Random thoughts from an idiot rookie: - Two things I always tell myself, "You don't know this area until you glass it in the morning", and " Try to sleep where you glass". - In the AM, I like to be setup before the first rays of gray light start showing over the eastern ridges, though family obligations don't always allow for it during summer, so I end up leaving at like 3 AM and still not make it in time. - Afternoon "geezer naps" are the bomb! - Thermal shifts, it puts a time limit, and it varies on time of year and location, but it's usually like clockwork in it's timing, and something to plan for. - The sun/shadow line is another time limit, once that sun is overhead, everything changes. - Being "in the bubble" is exhausting. So I try and ration it. The trick is knowing when you need to step it up and get into the bubble. I've blown an entire herd by bumping a single cow from 100 yards away. Though I was quiet, I was NOT in my bubble so the cow saw me before I saw her. That had repercussions the following day, cause all the elk were gone. - Depending on hunting pressure, and how hot it is, elk are like a tide in the ocean. The tide comes in from private at night, and could go back out to private about 30 minutes after first light. I know this cause I could hear them at night. It also means the window of opportunity is SUPER narrow. Personally, my BIGGEST fault, is not hunting the evening hours as much as I know I should. It's a conscious decision since i'm almost always solo. The rational is if I step into some shit in the dark in the morning hours, I know daylight is coming and I have all day to unfuck myself. In the evening, that isn't the case, though I will hunt the evening depending on the terrain, location, and elk activity. (IE risk management) I've had them come in on me in the evening, 5 minutes before shooting hours ends, and i was getting ready to pack it up. You just never know.

Cliff we’re going to watch the video no matter what you name it just post it we get the alert we click and watch that simple lol. Thanks for everything my guy

💯. I've guided for 20+ years and it's amazing how very few understand this. They almost always want to call it quits an hr or so before dark. The last half hr (5 mins of legal light) is when we get most all our elk in the evening. They get excited when we first set down for the evening then prime time comes and there not looking anymore. I look (glass) harder the later it gets. Love a good evening hunt!

I sent this video to my hunting partners (my sons) to help explain "the quit feeling" because they get exhausted by putting too much energy in the wrong places at the wrong time. Thanks Cliff.

Your content constantly improves. Delivery, editing, camera angles, topics, guests and formats. I've watched em all Cliff. Large sample size. Your work is elite.

Just scored on a returned idaho elk tag sale. Brushing up on my Cliff elk knowledge, this concept is super valuable to me as a newer elk hunter. This will be my fourth elk trip. I was able to tag my first idaho bull on my third trip. Hoping to carry that successful momentum into my hunt this year! Keep up the awesome videos. Love the game processing information too! Good luck this season.

Excellent subject and info as always Cliff 👍 Having harvested the VAST majority of my elk in the last bit of shooting light of the day, I couldn't agree more with you about just how critical good time management is. As well as adjusting your "normal" routine to the hunt.

Cliff you have produced a lot of very good videos…..this one ranks right at the top. I am a seasoned western hunter and found plenty of new things to contemplate from your advice. Appreciate your content.

Been hunting elk 15 years in same area northern Colorado. I’m 67 and hunt strictly nasty timber and there is no glassing and I do this solo. I’m not afraid of the dark and I know I’m missing some great action but navigating this sh- - in the dark for a mile or two is more than I want to do at my age. BUT this year I’ll give it a go. I drew an Elk and Mule deer archery tag. Great video as always, you never stop learning. 🏹🏔️🌲⛺️🦌

Cliff, thanks for making this point. We aren’t the super heroes we think we are sometimes. I am glad my son likes to fish during the heat of the day, and we usually hit the hunting spots in the mornin and evenings.

The funny part is that I used to tease my old man for taking naps in the middle of the day. But as I got more hunts under my belt, I started understanding why he always wanted to take naps during the middle of the day. Now we both take naps during the middle of the day! 😂

Great video, Cliff, not boring at all. The great temptation for me to get back to camp too early is simply that I hate hiking through deadfall in the dark. It's inevitable; it's necessary; it's no fun at all.

I don’t know if you have ever done a video on “Overcoming the fear of Solo hunting in the dark” but if you do, I bet it will be popular. A lot of us “Tough guys” don’t wanna admit it, but that’s the reason most of us head to the truck at 4pm in the afternoon. That fact alone is why 90% of us don’t kill elk….. we wait till sun up to get on the mountain while the 10 percenters are already quartering their kill before the rest of us leave the road.

