Hike Less For Success
Case in Point #1
A few years ago, I was hunting a canyon in Idaho where I had located some good bulls about 2.5 miles from the nearest road. I had seen and heard other hunters in the area, and there were plenty of boot tracks (it was a great spot and it didn't surprise me that I wasn't alone). It was only a 20-minute drive from base camp to where I needed to park my truck, and an hour's hike to get to the elk.
Public land and a general tag isn't your season's death knell. The fact is that thousands upon thousands of elk live within decent striking distance of a road system on public land.
In order to stack the odds in my favor, I decided to pack a lightweight camp in on my back. This worked out great for me as I ended up taking a great 7x7 bull just after sunup.
I had located the bull before light because I could hear his bugles, and this allowed me to be within 400 yards of the bull by the time it was light enough to see. The sun had not been up very long when I was able to get an arrow through the bull, which proved to be just in the knick of time, because other hunters were closing in on him.
I heard a hunter's call up the hill from me only a minute or two before I let my arrow fly. No doubt they would have been close enough to spoil my hunt if it had taken me any longer to shoot the bull that morning. Spiking out next to the elk was key to my success on that hunt for sure (you can see this hunt on the Season 1 DVD of The Western Hunter).
Case in Point #2
Another good example was on a recent hunt with my dad where we tried to pack into a spot I liked, but couldn't make it due to a storm that had left the trails too slippery and dangerous for our horses. We were forced to hunt another spot that I knew would have a lot more hunting pressure, but which had safer trails for our horses.
The area we resorted to hunt was only two or three miles from a trailhead. Figuring it wasn't far enough for most hunters to consider packing in, we decided to pack in to give ourselves an edge over the hunters we knew would be hiking or riding horses in from the trailhead each day.
As expected, we ran into other hunters. Consequently, the elk only showed themselves at first and last light, when the other hunters were on their way to or from the trailhead. Since our camp was so close to us, we had no problem waiting until just before dark for the elk to come out to feed. Because of that, my dad ended up taking a great six-point bull as the light was fading. The other hunters we had seen in the middle of the day were more than halfway back to the trailhead (you can check out this hunt on the Season 2 DVD of The Western Hunter).
So, it really doesn't matter if you have horses or not; you don't always need to pack in "deep" to justify packing a camp in.
Going the "Extra Mile"
There is no secret recipe to always tagging a bull; everyone will get their rear end handed to them from time to time; that's just public land elk hunting. However, there are always ways to increase your consistency and keep your freezer full if you're willing to do what other hunters aren't.
A few years ago, I was hunting a canyon in Idaho where I had located some good bulls about 2.5 miles from the nearest road. I had seen and heard other hunters in the area, and there were plenty of boot tracks (it was a great spot and it didn't surprise me that I wasn't alone). It was only a 20-minute drive from base camp to where I needed to park my truck, and an hour's hike to get to the elk.
Public land and a general tag isn't your season's death knell. The fact is that thousands upon thousands of elk live within decent striking distance of a road system on public land.
In order to stack the odds in my favor, I decided to pack a lightweight camp in on my back. This worked out great for me as I ended up taking a great 7x7 bull just after sunup.
I had located the bull before light because I could hear his bugles, and this allowed me to be within 400 yards of the bull by the time it was light enough to see. The sun had not been up very long when I was able to get an arrow through the bull, which proved to be just in the knick of time, because other hunters were closing in on him.
I heard a hunter's call up the hill from me only a minute or two before I let my arrow fly. No doubt they would have been close enough to spoil my hunt if it had taken me any longer to shoot the bull that morning. Spiking out next to the elk was key to my success on that hunt for sure (you can see this hunt on the Season 1 DVD of The Western Hunter).
Case in Point #2
Another good example was on a recent hunt with my dad where we tried to pack into a spot I liked, but couldn't make it due to a storm that had left the trails too slippery and dangerous for our horses. We were forced to hunt another spot that I knew would have a lot more hunting pressure, but which had safer trails for our horses.
The area we resorted to hunt was only two or three miles from a trailhead. Figuring it wasn't far enough for most hunters to consider packing in, we decided to pack in to give ourselves an edge over the hunters we knew would be hiking or riding horses in from the trailhead each day.
As expected, we ran into other hunters. Consequently, the elk only showed themselves at first and last light, when the other hunters were on their way to or from the trailhead. Since our camp was so close to us, we had no problem waiting until just before dark for the elk to come out to feed. Because of that, my dad ended up taking a great six-point bull as the light was fading. The other hunters we had seen in the middle of the day were more than halfway back to the trailhead (you can check out this hunt on the Season 2 DVD of The Western Hunter).
So, it really doesn't matter if you have horses or not; you don't always need to pack in "deep" to justify packing a camp in.
Going the "Extra Mile"
There is no secret recipe to always tagging a bull; everyone will get their rear end handed to them from time to time; that's just public land elk hunting. However, there are always ways to increase your consistency and keep your freezer full if you're willing to do what other hunters aren't.
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