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<blockquote data-quote="Caveman0101" data-source="post: 1472932" data-attributes="member: 10852"><p>Do you want to go kill an elk or do you want to learn to elk hunt? If you want to come out west and kill an elk get a guide and or access to a ranch or a late season migration tag and pray for snow. If you want to learn to hunt elk maybe get a guide but definitely come for the experience and to learn. It's like anything else, you learn from experience and there is no substitute for time spent in elk country. It will take time to get shed of the southern whitetail hunting mentality. First of all, you are not going to pattern them for the most part. Just because they feed in a meadow one afternoon does not automatically mean they will ever return again once hunting season starts. The west is an arid place, sign last a long time so it also means next to nothing. You are not going to out walk the competition or the hunters on horses. Getting in the backcountry will get you out of the most heavily hunted areas but you will be around other hunters even if you don't see them assume you are not alone. Elk are extremely sent sensitive, a whitetail will smell you, blow and make a hundred yard circle around you then continue on to where they were headed anyway. An elk will smell you at 300 yards and you will never see them again. Basically if your in an area with elk you will see them. Get up high spend first and last light spotting if you are not seeing them move on. Don't spend to much time in an area that looks like it should be a good spot if you're not seeing animals. Early and late seasons are the best most years, but it really depends on the weather. Use whatever rifle you shoot well and meets regulation for the states you hunt in. Bullet choice and shot placement are much more important than caliber. The newer generations of bullet's performance are based on FPS to perform as designed. Know your ballistics and effective range, you will not get this info from the side of the box. You will definitely need a rangefinder. Out to 400 yards is no big deal but being able to tell the difference between 470 and 630 can be pretty tough for us flatlanders and it makes a hell of a lot of difference on doping your scope. You can forget the 1500lbs of energy rule, today's bullets will do what they are made to do if they are traveling at the recommended FPS. I'm from Mississippi but have lived and hunted out west for the last 27 years. I started hunting in CO with a 30-06 shooting good whitetail bullets, after wounding a couple I got a 300 WBY. Killed tons of elk with it with Partitions, Accubonds. Nowadays I use either a 260 Rem with 142gr accubond long range or 280 Rem with 150 ABLR we've taken 14 or so elk in the last 5 years with them none of which had to be tracked. Always shoot prone if at all possible. Spend as much as you can afford on optics, I'm partial to NF, Ziess, Leica. A good spotting scope is a must, don't get talked into a Vortex if you want a Swaro. They are not the same. Get a good backpack, the best lightest, warmest sleeping bag you can afford. Don't drink the water out of the creek because it looks clean and tastes good.No matter how much you prepare down south you will not be in mountain shape until you've been here for a few days. If there is snow get snowshoes.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Caveman0101, post: 1472932, member: 10852"] Do you want to go kill an elk or do you want to learn to elk hunt? If you want to come out west and kill an elk get a guide and or access to a ranch or a late season migration tag and pray for snow. If you want to learn to hunt elk maybe get a guide but definitely come for the experience and to learn. It's like anything else, you learn from experience and there is no substitute for time spent in elk country. It will take time to get shed of the southern whitetail hunting mentality. First of all, you are not going to pattern them for the most part. Just because they feed in a meadow one afternoon does not automatically mean they will ever return again once hunting season starts. The west is an arid place, sign last a long time so it also means next to nothing. You are not going to out walk the competition or the hunters on horses. Getting in the backcountry will get you out of the most heavily hunted areas but you will be around other hunters even if you don't see them assume you are not alone. Elk are extremely sent sensitive, a whitetail will smell you, blow and make a hundred yard circle around you then continue on to where they were headed anyway. An elk will smell you at 300 yards and you will never see them again. Basically if your in an area with elk you will see them. Get up high spend first and last light spotting if you are not seeing them move on. Don't spend to much time in an area that looks like it should be a good spot if you're not seeing animals. Early and late seasons are the best most years, but it really depends on the weather. Use whatever rifle you shoot well and meets regulation for the states you hunt in. Bullet choice and shot placement are much more important than caliber. The newer generations of bullet's performance are based on FPS to perform as designed. Know your ballistics and effective range, you will not get this info from the side of the box. You will definitely need a rangefinder. Out to 400 yards is no big deal but being able to tell the difference between 470 and 630 can be pretty tough for us flatlanders and it makes a hell of a lot of difference on doping your scope. You can forget the 1500lbs of energy rule, today's bullets will do what they are made to do if they are traveling at the recommended FPS. I'm from Mississippi but have lived and hunted out west for the last 27 years. I started hunting in CO with a 30-06 shooting good whitetail bullets, after wounding a couple I got a 300 WBY. Killed tons of elk with it with Partitions, Accubonds. Nowadays I use either a 260 Rem with 142gr accubond long range or 280 Rem with 150 ABLR we've taken 14 or so elk in the last 5 years with them none of which had to be tracked. Always shoot prone if at all possible. Spend as much as you can afford on optics, I'm partial to NF, Ziess, Leica. A good spotting scope is a must, don't get talked into a Vortex if you want a Swaro. They are not the same. Get a good backpack, the best lightest, warmest sleeping bag you can afford. Don't drink the water out of the creek because it looks clean and tastes good.No matter how much you prepare down south you will not be in mountain shape until you've been here for a few days. If there is snow get snowshoes. [/QUOTE]
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