tuesday and Wednesday [4 and 3 days respectively before the season opens].
Banquet night with neighboring elk camps Wednesday night.
Reserve Thursday [2 days before the season opens] morning for resupply trip into town -- hopefully not needed.
Everyone in camp on Thursday all settled in, spike camp inventories set aside.
[Note: most the other elk hunters are just arriving, especially the Newbies]
Take everyone except support team down to spike camp on Friday [1 day before the season opens].
Friday night listen for the elk again to determine final strategies for the next morning.
Season starts Saturday, set out our "picket line" of huntersin three - two man teams.
Do our best to "turn back the attack of the elk" on the opening day - Saturday (Day 1 of the season)
Sunday, (Day 2 of the season) some leftover hunting going onby those who didn't get elk on Saturday.
Sunday and Monday (Days 2 and 3 of the season) packing out elk quartersusinghorses.
Sunday and Monday the majority of hunters are back into the main camp from spike camp
Monday/Tuesday (Days 3 and 4 of the season respectively)the bulk of the hunters are in butchering mode.
All hunting ends by evening Wednesday (Day 5 of the season).
Two of us pack up the spike camp Wednesday, while the rest pre-pack the main camp, except remaining hunters.
Fully load up everything Thursday morning, divide the meat, and go home!
Some years we can accelerate the schedule by one day.
After figuring up all camp expenses we divvy up the money left over in the potfrom the year's hunt --- we run our little group as a break even operation.
That is my elk plans for this year.
EKM
[I like lots of tags: money goes to a good cause AND it eliminates all the "party hunting" hoopla folks get so wound up about.]
My wife, myself, and five other close friend hunters will be in camp.
The schedule (13 days):
Advance party leaves Friday afternoon (8 days before the season) with the elk trailer (7x14)to the main camp.Wife leads secondary party up early Saturday (7 days before the season opens)morning.
Set up the main camp on Saturday the weekend before the season.
Saturday night use electronic equipment to listen for the elk in 3 different basins.
Two horses delivered on Sunday (6 days before the season opens).
Camp caretaker arrives Sunday with5th wheel trailerand 4WD pickup in case I need to leave for any reason.
Sunday night use electronic gear to listen for elk in the different basins.
Depending on basin selected, set up the spike camp (4+ miles in)on Monday [5 days before the season opens]
Scout liteon Tuesday and Wednesday [4 and 3 days respectively before the season opens].
Banquet night with neighboring elk camps Wednesday night.
Reserve Thursday [2 days before the season opens] morning for resupply trip into town -- hopefully not needed.
Everyone in camp on Thursday all settled in, spike camp inventories set aside.
[Note: most the other elk hunters are just arriving, especially the Newbies]
Take everyone except support team down to spike camp on Friday [1 day before the season opens].
Friday night listen for the elk again to determine final strategies for the next morning.
Season starts Saturday, set out our "picket line" of huntersin three - two man teams.
Do our best to "turn back the attack of the elk" on the opening day - Saturday (Day 1 of the season)
Sunday, (Day 2 of the season) some leftover hunting going onby those who didn't get elk on Saturday.
Sunday and Monday (Days 2 and 3 of the season) packing out elk quartersusinghorses.
Sunday and Monday the majority of hunters are back into the main camp from spike camp
Monday/Tuesday (Days 3 and 4 of the season respectively)the bulk of the hunters are in butchering mode.
All hunting ends by evening Wednesday (Day 5 of the season).
Two of us pack up the spike camp Wednesday, while the rest pre-pack the main camp, except remaining hunters.
Fully load up everything Thursday morning, divide the meat, and go home!
Some years we can accelerate the schedule by one day.
After figuring up all camp expenses we divvy up the money left over in the potfrom the year's hunt --- we run our little group as a break even operation.
That is my elk plans for this year.
EKM
08-05-2005, 11:30 PM
#25
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Beautiful Western Montana
Posts: 2,308
RE: Whats your Elk hunting plans?
Well, I was preparing for the elk season but then drew a coveted mule deer buck tag in district 270. My season will focus exclusively on a real trophy mule deer buck. If I close the deal early enough, I will immediatly switch over to elk, if not I stay with the muley. 75 tags and 3000 or so applicants, I gotta get the muley buck first. I probably will run into and kill a big bull while I'm hunting the mule deer as that seems to be the way things work.[8D]
.
08-07-2005, 12:27 PM
#27
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location:
Posts: 815
RE: Whats your Elk hunting plans?
I plan getting my 13yr old son up at 4:00AM(hardest part of the hunt[:@]), takeing him out to a ridge to overlook a canyon
, spot that 400+BC bull[
], stalk up to about 3yds, shoot him, have him run right to the pick-up and jump in the back
, lay down head first, and cash his chips
. I will then park on a steep hill with the elks hind quarters pointing down so I can gut him and have the pile roll right out of the back of the pick-up.
Sounds great, more than likely, we'll pack/hike/hunt for about 1000 miles in 16 days
and hopefully well find a shooter
(330BC). by then the blisters on my feet will be so sore
I'll dish out a couple hundred bucks for an outfitter to pack the thing out for me. Then I'll get to work about 5 days of overtime to pay for the taxidermy bill
.
, spot that 400+BC bull[], stalk up to about 3yds, shoot him, have him run right to the pick-up and jump in the back, lay down head first, and cash his chips. I will then park on a steep hill with the elks hind quarters pointing down so I can gut him and have the pile roll right out of the back of the pick-up.Sounds great, more than likely, we'll pack/hike/hunt for about 1000 miles in 16 days and hopefully well find a shooter(330BC). by then the blisters on my feet will be so sore I'll dish out a couple hundred bucks for an outfitter to pack the thing out for me. Then I'll get to work about 5 days of overtime to pay for the taxidermy bill.
