Elk Hunting Tips for Beginners: Public Land Lessons from Nate Illingsworth

There is a dangerous lie floating around the hunting world.

It usually shows up on Instagram.

A guy posts a grip-and-grin photo with a giant bull, a perfectly framed mountain backdrop, and a caption about “staying humble” even though the photo makes it look like he walked 400 yards from the truck, bugled once, and had a 340-inch bull politely step into a shooting lane.

For new hunters, that can mess with your head.

You buy the bow. You download the mapping app. You watch the videos. You start e-scouting. You hike into the mountains with dreams of screaming bulls and freezer-filling glory.

Then reality shows up.

You hike ten miles, see nothing, blow a stalk, forget something in the truck, get winded, lose sleep, question your life choices, and eventually sit on a mountain wondering if elk are even real.

That is why conversations like this one with Nate Illingsworth matter.

Nate is funny, self-deprecating, brutally honest, and the kind of guy who will tell you straight up that hunting is awesome—but also that you need to kill something eventually or the grind can start wearing you down. He is not trying to sell the fantasy that hunting success comes easy. In fact, one of the most valuable parts of this conversation is how openly he talks about struggling, learning, missing opportunities, and slowly figuring out how to actually find animals.

And for newer hunters, that might be the best elk hunting advice you can hear.

Because the goal is not to pretend the learning curve does not exist.

The goal is to survive it long enough to get better.

Hunting Is Fun, But Success Matters

One of the most honest moments in the episode came when Nate talked about the common phrase every hunter has said at some point:

“It’s just fun to be out there.”

And yes, that is true.

The mountains are incredible. Watching the sun come up from a glassing knob is hard to beat. Hearing a bull bugle in the dark can make the hair on your neck stand up. Even close calls can become stories you tell for years.

But Nate made a point that a lot of new hunters need to hear: at some point, you need some success too.

Not because hunting is only about killing. It is not.

But because hunting is hard. Really hard. And if every season is nothing but failure, blown stalks, missed chances, sore legs, sleep deprivation, and empty coolers, it gets tough to stay motivated.

That does not mean you need to kill a giant. It does not mean you need to measure success by inches. But it does mean that new hunters should build toward realistic wins.

That could be filling a doe tag. It could be getting your first elk with a rifle before trying to become a mountain ninja with a bow. It could be hunting a cow tag, a spike tag, or an easier opportunity hunt to build confidence.

Too many beginners jump straight into the hardest version of hunting because that is what looks coolest online.

Archery elk on pressured public land is not beginner mode.

It is expert mode with emotional damage.

Action Step: Build Momentum With Realistic Tags

If you are new to hunting, do not let ego pick your tags.

Look for opportunities that give you a real chance to get reps. That might mean:

Choosing cow or doe tags when available
Hunting units with better opportunity, even if trophy quality is lower
Learning with rifle seasons before going archery-only
Accepting that your first animal does not need to impress strangers online
Measuring success by progress, not just antler size

The first kill changes something. It teaches you the full process: locating animals, making a shot, handling nerves, blood trailing, field care, packing meat, and finishing the job.

You can learn a lot from close calls.

But eventually, you need to learn what happens after the shot too.

The New Hunter Reality: You Are Not Alone

One of the best parts of this conversation was the way Nate encouraged newer hunters who are still struggling.

In the hunting world, it can feel like everyone else has it figured out. The experienced guys have walls full of animals, years of knowledge, and secret spots they will never share with you. Meanwhile, you are trying to figure out if that thing you heard in the dark was an elk, a cow, or your own imagination getting weird after three hours of sleep.

Nate pointed out that it is actually valuable when hunters are honest about not having a ton of success yet.

Because that is the reality for a lot of people.

Especially today.

Public land pressure is real. Access is tougher. Draw systems are more competitive. More people know how to use mapping apps, trail cameras, podcasts, YouTube, and e-scouting tools. Getting into hunting as an adult is not easy.

That is a big reason The Hunt Stealth Podcast exists.

It is not about pretending to be the world’s greatest hunter. It is about learning out loud, asking the questions newer hunters are actually asking, and helping people stay in the game long enough to become dangerous.

