Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting New elk hunters

I've got some grandsons that love to hunt and shoot. Good young men in allot of different ways. When they graduated from high school my gift to them was an elk hunt. Two of them are able to go with me this fall. It'll be a DIY hunt in Colorado. Tent camping. One other fellow going too. None of these guys have ever went out west but all of them have hunted whitetails and small game. I've always hunted with guys that have experience so this is my first time to be the "old man" of the group. Any advice?
Thanks
Jim

Pack lots of extra chow! The younger fellas tend to eat more than you could imagine!

I can't think of much else other than making sure they have bins, packs, and good boots.

Practice, practice, practice

Get in shape and break in your hiking boots.

A couple of things. One is to have realistic expectations of how many elk will be seen and how many opportunities will arise. Its just so different from deer hunting in that respect among others.
Second is to focus on getting an elk instead of focusing on what to do with one once you've got it.

I took my nephews elk hunting once up on a time, and that's how I know...the time and energy put on strapping a chest freezer and inverter generator on a trailer was poorly spent in my view.

Bring up the area you will be hunting on Google Earth and familiarize yourself with the lay of the land and where your camp will be.

Start getting into the best physical shape of your life NOW, and then heed elkhunternm's advice!

Great advice fellows. Spot on about the food these boys can put away too!
Thanks

Be mentally prepared for the undertaking. Stuff will break, you are gonna get separated, you might get stuck somewhere, you are gonna forget something, you are not going to be sleeping like at home, etc.

Get in shape. All of you. You are going to be exerting at an elevation you are not used to so it’s gonna be harder on you all then you are used to

I would imagine you will be looking at longer ranges than you are used to. Bring binoculars. And tripods. Spotting scope would be handy

Plan for adverse weather.

Bring hunting packs. Bring headlamps. Bring some very basic first aid supplies.

Plan for layered clothing. Bring good boots.

Give a lot of thought on how you are gonna get the elk out of where you down him. Once you have him down isn’t the time to do that. I would bring some pack frames with meat shelves and rope.

I wouldn’t rely on having cell coverage.

Get maps and go over it with the members in your party.

Plan for possible couple hundred yard shots.

These guys are giving great advice. Also bring a few really bright flashlights or headlamps; they can be helpful finding your way out after dark. Don't forget some flagging ribbon, too.

Be prepared for just about anything- 75 degrees and dry as popcorn, or 5 degrees, wind howling, snow two feet deep , etc.... or anything in between- sometimes in the same day.... be prepared to stay out all day so pack a lunch in your pack along with plenty of water and other necessities....

Altitude will be a big one so try to get there a day or two early to acclimate. Get to lower ground if someone gets a headache, light headed, or other signs of altitude sickness. It's nothing to mess around with...

Especially in new country, make sure each guy has a radio so you can stay in touch. A GPS is a great investment, but not totally necessary...

Biggest thing though is to have fun regardless of how good or bad the hunting is....

Bob

It’s a great thought. But there are a thousand and two things to think through and it takes Herculean planning and effort to make it other than an uncomfortable fall camping trip. In the midst of a Colorado trailhead truck crowd,..three drainages over from the nearest elk.

But that shouldn’t automatically dissuade you, just put you at the proper starting point.

An elk can be 4x the size of a big deer. Keep that in mind before you shoot one. Can you reasonably get it packed out from where you are? Guys have got themselves in trouble by shooting more than they can handle.

Play the old man gig to the hilt.

And give them plenty of advice on the proper method of packing your elk out……..

All good advice so far. Make sure everyone is prepared to put some miles on their boots, and get away from roads and trailheads if they want to be in elk. And make sure they're prepared to take apart an elk and pack out their meat a few miles with multiple trips. I've run into guys who have an animal down and aren't prepared, headed into town to look for someone with horses, you don't want to be "that guy."

And since they're whitetail hunters, impress upon them the differences between hunting elk and hunting whitetails, so they can understand why they need to adjust their tactics. It's not good enough to look for sign and set up, they need to keep moving until they find animals. A place can be eaten up with fresh sign and deer hunters will tend to want to set up and wait for elk to come to them but they need to know that elk range over much larger areas than whitetails, and they could be miles away from fresh sign.

And, good luck!!

A few years ago in WA, 3 hunters went into some hell hole in the Cascades where 1 of them shot a big bull. As they were dressing it, one of them died of a heart attack. It took rescuers 2 days to pack his body out of there. How long would it take for 3 of them to pack out an elk that's 4x bigger? Granted, the rescue team likely didn't bone out the dead guy.

Make sure each has a compass and a good map and knows how to use both. Each of them should have a good method for starting fire too. I like cotton swabs covered in Vaseline and a good fire steel.

You didn't mention what weapon,
Have them practice off packs,shooting sticks,tree limbs,knees,You get the point.
While I'm far from an expert, having just went on a cow elk hunt ,I can say that it was far from the norm.
Best of luck to the lads and yourself

Pack frames?

From a flatlander:
Get in shape. Even some young guys can have a tough time at altitude.
Someone mentioned headlamps… climbing wet or snowy slopes is a bitch with a flashlight in one hand. Carry a spare headlamp with spare batteries too.
Carry game bags to put quarters in until they can be packed out. Even old pillow cases will work.
Carry plenty of water with you. Breathing a LOT harder at altitude will blow off a lot of water.
Carry an extra pair of socks to change at about midday. Helps prevent blisters.
Carry some moleskin for hot spots on your feet. If you know, by experience, you have spots on your feet that tend to blister, you can put the moleskin on before you start out for the day. I know one heel needs some on the outer side while the other needs it on the inside. The balls of both feet get a 1 1/2 X 1 1/2” square.
If you have two good pairs of boots, alternating each day will let the insides dry out.
Unlike whitetails, if the elk aren’t where you’re looking, they’re somewhere else. Don’t be afraid to move camp.
Learn some basic cow calls. They can be used as locator calls to see if there are any bulls in the area regardless of the status of the rut. If you stumble, a couple of cow calls can reassure any nearby elk. I’ve had them respond afte a stumble and it let me know they were around.
Did I say, get in shape? Every time I’ve hunted elk in Colorado I’ve wished I had worked out harder. At 9-10,000’ there’s only about half the oxygen available.
Have fun! I love hunting elk.

If you live somewhere where there is an American Red Cross First Aid Training Facility, you and your young hunters should take advantage of it and attend First Aid classes. It is amazing how "little" injuries can occur which require some aid. A good First Aid kit should be in your supplies.

As others here have advised, be very aware of altitude sickness symptoms. It is serious business. Believe me, I know and contracted it in s.w. Colorado. Drink lots of water to help prevent it.

Good luck to you and your young hunters.

FWIW.

L.W.

If filling a tag is at all critical to making this trip a success, I’d work on another plan.