Cliff you make some good points but also some poor ones. I’ve had a lot of mule deer success packing to stay out all day. Eat lunch in the field, nap in the field mid day. Glass more and move less. I see so many hunters tromping around the sage country not seeing any of the deer I’m watching all day. Your on point though that you have to have the stamina to stick with it and focus during prime time. This approach has resulted in a good number of field dressed deer in the dark and late night pack outs. Pack and plan for that and success rates go up.

Cliff I really don't like you telling my hunting competition about this stuff. ;) Honestly though this content is great and right on the money. The only thing I would add is that we have been blessed on many occasions by having lunch with a group of hunters watching a prime mountainside or draw. No glassing, just BSing and something pops up. I've spent too many hot days behind glass and my eyes were super tired come prime time in the evening. Not worth it at all.

Here's one for you, If you're trying to get a bear on a bait pile, Stock it heavily. And stay out of the stand until the morning of the 3rd day. Be in the stand half an hour before daylight. Bears have a tendency to lay and wait.

You are 100% right, i take a nap mid day archery hunting because nothing is happening because it is to hot except when the elk are hard core rutting and that doesn't happen much in western Washington

Mostly agree with this stuff. Napping midday can be tough when it's bright warm outside. Maybe a catnap or two but 3-4 hours is a tall order for me. Navigating in the dark can be dangerous. It isn't the predator issue so much as slipping or tripping on things I can't see well. Plus, the deer can see perfectly well while we can't see them at all. So I won't let myself be too exposed until I can see at least enough to know if there's deer in my immediate area. Oddly, in a spot I've gotten to know very well, the earliest hours have some activity but a lot of activity happens at the thermal shift when the winds are stagnant or moving back/forth -- giving them a chance to know what is both ahead and behind them. The deer move quickly during that hour to get themselves into position before the winds shift uphill -- often running from place to place, stopping occasionally to read the wind & then running another 100 yards or so. Maybe it's a local phenomenon but it's pretty reliable in my mountains. But, yes! Time management is a HUGE issue in people's success and failure. Early season archery, there's a huge chunk of time to kill midday but it's pretty intense from evening until late the next morning. Late season, it's an intense day and a very relaxing evening & night where I have time to read books in the tent & relax. But field life should always revolve around those prime hours, whatever they are -- couldn't agree more.

Too many hunters confuse camping with hunting. Leave late because they have to have a big breakfast or come in early to do like you said, need to get dinner going, cutting wood, go to the bathroom etc. Then stay up too late organizing camp, talking, camp talk is part of hunting but manage your time so you can have new stories. One other thing use your standard vision to look around on occasion not just through your glass.

Good stuff Cliff Makes perfect sense to what your saying. Thanks for all the good info

How do fall bear compare to spring bear in terms of the time of day that they are most active

A lot of this happens naturally as you get older. I’m 60 now and I relax mid day (unless you’re actually hunting a water source), eat a nice lunch, have a good nap. You’re forced to prioritize time, become more efficient and hunt prime times because you don’t have endless energy like you’re 25. And I kill more game now too, if I want to…

Cliff love your show please don’t turn into a sellout. Your content is always much appreciated especially by us blue collar working guys. Your you don’t need all this no bs is what got you here keep up the great work.

Thanks Cliff, I’m revising my hunt plan based on your advice. Makes so much sense but I never thought of it this way.

Cliff, this is gold information! I got into hunting later in life and feel like I’m losing precious time. My partner and I have bow-hunted elk for 8 years. We have done our “e-research,” hunted hard, and been very successful at finding elk, but still 0-8 on even getting close enough to drawing our bows. Thank you for sharing this information. We hope to use these tools in this coming season.

I’ve cheated most my life because I had mules and packed into wilderness areas as a young man and now as an older man I have private lands that hold Elk. Elk are pretty easy to hunt, but can be damn hard to find. I’ve ridden thirty miles in a day in a loop around a wilderness camp and nada. And three days later it’s like the heavens opened and Elk fell out. Sometimes it’s easier to wait for them to come to you than for you to go to them. Hats off to the backpack hunters in wilderness areas. Should be an Olympic sport. Always thought of you with a cold beer in my hand sitting in a saddle and looking back at 2 mules, 4 quarters and horns a head and a cape. Now I do a ebike and lots of trail cameras and hunting blinds. Patterns develop and you just have to wait for them to cross the fence back over onto your place. And hope the neighbor doesn’t score first. Which happens….

I’m out two hours before daylight locating bugling bulls . If you’re leaving camp when it’s daylight …you’re too late .

Quality advice.. this flatlander appreciates your efforts… tks Cliff.

