(1) PICK A STATE, SEASON, MANAGEMENT AREA THAT YOU WANT TO HUNT
(2) I HIGHLY ADVISE FINDING 1-5 OTHER FRIENDS TO GO WITH YOU (it helps with cost splitting and packing out the elk)
(3) GET ALL YOUR GEAR TOGETHER AND MAKE SURE EVERYONE ELSE DOES TOO.
(4) MAKE SURE ALL LICENCE FORMS AND MONEY ARE SENT IN AT THE SAME TIME IN THE SAME ENVELOPE WITH MONEY ORDERS FOR THE CORRECT AMOUNT AND ALL PAPERWORK COMPLETED CORRECTLY
(5) MAKE SURE YOUR VACATION DAYS MATCH AND SO DO ALL THE OTHER GUYS!
(6)AGREE ON METHOD OF TRANSPORTATION AND LODGEING, COST SPLITTING WAY AHEAD OF TIME AND GET THAT PAYED FOR IN ADVANCE
(learn to shoot off hand with your hunting rifle (at least well enough )to hit a 6" paper plate twice in 10 seconds from 100 yards,
(7) get detailed topo maps of the area youll be hunting
(8)get used to working out well in advance, run up lots of stairs for at least 30-45 minutes a day for 6-9 weeks in advance, and put a few gallon jugs of water in the back pack while your doing it,
read the following plan and think it over carefully
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I like working with a partner,sometimes two, first we look over the topo maps and find any bottle necks or terrain feature that will tend to force deer or elk into a narrow area like a cliff they cant go around but must follow for a distance,or a tight narrow section of the valley or an area they don,t want to cross like large open fields,after checking the wind so its not blowing too the driver from the sniper we then we set up one shooter to control that narrow area like the only place where two large groups of trees touch seperated by two large medows and one to 3 guys get out about 1 mile down the valley and slowly zig-zag / hunt the slopes to still hunt the area, this tends to move game to the narrower area ahead as it trys to sneak away, and places it under the gun of the concelled shooter controlling the cliff or narrow neck of the valley. now contrary to what you might think its the driver that gets the most shots and the most animals but its the sniper in the narrow area that tends to get the bigger animals , and because of this style of hunting shots tend to be quick and under 160 yards most of the time, so a extremely accurate rifle might not be necessary but one that drops elk in their tracks is a big plus, the drivers like 338-06s and 35 whelens and the 358 blr with 2x7x scopes or just 4x scopes because their light and fast handling, the standers like 340, wby,375H&H, and 338 mags with 3x9x or larger scopes in very accurate rifles with slings and harris bi-pods, every day we swap jobs back and forth and in most cases rifles too. its a system that works well , now its a given that this works best in lightly hunted areas and knowing where the main elk herd is aproximately also helps a great deal but its not hard to get this system to work with experianced elk hunters that are willing to work as a team . keep in mind scared elk will try to go up and over into the next valley but elk that just sence something is wrong tend to try to walk down wind of the driver/s to get their scent and to button hook around them and go up hill and up wind if possiable so watch for that! they also tend to try and leave the valley through side canyons and saddles and to stay in the timber so look hard!
I hunt where the terrain is mostly heavy timber mixed with small medows and aspen slopes the countrys very steep, the valleys are deep,and narrow, and run for miles with only occasionally a side canyon that allows access, the slopes in most places are mixes of rock falls and timber in strips going up the slopes and way too steep for horses or even elk in most places to climb, theres always side canyons , some with exits some too steep and full of blow downs and rock slides, once your on the valley bottom is normally got a small stream but the travel is dificult at best. so thats the kind of area Im used to. what areas do you hunt? I have yet to see those rolling open pastures that you see in the magizines, my experiance shows elk like the thickest most difficult to reach heavy timber spaced with streams and small secluded medows, whats the area you hunt look like?
(Edited by 340mag at 7:58 am on July 20, 2002)
(2) I HIGHLY ADVISE FINDING 1-5 OTHER FRIENDS TO GO WITH YOU (it helps with cost splitting and packing out the elk)
(3) GET ALL YOUR GEAR TOGETHER AND MAKE SURE EVERYONE ELSE DOES TOO.
(4) MAKE SURE ALL LICENCE FORMS AND MONEY ARE SENT IN AT THE SAME TIME IN THE SAME ENVELOPE WITH MONEY ORDERS FOR THE CORRECT AMOUNT AND ALL PAPERWORK COMPLETED CORRECTLY
(5) MAKE SURE YOUR VACATION DAYS MATCH AND SO DO ALL THE OTHER GUYS!
(6)AGREE ON METHOD OF TRANSPORTATION AND LODGEING, COST SPLITTING WAY AHEAD OF TIME AND GET THAT PAYED FOR IN ADVANCE
(learn to shoot off hand with your hunting rifle (at least well enough )to hit a 6" paper plate twice in 10 seconds from 100 yards,
(7) get detailed topo maps of the area youll be hunting
(8)get used to working out well in advance, run up lots of stairs for at least 30-45 minutes a day for 6-9 weeks in advance, and put a few gallon jugs of water in the back pack while your doing it,
read the following plan and think it over carefully
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I like working with a partner,sometimes two, first we look over the topo maps and find any bottle necks or terrain feature that will tend to force deer or elk into a narrow area like a cliff they cant go around but must follow for a distance,or a tight narrow section of the valley or an area they don,t want to cross like large open fields,after checking the wind so its not blowing too the driver from the sniper we then we set up one shooter to control that narrow area like the only place where two large groups of trees touch seperated by two large medows and one to 3 guys get out about 1 mile down the valley and slowly zig-zag / hunt the slopes to still hunt the area, this tends to move game to the narrower area ahead as it trys to sneak away, and places it under the gun of the concelled shooter controlling the cliff or narrow neck of the valley. now contrary to what you might think its the driver that gets the most shots and the most animals but its the sniper in the narrow area that tends to get the bigger animals , and because of this style of hunting shots tend to be quick and under 160 yards most of the time, so a extremely accurate rifle might not be necessary but one that drops elk in their tracks is a big plus, the drivers like 338-06s and 35 whelens and the 358 blr with 2x7x scopes or just 4x scopes because their light and fast handling, the standers like 340, wby,375H&H, and 338 mags with 3x9x or larger scopes in very accurate rifles with slings and harris bi-pods, every day we swap jobs back and forth and in most cases rifles too. its a system that works well , now its a given that this works best in lightly hunted areas and knowing where the main elk herd is aproximately also helps a great deal but its not hard to get this system to work with experianced elk hunters that are willing to work as a team . keep in mind scared elk will try to go up and over into the next valley but elk that just sence something is wrong tend to try to walk down wind of the driver/s to get their scent and to button hook around them and go up hill and up wind if possiable so watch for that! they also tend to try and leave the valley through side canyons and saddles and to stay in the timber so look hard!
I hunt where the terrain is mostly heavy timber mixed with small medows and aspen slopes the countrys very steep, the valleys are deep,and narrow, and run for miles with only occasionally a side canyon that allows access, the slopes in most places are mixes of rock falls and timber in strips going up the slopes and way too steep for horses or even elk in most places to climb, theres always side canyons , some with exits some too steep and full of blow downs and rock slides, once your on the valley bottom is normally got a small stream but the travel is dificult at best. so thats the kind of area Im used to. what areas do you hunt? I have yet to see those rolling open pastures that you see in the magizines, my experiance shows elk like the thickest most difficult to reach heavy timber spaced with streams and small secluded medows, whats the area you hunt look like?
(Edited by 340mag at 7:58 am on July 20, 2002)
