Elk hunting
Elk Hunt Planning Checklist
By Austin Christensen · Updated October 23, 2026
A tag, a weapon you have already confirmed, and a pack list someone else can read. The regulations for your unit live on the state site. This is the gear and the plan around them.
When the tag is in hand
- Read the unit regulations on the state wildlife site. This page does not list seasons, weapon restrictions, or carcass rules.
- Confirm you are allowed to use the trailhead you have in mind.
- Tell a partner the dates.
- Open a loadout and name it for the unit and the season. "Hunt stuff" will not help you in August.
Weeks before the hunt
- Break the boots in on real hills.
- Zero the rifle, or tune the bow and build the arrows you will hunt with. The weapon on the sling (Buy at Invader Concepts) should be the one you confirmed.
- Choose the sleep system for the coldest night in the forecast window, then check the forecast again the week of the hunt. The gear list splits archery and rifle clothing.
- Assemble the kill kit in one bag: sharpened knife, second edge, saw, game bags, gloves, cord, flagging, headlamp.
- Plan food by the day. If you have not weighed the menu, the pack weight guide has a labeled planning range for food.
The week of the hunt
- Count fuel for the nights you will cook, not for a longer trip you are not taking.
- Put game bags in the pack. A tote in the garage does not count.
- Put the license and tag in a waterproof bag.
- Download offline maps in the maps app you use. Backcountry Hunter will not draw the boundary or the waypoint.
- Leave the trailhead, the vehicle, and the day you are overdue with someone who is not on the hunt.
- Lay the pack out and walk it against the loadout. Anything on the floor that is not on the list goes back in the closet, or onto the list.
The night before
- Pack from the loadout, not from memory.
- Check the headlamp.
- Decide where you will fill water on the first drainage, and how you will treat it.
- Confirm the rifle or bow by the door is the one you zeroed or tuned.
If you punch a tag
Take the photo if you want it, then take care of the meat. Get the hide off what you are keeping, into game bags, into shade, and cooling. A long walk with two quarters in the heat is how people get hurt and how meat spoils. Split the load. If you are coming back for the rest, flag the route and tell your partner what is still on the hill.
After you are out
- Note what never left the pack and take it off the next loadout.
- Log the hunt in the journal if you keep one: weather, what failed, what you would leave next time.
- Flag a catalog weight that did not match the scale.
- Look at other elk loadouts after you know what you actually used. They are more useful then.
Common questions
- What should I do before a backcountry elk hunt?
- Read the unit regulations on the state wildlife site, confirm the weapon is the one you zeroed or tuned, break in your boots, pack a kill kit, and write the gear list as a loadout. Tell someone the trailhead and the day you will be overdue. This checklist does not replace those regulations.
- Does this checklist include season dates or tag rules?
- No. Seasons, weapon restrictions, and carcass rules change by state and unit. Read them on the wildlife agency site for the tag you hold. This page is the gear and the plan around that paperwork.
- How do I share the plan with a hunting partner?
- Put the kit in a loadout and send the link. A partner can see what is packed, what is worn, and what is still at camp. Agree on who carries meat before you are standing over the animal.
- What belongs in an elk kill kit?