Originally Posted by Alamosa
Originally Posted by StudDuck
For those of you who elk hunt and actually still do some walking; what is your go to setup? I'd like to know the make, model, caliber and optic you rely on and please tell me how many miles you cover a day on average.

Pretty good question I think.
I suppose that if your carry was uncomfortable it really could turn to misery after a few miles.

I've hunted in a new unit each year for the past few years due to being displaced from my traditional unit. Most everywhere I've gone I've had to get a few miles back in before I felt I had any chance of an elk encounter. All-in-all I've hunted elk in 11 units in Colorado. Long hikes and short shots seems to hold true anywhere I've gone.

My rig is nothing special - far from it.
It's a levergun, 7mag, 4x fixed power scope that has lost some of it's brightness, plenty of scratches, not very much blueing left. I vaguely recall it weighing ~8.5 lbs.
I like it because when I hike with it I hardly know that it is there and because it comes on-target quickly.

Seems like once I hike 90 minutes or so and pay my dues to get there then if the elk are around it is obvious. If not, more walking.

with the possible exception of the 7mag caliber,in that lever action, damn near everything else you mentioned sounds all too familiar among all the guys I hunt elk with, and I doubt the caliber selected, has much effect on the results, theres several BLR and marlin lever actions in calibers from 308 win , and 358 win,thru 45/70 and 450 marlin on the shoulders of many of my experienced friends when we hunt Colorado, in fact I purchased a BLR in 450 marlin a few years ago just because I think it will be very useful in the thick aspen slopes, and brush in the canyon floor areas
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