Wyoming Elk Hunt

[Scoot]

From the sounds of it we need to experience the draw units! We have a fair number collected for Colorado and may have to look into other states as well now. Hoping to be able to put the father-in-law that started this hunting group into a similar scenario that you and no wiser had before he is unable to hump the mountains anymore.

fishalittle, feel free to PM me if you would like some help in putting something together. I have a few ideas and suggestions for you and might be helpful, depending upon what your point situation is.

[Scoot]

What is your bow/arrow/broadhead setup that you used on this hunt? Is it different than what you use for deer hunting back home?

I shoot the same bow and arrows for everything. Because I shoot a reasonably heavy arrow it works for all of them. I do swap broadheads though. For elk I shoot G5 Strikers. They penetrate great and have been a very good head for me on elk. For whitetail and muleys I shoot Spitfire Maxx heads. I have been super happy with these heads on deer.

The first year I hunted elk I shot an expandable and I discovered why it was a big mistake. This is a highly debated topic, but after reading a couple thousand posts on the topic I can tell you a couple things about it. There are literally thousands of whitetail hunters who have shot a couple or few elk with their whitetail setups (including expandables) and many of them say "worked fine for me". However, if you talk to the vast, vast majority of real elk gurus who have been doing it for a long time and have shot many dozens of elk, very few of them shoot expandables and almost all of them rely on a cut on contact, fixed head. That jibes with the very negative experience I had with my first elk. I was fortunate to find the elk, but I put two perfectly placed arrows in that bull, one of them from 8 feet away, and neither had a pass through.

[NoWiser]

The first year I hunted elk I shot an expandable and I discovered why it was a big mistake. This is a highly debated topic, but after reading a couple thousand posts on the topic I can tell you a couple things about it. There are literally thousands of whitetail hunters who have shot a couple or few elk with their whitetail setups (including expandables) and many of them say "worked fine for me". However, if you talk to the vast, vast majority of real elk gurus who have been doing it for a long time and have shot many dozens of elk, very few of them shoot expandables and almost all of them rely on a cut on contact, fixed head. That jibes with the very negative experience I had with my first elk. I was fortunate to find the elk, but I put two perfectly placed arrows in that bull, one of them from 8 feet away, and neither had a pass through.

Thanks for the explanation. Your thoughts seem to jibe pretty well with those of the guide I became acquainted with on our hunt. He just emailed me a couple of days ago to reiterate his beliefs on expandables after having another client lose a bull due to poor penetration during the 3rd NM season.

Congrats again on the hunt. Elk burgers during turkey season sound good? I'll provide the morels to throw on top of them!

[Scoot]

Elk burgers during turkey season sound good?

[BoxMN]

Congrats to you guys, for the bulls but also for the great hunt! And thanks once again for sharing - great stories!

[Powerstroke]

Are you you friggin kidding me?!? I just read through from Rod shooting his bull to the end. What an awesome story! and with days left no less....

You are a modest fellow Scott. Your years of elk hunting may not be that many but it seems that you guys pack as many hours of hunting into your trips as possible and that makes all the difference. It all seems so simple until you begin to manage the logistics of planning your own hunt.

Congratulations again!! Wow!

[huntingislife]

Scoot,

What pack are you using? Maybe I missed that.

[Scoot]

Powerstroke, we hunt as hard as we can! I've started to calm down a little bit, but in years past I wouldn't sit at camp for one minute. Any time spent at camp was time we could have been chasing elk, so it was wasted time IMO. We train for and look forward to this trip for 51 weeks per year, so when we get it we try our best to take full advantage of it. As I get a few more years under my belt I'm trying to smell the roses more...

huntingislife, I'm running a Kifaru Bikini frame with a Nomad on it. I had a Highcamp on the Bikini last year and liked it. However, I'm a big fan of batwing style packs, so when the Nomad came out I sold the Highcamp and got the Nomad. I LOVE the Nomad! It's easily the most versitile pack I've ever owned and I love the ability it gives me to add, subtract, and totally change my set up. Plus, I liked it better for hauling than I did the Highcamp (which I liked, but not like this!) This set up will haul way more than I'm capable of and it's pretty darn comfortable doing so. It's a ridiculously expensive set up, but it holds its value really well, so I can turn it over with little loss.

[DonBo]

Elk burgers during turkey season sound good? I'll provide the morels to throw on top of them!

Did someone say turkey? How do I get in on this? I like elk burgers and morels...and turkeys.

[Siwulat]

Scoot, is your profile pic from this hunt?

[Scoot]

Scoot, is your profile pic from this hunt?

Nope, that was from a hunt that we did almost ten years ago now. That's my brother, a buddy (Slevy), and me. That was also a dang fun trip!

[huntingislife]

huntingislife, I'm running a Kifaru Bikini frame with a Nomad on it. I had a Highcamp on the Bikini last year and liked it. However, I'm a big fan of batwing style packs, so when the Nomad came out I sold the Highcamp and got the Nomad. I LOVE the Nomad! It's easily the most versitile pack I've ever owned and I love the ability it gives me to add, subtract, and totally change my set up. Plus, I liked it better for hauling than I did the Highcamp (which I liked, but not like this!) This set up will haul way more than I'm capable of and it's pretty darn comfortable doing so. It's a ridiculously expensive set up, but it holds its value really well, so I can turn it over with little loss.

