ELKampMaster

Camp Chef,
Square on to using a weapon/ammo mix that is proportionate to the task at hand! Hunting elk isn't the same as shooting prairie dogs! I'm betting that those hunters that have the good fortune of having a variety of rifles to choose from leave the light bores at home, store the runner up in elk camp as a back up rifle and head out of camp on the opening day with the one of the heavier bores they got out of respect for the elk they pursue. On one hand striving for a clean and lethal placement but at the same time wanting some insurance against a difficult situation, an error in judgment or just plain bad luck because elk just are not that cooperative and it is seldom that things go "just right."

On the other hand, not everybody has a rack of rifles to choose from but rather have one game rifle but it is tried and true and they know it well. More power to them, taking on BeaverJack's advice about going heavy for your chosen caliber when it comes to choosing both bullet weight and bullet quality. Bragging on ballistics is fine but I'd rather just load up the meat into the panniers and quietly head back to camp - no talk needed.

oldelkhunter

I just love the sight of guys walking around the ElK woods with 300 ULA or some other high velocity round Senderos...enough goretex to make a cook tent and bipods on their rifles.. nylon backpacks and 40 oz binoculars hanging from their neck not to mention the 1000 gram of Thinsulate in their 5 1/2 lb "Mountain Hunter Boots" . Makes those marketing types at the outdoor retailers real proud.

oldelkhunter

Good reading when I was younger was " How to Bag the Biggest Buck of your Life" written by Larry Benoit. I have a copy of it and read the equipment section before I decide to buy any hunting clothes brings me back to earth sort of a antidote for Cabelas catalogs. I agree with everything he says in this book with the exception of rifles ...he hunts in the Northeast and uses a practical rifle for that area which is a Remington Pump in 30-06 . He also like BJ uses wool clothing extensively...the Woolrich and Johnson Mill kind. The older I get the more I am getting conservative and will not ever walk into any Elk Woods ever again without my 338 , I don't know how I did without it in the Past.

DARTanian

hey moose , get to know your rifle really well with WHAT EVER SIZE BULLET YOU PLAN ON HUNTING WITH <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>. elk are noisy creatures so don't be scared to make noise, if you get busted by an elk JUST STOP AND WAIT till they pay no more attention to you, if you wait and they look like they are about to jet then (trust me on this ok)run at them full speed, elk are courious creatures and will STOP and think &quot;WHAT THE HELL IS THAT&quot;, trying to figure out what you are they'll stop and stare. while you are running pick out the one you want if you don't already know, find a good place to stop and take your BEST SHOT. IT WORKS, TRUST ME,(i know that i'm gonna hear about it from bj, but OH WELL..........) keep the wind in your face......the sun at your
back .....and shoot at that 1 LITTLE KILLING SPOT.[}]

if you have a diaphram, practice your cow calls, especially the sexy &quot;come get me &quot; calls, but like i said don't be scared to make noise, and just try runing at them,,,,,,,,really, IT WORKS.

IF IT IS TO BE......
IT IS UP TO ME......

ELKampMaster

OldElkHunter
Same story for me, only it happened early on (23) I was a big 270 fan, but once I tried a 338 I never looked back - big bullets at medium high speed just bust through what ever gets in their way! No need to ask the elk to pose for the shot!

Now the 270 don't even make the trip to elk camp as the back up rifle or the loaner. It was fun and and light for antelope and deer and super for long range prairie dogs and coyotes using a high power scope and &quot;bench resting it&quot; out the window of a 4WD!

ELKampMaster

Hey Moose,
Outside of the ins and outs of shooting your elk, consider the following. November in Alberta could be pretty COLD. Aside from carrying all that WOOL you were advised to take make sure you have a warm place to recuperate at night time. You didn't say whether you staying with an outfitter, ranch house, or your own tent. But if it is the latter make sure you have some arrangement for HEAT. Problem is, heat and tents have had a nasty history of killing people with carbon monoxide so here is the fix! Go into your local hardware store and by a battery powered CO detector - it will only cost $35-40 and its comforting to know when you go to sleep at night that you will actually wake up in the morning.

More power to what DARTanian said about knowing your rifle regardless what you are shooting. The bench rest lets you know its on target, but try shooting some of the more unusual angles and positions so you don't have to practice it when the elk is in your sights. Steep uphill, steep downhill, left hand, sitting, off hand (steep up and down)and off of the side of a tree. Good luck on your hunt.

EKM

BlackLab

There's lots of great advice here guys. But I thought I'd touch on knives. Skinning and elk is a lot tougher than a deer. It's pretty much the same procedure except the elk is a lot bigger and the hide is a lot tougher. Be sure to bring a couple of knives and a small stone. That way if you have to skin and quarter out in the field, you'll have enough edge. Good Luck to ya. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

Gun controll is using both hands!!!

ELKampMaster

Amen to that BlackLab! We hunted elk the first year with no luck, then the next year got two down at the same time. Knives hadn't been a big deal till then since all the emphasis was on just &quot;getting an elk.&quot; Foolishly, all we had were knives that worked fine for deer but weren't really sharpened up like they should've been and we didn't have a saw or a hatchet. That lack of preparation made for one miserable morning at a time we should have been on top of the world! Needless to say some money got spent on elk dressing tools before the next season!

Lil Hunter posted the following &quot;clip&quot; under QUARTERING AN ELK on this board. It shows how to dress an elk WITHOUT gutting it, cutting the sternum or the pelvis. Since we are meat hunters and don't really care about the hide or preserving the cape I can't see any reason WHY NOT to use this method. It looks pretty slick to me! Maybe I'am missing something. Check it out! What do you think?
http://home.att.net/~sajackson/bugle.html

BlackLab

Elkampmaster, I did see that that link. It does look real slick <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>. The first few times trying it may be a chore, but after that it could be the next best thing since slice bread.

BTW, lilhunter I put your link in the favorite file thanks

Gun controll is using both hands!!!

Edited by - Blacklab on 11/17/2002 11:42:05

BeaverJack

Lemme tell ya fellers. I've tried thet way of quarterin'. Besides bein' a bloody mess, it wastes a lot of meat. My panyards got covered in blood, an' more meat spoilt cause it was so chopped up. The guy at the packin' plant said he'd refuse any more like thet cause they were a mess to deal with (couldn't hang 'em). Some bulls I seed had 3&quot; of thick meat on their ribs thet's lost. You lose about 40 lbs of meat quarterin' like thet. God made elk quarter out into 4 nice packages. No reason to mess with the big guy.

BJ