Might hang up the bow

[LuketheDog]

I have either been running into...bears, or whitetails

Buy bear and whitetail tags!

 

[JohnCushman]

I'm 0-8 on archery elk. Should I give up too? Maybe all the non successful archery elk hunters should just say screw it too and put more rifle hunters into already over crowded public lands. No, I'm going to keep at it and and learn from my past hunts and my first will be that much more special.

 

[HSi-ESi]

Stick with it - especially since it's your first year of it. More time in the field will make you a better hunter. If you didn't rifle hunt before moving to MT - then you should pick that up too. I've had harder hunts with a rifle then with a bow - so don't assume that going out during rifle will guarantee an elk. If you can only hunt 1 day at a time (there are times that's all I can do) - I'll head into an area Friday night to hunt Sat. That might been I'm hiking till 2 AM, catching a few hours of sleep, then hunting. Or I'm leaving the trailhead at 1 or 2 AM.

If nothing else, it will give you a great appreciation for guys like Randy (and others on here) that get it done every year.

 

[Slim55]

Don't give up. "El Unit" offers up some great advice... Sometimes elk will be exactly where you last saw them, if not spooked. I was lucky enough to bag my OR. elk this year with my bow. The night before, we called and located them, but backed out at the last second because the wind changed. So the next morning we went back and found them no more than 50yds of where they were the night before. Always keep the wind in your favor. You might be near them, but if they get your scent, they will leave so quietly at times, and you'll never know you were close. Good luck

 

[PlusFive]

Thanks for the advice guys! I did some fishing and took a little hunting break and the ambition to get back out is in me again. Heading out tomorrow with new vigour. I think I just needed a little rest to push the negativity out.

 

[C_Dick_Run]

Feeling your pain. Took my bow for another 9 mile walk yesterday. Was trying to locate a small herd of elk on a block management piece that we found last weekend, but the warmer weather seems to have let them return to higher country. I must have encountered 12-15 shooter bucks throughout the day, and blew stalk after stalk. Trying to put the sneak on whitetails into archery range in open country is just plain silly. I was about ready to go Bo Jackson mode and break my bow over my knee but had to just stop and think about the opportunity that Montana provides and if I didn't love the thrill of the chase, I wouldn't have gotten up at 4 a.m. that morning. One thing that helps keep me motivated is taking pictures and/or notes throughout the day and being able to look back on the experience. It's sort of a way of having something to show for it, even if it's not an animal. Good luck

 

[JLS]

They aren't whitetails, and you don't necessarily need to pattern them. More important is how and where to find them in the first place.

I would say if all you're finding is bears and whitetails, you may not be looking in the right places.

 

[PlusFive]

So today I had some fun. I only hiked in about a mile. The least I have hiked all year for a hunt. The area seemed good even though it was in an area known for substantial human presence. I hunt until about 830am and all was quite. I was starting my walk back to the truck to find another area when a bull bugles down in the draw. I listen another minute and another sounds off just above him. The two go at it for a while. After about 45 minutes I sneak to within 100 yards of the lower one. Of course the winds start to switch. So I hoofed it back up the draw to circle around and come in on the other side of the upper bull with the right wind. When I got back on top of the draw I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I went up that thing fast. But I calmed my heart rate and got my breathing in check to let put a few cow calls in my diaphragm. The lower bull stays silent but the one farther up lets loose with a long deep bugle. I circle around the draw to meet up with him. But he goes silent. This whole time I am smelling elk here and there.

After an hour and half of working the wind on these bulls I know I am getting close to where they are going to cut up. However no elk comes through, just another hunter. Haha. He was a very nice guy and honestly it didn't bug me at all that the stalk was up. He was one ridge over and heard all the commotion so he came over to check things out. When he crested the ridge he said the one bull was heading towards my calling. The other sounded off by him and he dropped in to get on that one. However as I moved to intercept my bull high we got above the other hunter and the one of the bulls caught his wind and both bulls with some cows scooted out.

It was a lot of fun and the pick me up I needed before gun season.

 

[JohnCushman]

Awesome!! The stalk is half of the fun. I love the interaction.

(I didn't mean to come off as a jerk in my first post...a lot of it was sarcasm)

 

[PlusFive]

No problem John. My skin is not too thin . Sometimes I need that kick in rear end. I am going to try and get out Thursday morning to hunt. I might head back to this spot as it seems talking to the local hunter that the area I was in holds Elk consistently from year to year until the snow get deeper. But with the rain and snow coming I don't know how much longer the roads will remain passable. Very greasy. On the way out a couple of guys cutting wood came with in a foot of sliding into my truck. Yikes! Nothing they could do but slide and try to steer.

 

[ewludwig]

I like this thread. Discouraged for different reasons. Missed a cow at 35yrds last week. Never got a chance to redeem myself and now have to live with it until next year.