What will you change next season?

[twinkieman]

It seems that most of us are done with our elk hunting this year. What will you do differently on your next elk hunting adventure?

[ElkNut1]

Put out a more serious effort to acquire better leg strength & be an even better caller. Good believable calling is important but so is smart calling! Too, for me I need to continue to work on my PATIENCE! (grin)

ElkNut1

[itsnlkthing]

I'm only on my second year in a new area but have learned a lot about it. I will set a base camp next year and do a better job of locating the elk before packing in a spike camp. I also located a couple of major travel routes with ideal "choke points" and will spend time covering those when elk are moving between feeding and bedding areas. I will also continue to work on my calling to be more confident in my use of bugles.

[Wyo67]

Arrow wraps. Currently white or yellow. Changing them to pink.

Lost a helluva nice bull this year and have been beating myself up about it since then. 40 yard shot was taken quartering away with bright morning sunlight on the elk. Sight picture looked good, but I didn't get a visual of the hit. Great blood trail for 200 yards and we thought for sure we'd find him piled up 'till we kicked him up and he ran off. Found back half of arrow in a spot where in had laid down. Long blood trail search proved unsuccessful. Suspect arrow may have deflected off a rib and only gotten one lung. So, I'm looking for a higher contrast wrap on the arrows. Maybe lighted nocks. Don't know, never used them. Got 11 months to figure it out...

[WapitiTalk1]

Have got to lock down better ingress routes to my spots in the areas I hunt; thermals are in Edward Elk's favor too many times when I hunt these various spots from the ridge tops (some summertime trail creation/clearing is in order in the ID alder jungles, and, possibly even hunting some of the spots from the bottom up). I "will" deploy the death from above method in a spot or two next year (tree standing). I planned on doing it this year but just didn't make the time to visit the spots early and do the prep work. Will get a Hawkeye game cart ordered/built early spring next year; borrowed Slim9300's cart this year to pull behind my MT bike on the WA hunt and they are the real deal.

[Fridaythe13th]

3 of us were not ready for a kill. So we have to add some thing to our backpack. We had 2 pillow cases, 2 garbage bags, 15' of rope, 2 knives, chilly powder, and gutting gloves. We did make do, but we had to use a poncho, some tie straps, and a camo shirt. to help with the process. Adding a Wyoming saw, a small tarp, more rope, knife sharpener and a total 4 pillow case would help.
I already bought a alarm clock. I got home from my trip and bought one, two year in a row with out no alarm, no good

I am in the market for a good bugle call. Any ideas would help. Or after the season sales.

[twinkieman]

Continue to learn on the art of calling, lean on my bugle more! Stay in shape

[Kevrod3]

Be a bit more aggressive! We tried to stay clear of the bedding areas by staying what we thought was under 150-200 yards away from them and call. Nothing seem to work there. We were afraid to bump the elk early in the hunt, but before we knew it was over and we never got in on them aggressively. I will hunt Higher in elevation next year. I think the Herd bull was almost at the top of the Mtn. mostly Satellites at the lower elevation.

Spend more time observing the elk, instead of tearing off after them 2 minutes after we locate them. I think it would of been better to watch them bed up or slip into a drainage they would spend the day in before going after them.

Also move spike camp! I mentioned we should move camp up the mtn. but my buddies didn't seem all that interested so I didn't press the issue. I had already tagged out so I was up for whatever they wanted but next time I think I'll be more assertive. I think it made us get to the spots where the elk were moving through in the morning too late. On a side note, I will be waking up and getting into a shooting/calling position a lot earlier next year. Its nice to find vantage points to glass, but it handcuffs you at times trying to get to them. I think the area I'm in I can pattern the elk, even if its just 3 or so days in a row. Wind/thermals may be my only demise!

[Hot Cow]

I am going to try to not be analytical on every situation and be more instinctive. I also really really need to get better with the mouth reeds. I ended up using an external call bc I lost all confidence with the reeds. My bugling was fair but still needs a ton of work. I think I am also going to practice differently during the off season. Not so much straight forward range shooting but practicing angular shots and up/downhill shots. I will be kicking myself for years to come for shooting high(shoulder) on a 6pt bull at 25yds downhill!!! Especially after shooting 300+ arrows before the season. I also need to learn more about elk behaviors in general. Thanks to friends on this site and Paul/Paul Jr's videos. I hope I can learn alot by next season.

[Bow4me]

Almost everything everyone else said. As I read I can put that scenario in one of my set ups. But if I had to pick one I would say calling. Specifically learning to use the mouth reed and being more aggressive. Gonna need to order some elknut videos to drive the old lady crazy with.

