MISSOULA, Mont.--If you're an elk hunter, or would like to be, the Rocky
Mountain Elk Foundation is offering 10 ideas for improving your efficiency
this hunting season.

All were condensed from recent and coming features in RMEF's bi-monthly
member magazine, Bugle. A subscription comes with an annual RMEF membership
for $35. To join, call 800-CALL ELK or visit www.rmef.org.

1. Scout from Space
If you've looked into the night sky, you've noticed the many satellites now
orbiting our planet. They're great tools for today's hunter. Google Earth
(earth.google.com) uses satellite images and aerial photography to give
birds-eye views of elk country. Locate meadows, burns, roads, water,
heavy-timber escape areas and more. You can even find places where the
forest canopy thins to suggest hidden grazing spots for elk. Newer GPS units
accept uploaded coordinates from Google Earth, allowing you to walk directly
to and more efficiently ground-truth potential honeyholes.

2. Count Points Quickly
In good habitat, a bull normally has a 5-point rack as a 2-1/2-year-old and
a small 6-point rack the following year. Instantly distinguishing five- and
six-pointers is not difficult. The fourth point, sometimes called the dagger
point, is normally the longest point and most distinctive feature of an elk
rack. If the main beam goes straight back from the dagger, you're almost
certainly looking at a five-by-five. If there's another point rising upward
behind the dagger, perhaps forming a horizontal "Y," then you're looking at
a six-by-six.

3. Practice for Stress
Flinging arrows in the backyard is a far cry from placing a perfect shot on
a live elk. In addition to changing shot angles and distances, hunters also
must cope with distractions and excitement. Hone your focusing skills by
practicing out of your comfort zone. Go to a public range, enter a 3D
tournament, practice in the rain, shoot with strangers, hunt small game,
anything to break normal concentration and practice rhythms. If you're with
buddies, try talking trash: "Hey, watch and learn while I center-punch this
target..." Creating pressure and mental stress, expressly for the purpose of
ignoring it, can help you overcome bull fever in the field.

4. Get Dropped Off
Halfway between a fully guided hunt and a do-it-yourself endeavor, a drop
camp is a good option for those who can hunt and cook for themselves, but
need help setting up a comfortable camp in the backcountry. Many elk
outfitters offer pack-in/pack-out drop camp services. Drop camps can come
complete with wall tents, cots, table, chairs, stove, cut firewood, camp
tools and water. Some outfits even provide food and two-way radios. Cost is
typically much less than a fully guided elk hunt. Talk to several outfitters
about a drop camp and see if it's right for you.

5. Try a Treestand
Bowhunting elk the whitetail way can be super effective if you've scouted
well enough to detect patterns in elk movements. Hang or set your stand near
a waterhole, wallow, food source or travel corridor. A hot waterhole will be
marked with fresh droppings, tracks and rubs--lots of rubs. Prime forage
areas include parks, meadows and hayfields. Travel corridors can be trickier
to find. As you search for well-used game trails, also look for terrain
features such as cliffs or saddles that will funnel elk into your ambush
zone.

6. Claw for Ivories
Some hunters have found that a normal claw hammer works well for removing
ivories from elk. Easier than pulling a nail, they say. Open the mouth,
position the claw around the base of an ivory and angle the tool so that
you're prying squarely against the roof of the mouth. Gently lift the ivory
out of its socket. Repeat on the other side. The prized jewelry-teeth should
pop out much easier (and safer) than by the normal method of cutting and
working them out with a knife.

7. Figure a Tip
Everyone knows the appropriate tip for a waiter or waitress is 15-20
percent, but there is no standard for a hunting guide. Most elk outfitters
step lightly around this topic because suggesting specific amounts can seem
presumptuous. But many veteran hunters agree on a few points. If your guide
has met realistic expectations, worked hard, kept promises--someone who's
been a fine hunting partner, made your trip enjoyable and did everything
possible to put you in a position to fill your tag--a good tip begins at
5-10 percent of the cost of the hunt. For camp cooks and other hands, a good
tip begins at $10 to $15 per day. If you happen to kill an elk, consider the
guide's added chores of retrieving, cleaning, hauling, caping, etc., and tip
more if you're comfortable doing so.

8. Save the Hide
A hide is far down the list of elk-kill souvenirs to take home, falling
somewhere behind meat, antlers, ivories and even bones for the dog. Yet with
proper care, a hide can be turned into a functional memento of a successful
hunt. Companies today can turn elk hide into gun cases, vests, jackets,
gloves--just about anything made of leather. In the field, treat hide with
the same urgency as meat, to prevent spoilage. Don't worry about scraping
away all the fat and flesh, but do worry about cutting too many holes.
Freeze or salt the hide until you can get it to a taxidermist, tannery or
leather specialist.

9. Know Your Range
Most elk hunters practice with their rifle at a 100-yard range, which is
fine for the close-in shots you may encounter in the field. In a recent
survey, about 40 percent of hunters reported the furthest elk they'd ever
shot at was within 200 yards, an easy stretch for flat-shooting modern
rifles. But more hunters, about 60 percent, reported taking shots at elk
that were 200 to 400-plus yards away. Shooting exponentially farther than
you've practiced can be risky. Distance magnifies mistakes and
miscalculations. If you can't practice at 200-400 yards, invest in a
rangefinder, bipod, ballistics charts and top quality ammo. Know your
effective limits and don't shoot beyond them.

10. Use Dry Rub
Marinades are commonly used in preparing elk meat but more and more
professional chefs, like Bugle magazine's chef-columnist John McGannon,
prefer dry rubs. He says flavored liquids dilute natural flavors while dry
rubs caramelize the protein and maximize the culinary potential of wild
game, especially if you're planning to grill, sauté, roast, broil or braise.
Apply dry rub 30-60 minutes before cooking. Here's Chef McGannon's
recommended dry rub recipe for elk meat:

4.25 oz course ground black pepper
3 oz. smoked paprika
6 oz. course granulated garlic
6 oz. course granulated onion
1/4 oz. fine ground white pepper
2 tbsp dried thyme leaves
1.25 oz cane sugar
2.75 oz. ground ancho chili
5.5 oz course sea salt
1/4 oz. dried English mustard

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
Snowy peaks, dark timber basins and grassy meadows. RMEF is leading an elk
country initiative that has conserved or enhanced habitat on over 5.8
million acres--a land area equivalent to a swath three miles wide and
stretching along the entire Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. RMEF
also works to open, secure and improve public access for hunting, fishing
and other recreation. Get involved at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.