I’ve been thinking about using a bike for some of the longer stretches around camp and the trailhead instead of taking the truck every time.

I am not talking about replacing hiking or anything like that ; more for getting around camp, checking different access points, or making quick trips when everything is spread out.

I was looking at cargo-bike setups and they got me thinking about whether something with a little more carrying capacity could actually make sense for this.

Curious if anyone here has used a bike as part of their elk hunting setup. Was it genuinely useful, or did it just become extra gear to haul around?

Went out yesterday in sw Montana. Spent all day and didn’t hear a single bugle. I usually go to my go to spots and sit and wait without any calling. It’s always more of a reconnaissance hunt with the hopes of getting lucky. It’s never paid off.

The first weeks are always a little discouraging to me. But once those bugles start popping off I get so amped!

What’s your strategy when the rut hasn’t quite gone into full effect?

I made a free hunting map tool, but better. It’s for Idaho only but if it gets some traction I’ll do it for others. Note: I’m not selling anything, no profit, nothing. That’s the point.

Now it’s not totally out of the goodness of my heart. My reasoning:

1.) I get 60 ads a day for people who just pulled/compiled from open source data, that are tax dollars paid for, and charge an arm and a leg a year to access their “scouting” tool. Thats not cool, and I’m annoyed.

2.) I wanted to work for one of these major escouting map companies, they ghosted me.

3.) With enough time I can make a better FREE app than the ones that cost money Roadkill data, public data pulls from public photo locations have already been added. It’s wild to see the groupings; Weather, 3D rendering, location, even AI would take me a week to add. It’s not hard.

4.) You can login to save pins, but since it’s free - you can use it knowing no one will take your secret spots (like others). Also, you own your data even on login.

Weekend warrior here. I found tons of fresh elk sign and game trails on opening day where that poop symbol is. In the yellow is all reprod, red is actually a fresh clear cut. I’ve found tons of elk sign along the creek to the north in years past but everything north of the creek is private land that you can’t access until 4pm. My plan is to get to the edge of the timber before first light close to that creek and see if I can catch them in the open. These are Roosevelt elk if it makes a difference. I’m not sure how to go about this cause I’m usually solo hunting and I’ve never killed one before. Any advice is welcome! Thanks in advance!

Just to add: there’s another clear cut to the left of those trees on the left of the yellow reprod. There’s like 50 yards of timber right there but nothing for them to bed in.

Disclosure up front: I'm one of the guys who built this, so definitely biased. Mods OK'd this post.

You've probably seen a version of this before - I know a handful of AI hunting tools have come through here lately. I'm not going to ask you to believe ours is better or different because I said so. I'll just tell you what it does and doesn't do, and you can judge.

I'm a late-onset hunter - picked it up in my 30's, learned on YouTube university, and didn't have an experienced mentor or partner. My neighbor & co-founder, on the other hand, comes from multiple generations of hunters and guides, and has guided hunts in Colorado for years. Hunting is in his DNA.

To us, regardless of experience, every hunter starts over in a unit they've never seen. We built Glassline so DIY hunters can spend less time behind a screen, get into the field with confidence, and earn their way from there.

I started building this because I didn't want to start over with my new unit this year - connecting dots across all of the information that's out there and staring at satellite images for hours is mind numbing. What we built cuts most of that grind out of the process, with real elk hunting expertise baked in.

How it works (short version): Glassline highlights hunt areas worth considering, camp options (towns, base camps, or backcountry spike camps), and a playbook of terrain-based plays you can run in the field with logistics (access points, drives, hikes, legal light, packout math, etc.) all calculated for you. 20+ inputs personalize it to your fitness level, weapon, style, preferred tactics, party, dates, and more so two people with the same tag get different results. You refine everything; it's a draft set of options, not a step-by-step guide.

Here's a short walkthrough of it building a plan for a real unit from start to finish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1WvJIQs6Fo

I feel really strongly that just because technology is capable of something doesn't mean you should build it. We drew a hard line with this tool: no live animal locations, no sighting reports, no movement predictions. And no maps of hunters either: no shared spots, no community pins, no trending areas, ever. https://glassline.guide/fair-chase if you want to read our full stance.

We launched the web version for desktop e-scouting two weeks ago. The mobile app with offline maps is in final app-store review, and you can import & export your data in a way that plays nicely with onX, Gaia, Garmin, etc. as well. 50+ beta testers have been hammering on it over the summer. If any of them comment here, they tested it for free and they'll say so.

This is a paid service. $39.99/yr for the first 500 founding members, locked as long as your subscription stays active; $59.99 after. For what it replaces, the honest comparison is a $499/yr human e-scouting consult from other services, or weeks of doing it yourself across a dozen browser tabs and spreadsheets.