[Brendan]

Man, I've got a long list... Here's several from my rookie trip...

Boots were either not broken in fully yet, or I need a new pair. I dealt with blisters on the top of my toes and the pads of my feet would start to burn when I really heated them up. Need to put way more time in them before the season to make sure things are right.

Love my pack, but had some fit issues here. Would start to slip down on me, and when I over-tightened it I ended up bruising / blistering my hip bones. Need to spend the time to make sure it really is set up correctly.

My cow calling sucked under pressure. Did fine practicing, but in the woods, and possibly with new reeds that weren't broken in, I had a hard time. Need a lot more practice here, and need to be prepared to get more aggressive in certain situations.

I didn't give enough thought to high locations / points to listen for bugles early and late that are relatively easily accessible. I had one that worked out, not sure if my backup plans were sufficient. Very different when you're actually out there in the elk woods.

Need a better Binocular / Rangefinder / Pistol carry setup. Thinking a Hill People Gear Pouch, and smaller binocs and smaller pistol to go with it. Would like my rangefinder mounted right with easy access too.

Bugle Scabbard! I've got some ideas, but want to mount a tube on the side of my pack that my bugle tube will slip in and out of.

Need to re-think what I want out of my shelter(s). I have a megatarp and an old 2 man tent. I think I need a bigger base camp tent, better base camp setup, and a lighter / smaller bivy setup.

Everything still needs to fit in my pickup. May fabricate a roof rack / box for backup type gear that I'm unlikely to use, as well as some shelving / bunk type storage inside for all of my storage bins. May also add a hitch carrier for the cooler, but I need to be able to get it out of the way of the tailgate...

Anyways, I could probably start now and still not be ready

[njdoxie]

Get in yet better shape. ...I'm never happy with my shape. ...I'm starting to wonder if I ever will be happy....I'm humbled every elk hunt...
..since I started year around cardio 3 years ago I keep striving to get in better shape.

[goblue]

Have patience to sit in my tree stand all day. I need to bite the bullet and just do it. After looking at the pictures on my trail cam. Elk where there at my water hole everyday of the season.

[LongShot]

I agree with njdoxie about being humbled on my hunts, happened again this season.

I will be working on 1) calling and 2) being more aggressive. I didn't get aggressive until late in the hunt, and got close to 3 nice bulls on the last day.

[Heartwood]

Be more careful when location bugling, had a few different bulls show up to location bugles when i wasn't ready. Have a two man team on more setups. Work on some strength training over the winter.Continue to study and practice Elknut methods.

[zpd307]

Almost everything everyone else said. As I read I can put that scenario in one of my set ups. But if I had to pick one I would say calling. Specifically learning to use the mouth reed and being more aggressive. Gonna need to order some elknut videos to drive the old lady crazy with.

exactly what tod said....

[wawhitey]

The only change im making is hanging up my longbow for a compound. I got a couple bulls in easy range but failed with my equipment.

[pointysticks]

i'm putting my money on TAGS..and TAG LOTTOS!!

my gear is good to go.

[Drawnandpinned]

I'm thinking of adding some golf cleats to my hunting gear for the tuff hikes and maybe some trek poles Some of the stuff I hiked yesterday for the end of bow season was really ignorant steep but the only way to access it I'm going back when rifle opens so a few more trips up there it will pay for itself

[ABQ_Chica]

I hope to hunt with a traditional bow next year instead of a compound. My recurve is so much simpler and smoother to draw, and the broadheads are much easier keep sharp. Will spend the next 10 months working up to a higher draw weight...

[poisonarrow]

My practice will change. This year I did a lot of shooting but always at the same places.
For next year every shot will be random, in distance and angle, but shot with a range finder first. I am going to try to make my practice as much like hunting as I possibly can.
I missed one this year at 54 yds.

[Lefty]

My biggest change will be; I left the dessert for the timber
I expect tp be shooting my bow at 70lbs
I don't know if its in the budget but maybe a new bow
In the past my daily activities have kept me in decent shape. A few days hunting rifle deer in the mountains I now know I need to build up my legs,.. last night I had to send my daughter on up-a-head during our deer hunt . Once I get the pics on my computer Ill post that story on the deer forum

[elkaholic]

I am looking into a different unit as a plan B in case option A doesn't work out. This year I felt my gear performed well. I'm thinking of adding a Miss September Montana decoy and another trail camera. It goes without saying I want to push a little harder on my training and also work on being a better caller.