Are You Ready for Elk Hunting Season? This is Your Checklist!

Are You Ready for Elk Hunting Season? This is Your Checklist!

How Do You Know You’re Ready for Elk Hunting Season?

Every hunter loves to think they’re ready for elk season. The new gear’s dialed, the bow’s shooting clean, the pack is loaded, and the maps are marked. But here’s the truth—none of that guarantees you’re actually prepared for what’s coming.

Because real readiness isn’t about gear or excitement. It’s about whether your body, mind, strategy, and standards will hold up when the mountains strip away the hype and leave only what’s real.

When it’s day seven, your legs ache, the elk are quiet, and doubt creeps in—that’s when you find out if you’re ready.

So how do you know before that moment comes? Here’s the framework I use to evaluate readiness long before opening day.

Train for the Pack Out, Not Just the Hike In

Most guys train for the wrong part of the hunt. They hike, ruck, or run all summer—but the real test comes after the shot.

The pack out is where hunts are won or lost. It’s where your legs, lungs, and mind either hold or fold. That means your training has to go beyond light hikes and cardio sessions. You have to condition for load—heavy, awkward, grinding load.

Train for fatigue under weight. Long, steep hikes. Sandbag carries. Weighted descents. Core and stabilizer work. Prepare for the real pain points—the uneven ground, the 100-pound pack, and the multiple trips that follow a kill miles from the truck.

Recovery is just as critical. Sleep, hydration, and refueling often suffer in the backcountry. Build a body that can still perform in a deficit. That means testing your system under stress before the season, not during it.

And don’t overlook your feet. Boots that feel fine on a trail can destroy you under 80 pounds of meat. Train in them, break them in, and make sure they fit when your feet swell.

If you’ve trained for the hike but not the haul, you’re not ready yet.

Master Wind and Thermals Before You Hunt

Knowing the country is great. Knowing how the wind behaves in that country is what kills elk.

Elk live and die by their nose. If your scent hits them before your call does, it’s over. You can’t fake it. You can’t outcall it.

Study the wind like it’s a map of your hunt. Use OnX and weather tools like Windy to predict how air moves across terrain. Understand that thermals rise with morning sun and fall in the evening—but terrain, vegetation, and shade make that shift unpredictable.

South slopes heat faster. Deep timber draws hold cool air longer. Saddles and ridges can funnel scent both directions at once.

Track it. Record it. Every time you blow an encounter, note the wind direction, time, and terrain. Over time, you’ll build a mental “wind database” more valuable than any app.

You’re ready when you can plan every entry, setup, and exit by air—not luck.

Call With Purpose, Not Noise

Calling elk is an art. And most hunters butcher it.

If your strategy is “bugle and see what happens,” you’re not ready. You’re just adding noise to the mountain.

Every sound you make should have intent. Are you trying to locate a bull? Pull in a satellite? Challenge a herd bull? Each has its place—and its distance.

When you’re far out, stay subtle. Use cow calls and soft mews to locate quietly. When you’re close, escalate emotion—rake, lip ball, or challenge if you’re inside his comfort zone.

Get close, then get vocal. Never call from a spot that doesn’t make sense visually. Elk want to see the sound. If you’re in an open park where he can’t spot a cow, he’ll hang up.

Calling isn’t just communication—it’s strategy. You’re not trying to make elk talk. You’re trying to make them move.

Pre-Plan Failure Points

Hope is not a plan. Every hunt will have moments where things go wrong.

Your boots blow out. Your GPS dies. The weather turns. You miss.

The difference between hunters who quit and hunters who kill is preparation for failure.

Before the season, identify and plan for your breaking points.

  • What’s your backup plan if your primary area gets blown out?

  • How will you reset after a bad day?

  • What’s your rule when you want to quit?

I use systems. Spare gear packed. Backup waypoints marked. Notes on my phone for low points. Even “mental checkpoints”—a known ridge or overlook where I pause, reset, and re-engage.

And I simulate adversity in training. Soaked hikes. Cold nights. Fasted workouts. When you’ve been uncomfortable on your own terms, it’s easier to handle when the mountain dishes it out.

You don’t rise to your motivation—you fall to your preparation.

Shooting Under Pressure

The real test of your readiness comes when that bull steps out at 40 yards.

You can shoot 3-inch groups all summer and still miss when it matters. Because accuracy under pressure is a skill of its own.

Practice the way you hunt:

  • From your knees.

  • Uphill, downhill, behind cover.

  • With your heart rate elevated.

  • In low light and wind.

Visualize your shot sequence daily. Breathe. Anchor. Execute. Train until your process is automatic—because when adrenaline spikes, thinking goes out the window.

Know your limits. Know where to aim on every angle. And never take a shot you haven’t proven in practice.

You’re ready when calm and control replace excitement and panic.

Define Your Standard Before the Season

You can’t be ready for elk season if you don’t know what you’re hunting for.

Are you chasing the first legal bull or holding out for a mature one? Are you hunting for meat, for a personal best, or for the challenge itself?

Clarity defines every decision you’ll make. It shapes your setups, your aggression level, your willingness to wait or move.

Write it down before the season. Read it every night in camp. It’s not about ego—it’s about alignment. When you know what success looks like, you hunt with confidence instead of hesitation.

And remember, that standard can change year to year. What matters is that it’s honest.

The Final Test of Readiness

You’re ready when:

  • You’ve trained for the packout, not just the hike in.

  • You understand wind as deeply as terrain.

  • Your calls serve a purpose.

  • You’ve preplanned your low points.

  • You can shoot clean under pressure.

  • You know exactly what success looks like for you.

That’s real readiness—not luck, not hype.

Join TEAM BACKBONE

If this hit home, that’s exactly why I built TEAM BACKBONE—for hunters who take their preparation seriously.

Inside the membership, you’ll get:

  • 20% off all Backbone Unlimited gear

  • A new exclusive shirt every month

  • Full access to the members-only content vault—fitness, mindset, and strategy guides

  • A private Facebook group for serious backcountry hunters

  • Direct access to me for personalized coaching and Q&A

  • Monthly gear giveaways

This isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being prepared—and being part of a tribe that refuses to quit.

Learn more at BackboneUnlimited.com under the Membership tab.

Train Harder. Hunt Smarter. Never Settle.

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