Elk Newb
 

Got a drop camp elk trip planned to Gunnison, CO November 3. Pack in by horseback and we're by ourselves trying to chase down an elk for 7 days. I've been up at that altitude before(skiing) but never hunted it.

Any of you guys have any tips for a high country rookie?

everything i hear about is people are out of shape so i would start walking, running, walking with backpack full of gear etc. good luck

Tip: That sound like too much damn work!!!

We hunt at 10,000 ft in CO. Just start walking/running now!. It's very dry air so you will need water and chap stick! Gotta get them lungs in shape!

Like others said. Start now. Head to your local highscool football field load your backpack and start walkin the bleachers. Good luck. I love that country. Colorado to me is the prettiest state.

I got a 6x5 up by lyons, Co. Definately start walkin now. If you can keep a horse, keep it. by the second day, I could barely get around, and this was when I was young and in great shape. Have very good glasses. You need to see very far sometimes. Good luck, when I went it was the hardest hunting I have ever done, and it was also the best i've been on. it's beautiful up there. Get some mule deer tags too, they're like rats up there!

These guys have given some good advice. Gun hunt or bow hunt would make some difference on your approach obviously. Which one you doing?

Being it's in November I was assuming he was going with a rifle.

We're going rifle for our first time. Out of me, dad and my brother we will bring a 1 bow just in case they got a bull that done lost his mind.

I go skiing just about every year, so been at that altitude. Trying to warn my dad and brother, tt has a bad effect on me.

Plan on bringing 30-06 with good optics, spotting scopes, shooting sticks.

My dad is the best deer hunter I know but I'm not big into big game. But we've never tried to chase elk across the rocky mountains so not sure what to expect.

I have hunted just bow for elk but here are some things that could help. You won't have the rut happening so probably no vocalizations that will help you locate them. 1)Good optics and do a lot of glassing. It is counter intuitive to just sit and watch in such big country but you can spook elk by just going walking all over. Might be better to sit and watch. With 3 of you each one could watch different areas and check in with each other. Walkie talkies are a great help to stay in touch with each other while you are glassing. If someone sees something, you can get together and plan a stalk without having to get up and go find your partners and with a rifle your success will be much higher.
2) Be where you need to be early!! I am assuming the elk will have been hunted at least somewhat with archery and muzzleloader season having already happened. You may not want to do this but-- bring a small tent and if you have elk moving real early spend the night closer to the area so you can wake up and get on them first thing in the morning. Its called a spike camp.
3)Stay late. Pressured elk move early and late for the most part depending on the weather. This means you have to be able to navigate back to your camp in the dark. Handheld GPS will help and I would not go without one but always have your compass and your topo map of the area. GPS gives you straight lines back to your camp and that sometimes will have you over a cliff. Learn how to use the route tracking so you can trace your trail back to camp.
4) Hunt with Thanksgiving - Count yourself blessed that you get to go and hunt in the awesome mountains you will be in where elk live. You belong to a small group of people in the world that get to experience what you are fixing to experience. It is soooo beautiful as you know from skiing there. Take time to enjoy it and don't make the whole success of the trip about killing an elk. This attitude will help you get an elk more than anything else. It doesn't mean you hunt like a lazy bum. Being thankful actually produces an excitement that makes you appreciate the opportunity and you hunt better and harder.
I hope you get a monster!!!!
EC

I have hunted them with bow and rifle in Montana and Colorado. Like everyone else saying, make sure you in decent shape. If you hear that big bull bugling though, your adrenaline is rushing so hard, you dont think about being out of breath. It is a lot of fun. I have killed 4. Biggest was a 7x6 I have mounted. Bring along a cow call, can help locate the bulls better in rifle season because they arent bugling as much during rifle as they do during bow. Make sure you have a gps, water, food, and a back pack. I like to shoot off my back pack in the prone position. Most stable shot you can get. I like to stay on the move when I am elk hunting. Just move slow, glass alot, and listen. They have such a strong odor, you can even smell them when you start getting close to a herd.

Ya'll getting me super pumped. We really like the "roughing it" camping element more than anything. If we should be lucky enough to get an elk that would be a bonus.

Me and my dad have been tent camping every year at the mouth of the Mississippi(Passe a l'outre) since I was 12(now 33). I just like the adventure. When we go to Venice we bring only rice and onions and eat ducks and fish everyday. We plan on bringing some meat to cook up there though...

When I was 12 or 13 years old I went on my first elk hunt with a bow. And we "roughed" it in tents in Montana. It was beautiful. We were on a guided horse back hunt but it was on public land. I stuck the biggest bull I have ever seen to date dead in the shoulder blade and never found him. I was prob only drawing 40 lbs back then. With bows out now a days and if I could have drawn back more weight, that would have been a dead elk.

Start training now gps camelbak good binos rangefinder and scope

That must've been an awesome experience.

Definitely. Bow hunting during the rut is quite an experience. Its like turkey hunting. You call them in with a bugle. We probably had 20 diff bulls within 100 yards of us on that trip. My dad missed 3 times. The guide would always set him up for the shot cause I was so young. Them big bulls come in pissed ready to fight. My dad was so nervous when the first one of the trip came charging in, he bumped his release and shot over his back. It was like 10-15 steps. Gets your blood pumping! I'm gonna try and go back soon.

x100000!!!! Went to colorado last sept for 12 days! Get in shape charlie. we did ALOT of walking them mountains were pretty brutal

buy the best optics you can afford and push yourself physically. The activity won't get you but the altitude will. At 10000ft, the air is much less dense, you WILL be gulping for air no matter how good of shape you are in. Not much a Louisiana boy can do to simulate 10000ft elevations, but trying is certainly better than doing nothing. It can ruin your hunt if you can't at least keep up with the guide.
But elk hunting is as good as it gets in North America, so enjoy it. And remember the real work doesn't begin until the animal is down!