Nailed it! As a pretty successful archery elk hunter (17 and counting), I count on others giving up early, it just opens up more opportunity for us more dedicated hunters. Too much pressure already in my eyes, no need for more :O

Great content. Just the info I needed to hear that no one really talks about. Not sexy, but useful.

It's good to warn new people you hunt with not to pull the fire alarm if you're not back 1-2 hours after dark. I've made some people very uncomfortable by not warning them. Now i warn everyone as we are planning the hunt. So they can be prepared to be alone after dark for awhile.

Fascinating I never made these correlations before. Thank you 🙏 I’ve seen elk, deer, bear just as you described.

This man knows what he is talking about, i was a guide in Big Horn Wyoming and the Elk and Mule deer are really smart, which makes for a very fair chase hunt. Which also teaches you to be a better hunter. Great stuff, listen to this guy.

Really helpful information... I've never been a hunter, but want to this next season. I had no idea why I rarely ever see deer in the forest... now I know why there seems to be very little wildlife - I'm looking at the wrong times. Thanks Cliff!

Clif, I'm still a newbie so Please you know well how to do all of this so keep telling what we really need. Thank you for all your insight! I am learning a lot and beginning to learn my near by hunting areas. I haven't been successful yet but got close to some elk last year & had fun. I just need to keep investing the needed time. Thanks again!

I agree with you %99 Cliff. Admittedly, I fall into that trap myself a lot for the reasons you mention. Hard to face. Nonetheless, It's great advice! Thank you

Great video, I do pretty well as all of my harvests so far in Az have been in the morning. Maybe a reason as I’m always back to truck or camp before dark it seems. I’m about always by myself (unless helping another DV) and have that mentality of not getting stuck out overnight.

Great video, I learned most of what your saying the hard way because i rifle hunted half my life and its way different

Ok, I am seeing I just need ... Discipline! Yes, I'll confess I fall into the same category or say I'm on vacation. I should bring an extra light to get in & out too. The prime hours are ... The Prime Hours! I will make priority to be out there at the right time. That's it. I am a new elk hunter in Idaho & need to learn the animal. Thank you Clif.

My guide last Sept wanted to pack up 30 min before sunset every night. Was a little frustrating, I'm guessing it was because he didn't want to ride out on horseback in the dark

The title alone had me laughing. They key to success that has been handed down is being there when they are there. It’s really that simple.

As I prepare for my first elk hunt, post rut at the end of rifle season on public land with 200 other hunters and average 23% success for this hunt I'm hoping to soak it as much elk knowledge as possible. I plan to scout and glass for elk during the summer and the weeks leading up to my hunt. I want to have an idea of where the elk are, and be able to track their movement as hunting pressure increases to increase my odds of harvesting.

Mid day glassing for elk on the Oregon Coast range....good luck with that! First hour and last hour is where it's at.

Great information. Thank you.

New to Western hunts, learning so much from your content. Thank you Cliff

Im 57 yrs old. Ive done a couple diy trips the last few yrs without much luck. Im gonna need a cliff gray kinda guide ole buddy! Lol

Shhh! I hunt public land and see this all the time. If you tell people though, by the last few days of an archery hunt, when they usually head home, they'll still be there. It'll lower my odds! Seriously though, I had to learn this stuff too though. The organization and times are really important and then when you actually start a stalk, it's the wind. Elk are places for a reason. Keep checking the wind. The wind changes and the animals know where and when it changes. The closer you get the more you need to check.

Loved the video definitely going to help me a ton! This was definitely my biggest problem last year(first year hunting) figured hunting all day long would make up for missing the pre dawn glassing hours. No success and never saw any elk during archery yet saw all the freshest sign and was on their bedding in the early morning but never early enough. Got a 25/26 archery mule tag this year hope to see some flat tops guides in action while im out doing my thing!

Great info once again. I have learned so much from your videos. Thanks again for making these.

9am to 5pm in nap time except at the height of the rut.

Also adding to the nav, and i am sure this man knows this, but know your maps before you go, at least get a topo map for the area and understanding the topo. Knowing your roads where you could get to and knowing an exit (also because with elk, the kill is tough but the next part and taking care of the animal takes much longer than many people think) but if you can learn to use an analog watch as a compass is easy but can really help you with a topo map. I have saved many hours after kill, just knowing an easier access route to get your game to an easy transit situation and will make life much easier. I am sure he has talked about this but I just want to say this guy i really respect because he definitely knows his stuff. He has great info for all of you.