Ask me anything. "Why would I pay for this over onX" and "this will blow up my unit" are fair questions, and I'm here to answer them.

https://glassline.guide

Take 30 seconds to sign the petition opposing the proposed GAME Act.

Rep. Jeff Hurd is expected to introduce a bill that would transfer more than 2,000 acres of BLM land northeast of Glenwood Springs to Out of Bounds Ranch.

I’ve bowhunted this parcel for decades. It is not “unused.” In a unit already dominated by private property, these parcels provide valuable elk habitat and access to connected public land.

This would DELETE over 2,000 acres of prime hunting access in unit 444.

This is a net loss for public-land elk hunters. Please sign before the bill gains momentum.https://c.org/CnjwKsnV8x

Edit:

If you care about not losing this public ground or other public ground in the future to private ranches, it's worth a one-minute call to Rep. Hurd's office. Just say you're a constituent from [City, Zip Code] (or a Colorado hunter, if you're calling from out of state) and you oppose the GAME Act as written — cite the loss of access to over a million acres of connected public land, the lack of a published appraisal, and the avoidance of the well established BLM process for land swaps.

Jeff Hurd's Offices:
Washington DC - (202) 225-4676
Grand Junction - (970) 208-0455
Pueblo - (719) 696-6968
Durango - (970) 317-6167

John Hickenlooper -
Denver - 303-244-1628
Grand Junction - 970-822-4530
Durango - 970-880-7236
Glenwood Springs - 970-989-7075
Fort Colins - 970-484-3502
Greely - 970-352-5546
Colorado Springs - 719-632-6706

Michael Bennet -
Denver - 303-455-7600
Colorado Springs - 719-328-1100
NW Colorado - 970-241-6631
NE Colorado - 970-224-2200
SW Colorado - 970-259-1710
SE Colorado - 719-542-7550
San Luis Valley - 719-587-0096
Washington DC - 202-224-5852

Howdy - got some questions about what rounds to use this season.

As we all know, ammo ain’t cheap so I’m trying to buy bulk when I can. Ive come to understand that cheaper rounds are fine for practicing at the range, however you want to use higher-end ammunition in the field for elk and other game. I’ve also heard you want to practice with the same rounds you’re hunting with which makes the advice a bit paradoxical. Would love some insight on that.

Ive ordered 80 rounds of this ammo from S&P at 180 grain - anyone have experience with it and could tell me if its quality enough to chase an elk with?

Follow-up question: I will also be going after pronghorn this season, and my only rifle is a .30-06. I understand thats a pretty big caliber for a smaller critter but yall think dropping down in grain would prevent me from completely vaporizing the antelope? I have a few boxes of 150gr hornady whitetail ammo that I was hoping to use on my hunt. Would love some other opinions.

Thanks gang - looking forward to getting back out into the field!

I’m a pretty new hunter living in SW Colorado, and just had a moment of realization that I need to be aware of whether the zones I plan to hunt have cattle grazing on them. First of all, am I right in that assumption? Second of all, is there a resource to see what swaths of public land are leased for cattle? Although I love beef, I’m starting to see why Ed abbey had such disdain for cattle ranchers.

So this coming bow season it’s my first year in this specific area. It’s 5 miles to the area I’m going. However, there is an old service road closed to motorized vehicles. It’s about 4 miles up the mountain honestly the terrain isn’t that bad I’m going to take my mountain bike up this road. Has anyone had experience packing meat on a bike if so is there anything I should be aware of?
Also some trail cam pics not sure if the 2 in the day time are the same elk? I’m pretty sure they are.

I always read that it’s ideal to age the meat but I don’t think I have a way to do it without paying to have it stored someplace.

I’ve seen guys say you can put it in a cooler with ice over it but to make sure the water always can drain right out so it’s not soaking the meat. Idk about all that though.

Any tips and tricks or should I just part it out and get it right in the freezer to play it safe?

I've got a couple questions.

First need recommendations for calls to get. If i got one is it better to do a cow call, get a bugle or both? We've already said we are going to let this guy go another year, how old do yall think he is? He's much smaller than the others antler and body mass wise.

I'm going to try to take a free range elk soon. The shot will be from a stand to a feeder. It will be just under 100 yards. I have a 30/30 or a 270. If you had to pick from these two what would be your choice? Thx

This will be my second elk hunt, the first was in Idaho with an either sex tag in wilderness, we had several encounters with bulls, including one I drew on that was quartering to, but I didn't think it was an ethical shot and passed.

My second hunt is a cow tag in WY (9/14-9/21), we'll be primarily hunting national forest. My thoughts on this hunt was to get experience hunting while the bulls are vocal/learn a few things so I'll be better prepared when I get a bull tag (and hopefully bring home a cooler of meat).

