Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Elk Hunting: Myths vs. Reality

"Elk are where you find them" - true enough. In five seasons of working in Montana and Idaho (1960-1964), I only ran into 5 elk. As a USFS Smokejumper, I was landing into a very small clearing when a cow and calf walked into the opening and stopped. I was about 100-125 feet up, getting ready to set up for landing when they appeared. I had to steer to miss them and landed on a stream bank.

Contrary to most flat land Easterner's belief, elk just do not stand in grassy meadows waiting for (cruel) hunters to shoot them. You need to work hard and earn an elk.

Yup, yeppers, and yessiree!

Excluding archery elk kills, the 35+ elk I have killed, most have been less than 100 yards. I have expounded on this until the Campfire boys are sick of me saying it.....but when the elk bust in the spruce/fir jungles, bringing the rifle to bear, ID'ing the elk, flipping off scope covers (no push button flippie uppie yuppie covers for me), fliping off the the safety, watching elk, finding a shooting lane, and centering the elk in the crosshairs (ya' gotta have both eyes open to accomplish this) is where most guys have trouble. As a guide I have come to accept this as being a big learning curve for most hunters (sigh).

Heavy for caliber bullets that still shoot relatively flat (like a 150 or 180 grainer in 270's or 30-06's respectively) are the best--regardless if one chooses premium bullets or not.......

Half the elk I ever killed with a bow were in self defense


Casey

I drool at some of the open flat country I see Elk killed on this forum.If it was only that easy in Central Idaho.I have seen them in meadows(before hunting season in the rut) but during hunting season there either in your face or clear across a canyon,or thats been my luck.3-years in a row in really thick timber we had our run ins so I bought a 45-70 Guide Gun,then the next year had to pass on 3-400 yard shots across the canyon where they were until I found a lonely Spike within the 45-70's range with the bullet I chose.

I just can't count on a short or a long shot therefore I take the weapon that does both and hope I can get off a shot before there history on public ground..Elk hunting in Idaho sure isn't what it used to be in my area.

Merry Christmas..

Jayco

Thanks, Saddlesore. What I found is that I got sucked in with traveling elk, those out covering miles, and assuming that if I saw them feeding, they wouldn't go far afterward.
The other big problem I had was not going slow and quiet enough once I was tracking an elk looking for a bed. Ah, well. Live and learn. E

Myth---Don't worry about the horse. He never bucks.
Truth, don't trust the SOB any father than you can pick him up and toss him.

Myth--Your horse won't bite.
Truth-- Never turn your back on the SOB or he'll probably step on your foot first and then bite you when you're not lookin'

Myth--A couple hundred yards.
Truth--more like a half mile.

Myth--The water should be good to drink.
Truth--After you clean up the deer remants from one that cashed it in in the pond.

Very true but:
Myth:You can look through a horses ears and see game alomost like a scope.
Truth:The Myth is true.Kinda like taking a bird dog hunting.Many an Elk hunter has lead his horse through the woods to success from the horses senses for those that pay attention.Tie 'em all up and your just a human in the animals world.

Merry Christmas.

Jayco

Myth created by my dad-- You walk up hill all day long and somehow you end up in camp.
Myth created by hunting partner-- he's half mt. goat
Myth-- bulls weigh 1,200 bls,They just feel like it after you packed one out 3 miles on your back.
Myth-- it snowed and they all moved out to the sage brush.
Myth-- there's no elk here!-- truth-- get out of you pickup/off your ATV and you just mite see some.
Myth-- I missed 6x6 this morning--truth-- if you had time to count the points you had time to make a good shot.

"Myth-- I missed 6x6 this morning--truth-- if you had time to count the points you had time to make a good shot."

Actually once you learn that the point pointing straight up is the 4th,it's pretty quick and easy to tell a 5 x from a 6 x. How big of one is a differnt thing. I can usually tell a 4x, 5x or 6x in less time than it takes to bring the rifle up. By the time the scope is on him,I know what it is.
In most fo CO, you had better be quick as many areas have 4X antler restrictions. Stand there counting every point and you don't get any shots

Truth 1. They know the country better than me.

Truth 2. They do taste GREAT!!

Truth!

But I've heard that come from alot of not so successful elk hunters, Not the best of myth's to use.

Myth

That there is a better bullet than the TSX for elk.....

( I'm outa here for the weekend, this should now really take off...)

Jeff

Yes--it's the Partition--but only slightly better.






Rabblerouser anyway.......


Casey

Casey
_________________________
22 inch barrels, blind box magazines, and scopes of single digit magnification are the stuff of serious Mountain Rigs.......

Hey, you been peeking into my safe????

Cool

Myth. . .I missed a 6X6 this morning.

Closer to the truth . . . . I only shoot my rifle during hunting season or a couple days before so I don't know where it hits except at the distance I am from the target.

JR

Myth...... a late season cow tag w/rifle is pretty much a sure thing if you put your time in.

Reality..... we hunted hard 7 days total,I covered close to twenty miles altogether,all on foot in really steep country (Idaho unit 23) it seemed as though we were always about 30 minutes too late to intercept the herd before they made it over the ridge (2 day packout vs 1/2 day) lesson for next year set the alarm clock 45 minutes earlier! Even though noone in our party filled their tags this year we're all applying for the same hunt next year.
.....now where's that tube of icy hot?My legs are killing me!

Myth-- After a few days you can learn enough to figure out what the Elk are doing and know how to get one.
Reality #1---True, that usually happens about three days after the seasons end.
Reality #2---whatever you figured out this year will be worthless next year.

Myth-- An entire herd of elk can hide behind one little tree: True, I've seen it. AJ

LOL
Man aint that the truth!!!

Myth: At least once a hunting season someone comes over to my house, looks at the elk on the wall and says: Yeah, I've shot bigger elk than that and left the horns in the woods.

Fact: They probably haven't even seen a decent bull unless it was in Yellowstone park.