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First Time Elk Hunt Plan. Please Advise!

Well, this could get long as I think anybody willing to respond and help needs to know the whole situation I am in as I prepare to do my first elk hunt ever. To start out with I am planning this hunt for three guys. We have been getting preference points for Wyoming and have 3 right now. We plan on using them up in 2018 or 2019 on an archery elk hunt but that research is on hold as we have decided to try either Colorado OTC or Montana Elk/Deer General tag this fall. We are leaning toward Montana as my brother likes the idea of also having the deer tag as we prepare for what we know is a fairly low odds elk hunt. I want this year to be archery but the other two can’t get off work this September so they need to do rifle. If we do Montana I am going solo in September archery and back out in late October with them for rifle.

Unfortunately, our starting point is not very good as we are all set up for Midwest whitetail hunting and we will need to make due with the equipment we have. This includes no camper, no wall tent, and certainly not the equipment needed to do a backpack hunt. With that said I am hoping the weather will be nice enough in early September that can set up my normal camping gear at my truck and hunt out from there during archery. I guess my first question in this long post is whether you guys think I am crazy for considering camping up in the mountains without high end gear in September? I know we aren’t set up to camp up there in late October so we will have to work out of a hotel when we go back for rifle season which is far from ideal but it’s the only way we are going to get to see the mountains during elk season and maybe get lucky. I am sure trying to do this out of a hotel hurts our odds of success even more but can this be done? Everything I read has people either backpacking in or camping at a base camp by their truck. Does anybody even try to hunt elk based out of local hotels? A drop camp is probably an option in late October when the three of us are there but we are hoping to keep costs down so it’s probably not a real option this year.

Once I decide between the camping, hotel, or drop camp decision I can move onto the actual applying for the tag questions. I have read a lot about the general Montana tag but am still a little confused how the limited entry areas work in with the general tag. It appears that everybody in our situation applies for a general tag and with so many leftovers this is a 100% draw odds. At that point it appears that we would then have the option to apply for a limited entry unit. Do these two applications happen at the same time or do we wait for the general permit to be successful and then try for the limited entry after March 15th? The odds of these limited entry units seem so low for non-residents and most of the research I have done doesn’t seem to point to the easier to draw limited entry units being any better than the general areas. Knowing that I am going to go in September for archery and back with three of us in late October for rifle do you guys suggest just getting a leftover general permit after March 15th or is there an advantage to applying before March 15th and somehow trying for a limited entry unit? Can we apply as a group for the limited entry as we can’t have one draw and the rest don’t?

Once I decide where to sleep during the two hunts and then figure out how to apply I need to start narrowing down a location in a huge state and where to go. Nobody is going to give up their spot as everybody is looking for someplace with a lot of public land, a lot of elk, with low hunting pressure and that just doesn’t happen. I won’t be able to get back further than people camping out in the mountains or those with horses or four wheelers so I am going to have to put up with crowds and fewer elk and be happy with just being in the mountains with whatever small chance of success there might be. My initial research has me thinking about the Dillon or Jackson Montana area but I am really just hoping that maybe some can point me to a City that is known for having decent hunting within 30-45 minutes of a hotel.

I have planned an antelope hunt in Newcastle, a mule deer hunt out of Kaycee, and a bear hunt in Minnesota but this elk thing has me so overwhelmed I am not sure if it will come together. Hopefully some of you can help keep my plans on track or point me in a different direction. Thank you, Ken

Well for starters you can make a workable truck camp with a used tent, a sleeping bag and an extra blanket, a pad, a stove and lantern, and a blue tarp for an outside shelter. Variations of that are what everybody who base camps hunts from. You can use the same set up for the rifle hunt and for the cost of a week in a motel and meals in restaurants you can set yourself up with a decent mobile base camp that can be improved as you go and used for years.

Don't do the hotel thing. . . I haven't done it, but my buddy did. . . He said they wasted far too much time getting back and forth, and of course, closer to town. . . closer to more pressure.

I don't have the experience of most elk guys on here, but I've done a couple hunts. You can make September hunt work with very little gear. My first hunt I used a piece of Tyvek and a Cabelas bivy sack I bought at the bargain cave in Cabelas. Sure it was miserable, but it worked. Hell, give me your address and I'll mail you the bivy sack if I can find it. I'm never using it again :)

If you got a couple guys, I haven't done it, but maybe you can buy a cheaper tent and split the load if you pack in ? You don't have to have a $400 Hilleberg.

In 2015 my brother went on his first hunt with a WAlmart tent, and didn't even take a sleeping bag. Just 4 or 5 old comforters. Yeah he got a little cold a night or two, but he survived, and he wants to go back. . .

Gear is the least of your worries. Hell the old mountain men survived in buckskins with no tents. . .

