Every day that I am in the elk woods and don’t see an animal or get a shot, I try to remind myself that this is, indeed, the golden age of North American elk hunting. After all, there are more elk than at any time in modern history, with total numbers estimated at more than 1 million animals and growing. Heck, there are so many elk you can now hunt them in places not thought of as “elk country” for many generations, like Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Despite outlandish non-resident elk tag fees in most western states, hunting opportunities on both public and private lands remain as abundant as the elk themselves.
If that's the case, then why do statewide success rates for firearms hunters average less than 25 percent across the board—and half that for bowhunters?
Here are the 10 most common mistakes archery elk hunters make, and how you can avoid them.
Full story: Ten Reasons Why You Didn’t Arrow an Elk