And if you are new, here is the truth:

You are going to mess up.

You are going to blow stalks.

You are going to hike into areas where there are no elk.

You are going to make plans that fall apart the second your boots hit the trail.

Welcome to hunting.

You are doing it right.

Glassing for Elk: Stop Just Hiking Around

One of the biggest tactical lessons from Nate’s season was simple:

Glassing changed everything.

Before that, Nate said he had spent a lot of time hunting thick country and walking around without consistently being into elk. Then he made a shift. He started hunting more open country, getting on glassing knobs, and picking apart the landscape every morning and evening.

That changed the game.

Instead of wandering through the woods hoping to bump into elk, he started finding them first. Once he found elk, the hunt became strategic.

Where are they headed?
Where will they bed?
How can we get in front of them?
What is the wind doing?
What terrain feature can help us close distance?

That is hunting.

Not just hiking with a bow.

For new hunters, this is one of the most important elk hunting tips you can learn: your legs matter, but your eyes might matter more.

If you are constantly hiking through country without seeing animals, you may not need to hike harder. You may need to stop, sit down, and glass better.

Action Step: Build a Glassing System

Do not just “look around.” Glassing needs structure.

Try this:

Pick a vantage point before daylight or before the evening movement window. Get comfortable. Use binoculars on a tripod if possible. Grid the hillside slowly from left to right, then top to bottom. Look for parts of animals, not full animals. Watch for horizontal lines, tan patches, ear flickers, legs, antler tips, and movement. Stay longer than you think you need to.

Most new hunters glass too fast.

They scan a hillside, see nothing, and move on. Experienced hunters pick it apart. They look into shadows. They look under trees. They watch transitions between feeding and bedding areas.

Elk are big animals, but they can disappear in plain sight.

Slow down.

Understanding Elk Patterns: Feed, Bed, Travel

Nate also talked about learning how elk move through the day.

In the morning, he noticed elk often feeding on south-facing slopes and then moving toward north-facing slopes to bed. In the evening, they would leave the cooler, darker bedding areas and move back toward feed.

That one observation is huge for beginner elk hunters.

Elk are not random.

They may feel random when you are new, but they are usually responding to pressure, feed, wind, terrain, temperature, and security. Your job is to start asking better questions.

Where are they feeding?
Where are they bedding?
How are they traveling between those two places?
Where is the pressure coming from?
Where would they go if hunters pushed them?
Can I get there without blowing my wind into them?

This is where hunting becomes a chess match.

A painful, sweaty, emotionally abusive chess match—but still a chess match.

Action Step: Mark the Pattern, Not Just the Sighting

When you see elk, do not just drop a pin that says “elk.”

That is not enough.

Drop notes like:

“Feeding at first light.”
“Moving north toward dark timber.”
“Bedded on shaded bench.”
“Wind coming uphill by 9 a.m.”
“Pressure from road pushed elk into lower pocket.”
“Bugle heard from drainage before daylight.”

Over time, these notes become your education.

The goal is not just to know where elk were.

The goal is to understand why they were there.

E-Scouting: Helpful Tool or Overhyped Trap?

One of Nate’s strongest opinions in the episode was about e-scouting.

His take was not that e-scouting is worthless. It was more specific than that.

Doing the same e-scouting as everyone else is the problem.

That is a powerful point.

Everyone has access to the same mapping tools. Everyone can find water. Everyone can mark wallows. Everyone can watch the same experts talk about benches, north slopes, saddles, burns, and escape routes.

So what happens?

A bunch of hunters mark the same “perfect” spots.

Then opening week rolls around, and five guys are hiking toward the same wallow thinking they found a secret.

Nate told a story about hunters going deep into wilderness areas only to find other hunters already sitting on the same obvious spots. Meanwhile, some elk may be closer to roads, tucked into overlooked pockets, because everyone else walked past them trying to get “deep.”

That is a lesson every public land hunter should burn into their brain:

Deep does not always mean better.

Harder does not always mean smarter.

Sometimes elk are not where the internet told you they would be. Sometimes they are where pressure pushed them.

