LAST EDITED ON Jun-30-09 AT 10:28PM (MST)[p]These elk will sneak in very quite and suprise you. I have been hunting them for over 20 years with a bow. The biggest problem I have in the areas I hunt on the coast range is getting away from people. It used to be you could bike behind a gate and it was very lonely now it can be hard to find parking. Here is something to keep in mind the last couple of years we have found some great hunting closer to the gate because every one is biking in and rushing to get on top. That leaves a lot of ground un hunted.
Raking trees is really productive, and soft elk calling is a lot better than trying to sound like a cd or tape. Just because you don't get a response doesn't mean that a bull is not sneaking in. Give them some time. Call softly at first and every time you call be ready and serious because you never know.
Get a good head lamp because the biggest bulls are in the reprod and don't want to leave until dark. Get the tiniest bow and arrows you can find because it gets hard draw and shoot in a there grin!!
If you can get your wind in your favor you can kill elk but trying to find a steady wind for more than 10 minuets can be tough.
Wear gaiters because in the Coast range very seldom do you get a dry morning with no dew on the ground. Don't worry about making noise if your trying to sound like a elk they expect to hear some noise. Go watch a herd feed for awhile they are awful noisy and as you walk pull on the Oregon grape and try to sound like a elk feeding though. They are fun to hunt but will drive you nuts. Just about the time its seems easy some thing will change.
Some of the best hunters I have known do very little calling but a lot of listening and then sneak in.
Finally the best piece of advice you have to be in elk to hunt elk.
If there is any proof of a man in a hunt it is not whether he killed a deer or elk but how he hunted it.
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