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, because I LOVE gear! I like to buy gear I don't even use. . . but I'd spend more time researching the hunt areas, and coming up with plans A, B, C and D, versus spending your time worrying about gear.

Most of your whitetail gear will work just fine.

Wow, that was a lot. For starters, I'll say right off the bat that you have a ton of options and worrying about not having good hunting sleeping in a hotel is not the case.

But, before I can give an opinion, are you going to hunt elk this year? You talk about 2018 and 2019, yet, you yourself are talking about doing two hunts. Might I suggest, as it sounds like you're far more committed to this than your buddies, that you go this year by yourself and learn a thing or two about elk hunting? If you're open to that, I think your options and odds of success are far better and I'll give my advice after I hear back from you what you're after and willing to do since you took the time to lay it all out on the line.

Idyllwildarcher, yes we are planning on hunting this fall most likely Montana. We are all committed to rifle late october but if I spend a 1000 dollars on a tag I have the vacation to do archery early september which is my plan.

One very important 'thing' to consider to...... "you can hunt easy.....or you can hunt hard/difficult" ..... what I am trying to say is you don't have to hunt hard & difficult to obtain the same results... ie: getting a elk (or for that matter any critter you pursue). Some of the best elk and other critters can be had 'easy' .... like hunting pastures and wallows etc. without climbing thousands of feet in elevation thru very rough country miles back in from nowhere ...... be safe & have fun & hunt 'smart'!

A hotel hunt is doable. It's not what I would want to do, but doable. The issue with the hotel hunt is that success somewhat hinges on having intimate knowledge of the local area, imo. You don't have that. I believe the guys that have regular success on these types of hunts know a local spot where elk hole up or go when pressured. Of course, there's lots of elk country, so guys luck into them all the time.

As Jaquomo said already, for the money being spent on a hotel you could get set up with basic camping gear between the three people going. I'm sure some of what you have is usable.

If you aren't getting too far from camp, or from where you park your rig, high end clothing is certainly not necessary. I think having some good gear is important if you are packing in a ways because a) it will keep you out there hunting in the poorer conditions, and b) it may save your life. Some guys will tell you that it isn't necessary in any case, but generally I've seen that from guys that grew up/live in the mountains, with lots of experience. It sounds like you only have a little, or none.

Be aware that the October rifle hunt and the September bow hunt are entirely different animals that you likely won't want to approach in the same manner.

Holy Crap you're long winded! My 2cents, for what a motel would cost for a hunt or two, you could buy a used wall tent and stove combo and have it for the next time. Unless it's an exceptionally well placed hotel, it's going to rob you of way too much time to elk hunt driving back and forth, especially for the late season when the roads might be bad. I'd suggest figuring out a way to make some more money via overtime or side jobs, your going to spend that kind of money on an elk tag, then you don't want to tie your hands behind your back traveling roads for too much of the day!

1st, your midwest bow, arrow and cloths will work fine as long as you have cut on contact razor sharp BHs and at least 550 grain arrows. Second, cheap gear works fine, that is all any of us had 30 years ago. The long pole in the tent is physical fitness. I was a company commander in the 82d airborne division the year of my first hunt (running 30 miles a week at 6 min miles, lots of pushup/pullups, and 12 mile road marches weekly with 50# packin @ 2 hours), and I was down the first three days with altitude sickness. Lots of stairs/up and down steep hills with a 70 pound ruck 3 times a week, at least 1 hour at a time, at least 3 months out (and maybe diamox perscription). Look up elk hunting fitness regimins and start NOW. Next is pick an area with northeast facing drainiages at 9000k feet and plus or minus 1500 feet. The elk will be on the benches and headers during the day in these areas during archery elk season until pushed out. Scout slowly into the wind until you smell elk/find a wallow that was used that day. Some folks use game cameras to help pattern them, but sitting in a treestand over an active wallow/waterhole or chokepoint works extremely well for elk. Just make sure you stay down wind (and you will need to learn about how thermals work) of said elk at all times. You can learn to bugle and cow call, but in public OTC units the bulls will head for the next drainiage at the first fake bugle. Use bugles only to respond, and then only when you are in amongst them. All close work should be cow calls, and sparingly, and again only close and in response. This may sound silly, but I learned about elk hunting from the 1987 book called "All About Elk" by Mike Lapinski, Dwight Schuh, and two other guys named van zwoll and wiltse. It is a cheap NAHC rag my mother in law had found at a yard sale for 50 cents, but it contains everything you need to know about a self planned elk hunt, and is still current today (except maybe the bugle shy elk we now have). I read it, went to colorado, and literally went out and found elk right away. Do your homework and it is pretty likely one of you will come home with an elk. BUT, no matter how fit you become before you get there, the mountains will test you to your last ounce of endurance. Another reason to sneak in and find a wallow and sit in a tree/camp 1/2 mile down wind/out of the thermals of the elk.

