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| Crusty old curmudgeon  |
As a thread drift, it's good to see you back Gus. It's been a while since your last post. I thought you gave up on us. As far as my opinion in this discussion, I've been playing the devils advocate because I remember my first elk hunt. I went with 2 guys with experience and when I dropped my elk I would have been screwed if I was on my own. I'm thinking what that would have like if it was just my wife and I. After harvesting many deer prier to that I was totally unprepared for what was needed to get it to the truck. Having only experience shooting varmints is a low preparation for harvesting an elk. I'm hoping you have a great time and a successful hunt but with your lack of experience I'm seeing the possibility of not so fun time. Please find experienced large game hunters to go with you to make your hunt eventful. Jim ________________________ "If you can't be a good example, then you'll have to be a horrible warning" -Catherine Aird | |||
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) and it is more than enough gun for an elk. In the past I've used everything from 7mm Mag to -06 to 300 Savage to 270 to 350Rem to 300WM...hell, I even dropped one with my M1 carbine (there's a story behind that one | Staring back from the abyss  |
I once did one with a Swiss Army Tinker pocket knife. I wouldn't recommend it, but it can be done. ________________________________________________________ "Great danger lies in the notion that we can reason with evil." Doug Patton. | |||
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| Shit don't mean shit |
I am going first rifle season in Colorado again this year. It is my 8th time in 10 years. We pack into a Wilderness area with 8 - 10 llamas. Dressing an elk is a BIG job. Hunting elk is way harder and different than deer, IMO. Buy this knife along with extra blades. You can thank me later if you kill one. These knives are SHARP! As sharp as a surgical scalpel. If it starts getting dull, swap out a new blade. Bring a leatherman or similar to take the old blades off so you don't slice your finger. I'm telling you, BUY THIS KNIFE! Get the orange one, its much easier to find after you set it down. https://www.havalon.com/piranta-fitment-2 We de-bone the meat in the field and put it in these bags. Good stuff. https://www.target.com/p/ziploc-big-bags/-/A-15357844 Enjoy your hunt, I hope you get something. In case I forgot to tell you, buy the havalon knife. | |||
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| easy money |
Hello! Thank you everyone for the valuable input. I’m in excellent physical shape, I am very familiar with the areas that I’ll be hunting in; I’ve got great knives and gear; I didn’t get a deer tag but did an elk tag; I meant cow elk, not a ranch cow (lol!); and my 6.5 is a light saber inside 300 yards. My colleague has been teaching me through YouTube videos how to do the gutless method. And, I’ve got a processing plant all lined up to handle the meat. What I would like to learn more about is the hunting or finding the elk in the woods. I’ve been learning about ‘e-scouting’ - using my maps along with google earth to find good areas to find elk before, during, and after rut. That’s the stuff I feel like I need ... what to look for, what time of day to be where, etc., etc. Any tips in those areas are welcome! Thank you all again! Jim That which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger | |||
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| Saluki |
Find a secluded “pasture” nicer if there is water there. See that there is good shady cover “black timber” nearby. If you can have some quakies mixed in the “pasture” that’s good too. Cow elk are all about eating drinking and living to do it again tomorrow. If they smell you they are gone. Read and learn everything you can about thermals, the elk have. If you know good and well you connected on a shot, do not give up. The elk I’ve shot were very poor bleeders, very poor. Also 4/5 simply stood there after getting shot, for what seemed a minute or more, then stumbled a ways and fell over. For your first try one knife is probably not enough, be prepared to re-sharpen. If you leave one laying on the ground over night plan on the lower side spoiling no matter how cold it is. The rumen will continue to produce heat for a long time. Horses, let me repeat myself horses. But I’m old and decrepit. You’re looking at 4 packs weighing 50 - 80 pounds, boned it’s like a trash bag full of water. After killing 30 some deer, my first thoughts after killing an elk were, “oh my God what have I done now”. But you know what, take your time keep your knife sharp, and BE CAREFUL. This is no place or time for medical emergencies. ----------The weather is here I wish you were beautiful---------- | |||
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| Too old to run, too mean to quit! |
