BigGameHunt.net Hunting Forums

[BareBack Jack]

That has got to be one of the best articals about elk hunting gear that I have read in a long time.

All you 1st time hunters or wannabe elk hunterstake this mans word and follow these steps.
Get your copies while they last.
BBJ

[jeffalaska]

I remembered this was included in the hunting regulations for Alaska so I thought I would post it.. What's amazing here is that a Brown Bear can loose over 1000lb's when boned. There is a lot of throw away and burger meat when commercially processed, So the packed-out load of a boned animal will always be heavier. I have noticed while having wild game meat processed at two different locations that they were grinding all their customers game burger ( deer, elk and antelope ) mixed together in large batches. They have a guestament they use to add the burger back to each animal they processed . I am not found of this practice for many reasons but mostly due to the quality of some game meat. These were larger busier shops where this was done. I am unsure as to how wide spread this method is used. I found this in Montana and Alaska. The same shops used a plastic sleeve for their burger that was labeled Wild Game Burger instead of deer, elk or moose. Neither of the shops I used had a problem telling me of the process, so I suppose it is common? It makes me wonder where all that ground type smoked deer and elk jerky I see in the stores comes from.

~Jeff~

[Fred Bear]

Another thing when elk hunting you must be aggressive. Very aggressive. If you happe nto hear a bull bugle, you should be after it or you may not have a chance to shoot it. Another thing is at night. When hunting always have a fire blazing. One time we were elk hunting and a shot went off, the nanother went off, I thought someone was shooting after hours. Then a group of guys came and they said their friend was lost. Luckily the guy cam towards are fire. His eyes were glazed over, and he sure was happy to see me and my buddy.

[Fred Bear]

One thing about going into thte mountains is that one way or another the mountains will steal stuff from you.

[Alamosa]

Great article. Mr. Hubbell is has shared some of the better information I've read in some time.

Try these out -

- Learn to smell elk. It's not that hard. They are pretty smelly and we are smelly to them.

- Invest in a good pair of binoculars. The quality of your optics may be more important than the quality of your firearm. Seeing from a distance is often one of the few advantages you may have.

- Take advantage of a ridgeline. Taking the easy route by walking the crest guarantees you will be discovered. Invest the extra effort to cross from one side to the other every XX yards. Rarely can someone move stealthy enough to approach elk in the open, but you can get pretty close on the opposite side of a ridge. Have your rifle ready each time you cross over.

- Develop your 6th sense about elk. I know it sounds funny but if I can do it you can do it. Think about where they would be and visualize what they are doing in the given conditions. I have taken several where I didn't see, smell, hear or track them - I just knew they were there and proceeded as such.

- Be able to move quickly. Your opportunity may depend on being able to clear timber, cross a ridge, or gain a position quickly.

[NONYA]

#1 a shoulder shot is not always a bad shot on elk,the majority of the elk i have killed i shot square in the shoulder with either a 7mag or a 30.06 and i have NEVER lost an elk,you break the shoulder on an elk and the only way the can go is down.#2there are easy elk,4 years ago I shot a 5x6 bull that was beded with my grandparents cattle after a deep snow,my dad shot the 4x4 that was with him,I will agree that they are rare but they do exist.

[WesternHunter]

Ah, pardon me for asking, but at the begenning of the article it said that there was no moon. Then later in the article it talked about riding up the same mountain a few hours later to field dress the elk by moonlight. Was this story true? :o :o :o

[moderator]

More than likely moon rose later that night. I'll PM you with Gary Hubbell's email address and you are welcome to ask him! :D

[rezhunter]

Robert wrote: >>Robert, where do you hunt elk? maybe they're just a lot smaller? :

See my comments above, please. I'm not basing my observations on personal weighing, but rather on what I'm told by people who handle more elk in a week than most hunters do in a lifetime. They were both in Colorado.

I always thought they were much bigger, too. The hour I spent at a processors one day just gawking and asking questions were very instructive to me as a hunter, both from a technique and a strategy standpoint. I strongly suggest everyone take a couple of hours off and stop at an elk processing plant in high elk season.

You must have killed a calf, I can tell you right now a good size elk has waaaaaaaaaay more lbs of meat than what you just mentioned. See that 5x5 I shot this year in the elk forums? That is decent, not huge but decent, I qrtered it up, brought hams to Eastern Oregon Mobile slaughter to get grinded up and it weighed 180lbs just for the hams, deboned probably 130-140lbs of meat. Trust me, I've killed a few bulls and elk in general, probably packed more than most guides as a Native American with good hunting rights. Robert, I think your getting ripped off by your butcher or something.

Just noticed Jeffalaska came in with a table, good information.

Binocs/scopes, you dont need to spend $3000. You can buy a good pair of binocs for $60 and scope no more than $100 would be just fine.