Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 1st elk hunt

I have a set of 8x42 Leupolds that I hope will work for the trip.


Another thing, do I need a spotting scope and if so what magnification?



I’ll be in Unit 54 with Eagle Mountain Outfitters.


I am keeping notes on all the info.



Thanks again

If you're going outfitted, I do not see a need for investing a ton of money into a spotting scope. Your guide will have one available. I have a Meopta 82mm spotter and It almost always gets left at camp or in the truck due to the size & weight. And if you get the spotter, you're going to want to spend another $500 on a quality tripod and head to attach it...

Your 8x's should treat you well, elk are usually not hard to dredge up. Bull's have a certain blonde color to them at that time of year that really pops out.

OUTFITTED!?!?

Then my advice is to make sure the coffee isn't too hot before you take a big gulp, and to tip well.

I don’t have a guide. They take us to a tent camp and come back and get us 7 days later.

If you have good binoculars,you don't need a spotting scope.

Prepare for snow in that unit .I hunted 2nd season and it is a week later now, I'd say for about every three years, we got dumped on two.
12-15", some times more.

Are you used to hunting and shooting from the ground? If not practice shooting from realistic positions and not taking half a day to get a shot off.

Get some quality uninsulated hiking boots that fit your feet. Lots to choose from. Figure out a good sock system. Try the boots on with the socks you'll wear.

How picky are you going to be? If you are just going to shoot any legal bull/elk than I wouldn't worry about the spotting scope.

Lots of very nice clothing out there these days without buying the trendy stuff. Look at non hunting brands.

A few times a month I shoot at a touch over 400 and out to a shade over 600yds. I use a short bipod sole at 600 but it’s mainly prone off a pack at 400 it’s prone from a backpack or seated off of sticks, a stump, tree or my knee. 12” and 6” steel gongs are the targets.


Under perfect conditions I would consider a 400yd shot but much closer is certainly the goal. I’m not going to lie and say I don’t want a 350 class bull but honestly the first legal bull I see with a shot I’m comfortable with will be in trouble.

I think you're in good shape gear-wise, and certainly, if you like how you are shooting from field positions out past 400, you're set there as well. Elk hunts have always been more of a test of my mental and physical fortitude than I am willing to give them credit for before the season. T Inman above mentioned that above, and he knows what he is talking about. Make sure you bring everything you think you need, but the most important preparations involve mental and physical conditioning, in that order.

I found out a local guy has hunted this area with the guys we are using and he said the same as you guys, try to be in good physical shape but mentally it’s actually tougher. One trip he was on a guy got turned around and ended up lost for a bit in brutal cold and about 2’ of snow and he got frost bite on both feet.


I’ll need some meals and snacks to make in camp, I figure some MRE’s or some of the dehydrated packed stuff would work.


We have a weight limit on gear and I just don’t want to not have something that I would need for food/warmth/lost.


Thanks again for the help

small folding chair with a back rest,hand warmers,toe warmers,cheap 6-8 ft. plastic tarp in case of bad weather in pack, toilet paper in a plastic bag,new throw away lighter that works,new MRE`S just in case

A small folding chair on your pack? I hope I am reading that wrong. Pete, have you ever seen the Rockies? You are advocating packing a chair up mountains after elk? I hope not.

I carry a small tarp. My bro carries an old backpacking pad folded small. Nature has an infinite number of "chairs" in the mountains, if you pack something to keep your ass warm/dry.

I carry a plastic bag with a bunch of folded paper towels as well as a Bic lighter for a fire starter. It has yet to fail me. For example: my brother, 10 year old son, and I got caught in a blizzard last year. None of us thought to check the weather that day. We knew it would be snowing, but the temp dropped below zero and the whiteout moved in after we had gotten to the top of where we were hunting. The dead branches along the bottoms of various species of conifer worked great for kindling and wood, and a couple paper towels was plenty of firestarter, and . The trees produced natural shelter. If we would have spent the night, a bunch of pine boughs can be made into a decent shelter when using the tarp and ground pad. Luckily it moved off by mid-afternoon and we were able to get down. It was a lesson in the benefits of being mentally prepared, as well as having the right gear.

My shooting sticks can double as a walking stick. Bare bones is awesome when you finally get an elk down.

An ultralight chair like the Helinox is awesome for camp/glassing especially if there is snow on the ground.

Bearcat- If your going with the dehydrated meals look at Peak Refuel. Very good food and tastes great.

I thought the exact same thing! Dude, you are recommending carrying a chair???? I don't care what size it is, every ounce matters at 10,000'. We got these little foam pads; they look like a thermarest, but are only 18" x 14" or so. Weigh just a few ounces, but put it down on wet ground and your a$$ stays dry and warm. That's the extend of my sitting comfort. Tarp is worth the extra ounces in your pack...used mine in a snow storm once, not sure it saved our lifes, but made it a lot less miserable and helped avoid hypothermia.

If you've never hunted the high country of Colorado, or the rest of the Rocky Mountains, I suggest you watch this video and consider the information this survival instructor from Colorado lists. In that high country, weather can change on you very quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=FV5ShSNIdfY&feature=endscreen

Good luck and have fun.

L.W.

Thanks for the video

Sounds like OP is doing a drop camp. Most have chairs there already. One of those styro pop corn type filled hot seats are comfortable for sitting at a stand though.

I would nix the MRE's.Too much trash when you are done and the weightof each is made up of lot of that trash. If it is five day hunt, you will fill up one pannier just with MRE's and as mentioned drop camp outfitters limit you to weight and volume. Years ago two of us took MRE's for food for a goat hunt on Mt Shavano in southern Colorado.I thought we were going to starve.

A person can come up with their own dried food a lot cheaper and in bulk. Breakfeast: Oatmeal with raisins, Fruit bars, Eggbeaters frozen before the trip will keep. One carton will feed three guys along with dried hash browns. Jimmy Dean precooked sausage patties or links will keep in cool weather,or ham steaks .Even an unsliced slab of bacon will keep. Lunches can be granola bars, protein bars,dried fruit,jerky, peanut butter or cheese crackers, trail mix, all bought in bulk at Sam's Club or Costcos. Instant potatoes, along with different dried dinners will work at night with the first few nights of meat taken along frozen.

Just practice safe storage from bears which there are quite few in Unit 54.

As stated, be in good shape. But almost as important is being mentally tough. Most hunters give up, or quit hunting as hard after not seeing anything for 3 days in a row. You have to be positive, and keep pushing on even when the hunting is tough.That is hard for most hunters to do.

There are a hell of a lot more than 2 things wrong with Colorado.

It would take a lot of NOT eating to starve on MRE’s. Maybe you forgot to take the meals out of the packs and eat them.

I. Thou shalt be in shape, for elk dwelleth not in the flatlands, nor where there is oxygen.

II. If thine ass resembleth 20 pounds of chewed bubble gum, bitter shall be thy lot.

IV. Thou shalt not stuff thy pack with all manner of goods. Thou needst it not, and it shall do naught but rob thee of thy breath and turn thy knees to Jello.