5 Elk Hunting Archery Mistakes (How To Fix Them)

October 29, 2025

5 Elk Hunting Archery Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)

Bowhunting elk is a brutal pursuit. It doesn’t hand out success because you trained hard, bought top-shelf gear, or watched a hundred YouTube videos. It rewards the hunter who gets the details right when everything’s on the line.

That bull you’ve been chasing for four days doesn’t care how bad you want it. He doesn’t care how well you shot last week or how many miles you’ve hiked since July. When he finally steps into that 35-yard window, everything has to go right. And most of the time, it doesn’t.

You rush the call. You move when you shouldn’t. You forget to check the wind. You draw too soon—or too late—and just like that, he’s gone. No second chances. No do-overs.

That’s what we’re here to prevent today. These aren’t theories or fluff. These are real mistakes I’ve seen firsthand over decades in the elk woods—mistakes I’ve made myself or watched others make from 20 yards away. And every one of them is preventable if you’re willing to be honest about your weaknesses and fix them now before opening morning.

Mistake #1: Being Too Aggressive Too Early

You finally hear a bugle. Adrenaline kicks in. You start moving fast. Maybe you throw out a locator call, hear him respond, and before you know it, you’re sprinting down the ridge—bow in hand—crashing through deadfall like you’ve got 30 seconds to close the gap before he vanishes.

I get it. I’ve been there. But here’s the truth: you’re probably killing your chances before the hunt even starts.

Elk aren’t whitetails. They won’t bolt at the first twig snap, but they’re not stupid either. By mid-September, especially in pressured units, bulls are already on edge. When you push too quickly after a bugle without reading the situation, you make three big mistakes:

You approach with bad wind. Thermals are shifting constantly, and that bull’s nose is better than any GPS you own. He’ll know you’re there before you see him.
You give away your position. Bulls don’t expect a cow to charge through open timber. Move unnaturally or call while crashing around, and they pick it up instantly.
You disturb the herd. If cows are involved and you push too fast, they’ll bolt—and the bull goes with them, no questions asked.

The Fix:
Patience kills bulls. When you hear that first bugle, stop and think. Mark direction. Check wind. Analyze terrain. Ask yourself: Is he moving uphill or down? Alone or with cows? What time of day is it? What are the thermals doing?

Here’s a simple rhythm to remember:

First bugle: Observe—don’t act.
Second bugle: Move smart. Use wind, terrain, and shadows to your advantage.
Third bugle: Execute. By then, you’ve got a pattern, a plan, and your setup ready.

Slow down early, and you’ll make better decisions that keep the entire basin alive. The best archery elk hunters I know are bold when it matters—but disciplined when it counts. They don’t panic. They let the hunt develop.

Patience kills bulls. Impulse kills opportunities.

Mistake #2: Calling Without Understanding

We’ve all heard that guy in the woods—the one who bugles every two minutes from the same ridge with no movement, no setup, and no idea what he’s saying to the elk. Or worse, he’s mixing cow calls, chuckles, lip balls, and raking all back-to-back like a bad remix.

The result? He educates every elk in the basin.

Elk calls are a language, not just noise. Every sound means something. If you’re tossing random calls into the timber without purpose, it’s like yelling Spanish words in the middle of a restaurant and wondering why nobody responds.

The Fix:
Call with purpose. Build your sequence around your setup—not the other way around.

Here are the three main situations to master:

Location Calling: Throw out a sterile, high-pitched location bugle. No chuckles, no cow calls. If he answers, shut up. Move to position before you call again.
Breeding Setup: When you know a bull is with cows, sound like a hot cow and a challenger. Mix cow calls, soft lip balls, and raking—but keep it natural and spaced out.
Solo Bull Engagement: For a lone bull, go subtle. A few contact mews or a light bugle at most. Wait, listen, and stay believable.

If you’re calling without being set up, you’re not hunting—you’re guessing. Always get concealed, confirm wind, and have your lanes ready before you make a sound. Elk will circle downwind instinctively; if you’re not prepared, it’s over before it starts.

Every call should serve a purpose. Otherwise, you’re just playing a tune no elk wants to dance to.

