Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting The worst mistake on your elk hunt?

What was it and how did it happen?

Listening to the weatherman's forecast of a cool dry front moving in tomorrow. Then backpacked 10 miles in and cooly recieved 2 feet of snow......

Riding/borrowing somebody else's horse for the first time...dumped my Dad about 6 feet down onto a FS culvert and broke five ribs.

ouch.

Going to an alternative sit and wait site one evening instead of the usual first choice. I emerged from the woods to head for camp with just enough light to see things, and noticed two 6 by's foraging on the slope just above my typical haunt. A 150 yard chip shot for either one of them had I been there.

No way to make it there in time with the fading light, and I didn't score a bull that season either. I pack a low boy lawn chair up there before the season, and scored a nice raghorn from that exact spot last season. No tag though this year.

There are so many mistakes to make for elk. I've made a lot of them too.

Tried to cross above a herd in late afternoon, only to have the thermals reverse on me and the uphill wind switched to downhill wind at just the wrong time.

Tried to get too close to bands of elk cows with a herd bull too many times rather than wait for them to move to me - or at least pick a direction so I could get in front of them.

Not paying attention to my nose has cost me a couple of times.

In general, I screw up with elk when I try to force the situation rather that sitting back and being patient.

I'm sure I'll find new ways to screw up this fall.

I've made lots of mistakes as well. Tactical errors, strategic mistakes, forgotten equipment but by far the worst elk hunting mistake was ... the times I didn't go (only twice since 1994)

To steal a bumper sticker "the worst day elk hunting is better than most days doing something else"

just my $.02

Mistakes have been made, none worse than getting talked into trailering my horses 1400 miles to the Rocky Mountains.

Sounded good, hunt in familiar territory without a guide, won't have to pay for someone to pack us in and out, so on and so forth.

Never, ever, ever, EVER, set your bow down out of reach when you have a very large tree behind you that can obscure the sound of a very large 6x6 walking up towards you. Because,...when he walks by at ~14yds and your bow is ~6' away it is difficult to do anything.

Never put in for cow tags because of the cow/bull ratio vs what you figure you'll see..

In 3 hunts I've seen one cow in range, not identifiable sex wise for sure until it was too late.... and have yet to see a non legal bull..... and ahve seen bulls about 2-3 times within range on all 3 hunts....

Now I"m scared to put in for a bull tag. But no worries, my hunting days in CO are over anyway.

Taking a guy that moved here from Minn.
No flame meant to forum members from there.
I lasted 1/2 day (after I found him) and have never hunted with him again.....not even Christmas Trees....

My first elk hunt was last year(my second one is coming up in Sept.). The biggest mistake I made last year was getting cow-fever and shooting AT her with the wrong pin. Ranged her at 68yards with a shot of 62 because of the angle. I had been practicing out to 80 and was VERY confident at 62. She walked behind a tree and into my lane, I drew, anchored, worked my pins down her shoulder and just remembered a big "68" in my rangefinder. Put the 70 yard pin on her heart and squeezed off. Arrow looked great, she wheeled and stumbled and I was excited as hell. Then she stopped 15 yards away, and there was no blood on her side, no arrow sticking out of her, nothing. THEN I remembered that the shot was only 62. It was still exciting as anything I've done in the woods before.

Hunting with some one I didnt know. Guy didnt get in shape, didnt know how to hunt, heck the only thing he did know was how to eat and bitch about hiking the mountains, what a fat POS he turned out to be.

Drew a "Trophy" bull tag in 08. Group hunt with a buddy.
Opening morning....we spot a herd about 9am and they feed into a large patch of trees.
We know there is a decent 6 pt. in the bunch and my partner had never shot a bull.
Plan is....split up. I walked into the next canyon over, so I could go out around them to the other side of the patch of trees.
A couple hours later I am set up and he is working the patch.
I see a spike. I then start seeing cows feeding, maybe 100 yds. from me. No wind, they have no clue. Things look good.
I sit motionless. I hear a shot, but it is not nearly as close to me as I would have expected from the size of said patch.
My elk pickup their heads, but aren't alarmed. I wait.
Suddenly, my phone vibrates....WTF? It's my bro. I answer.
He is out of his mind, jacked. Has a 6x5 down. Re-WTF?
Where? Not in "my" patch. He saw a bull walking and went after it. He needs help gutting and packing. OK, I'll head your way.

Then I made my big mistake....
I stood up........ and an ass scratcher, heavy 6x6 takes off in full flight. He wasn't 2 steps back in the brush from the meadow. Damn. I can still see that bastid..

One of the morals of the story.....there can be more than one herd of elk in your area........

P.S. I got a 6x6 a few days and lots of miles later.
He was no where near as nice as this guy. That's huntin'.

Lent my flashlight to a first time hunting partner while hiking out in the dark of night, no moon. I gave it to him so he could get through a nasty alder patch, we were hiking off trail, he didn't have a light. He ran off and left me to stumble back to camp. His excuse was he was scared and afraid I would ask for my light back. Last time I ever hunted with him.

Then there was the time the two of us attempted to pack out a boned out cow in a single trip, didn't make it very far before my knees screamed out no F'n way.

Or the time I tood my older brother elk hunting and when we got one down he told me he was only able to carry my rifle up the hill and I was on my own to get the rest of the bull out = a very long, tough day.

And the one time I squeezed the trigger just as the elk step forward, then didn't wait long enough, then didn't shoot when I saw a bull walking in front of me for fear of shooting a second bull.

And the time we camped in the river bottom in bitter cold.

Guess I've had a lot of "worse mistakes"

Booking an outfitted hunt in Montana with my buddy. He was there in 1995 before the wolf debacle and it was over run with elk. What a waste of time and money!

My only mistake is, "Not being from an area that has elk to hunt".

Blowing my load too early.
It was a nice snowy afternoon hunt. first snow of that elk season. I Came up to an opening with a cow feeding on the edge of a bench, maybe 80 yards. put my scope on her to look for horns or if there are any other elk. as I am watching her, another elk walks up from down below onto the bench top. I put the scope on his head and see 2 long spikes. I start lowering the reticle on to the vitals and BAAM. Excited as hell, I just shot my first elk. I get on the radio and call in for back up. they ask if he's down..... I would bet the farm he is. So I make my way to where he was standing last. no blood anywhere. I follow the tracks down hill in fresh powder for 100 yards and not a drop of blood. totally missed. Only thing I can think of is I never stopped when lowering when I pulled the trigger, and shot under neath him. this scenario is replayed in my head constantly. I just cant let it go. I redeemed my self next year with a bull on opening morning less then 300 yards from my miss.

Thinking "that has to be a hunter blowing a bugle".........

Left my damn cow call at camp only to sit quietly with my bow and watch a beautiful 5X6 bull meander on by in the aspens about 70 yards out.

Gunner