I did all my field dressing with a belt knife. As an aside, I hunted a good deal in Germany. When you got a deer, or elk, down you dressed it out with what amounted to a pocket knife. You did not roll up your sleeves to do it. And you did not get blood stains on your sleeves. Very old tradition! Hundreds of years. I was blessed in that my father in law was a forester and could act as a legal hunting guide. Regulations/laws required US military hunters to be accompanied by a guide. I suspect that few American hunters know about the many, many years of traditions involved in hunting there. The game belongs to the government, or in some cases the property owners (of large tracts of forest). If you shot a deer and wanted to keep it, you paid so much per kilogram for it. The money went back to the forestry service. The requirements to get a hunting license were strict. First, graduate from a recognized hunter education program. The army made facilities available and brought appropriate German instructors to teach. You passed an exam, and then were "knighted" a German hunter. You also had to buy liability insurance. Had marvelous times once all the requirements were met. Even the "graduation" ceremony was fun. Elk There has never been an occasion where a people gave up their weapons in the interest of peace that didn't end in their massacre. (Louis L'Amour) "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical. " -Thomas Jefferson "America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." Alexis de Tocqueville FBHO!!! The Idaho Elk Hunter | |||
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Member |
I hit the lotto last year and was drawn for a Kentucky Bull Elk. I trained for 6 months prior to my hunt including walking the hills in the neighborhood with pack and my hunting boots. I also would run in place and then target practice with my rifle. As luck would have it I ended up shooting my Elk within the first hour of the hunt (using a guide). We were on top of a mountain in Eastern, KY and heard two bugle before daylight. We made it down to a logging road and I walked around some brush and had this elk under 50 yards. Guide told me to not rush and have him move broadside. I was able to get two shots off that were less than a few inches of each other. While dressing the Elk we found parts of my bullet in the hide and neither one went through and through. I was using a Remington 7mm mag with Federal Premium Ammo. Elk are very tough to bring down even at close range. It was a ton of work getting the animal out and we were able to get a truck near the animal and had a total of 4 guys helping. I ended up with over 300 lbs of steak. My advice, Get in Shape, Practice with your Rifle and hire a guide. I hunted Elk three other times and only came back with a cow. Getting a cow out of the woods at 8,000 feet in elevation SUCKS. Sorry for the large pic. 3.5 year old bull based on tooth aging.  NRA Life Member | |||
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| easy money |
Hello! Gorgeous elk! Congratulations!! Jim That which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger | |||
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Member |
Bring enough cooler capacity. | |||
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Step by step walk the thousand mile road |
Damn that elk is yyyyyuuuuuuggggggggeeeee. Nice is overrated "It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government." Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018 | |||
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Only the strong survive |
Fly Angler Gets Up Close and Personal With Bugling Elk NO THINKS...what could go wrong?? https://flylordsmag.com/2019/0...al-with-bugling-elk/ 41 | |||
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| Conveniently located directly above the center of the Earth  |
Don't shoot your elk down in a hole. They weigh a LOT more going uphill than down hill. Good luck. **************~~~~~~~~~~ "I've been on this rock too long to bother with these liars any more." ~SIGforum advisor~ "When the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change, then change will come."~~sigmonkey | |||
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| Member |
I've never hunted Elk but I do hunt deer. A good friend told me "the work begins after the harvest." If it's late in the day, you are far from your car, you're tired - consider passing on the shot and just watching. It will still be a great day. Speak softly and carry a | |||
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Member |
Getting in the woods at first light is important, enough gun is a given. Purchasing a bugle call and a cow call and practicing before hand is a good thing to do. Study elk anatomy, from the side, the shoulder bone isn't where most large game is. _________________________ NRA Patron Life Member | |||
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Member |
You're smart to do it now rather than later. Some guys don't do stuff when they can and regret it after they can't. Don't cut off the tip of your thumb when you reach into the belly with two hands to cut the trachea to roll out the paunch. I know a guy who made both mistakes. The second is no big deal but the first misake is permanent. Yea, first aid kit. It's what saved my thumb. I'd also take a professional grade tourniquet, but I don't know enough to advise. But damn they can save your life for a few ounces. Good luck and make a memory so good that you'll have endless stories to tell (that get more numerous and more outrageous with time). Lover of the US Constitution Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster | |||
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