Mistake #3: Not Practicing for the Real Hunt

There’s a huge difference between being a good archer and being a good bowhunter. You can shoot tight groups at 60 yards all summer and still miss clean—or worse, wound a bull—at 32 yards in the timber.

The range doesn’t prepare you for the mountains. The range is flat, predictable, and comfortable. Elk hunting is none of those things.

You’ll be shooting uphill, downhill, between trees, with your heart hammering and your breathing short. You might be kneeling on pinecones with your pack still strapped tight to your shoulders.

The Fix:
Simulate the hunt. Practice in real-world conditions:

Shoot from kneeling or awkward positions.
Draw from behind cover.
Practice in low light—your pins look different at dawn and dusk.
Shoot with your pack and bino harness on.
Hold at full draw for 20–30 seconds.
Get your heart rate up before shooting—do 20 air squats, then draw and shoot.
Use obstacles. Shoot around brush, over logs, or uphill/downhill.
Time yourself. Draw and release within 5–7 seconds.

If you shoot 100 arrows a week but never practice the one that matters, you’re training for failure.

The elk woods don’t reward the guy who shoots the most—they reward the one who can make one clean, calm, confident shot when it counts.

Mistake #4: Ignoring the Wind

You did everything right—scouted, located a bull, set up perfectly—and then he vanishes. No crash, no bark, just gone.

That’s the wind.

If there’s one law you can’t break in elk country, it’s this: elk live and die by their nose.

Most elk don’t spook because they see you—they spook because they smell you. Thermals are invisible rivers carrying your scent, and if you don’t read them constantly, you’re gambling every setup.

The Fix:
Use multiple wind tools. I carry a puffer bottle for quick checks, milkweed for long-range drift, and a fine thread tied to my bow for constant visual feedback.

Understand thermals like your hunt depends on it—because it does.

Morning: Thermals sink until sunlight warms the slope.
Midday: Rising thermals pull scent uphill.
Evening: Cooling air drops scent downhill again.
Transitions: Saddles, shade lines, rock faces, and water cause swirling currents.

Always expect a wind shift. Check every 10 minutes. Set up with downwind security and an exit plan. Terrain can be your best ally—use rises, rock faces, or thick vegetation to block or absorb scent.

Elk might forgive a little noise or motion, but they’ll never forgive your scent.

Mistake #5: Failing to Stay Calm in the Moment

All the training, scouting, and preparation in the world doesn’t matter if you fall apart when it’s time to shoot.

You hear a twig snap, see antlers appear, and adrenaline floods your body. Your chest tightens, your breath shortens, your anchor feels off, and your pins won’t settle.

That’s not a lack of skill—it’s a lack of mental preparation.

The Fix:
Train for the kill moment. Every day leading into season, visualize success. Close your eyes and walk through the shot sequence:

Range. Draw slow. Anchor. Peep. Pin. Breathe. Execute.

The more you rehearse, the calmer your brain will be when it actually happens.

Add stress to your practice sessions. Get your heart rate up, hold your breath, and create a time limit. Simplify your checklist. In that final 10 seconds, you can only manage a few cues—breathe, settle, anchor, execute.

Expect adrenaline. Don’t fight it. Channel it. Stay present in the moment and trust your preparation.

Because when that bull finally steps in, you want to show up too.

TEAM BACKBONE MEMBERSHIP

If this episode helped sharpen your edge, imagine what we could do with a full game plan together. That’s exactly what TEAM BACKBONE is built for.

Inside, you’ll get:

20% off site-wide on all Backbone Unlimited gear.
A new exclusive t-shirt every month, not sold anywhere else.
Full access to the digital content vault—training plans, guides, mindset tools, and more.
Private Facebook community and direct access to me for strategy, training, and hunt prep.
Automatic entry into monthly gear giveaways.

This is built for hunters who train hard, think harder, and want to be part of a tribe that refuses to quit.

Join TEAM BACKBONE today at BackboneUnlimited.com under the Membership tab.

Thanks for being here. Until next time—Train Harder, Hunt Smarter, and Never Settle.

Back to blog