Action Step: E-Scout for Pressure, Not Just Elk

When you e-scout, ask yourself two questions.

First: Where would elk want to be if no hunters existed?

Second: Where will elk go once every hunter shows up?

That second question is where things get interesting.

Look for overlooked pockets near roads. Look for small benches people walk past. Look for nasty access that is short but annoying. Look for areas that do not look sexy on a map but offer security. Look for spots between obvious glassing points and obvious destination basins.

Public land elk survive by avoiding people.

So stop only looking for perfect elk habitat.

Start looking for places hunters ignore.

Hunt Your Way In

Ryan shared a great lesson from a hunt in the Uintas.

He and his hunting partner bugled into a canyon and had a bull respond. The mistake? They had left some of their gear back at the truck. As they walked back to grab bows and bino harnesses, they bumped another bull that had been close and quiet.

That is a classic elk hunting lesson.

When you enter elk country, you are hunting.

Not after you get to the “spot.”

Not after you get your pack situated.

Not after you reach the canyon you marked on the map.

The hunt starts the second you leave the truck.

Elk do not care about your plan. They do not care that you were “just walking in.” They do not care that your release was in the pack, your bow was in the truck, or you were only scouting.

They are there when they are there.

You need to be ready.

Action Step: Leave the Truck Ready to Kill

Before you walk away from the truck, run a quick checklist:

Bow ready
Release on wrist or accessible
Bino harness on
Rangefinder ready
Wind checker accessible
Tags/license with you
Headlamp ready
Water and food packed
Kill kit in pack
Game bags if there is any chance of success

If you are going into a canyon because elk are talking, take your gear.

The one time you “just go check it out” will be the one time a bull is standing at 35 yards.

That is how hunting works.

Hunting Fitness: The Mountain Finds Your Weakness

The conversation also turned toward fitness, and this is one of the most underrated pieces of hunting advice for beginners.

You do not need to look like a fitness influencer to hunt.

You do not need to run ultramarathons.

You do not need to bench a truck or shoot a 90-pound bow.

But you do need to be honest about the demands of western hunting.

Ryan talked about how hunting exposed weaknesses in his legs, lungs, and overall conditioning when he first started. Nate talked about long elk seasons, averaging big mileage, and the mental and physical grind that piles up over weeks of hunting.

That is real.

Elk country does not care how motivated you are.

The mountain will expose you.

And that is not a bad thing.

In fact, hunting can become one of the best reasons to get healthier. It gives fitness a purpose. You are not just walking on a treadmill because someone said cardio is good for you. You are training so you can climb one more ridge, stay in the hunt one more day, and hopefully pack meat when the moment finally comes.

Action Step: Start Simple With Hunting Fitness

Do not overcomplicate this.

If you are starting from scratch, begin with these three habits:

Walk every day. Add a weighted pack once or twice a week. Train your legs, back, and core in the gym. Get enough protein and water. Build slowly so you do not get hurt.

Ryan mentioned walking, getting steps in, using a weighted vest or pack, and focusing on protein. That is not flashy, but it works.

For mountain hunting, consistency beats intensity.

A guy who walks hills with a pack all summer is going to be better prepared than the guy who panics three weeks before season and tries to turn himself into Cam Hanes overnight.

Do not be that guy.

Your knees will file a complaint.

Running for Hunters: Slow Down to Get Better

Nate also gave some useful running advice.

A lot of people hate running because they start too fast. They go from doing nothing to trying to run hard, then wonder why their lungs are on fire and their legs feel like they got beat with a shovel.

Nate’s advice was simple: keep most of your running easy, build weekly volume slowly, and include some speed work when you are ready.

That applies to hunting too.

You do not need to become an elite runner. But improving your aerobic base can help you recover faster, hike longer, and handle elevation better.

For beginners, the best running plan is the one you can stick to without getting injured.

Action Step: Try a Beginner Run/Walk Plan

Start with something manageable:

Jog two minutes. Walk one minute. Repeat for 20–30 minutes.

Do that a few times a week. As it gets easier, slowly increase the jogging portions. Keep most of it easy. You should not feel like you are fighting for your life every time you train.

