Elk Options

On Your Own

When Eric Smith moved to Seattle he had little idea where to hunt elk. Over time he studied maps, talked to game biologists and other hunters and accumulated the gear necessary to hunt elk on his own. Even though he has to travel a long way from the big city, he's been successful during elk season.

Anyone can buy an elk tag for the country Smith hunts and hordes of hunters flock there on opening day. They arrive in RVs and campers and pickups piled high with camping gear. Smith and his partners prefer camping in wall tents.

"We can pack a wall tent and all our camping gear into a pickup and drive twenty-five miles back in the mountains to the edge of the wilderness and set up camp," he says. A twelve-by-fifteen-foot tent with five-foot walls has plenty of elbow room for four hunters, their cots, a table and a wood stove. "We don't suffer," he says, "In fact, it's almost as comfortable as home."

Smith figures most hunters never venture farther than half a mile from the door of their vehicle.

"I hate to tell them, but the elk aren't close to roads open to vehicles," he says. "The only time I've seen that type of hunter be successful is when they happen to catch some spooked elk running across a road."

The older hunters in Smith's group walk along closed roads and watch over clearcuts. The younger hunters with steel in their legs hike two to seven miles into the woods from the end of the road.

"It's not easy, but that's where you have to go to find elk," he says.

A hunter on his own must be prepared. "Hunt up at 10,000 feet and get in a snow storm or get turned around, and you're in trouble," Smith says. He carries a daypack that includes enough extra clothes, food and survival gear to spend three nights in the woods. The best thing a hunter can carry with him is common sense. If the temperature starts to drop and dark and heavy clouds scud across the sky, a reasonable hunter would consider staying closer to camp.

About three out of four years Smith kills an elk on his own. Just as important for Smith is escaping the big city, living in the wild country and enjoying good times with friends. Those should also be the goals on your journey to shoot a big bull, no matter if you've spent big money to hunt on private ground, ride and hike in wilderness backcountry or if you draw that prized permit or hunt with the crowd. When that big bull does finally step into the clear, it will be a splendid end to a long journey.