E-Scouting for Elk with Mark Livesay, Part 3

Show Notes:

In this third podcast with e-scouting expert Mark Livesay, Mark shares strategies for when and where you should plan a hunt. For ten years, Mark gave little to no thought about pre-planning his hunts. Then he realized that there are simply too many details to just remember, and that he was wasting valuable time out in the wild. Some hunters get overly ambitious about a hunt and forget about their physical and mental capabilities. Tying everything together to plan a hunt that’s prepared for any eventuality is Mark’s specialty, so pull up a chair and listen close. 

Mark loves to hunt timberline elk in Colorado, but there’s a couple of factors that you might not think about. During the hunting season and at that elevation, the grasses are incredibly dry, which underscores the point that you can’t only think about the weather, but also the food source for the herd. So as you plan a hunt in this area, like many places in the west, you’ll need to think about the bands of elevation on a map. 

Even though you might love the idea of packing everything in and hunting in some remote spot, Mark always tries to guarantee that he has a basecamp. He looks for ways to prevent a hunt from getting ruined, and he’s found that establishing a basecamp is a good place to send a hunter struggling with altitude sickness or down with an injury. 

Mark likes stacking as many positive features as possible, and for him this means taking into account: 

• Elk finding features
• The breeding cycle
• The callability of the herd
• The schedule of a hunt

Mark’s course is a great investment, but even if you’re not ready for that kind of commitment, you can check out his Treeline Pursuits podcast for more e-scouting tips. Use Promo code johnstallone to save 20%

What’s Inside:

• If you only had ten days to hunt in the entire year, when would you do that? Mark weighs in.
• Why understanding where the bands of elevation are plays a part in your hunt planning, and how that can differ from state to state. 
• Choosing optimal hunting dates using the moon phases, the weather and temperature.
• How elk estrus is affected by the equinox, and how you can take that into account when you’re planning a hunt. 

Mentioned in this Episode:

Phoenix Shooting Bags Save 20% with code: johnstallone

Days in the Wild

Bushnell.com Save 15% on everything at Bushnell with code: STL02

OnXMaps.com

GoHunt.com

HuntinFool.com

TreelinePursuits.com

@treeline_pursuits

Elk 101 with Corey Jacobsen

TreelineAcademy.net

Short Description:

Rolling into a new state to hunt for 10 days might be the highlight of your year. But if you’re laid low with altitude sickness because you didn’t think about how the mountains might affect you, then you may end up wasting precious hunting time. Plan for every possibility with master e-scouting guide Mark Livesay.

Tags:

Cyber scouting, digital scouting, e-scouting, best hunting tools, elk hunting, planning a hunt, digital hunting tools, best states to elk hunt, preseason hunting