Is it too soon for this?

[longcruise]

Meaning preparing for a hunt that won't take place until September? I still don't even know If I will draw my elk tag although it's a very high probability.

I know that just about anything we do during off season with an ML is preparation if you are a hunter, but for some reason I am wired as I haven't been in years. Maybe because years are catching up and I don't know when it will become impossible.

Just a little stream of consciousness.

 

[Mtman725]

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

 

[CoHiCntry]

It’s never too soon to start preparing for elk season! Even if it’s just preparing by daydreaming about being in the elk woods… what part of the state are you gonna be hunting if you draw?

 

[harleysboss]

Get in shape. Elk are heavy to carry out!

 

[OldMaineWoodsman]

The physical conditioning part, I have a Bear hunt booked for September. I start training 12 weeks out. Being 62 I start slow and workout within reason based on my age. I start walking 2.5 miles a day focusing on walking up and down hill when possible. I also do a stair-climb, and cardio focused exercises. Shadow Boxing is great for this. 10 push-ups after each exercise.

As I improve, I add a pack to the stair climb, adding 5 lbs to it each week and eventually do it carrying my rifle.

Two weeks out from the hunt I am walking 5 miles daily, shadow-boxing six 3 minute rounds, stair climb with 35lbs in my pack, carrying my rifle. I use the last week as maintenance and then head up to Maine and the Adirondacks.

I find no trouble climbing up and down tree stands if need be, walking wherever I need to go, and dragging out a deer without concern.

Everybody is different. The late Larry Benoit included a good chapter on conditioning in his book "How to Bag the Biggest Buck of your Life." Worth the read.

One final thought. Like a title fight you don't want to peak too early and burn-out. You also don't want to over do it and have to postpone that bout (hunt) because you got hurt during training. Pace yourself, know your limits, and realize we are not in our 20's or even 30's anymore.

 

[longcruise]

It’s never too soon to start preparing for elk season! Even if it’s just preparing by daydreaming about being in the elk woods… what part of the state are you gonna be hunting if you draw?

Not the best part for sure

I have a friend coming out from Nebraska for this hunt so the other big motivator is to make it a good hunt for him. We are pretty much 100% to draw cow tags for units 28/37. We are both meat hunters and beyond that age of building points. Our priority is getting the tag and being able to hunt so cow tags are the more achievable grail.

I know my way around those units so that's also a plus.

 

[hanshi]

Planning started early is planning done well. Getting in shape is just one part of it but a very important part. Get in plenty of shooting practice.

 

[Brokennock]

Of course it isn't too soon.
I scout almost year round to some extent, for deer and turkey.
My goal for this year is to be better prepared for keeping up with the dog come pheasant season,,, not going to wait for a month or two before that.

Be in the best shape possible. Any animal hunted where animals like elk are found should be a physically demanding hunt. If you don't fill your tag because the wind didn't cooperate on a stalk, or you just weren't getting responses to bugling, or conditions in the area changed and the elk aren't where you expected... that is one thing, and what have you lost by being ready?
But to not fill your tag because you ran out of gas, got tired and clumsy so you couldn't close that gap with stealth or get to where they are,,, I can see that as disappointing.

 

[CoHiCntry]

Not the best part for sure

I have a friend coming out from Nebraska for this hunt so the other big motivator is to make it a good hunt for him. We are pretty much 100% to draw cow tags for units 28/37. We are both meat hunters and beyond that age of building points. Our priority is getting the tag and being able to hunt so cow tags are the more achievable grail.

I know my way around those units so that's also a plus.

Well, good luck to you! Nothing quite like elk hunting & the country they call home.

 

[Boomerang]

I think the best part of the hunt is looking forward to it and dreaming about it.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Meaning preparing for a hunt that won't take place until September? I still don't even know If I will draw my elk tag although it's a very high probability.

I know that just about anything we do during off season with an ML is preparation if you are a hunter, but for some reason I am wired as I haven't been in years. Maybe because years are catching up and I don't know when it will become impossible.

Just a little stream of consciousness.

Elk Hunting is the most wonderful hunting. Never too early to start getting ready for an Elk Hunt.

It’s work to find them, it’s work to get within range and bring one down. And once you have one down, that’s when the real work starts. Elk Hunts are my all time favorite hunts…I hope you draw a tag.

 

[longcruise]

Thanks for all the good wishes and support.

I'm not too worried about the physical part. Im no superman but I get 2 to 5 hours per week of strength training and with the weather improving I'll be putting in more hiking and biking. Got started today on the biking.

 

[nhmoose]

Part of the fun!

 

[SOLANCO]

The question is why are we not in this condition all the time? And NO. I am not.

 

[longcruise]

The question is why are we not in this condition all the time? And NO. I am not.

That's a question i had to ask myself back in October of 2019! I was way over weight and the doc told me I had diabetes. That scared me plenty. I had watched friends and family with diabetes and it wasn't pretty. Lost eyesight, amputations and heart attacks.

So when the doc started writing on the prescription pad i said "wait, I want to try to deal with this with diet." He says "ok, let's look at it again in February."

So, by February my "numbers" (i hate that term) were hugely improved. The doc was shocked. Apparently most people just start the meds and continue on their merry way.

It was the best thing that ever happened to me for my health. Today im 68# lighter and feel better than I did ten years ago. And, yes, ive fallen down more times than I wish to admit but it's not the excursions and failures that getcha. It's the giving up.

Guess it sounds like I'm preaching so I'll stop here

 

[nhmoose]

Round is a shape. 1999 I went on sick leave due to arthritis, 2001 I was retired as I could not due my Fier Fighting duties. 2010 my eyes started to go bad got sent to a retinal specialist who said you are diabetic. Went Family DR who said he had dropped the ball on that. He was fired RT.

My backup Dr. put me on insulin and other drugs and got my A1C to 6.9 in a year and a half. Come 2019 had chest pains got sent to be checked Feb 2020 I had a triple by-pass. Med 's went off A1C climbed to 8.9 now working with new Med's will know next week if they have gone down.

Getting eye surgery in June for the cataracts in both eyes. Turned 70 in Jan.

Hope all the diet exercise freaks who blame bad health on poor diet and exercise change their minds when they get disabled.

 

[longcruise]

@nhmoose That's a tough row to hoe. I hope things improve for you.

 

[ADK Bigfoot]

I am going hunting next December; I started shooting ten rounds per week on March1st. Three off the bench to confirm zero, seven from field positions. 50, 100, and 200 yards, rotating. Even some offhand. Since I normally shoot flintlocks and will be hunting with a modern gun, I need the trigger time to manage the differences.

ADK Bigfoot

 

[Rock Home Isle]

In my youth, I hunted elk with a .270…if I saw it, I killed it.

Then I started hunting elk with a smokepole…I realized quickly that when I saw it, that’s when the hunting just got started.

With blackpowder, I seldom shot elk over 100yrds…usually at 20 yrds, sometimes as far as 40 yrds. My biggest bull was taken, as I lay on the ground in his shadow. I had crawled into his bedding area….and when I pulled back the hammer, he stood up. I could smell him, but I actually hadn’t even seen him. He was so huge when he stood up out of the grass.

The bull I was getting ready to shoot was bedded farther back in the shadows; I cocked the hammer when he turned his head and looked away from me.

Most years, I hunted cows…they really are the best tasting game I’ve ever had.

 

[poker]

The question is why are we not in this condition all the time? And NO. I am not.

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