Spring Training for Elk
Elk
Elk season is 7 months away, yet there is a steady stream of elk threads popping up. It's obvious many consider elk fun, challenging, and rewarding and those going for their first time are seeking advice and knowledge well in advance of their first trip. Most of the advice is sought from the elk guys, understandably so, but nothing puts you in elk hunting mode and gives you first hand knowledge of elk hunting like the actual process of hunting elk....and turkey.
Why does turkey hunting give you elk hunting knowledge...because it translates. As long as you are hunting turkey using true turkey hunting tactics like cut n run, plus some less traditional methods like spot n stalk, or hybrid of the two...spot, stalk, set up and call, you will experience the exact scenerios as when elk hunting.
For some this might mean foregoing the early archery only turkey seasons and waiting until later when the birds have hit the hills and started acting more like elk. This will mean you will be competing against gun hunters which will add to building mental toughness and overcoming longer odds.
Calling to toms that have been worked or even shot at is very much the same as calling to older bull elk which bacically means the same for both....they are not coming in to standard calling tactics. You will have to use call plus tactics. Call Plus is simply being mire realistic by either scratching in the leaves or breaking branches. Call Plus includes giving a visual along with the calling. I did this to call in my first elk. He saw me just as I saw him so I called immediately... he wasn't convinced so I picked up a limb that was laying next to me and started racking a tree and calling. He could see the limb and thought I was another bull and came in posturing all the way.
One thing I see in common with all the new elk hunters is they lack confidence. Because of all the turkeys I had killed and the fact that many had told me turkey experience translated to elk experience.. I was confident, giving myself a 100% chance of killing an elk on my first trip. You might nor have that level of confidence but you can definantly up your odds if you get out there this spring and start practicing for elk using the tactics mentioned above.
One point that is seldom pointed out is how important it is to be able pinpoint the animals location just from one bugle or gobble. I was unsure how elk sounds would calibrate to turkey. What I found out was it's exactly the same. I was able from just a couple of Bugles over a half mile away to close the distance to within 100 yards of the bull. All the practice I had on turkeys helped with that. When you think about it there are few animals besides elk and turkey that you use sound to locate game.
While elk may be more difficult to locate, turkeys are usually not..not if they are in the prime gobbling season. This gives you lots of practice. Don't be surprised if you spook more than you setup on the first year you try it. And definantly don't get frustrated when you can't call them up...and when you do call one up it spooks off your set. All this frustration builds mental toughness...you will want to quit..turkey or elk will test your will to push forward. You will experience your favorite turkey spot flattened by loggers...if you don't quit you will find the timber harves actually concentrated the turkeys. Also hear folks complaining about sheep pushing elk out...if you don't quit you will find that actually consentrates elk somewhere else. Keep pushing and you might find them and have the best hunt ever. Bad days shouldn't discourage you if you know what your are doing.. the more days I go without killing, the worse the odds for the elk or turkey.
I agree completely. My son, who went on his first elk hunt last year, said, "I think it might even be better than turkey hunting". The two are my favorite also. I use many of the same tactics on these two hunts. The walk away cow/hen call, locator Bugles/Gobbles, hot calls Cuts and cackles vs. Estrus calls, etc.
TBM,question,how many Elk have you actually called in? how many days have you been hunting Elk total?
Called in 4 in the 7 days I was on elk. One hung up out of bow range so he wasn't called in close...just close enough to see at about 90 yards. The others were close, but one of those busted me as I was trying to shift down wind of my calling location. These were public land where everyone said they were difficult to call.
So you've been Elk hunting a total of 7 days and called in 4 Elk.Of those four Elk how many were mature bulls? Good luck with this thread.
All the 1000 turkeys are the same as elk..you have to do the exact same thing. Turkey prepare you for elk and elk for turkey. I would bet elk guys who had never hunted turkey could do real with turkeys...shot gunning
I have never hunted elk before but i have to pipe in. I understand the calling in of the animal comparison but once you factor in the sense of smell with any animal, its a whole nother ballgame. Especially when you are talking about mature animals. Ive been hunting deer and turkey for a long time and have always said, if turkey could smell me like a whitetail, i would probably never kill one. The wind is everything with whitetail and i am expectiing it is the same with mature elk
Taxman +1 except elk sense of smell is 5X greater than whitetail.
" I would bet elk guys who had never hunted turkey could do real with turkeys...shot gunning" I bet the elk guys and non elk killers would all have a hay day with bow hunting turkeys.
I wouldn't underestimate the elk guys but they would likely have more trouble hitting turkeys because of the small target. They also wouldn't find the same advantage with their double and triple teams because turkeys are a lot more unpredictable where they come in. Elk can smell so that's a huge advantage to the hunter inpredicting where they will approach. Turkey will loop around so the guy out front will not get the shot as much as with elk.
TBM is spot on. I have always used Turkey as a "spring training" for elk hunting. I view them as almost one in the same too and could not agree more with his evaluation of Turkey vs. Elk. For those that say a elk's sense of smell is the difference maker, I would have to say that turkey's eye sight is just as good as and elk's nose. I think that a turkey can see someone blink at 30 yards how are you going to draw a bow on one in the wide open? I do not know too many guys that can hunt turkeys with a bow and arrow without sitting in a blind to conceal the movement.
Being from Wisconsin and not having much exposure to elk country, the first time I went elk hunting the amount of huntable land was just overwhelming. I thought "Where do I start, they could be anywhere..." I compared it to trying to locate a Tom in a 5 square mile hardwood plot without hearing it gobble, good luck, and it was VERY discouraging. Elk hunting has made me a MUCH better turkey hunter and I feel that turkey hunting with an elk attitude has made me a better turkey hunter.
Keep up the positive attitude TMB, I am with you on this one.
For once I agree to some degree with TDM. I think calling turkeys and the subtleties of dealing with their fickle nature and periodic moods prepare you better to deal with bull elk.
Under certain conditions I have gone to actual turkey hunting methods and called in elk.
As with a henned up gobbler a bull with cows is tough to call.
I have even had guides say the elk were not coming to calls to end up calling in twelve bulls in 7 days.
Be careful to not give animals super human defeating capabilities. When not pressured most animals can be hunted and killed with regularity.