Homemade Osage selfbow, wood arrow, public land otc unit, and packing out an elk quarter. It CAN be this easy......(with unpressured elk)

Your WT rigs will work just fine. No need to up your arrow weight or change BHs - unless they are Mech :)

Buy/Rent/Borrow an enclosed trailer. Load it up with your gear. Pull it out to the NF and find a wide spot in the trees and go hunt. You can use the trailer to eat/sleep/cook or even set up another tent to expand your space.

I guarantee you that there is already camp sites, fire rings, maybe even some meat poles already in place for you.

Once again, dont over-think it. Its not rocket science :)

The nice thing about hunting out of a base camp is you don't have to have light high end gear. Jaquomo said it best for needs. A pad, sleeping bag, tent, tarp etc.

I know nothing about conditions for a October rifle hunt. But a September bowhunt you can get by with less.

It sounds like you have your tag in order for this year. Do some research and come up with a unit or two. Once you have that down research half a dozen areas and then ask some questions.

Go out there with a plan. Be mobile, have fun and learn. If you find elk chalk it up to it being a successful hunt. If you harvest one that's just icing on the cake.

Back when we started out we had a bunch of yard-sale Coleman stuff, cheap tents and sleeping bags, a tarp stretched between trees for a living and cooking shelter, bought used wool clothes from Goodwill. My entire hunting and camping outfit cost less than the price of a Sitka thong today. We didn't look or feel like Divas, but we killed elk with our bows every year.

Please no pics of sitka thongs unless there on a Hot Laramie college hippy chic.

Last year my partner and I used a $50 Walmart tent for our elk hunt. We slept great every night. The high dollar kifaru mega tarp got left at home.

Tent, tarp, stove, lantern, water jugs, cooler, pad or cot, 1 good sleeping bag or a couple crappy ones. Its honestly pretty simple. You hopefully will be out hunting most daylight hours. That leaves eating dinner, changing clothes, and sleeping. It doesn't take much gear to be plenty comfortable. I grew up elk hunting October & November with a cheap tent, a cheap sleeping bag stuffed inside another cheap sleeping bag and a big piece of yellow foam pad. We got around in my Dad's 2wd truck. A big snow could be a pain but we would just knock it off the tent a few times a night and throw a blue tarp over it as an extra fly. I cherish those memories and never knew we didn't have the "right" gear. I have hunted long weekends with just a cooler and a sleeping bag in Sept sleeping outside when its nice and in the truck cab if it rains or snows. Not knocking good gear but a low budget camp will be fine.

Backpacking is cool and I have done my share, but most elk are shot by guys who are back at their vehicle every night.

The big thing is to just go. Once you are there, camp is set and you are lounging around the fire looking at the map, any hesitations you had will likely be replaced by thoughts like "I should have been here every fall".

There is lots of great advice being given here. Most of us started off hunting elk in cotton clothes, none of the high tech stuff was available. Number one, your boots have to fit right. Number two, your backpack (if you're using one) has to fit right.

Lastly, if you are going to buy some high tech clothing I'd suggest you buy the pants first. Personally, I think the high tech pants absolutely blow away the non stretchy, sweat holding, cotton stuff.

As far as camping gear, you can sleep when you get back home.

If you want to do it, its up to you to make it happen.

Back in the 90s, I would haul up my horses in my stock trailer, get to camp, kick out the horse $hit, spread some straw on the floor, cover the stock trailer with a couple of tarps, put the cooking stove and coolers up front, set up an old Army cot and.... I was elk hunting

Sitka was only a town in Alaska back then

"As far as camping gear, you can sleep when you get back home." - elk stabber haha awesome. Gonna save that quote.

You can try to eat the whole elephant or you can take smaller bites and finish it within a reasonable time. This is how I would plan your hunts over a reasonable time period, one topic at a time. I would take the many paragraphs/topics you first wrote, and then break them down into individual topics that can be handled without too much stress.

I just got the feeling you were getting stressed out over this as you were trying to eat the whole elephant in one setting. Relax, get comfortable, and take a deep breath as it is ONLY ELK HUNTING.

My best, Paul

Lots of great advice above! Even though I have lots of top end clothes and gear these days, I still bargain shop in Goodwill, second hand stores, and yard sales and have picked up some absolutely amazing deals on camping gear and clothes! Always need another cheap backpack and you can find old frame packs for only a couple of dollars that will work great for packing meat!

One thing I would make sure of is to have a pair of really good boots that are well broken in with a couple of pairs of wool socks and maybe liners to prevent blisters. You will walk much, much further than you can imagine every day and your feet will make or break you. Take care of your feet or you will be miserable!

