Podcast 43 – Public Land Elk Hunting with Jared Scheffler

For this podcast, I’m excited to bring you a very special guest, Jared Scheffler of Whitetail Adrenaline. Although he is best known for producing the most authentic and action-packed whitetail deer hunting videos ever, on today’s episode we are covering public land elk!

Jared started taking DIY elk hunting trips in 2015 where he applied his aggressive ‘run-and-gun’ hunting style and quickly learned the ropes of what it takes to have success on the mountain. He walks us through the learning curve he went through and tactics he uses to find big bulls on over-the-counter (OTC) units in western states such as Colorado, Montana, and Idaho. Jared also tells us why chooses not to pre-scout areas and the strategies he implements to find public hunting areas that are often overlooked by other hunters.

This episode is jam-packed with stories, inspiration, and tactics for everyday DIY elk hunters so you won’t want to miss this one. For more information on Whitetail Adrenaline and their public land whitetail and elk hunting videos, please visit www.whitetailadrenaline.com.

Topics Covered In This Episode Include:

• Recapping the show season for Whitetail Adrenaline and the long days of video editing for the 2019 DVD series
• The background of Whitetail Adrenaline, how it got started back in 2007, and what they have done to produce the most realistic and authentic public land hunting videos ever created
• Bowhunting whitetail deer from the ground and the growing trend of aggressive hunting on public land
• The transition from whitetail deer hunting to elk hunting and the addiction that comes with hearing that first bugle
• Getting started with elk hunting and learning the ropes during your first trip by being aggressive and putting on the miles
• The differences and similarities between hunting deer compared to hunting elk
• Eliminating acreage when determining where to elk hunt and finding overlooked areas of public land
• How a Montana whitetail trip sparked Jared’s first elk hunt
• Milking a spot too long during his first trip and how that hindered their initial success because they ran out of time
• A 19-mile hike on the first day of Jared’s first Colorado OTC elk hunt
• Glassing and scouting from afar without diving head first and burning yourself out on the first couple days
• Finding an overlooked chunk of BLM land that held big bulls while other hunters passed it by
• Surveying meadows and open areas with optics and the tactics Jared uses to set up for strategic glassing in order to gain a point of direction
• Tips and tactics for finding elk in pressured areas by driving around and listening for bugles at night
• Hunting early season during the first few days versus late September during the rut and which time period Jared prefers
• Terrain features to key in on to find elk during all hours of the day
• Calling elk versus moving in silent and what Jared prefers for a strategy
• How to move in on elk and how to get within bow-range when dealing with herds of cows and swirling winds
• Hunting with a longbow and a camera guy and the challenges it brings compared to a rifle or compound bow while solo hunting
• New Mexico limited draw unit hunts and how that was different than hunting OTC units in other states
• Showing up to a hunt without any sort of plan and why Jared prefers that strategy
• Setting yourself up for success on the first few days by reconning parcels, putting miles on your vehicle, and glassing from strategic points
• Streamlining lodging and camping during a DIY public land elk hunt
• Jared’s 2019 elk hunting plans for September and what’s coming down the pipe for this Fall