Did you run the 4800 or 7000 Highcamp? I am trying to determine adequate pack size for 7-8 days.

[HooknHorns]

Scoot, the reason for asking about the points was I don't want to waste money accueing points for a good draw unit when you don't have to. I've seen some info on point creep and other units taking 6 to 7 points. Just wondering if you had a horseshoe like Jim had and got drawn for a spectacular spot against all odds.

I did love the OTC tag in colorado.

I appreciate the time you take for these threads. I have to say if it wasn't for jims threads and yours, I wouldnt had the direction to achieve my own western hunt. Like most others out there reading this. It's one thing to have the desire to do these hunts and another to just do it. I think being afraid to fail and the amount of work holds a lot hunters back.

Thanks again

[Scoot]

Did you run the 4800 or 7000 Highcamp?

I ran the 4800. If you can't make a 4800 work for a Sep hunt that is 10 days or less, you're packing way too much! Plus, you can add a few hundred cubic inches with a couple pockets or a lid. You may want to consider the Nomad as well. I MUCH prefer the Nomad over the Highcamp.

[Scoot]

HnH, I hear ya. We drew this unit by making full use of the points we had accrued. We're not lucky like Jim when it comes to lotteries! My suggestion is to get the point every chance you get. It may cost you $50 extra bucks, but skip taking your bride out for a movie and dinner one night and you're money ahead (stay in for a nice meal and a movie at home)! If you're getting points in CO I'd have different advice entirely- unless you already have a 15 or more points there, don't bother getting more than a few in that state. WY is different...

I totally agree with you regarding fear of failure and lack of desire to put in the work to prepare adequately. These are totally different hurdles, but between the two I think that stops one heck of a lot of guys from "just doing it". JUST DO IT! That's my advice. It's so dang fun! Train, work hard to get in shape, and just get out there somewhere. It's so fun!

If any of you have questions for are looking for help let me know. I'll do my best to help you. I never give away unit numbers or gps coordinates, but I'll do my best to point you in a good direction. Of course you get what you pay for, but still, I'll do my best to be helpful!

[DonBo]

still, I'll do my best to be helpful!

And that's what makes HSO such a great place to hang.

[nofishfisherman]

One question I had that I don't think I've seen answered yet...

How the heck do you get the wife to let you out of the house for long hunting trips every year? Seems like the max I can pull off these days is 4 days for the firearm season.

[Scoot]

Nofish, it sounds to me like you didn't train her right! LOL. Honestly I've given up most of my other hobbies- I don't fish as much as I used to for sure . Also all of the summer pretty much belongs to my wife in terms of decision making and plans. Come Sep that changes! She's come to expect it- she now asks "where are you going this year?" instead of "are you going this year?"

It's a huge effort on her part for me to go and I'm extremely appreciative . I try to mask sure she understands that. I also try hard to dig out of the hole the minute I get home.

[Powerstroke]

As a hunter with a very understanding wife, I can say that lots of communication about your plan for the hunt makes all the difference. Rather than keep quiet about my trips or how long I want to be gone, I talk about it all the time and make sure she understands my plans. I push my luck in the fall as well as the spring. I love fall turkey hunting and I've been to other states the last 4 years in a row.

However, I am also like Scoot in that I make my wife the one in charge of summertime and the holidays.

And to think, I don't even elk hunt yet......

[Archerysniper]

As a hunter with a very understanding wife, I can say that lots of communication about your plan for the hunt makes all the difference. Rather than keep quiet about my trips or how long I want to be gone, I talk about it all the time and make sure she understands my plans. I push my luck in the fall as well as the spring. I love fall turkey hunting and I've been to other states the last 4 years in a row.

However, I am also like Scoot in that I make my wife the one in charge of summertime and the holidays.

And to think, I don't even elk hunt yet......

+1^^^^^^^^ I was gone for 18 days elk hunting now I'm getting ready to go back for 7 more with the rifle.

[Powerstroke]

I meant to write I'm in love with spring turkeys. EIther way the point is valid. The more I talk about my trips the more she knows its not just a vacation for me. Its something I NEED to do.

[DonBo]

...its not just a vacation for me. Its something I NEED to do.

It's more than what I do, it's who I am. I'm also fortunate to have a wife that understands that.

[Siwulat]

Scoot, you mentioned earlier in this thread that you train 52 weeks a year for these types of hunts. Do you mind sharing your training regimen?

[Scoot]

The more I talk about my trips the more she knows its not just a vacation for me.

It's interesting- this is EXACTLY the opposite of what I've found is the most helpful at my house. My wife got sick and tired of me talking about my hunting trips over and over and over a loooooong time ago. The message she was getting was that those trips were more important to me than other things in life- things that both shouldn't be more important and weren't. However, when I went on and on about elk and a trip out West I sent a different message than that. Now I say very little about these trips at home. My wife definitely knows how important these trips are to me without me saying a thing about them.

[Fishalittle]

Same story here Scoot. We got the is that all you can talk about from wives and other family members... NOW the elk talk happens out in the shop while working on the farm equipment and during other guy events.