The goal is not to win a race.

The goal is to become harder to kill in elk country.

Gear: Confidence Beats Ego

Toward the end of the episode, Ryan and Nate talked about heavy draw-weight bows, including the Hoyt AX90 and the whole social media circus around shooting 80- or 90-pound bows.

Nate’s take was refreshing: most people do not need a 90-pound bow. They probably do not even need an 80-pound bow.

A well-tuned 70-pound bow that you can shoot confidently is going to be far better than a heavy setup you can barely draw when you are cold, tired, awkwardly positioned, or full of adrenaline.

That is a lesson that applies to all hunting gear.

Do not choose gear because it looks cool online.

Choose gear you can use well under real hunting conditions.

Can you draw your bow sitting down?
Can you draw it when your shoulders are cold?
Can you hold at full draw without shaking apart?
Can you shoot broadheads accurately?
Can you make the shot when your heart rate is high?

If not, your setup is not helping you.

It is feeding your ego.

Action Step: Test Gear Under Real Conditions

Do not only practice in perfect conditions.

Shoot kneeling. Shoot sitting. Shoot with your pack on. Shoot when you are tired. Shoot in the wind. Shoot with broadheads. Practice drawing slowly and quietly. Practice after hiking uphill.

Hunting shots are rarely perfect.

Your gear should make you more confident, not more fragile.

The Mental Grind: Hunting Makes You Stronger and Weaker

Ryan said something in the episode that a lot of hunters will understand immediately:

Hunting has made him mentally stronger and mentally weaker at the same time.

That is hilarious because it is true.

Hunting builds grit. It forces patience. It teaches humility. It makes you solve problems when you are tired, cold, frustrated, and uncomfortable.

But it can also break you down.

You can spend days doing everything right and still fail. You can blow a stalk because of one swirling wind. You can hike into the perfect spot and find three other hunters already there. You can finally get an opportunity and sail an arrow under a buck because your brain left your body at full draw.

That is hunting.

It is beautiful and brutal.

And the mental game might be the biggest separator between people who stick with it and people who quit.

Action Step: Redefine Progress

Not every hunt ends with meat.

But every hunt should teach you something.

After each hunt, write down:

What did I learn?
Where did I find sign?
What did the wind do?
Where did I see animals?
What mistake did I make?
What will I do differently next time?
What gear did I not use?
What gear did I wish I had?
Was I physically ready?
Was I mentally ready?

This is how you turn failure into progress.

A bad hunt with good notes is not wasted.

It is tuition.

Life Lesson: Put Yourself Out There

At the end of the episode, Nate shared one of the best pieces of advice from the whole conversation.

Whether it is hunting, running, fitness, pickleball, or anything else, he said to just go for it. Put yourself out there. Chase the thing you want. You might be surprised what happens.

That applies perfectly to hunting.

A lot of people want to hunt but are afraid to start.

They did not grow up doing it. They do not have a mentor. They do not know where to go. They are worried about looking dumb. They do not want to ask basic questions. They compare themselves to guys who have been hunting for 30 years.

But nobody starts as an expert.

Every good hunter was once clueless.

Every killer has blown stalks.

Every experienced elk hunter has hiked into dead country.

Every confident archer has missed.

The difference is they kept going.

So if you are new, stop waiting until you feel ready.

You get ready by doing it.

Final Thought

Elk hunting will humble you.

It will test your body, your patience, your confidence, your gear, your marriage, your sleep schedule, and occasionally your ability to change a tire without losing your religion.

But that is also why it matters.

The mountain does not hand out confidence. You earn it one mistake, one climb, one glassing session, one blown stalk, one close call, and one hard lesson at a time.

So if you are a beginner, do not get discouraged because you are not stacking bulls like the guys on Instagram.

Learn to glass. Learn elk patterns. E-scout differently. Train your body. Hunt your way in. Pick realistic opportunities. Stay ready. Laugh at yourself. Take notes. Keep showing up.

And when the moment finally comes, you will not just have an animal on the ground.

You will have earned the story that comes with it.

That is the good stuff.

That is why we hunt.

By Ryan Uffens