Is it too soon for this?

[Loyalist Dave]

No plan,prepare, practice,you can never be to far a head. Good Luck.

Agreed!
You have no guarantee that you will get the tag, but proper preparation is a good bet that if successful in gaining the elk tag, you will have a much better time with the hunt.

It won't hurt your other hunting, either...

LD

 

[longcruise]

I had a buddy who did his best to stay in condition. He lifted weights every day. 12 ounces at a time.

Hmmmmmm....., only 12 ounces??

 

[poker]

At a time Longcruise, at a time.

 

[Sparkitoff]

Once I knew I was going Antelope hunting I began practicing, even though it was 8-months away. I shot at 100-yards off of sticks standing and sitting at a life-sized antelope picture target. I would shoot just a shot or two at 50-yards offhand. I used the wind-meter and a feather tied to the barrel. I learned how much feather movement equated to MPH and the corresponding windage correction needed in sighting. Closer to the actual hunt, I wore what I thought I'd wear while hunting. Reload with field gear while ducking low as I would in a hunt situation. When the season came, it rained. My clothing changed slightly. The antelope were hard to get close to. My only shot came at 132-yards with a 15 MPH L to R wind. I held my sights accordingly and hit the buck with the first shot. He staggered off. I re-positioned. Re-loaded and snuck in to right at 100-yards. Check the feather, hold accordingly and made a "bullseye" shot that put him down for good. If I hadn't practice continuously, consistently and thoroughly for so long prior to the hunt, it would not have ended well, especially with the curve-ball conditions. You should begin now and increase in seriousness but decrease overall shots taken. If you can show up, kill an elk target at prescribed range - that's all a hunt might be. Re-load and put another in him, maybe from a different angle or distance. It will be worth your effort when the hunt arrives.

 

[Skychief]

The journey of prepping for a hunt is most satisfying to me. Even turkey hunts, let alone big game.

I had been scouting turkeys hard the last several weeks until Wednesday, our opening day. Told my bride the night before that I had seen a gobbler go by my hide at 7:20 that morning. The next morning, I had a gobbler rolling on the ground 15 yards from me at 7:19.

Scouting and preparation are a huge part of this lifestyle to me. Without it, I’d go beserk.

Best of luck, Skychief.