Elk Hunters Love To Talk About Elk This Time Of Year
Source: http://fwp.mt.gov/
Published: Oct. 02, 2009
It is easy to identify Montana’s elk hunters this time of year—they are the ones talking about elk—elk they harvested, elk they just missed harvesting, or the elk they hope "to get into" this hunting season. Montana’s general big game season begins Oct. 25.
Most hunters also enjoy talking technique and comparing results.
One of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks newest recruits, Broadus warden Troy Hinck, is an avid elk hunter who is happy to share what he’s learned in the field.
"One of my favorite set-ups involves using the elk’s desire to get downwind of you," he said. "If you are trying to call in elk, set up with the wind in your face or even at a 90 degree angle from it. The elk will often try to circle around the caller."
Have your hunting partner set up where the elk is most likely to pass while circling to get downwind of the caller.
"If it turns out to be the wrong position as the elk circles, your hunting partner can angle into a better position as long as the elk is moving toward him and he avoids moving toward it," Hinck said.
New hunters should be aware that, as in any activity, there are some who talk more than they hunt. If you hear complex, hard to follow theories on how to identify the best hunting spot or details on the many features of the latest, most expensive gear, for example, you can be pretty sure you are not talking to an experienced hunter. That is why many newcomers seek those crusty individuals long on humility and short on theory.
Veteran elk hunters, including Jim Vashro, 58, in FWP’s Kalispell office, know how to "get into the elk" because that is what they do year after year. By this point in their hunting careers they are also experienced storytellers, which makes them interesting company too.
Here are some of Vashro’s deceivingly simple hunting habits.
- Hike at least a mile from the trailhead or road before you start to hunt. One year Vashro and his hunting partner met some out-of-state hunters who had camped at a trailhead for a week and not seen one elk because they never hiked more than a mile in. A three-mile hike from the trailhead put Vashro and his partner into the elk most of the day.
- Vashro is in the woods before daylight and out after dark, and often doesn’t see his camp in the daylight except on the pack in and back out.
- A well-stocked daypack gives him the confidence to hike in the dark and into rugged areas. He recommends high-energy foods and snacks and lots of water to keep alert and going all day.
- His hunting success rate improved when he started camping out three to four days in a row in order to home-in on the best spots.
- Vashro moves pretty fast and covers a lot of ground until he hits an "elky" spot. Then he slows down, maybe covering only a quarter of a mile in an hour in heavy or noisy cover. He takes only one or two steps, scans the area thoroughly before he moves again.
- Game carts are a godsend to old creaky backs. Vashro claims to have brought a bull moose out of the woods in the dark by himself using a game cart in a single five-mile, one hour and 40 minute trip in the dark.
- Vashro said he long ago lost his fascination with packing out whole critters. He at least quarters them and usually bones out everything for packing. "I’ve taken two dozen or so elk in the past 30 years, so I’m a step beyond dumb luck—although I’ll take that any time it comes along," Vashro said. "Of the elk I’ve harvested, only three came out whole and two of the three were dragged over a mile."
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