You can get by with only a few clothing items. You really don't need the latest and greatest Sitka Gear to kill an elk - heck I think I killed my first elk in a hand-me-down brown flannel shirt and a pair of cotton original mossy oak pants that I wore pretty much every day for 2 weeks. One thing I have really fallen in love with is a good set of merino long johns. I would make sure to get a set of merino long john top and bottoms. You will be much more comfortable over a wider range of temperatures and wet or dry with a set of merino wool long johns. They don't have to be the super expensive stuff and you can probably get some deals from now thru the summer. I have several sets I picked up from Minus 33 on sale and they go on every hunt - early or late.

Good luck and remember to have fun!

You can sleep in the truck or in a dome tent from Target. You don't need high end gear or a wall tent. If you really want they do rent this stuff if you really want it.

Problem with a Hotel hunt is you use a bunch of time traveling back and forth and you can get burned out easy. Also depending on weather, and roads you may not get back in there each time. Last season I traveled to MT and we had lots of rain, and snow during the archery season and there was no way you wanted to run back and forth on the road I was parked on as you probably would not have gotten in each time.

Where are you in Illinois?

A large tarp to hang over camp is handy. You can sleep in a small dome tent, which is good 90% of the time in September, or more. You can get a foot of snow, too, so prepare for that.

Critical gear. Good boots that don't blister or hurt. . Clothing that works when wet, because hypothermia happens quickly. A good pack...I am a Kifaru addict, but if you get a used Lowe Alpine cheap, it's got a pretty good suspension system. Enough gear that you can start a fire and spend the night in the woods if you have to. If you're wet and cold, and can't start a fire, at best you'll be miserable. And map and compass, with a GPS. If you do nothing but use the goto function to get back to camp, there will be one night where you save 5 miles of walking that way. (Guess how I know that?)

Don't do the motel. Rather put the money you'd spend on that towards gear that you can use for years to come. At the very least I would suggest buying a good weight carrying pack and going from there. The other stuff you can get by with less..

Thanks for all of the feedback so far guys. It's pretty obvious that the consensus is to camp at my truck with the normal camping gear I have which is what I wanted to do. I had got so use to hearing everybody talk about campers, enclosed trailers, wall tents, $500 backpacks, etc, etc. that it was good to hear that most everybody started with minimal high end gear and worked there way up.

I will take Paul@theforts advice and ask smaller more direct to the point questions as I prepare for this hunt. Looking back I definitely got rambling during my initial post.

Most important, make sure you have the stuff so you don't get lost and if that fails and you do get lost, have the stuff to survive. Carry water purification tabs, a space blanket, rain gear, some food and fire starter every time you leave camp. And last but not least, shoot at the first legal elk you have a makeable shot at! Real elk taste way better than unused elk tags and I've had a LOT of experience cooking tags and they still don't taste any better with all the experimental dishes I've made!

You have most of the gear. Don't go overboard. Some things you might want to think about.

Physical fitness- It has been mentioned but cannot be overemphasized. No elk hunt has gone south because the hunter was too fit, but many have gone bad because hunters were out of shape.

Boots- You need something that can handle covering ground (miles) in rough terrain while giving support and not causing blisters.

If you are truck camping, (Which I would support), prepare to be mobile. Use your base camp as a place to sleep and eat at the end of your day. Be prepared to pull up stakes 3 or 4 times to find elk. Yes you can find elk with plan A, but you better have several options. It is much easier to develop those in the off season when you have plenty of time to research. Versus when your @ss is kicked on day 3 without seeing an elk, you think "Where should I go next?" I have never had an unsuccessful hunt, I have only run out of time!

If you plan on using your knowledge gained during archery hunt for rifle hunt, you could be disappointed. Depending upon timing, elk can be in a totally different location. Also you are less likely to hear elk in rifle season.

My first elk hunt in 1998, I used the same sleeping bag I used for camping. It was heavy but it did the job. (I did a backpack hunt) I didn't have lightweight gear but I still had opportunities. Elk don't care who made your gear.

Finally, mental attitude. You need to develop the right attitude. If you want to camp, you can do that 50 weeks out of the year. If you want to kill and elk, you need to do be prepared at any one point in time that you might have an opportunity. If it is cold, the elk are still there. If it is hot and dry, the elk are still there. Elk don't go back to camp when the weather sucks. ALWAYS be ready to kill. Nock an arrow when stop for lunch. NEVER get complacent. You never know when an opportunity might arise.

Great points, Z. I've been learning a new area the past three seasons. Even though I scout all summer, my three best spots were discovered during the hunt, after figuring out where others were hunting and guessing where the elk might go after being bumped. This only happened because I was mobile and didn't keep hunting week old sign where the elk "were".

A cheap tent will work most times but be prepared for a foot of snow in Sept. It can happen and most cheapos won't take the snow. Thought of renting a camper? You could split the cost and have a mobile camp if needed. Staying warm and dry could save your life.

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