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
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.
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.
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.
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 :)
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.
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.
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".
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.
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
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
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!
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?
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?)
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.
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.