After the kill, the work begins. If not prepared, this can be a burden and has the potential to turn a successful hunt sour.

Rather than learning everything the hard way, however, it's best to get savvy on the use of a compass and topographic maps. Thus equipped, the fear of being lost becomes a relatively mute point. Additionally, there's another option--the GPS. Use it only as a "backup" to your own skills, not as a "crutch."

Natural Helpmates
Due to the sheer nature of a backcountry elk hunt, it is impossible to practice good bodily hygiene. Combine this with an elk's excellent scenting abilities, and you see the problem. Few hunters truly give elk the credit they deserve in the olfactory department. Personally, I've witnessed elk smell me at nearly one half-mile away. Such being the case, it goes without saying that you've got to use the wind as your ally--nothing else will suffice.

Failure to understand the workings of air currents in relation to topography and temperature changes is a sure recipe for failure. Particularly, "thermal" air currents--the natural flow of air up or down a slope--are the ones we're talking about here. Once you're in the element with the elk, "playing the thermals" will go further towards determining your success or failure than any other single factor. For instance: Hunt west and/or north facing slopes in the mornings because they will remain shaded longer, thus allowing for steady, downhill airflow. Contrarily, hunt east-facing slopes in the evening because they will "shade-up" earlier, providing dependable downhill air movement. As far as midday times are concerned, I have a simple rule here: Stay out of the woods. Winds are too unpredictable, and you'll be hunting elk in their bedding areas, which is, generally speaking, a very bad deal.

Tactics And Times
During my very first trip for elk, I learned a lot about matching the right tactics to the right time of the season. A lot of archery hunters shoot themselves in the foot by making bad decisions as to what tactics to use in each individual stage of the rut and/or each individual hunting situation. For instance, many go afield, bugle in hand, trying to call a bull to within range well before the rut is in full swing. Others try to spot-and-stalk rutting, bachelor bulls, when such animals will often "come-a-running" at the first sound of a bugle. Others may sit at a wallow well after the rut is in full swing, the weather has cooled and bulls are running wild in search of cows. Not so smart, get the picture?

My first year afield was an escapade of errors. More often than not, I found myself missing out on golden opportunities because of bad decisions and/or ill preparedness. Let me give you a couple of examples: On my first trip in '81, it was hard for me to lay down my "whitetail mentality," and thus, I spent too much time sitting in ambush, waiting for "the bull that never showed up." The rut was already started, but I sat idly by in silent ambush--not using the best tactic for the time.