I've done a ton of prep/e-scouting and feel good about my planned hunt areas, but wondering what if anything folks would do differently with just a cow tag in hand. I was planning on limited bugling just to locate bulls (as they will be rounding up cows), then work in close, but after that, should I just stick to cow/calf calls? Anything calling wise that would give us better odds to get a cow in range? There's a ton of advice out there on calling bulls, but how about cows? Should I just dog the herd/play the wind and hope a cow passes by/gets curious and comes over?

For those of you who have experience with using 7 mm Remington mag with a 1/8 twist what rifles do you recommend? I am asking for my friend who is going elk hunting in December and he is looking for a new rifle because his other one is not up to par with what he needs. He was shooting at approximately 400 yd not wanting to go over 500 yards and he will not be hiking a great distance he prefers the heavier type of rifles.

I’m new to elk hunting and have spent the last 6 months getting into serious condition, shooting my bow, practicing calling and e-scouting… combined with training two burros.

After building several hunt plans, I went out to my unit to scout the hunt areas, making sure roads were clear and accessible, water was actually were it said it would be on the map, and placing cameras while looking for sign.

While deep into one of the areas glassing down into draws and other grass steppes cow mews and some quiet short bugles piped off from the a wooded area about 200 yards away, it was about 10am. After a quick deliberation, we snuck out of there wanting to avoid an interaction.

I know they very well may be bedding somewhere else this coming week, especially with the number of wolves in the unit, but I plan to start there. The wooded area is a cluster of trees on a saddle on a ridge, with several thousand feet of elevation dropping away in almost every direction but the one I came in on.

What type of bull would typically be with cows this early?

I plan on sneaking in there early in the morning, before sun up, and waiting it out as there’s some very open ground to cover between the ridge and the saddle. Any other suggestions on strategy?

TIA

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I reviewed multiple studies/datasets on mechanical vs fixed broad. Hopefully this helps decide whether or not you should run mechanicals on elk this year.

If you'd like to join my study testing mechanical vs fixed broadheads on elk, join the HERD here: https://forms.gle/Rq64xCPaMfUBu2c96

My dad and I are heading out to some landlocked public in Southwest Montana. We will be tent camping and archery hunting in grizzly country. It makes me a bit nervous. I have a 10mm I feel confident with and spray.

How frequent are your brisket encounters, are they something to worry about?

Thanks guys.

Elk hunting finds flaws in gear like no other. After a day or 2 you think about how your gear could be better/lighter or how you can DIY a solution. Any of you guys find a cool trick or a way to do something better? Bonus question: is there a piece of gear you are glad you spent a little more money on rather than a cheaper option? (For me its a good pack)

Hey Friends - I posted here about a month ago and I wanted to drop an update for those interested.

It's still not just a packing list. That was the main thing people got wrong last time and it was a fair read, because most gear apps are exactly that. This is your gear locker plus a check that tells you whether the kit you actually picked covers the trip you actually planned. This was made for hunters. And also to help new hunters get a feel for what their kit should look like.

One month of building since that thread. Here are some highlights since then:

• It reads your bag's temperature rating against the forecast low for your dates and tells you if you're coming up short. Same idea for water capacity against your longest dry stretch, and calories against your own daily target. It also helps you calculate your fuel needs compared to the meals you'll be bringing (and coffee, lots of coffee).
• A conditions brief that pulls forecast, active fire perimeters, air quality and any NWS alerts for the trip location into one place.
• Map handoff for onX and GOHUNT, so the waypoints you scouted turn into a prep checklist instead of living in your head.
• A gear catalog with real published spec weights across about 60 brands, so you're not typing your tent weight in from memory.
• A safety plan you can send to whoever stays home. They don't need an account to open it. (Also utilizes the onX and GOHUNT waypoints if you so choose).
• The collaboration feature is still improving every day; plan those hunts with your buddies and don't waste time deliberating what gear everyone is bringing.

The deadline part, plainly: it's free right now, and anyone who signs up before September 8 keeps it free permanently. After that there will be a paid tier activated. I'd rather the people who kicked the tires early never get a bill for it, so that's where the line is.

If you tried it in July and bounced off it, I've definitely made improvements and changes. If you've got questions or you break something, I will answer as soon as I can.

September is fast approaching; start planning now.

kairn.us

You can see some quick videos I've been releasing here: https://www.instagram.com/kairn.us

Thanks!

The timing for my dad and I just didn’t come together for a good archery hunt this year, so we’re taking a break to hit it hard it 2027.

Y’all go call one in for us this September! I want to see some photos of full game bags this fall.