What is the thrill with elk hunting
I keep reading posts on how addicted to elk hunting a lot of you are. I have never bothered to try and hunt elk(other than buy a tag incase I stumble on one) my self but it would not take much for me to give it a try. I am guessing the closest thing to elk I have hunted would be moose. I have thought of trying to target elk but always side track myself with some other animal.
So what is the big trill for you guys when it comes to elk hunting?
So what is the big trill for you guys when it comes to elk hunting?
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Two and a half miles from the trail head, the sun is just starting to filter fingers of light through the tall pines. You and your buddy stop.. look at each other knowing the moment has finally came after a long summer and here it goes, the first bugle of the year. You take a deep breath, bending slightly at the waist, starting first with a gutteral moan/growl and then hit those beautifull two or three high notes, holding the last one for 3 or 4 seconds. Silence.. nothing moving except the clouds slowly rising in the deep draw below the trail. A pine squirrel scurries around the fir next to the trail. Then it happens.. the silence is broken by the unmistakeable "ugg, ugg, ugg" of a grunting bull below you. The hair on your arms prickles just a bit; a quick glance between you and your buddy confirms what has occurred, and you know it's finally here. Archery elk hunting is at last again here! Down the hillside you go....
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It sux. Not even close to the excitement of sitting in a tree stand all day. Tell ya what, send me your tag and I'll use it to start a fire.:wink:
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slickstalker compared it to sex but i think its better than sex. did i just say that?
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There are fewer of them then whitetails. They are more afraid of you than whitetails. They are harder to get to, and will not generally give you a second chance. They run in herds and use all of those extra eyes. The season is shorter.
They are big, loud and generally could kill you quickly if they chose. You are generally on the ground when they come in screaming "I'm going to kick your butt!"
They taste and palette better than whitetail. Out West where you only get one deer tag, an elk will fill much more of the freezer.
So we have: challenge, emotions, sensations, utility
You can end the elk season feeling overwhelmed even though you have not punched your tag.
They are big, loud and generally could kill you quickly if they chose. You are generally on the ground when they come in screaming "I'm going to kick your butt!"
They taste and palette better than whitetail. Out West where you only get one deer tag, an elk will fill much more of the freezer.
So we have: challenge, emotions, sensations, utility
You can end the elk season feeling overwhelmed even though you have not punched your tag.
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For me it's just the challenge and the time of year, with Fall coming you can watch the trees change colors and enjoy the bulls bugling in the high mountain meadows. Just to be able and outsmart an elk either calling or just stalking them it brings out the animal in us all. Is September here yet?
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I used to not really care about elk hunting until I tried during bow season. It is an awesome experience even if you do not get anything.
It can be hard to explain it sometimes, people just have to experience it themselves. So many things happen, such as bulls bugling back to you, cows barking at you after they bust you, when you didn't even know they are there.
These elk can be so silent for such big animals, but if you spook a herd like I have done a few times, you can still hear them crashing a mile away it seems. I hate spooking them naturally, but was still amazed at the noise those groups made when they took off. Last year a friend was hunting with us and spooked a small herd of 17 or so that we were trying to close in on. They ran down the hill past me, about 50 yards away and I could feel the ground shake from them. Things like that you will not get deer hunting, plus I also hunt blacktail which are super sneaky and quiet, so it is more fun to go after the elk.
Colette
It can be hard to explain it sometimes, people just have to experience it themselves. So many things happen, such as bulls bugling back to you, cows barking at you after they bust you, when you didn't even know they are there.
These elk can be so silent for such big animals, but if you spook a herd like I have done a few times, you can still hear them crashing a mile away it seems. I hate spooking them naturally, but was still amazed at the noise those groups made when they took off. Last year a friend was hunting with us and spooked a small herd of 17 or so that we were trying to close in on. They ran down the hill past me, about 50 yards away and I could feel the ground shake from them. Things like that you will not get deer hunting, plus I also hunt blacktail which are super sneaky and quiet, so it is more fun to go after the elk.
Colette
All right it sounds like it would be similar to other hunts I enjoy now here is the dilemma I would need to choose one of these 2 hunts. Both are hunts I can do any year so it is not like I can't just go next season.
1)Elk/Mule deer archery season. Mule deer are open to any buck Elk are open to any elk. Would be a new area to me but I know others who hunt it already.
2)Cali bighorn/mule deer general season. Mule deer 4pt only and bighorn full curl(full curl is very hard to come by). I know the area well but there is a good chance I eat my sheep tag.
Which would you choose
1)Elk/Mule deer archery season. Mule deer are open to any buck Elk are open to any elk. Would be a new area to me but I know others who hunt it already.
2)Cali bighorn/mule deer general season. Mule deer 4pt only and bighorn full curl(full curl is very hard to come by). I know the area well but there is a good chance I eat my sheep tag.
Which would you choose
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Having a bull screaming 60 yards out... think about when your bringing in a big bull moose, triple the volume, triple the intensity of the call and there you go. Seriously I never understood it before... now I get it.
Not sure where your located in BC, but if you got Sept 1-9 free go elk hunting. The mulies aren't there you'll have to go up in elevation to find them, the WT's is good hunting and the elk hunting is excellent.
Not sure where your located in BC, but if you got Sept 1-9 free go elk hunting. The mulies aren't there you'll have to go up in elevation to find them, the WT's is good hunting and the elk hunting is excellent.
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i have only gone once and it was rifle and it snowed the whole time but it was still the best hunt of my life...i come from the midwest so elk are not here so to go out to hunt such a large magnificient animal was awesome...am planning an archery hunt for 2012...
My dad goes almost every year with the rifle and when he brings a head back i am so jelous.
not to mention the mountains are the best place to be...so peaceful...
My dad goes almost every year with the rifle and when he brings a head back i am so jelous.
not to mention the mountains are the best place to be...so peaceful...
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Or until the draw odds get better than .005%.:sad:Until we can get over the counter moose tags, elk are the biggest critter I can hunt.
The passion for elk hunting is hard to explain. My dad grew up elk hunting, yet even he doesn't understand the way it possesses me. There's nothing like it. The terrain, the altitude, the time of year, those elk sounds that fill the forest.........you let out a bugle........and some majestic creature actually answers you back.:thumbs_up
I had a passion for elk hunting when I was still rifle hunting. Now with bowhunting, and that time of year........it's beyond a passion, just about unexplainable.
Looking at region 4 Sept 1-9 archery
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