Ive done all that for years.When young it was always all day as I was covering major ground.Late fall I've tracked bulls for days in a row.Seen elk get up and move many a early afternoon archery.Where im archer now the big groups are on private and they are being hazed back in by guys on ranch with rifles.

Even when you know most of the info to be true, it can be hard to fight the internal demons, so hearing it over and over it helpful! I always struggle with what to do after the good morning hours as mainly a bow hunter in Utah where season opens mid August. There is just so much time to kill I either wind up on 8 mile expeditions aimlessly wandering through good country like an idiot, or feeling like I'm not even trying by sitting in the same place fighting sunburn for 12 hours until it gets to be prime time again.

I like it! Good stuff, man!

Agreed perfect example yz ranch and flat tops

Of course you should always have your overnight gear when out hunting/glassing away from camp, but also have the mentality that you might spike camp rather than return to camp that night. This gives you an added option and helps reduce that premature-back-to-camp urge. It helps you be more committed to your hunt, since you know you having a 2nd option where you spend the night.

Cliff i love all the content! Ive learned so much from your videos. I was able to harvest my first Muledeer last year! Thank you!

A long time guide I know doesn't even leave camp to archery hunt until 9am or later(these are areas he's hunted a long time you'll need to wake up and locate elk if you're hunting new area). Archery hunting in the morning is fairly difficult since elk are headed to their bedding areas and you're on the clock with thermals. Sometimes you get lucky and get satellites to come or run into those golden days where they're screaming until 11am. Most of the time they're headed to bed and you're wasting your time and energy chasing them. Hunting at noon is underrated, herd bulls will leave cows if they're bedded. If you're near bedded elk, you'll get into them long before the last 20 minutes of day.

Solid!

It’s about hunting smarter - not longer.

good stuff Cliff, it helps with the hunt.

So would you say it is safe to say that as hunting pressure increases the time animals spend out in the open during shooting hours decreases to the point where if there is really heavy hunting pressure they could become almost completely nocturnal. For example in coastal logging country where during rifle season for elk the hunting pressure is very intense especially because of all the roads and 4 wheelers and side by sides driving around almost constantly. Do you think in these situations the elk would only feed in the clearcuts at night and then by first light be in the timber or reprod on the way to thier beds? This has at least been my experience. There are tons of elk in these kinds of areas with lush clearcuts for food and pockets of timber checkerboarded across the landscape but they are extremely difficult to glass up and kill. Especially older bulls. Could treestand or still hunting trails to bedding areas be more productive than glassing in this case?

Hunt like a commercial fisherman got transplanted to a small mountain town in the Rockies.

Really enjoyed this video, like your watch, what kind is it? Keep the info coming

I hear a lot of guys talk about glassing for tracks in the snow, but I've never heard what to actually do when you find them. Are there any videos out there on the topic?

Love your perspective Cliff! Always appreciate you sharing these fairly tidy videos about things we're probably messing up! To each their own, but I'll disagree on the "You shouldn't hunt all day" point. For some people, glassing/hunting in the morning, resting during the day, and glassing/hunting in the evening is a great system. Keeps them in it and keeps spirits high. But your point about wolves and cats only hunting in sprints just doesn't resonate with me. We're at the top of the food chain because we can do things they can't. African tribes used to run after dear until the dear quit and laid down. That's an extreme example, but I believe there are lots of opportunities to kill elk (especially herd bulls) and high country mule deer in the middle of the day!

On my deer hunt last year, the only time i saw mule deer was around 11:30 in the afternoon moving down the canyon I was hunting. I caught a quick flash of as two deer stepped out between two trees and promptly jumped into a ravine disappearing out of sight.

I'm a rookie, but I feel this this is for me😂.

If I ever hunt in North America I am calling you Cliff.

Cliff - you’re the hook, don’t sweat the title.

What scares me about going mountain hunting in the dark is that I may end up being bear shit. The thought of going out like that is unnerving.

Thank you very much Cliff!!!!!

Kifaru = #1> Tell Aron to get you two on a podcast together.

Great Video Cliff! ❤

My girlfriend likes to join my archery elk hunts, and she hates walking in the dark. We inevitably get in a fight where she says, "Can't we just hunt during the day and not walk in the dark?" Um, no, we can't.

A note on fear: ​​⁠ I have been a solo backpack hunter since around 2010. I remember being alerted to a bear while all nestled into my sleeping bag. The bear was only 40 yards east of me. I was overwhelmed with fear. I prayed and asked God for courage and His protection. He answered that prayer and I was able to sleep in peace. The bear continued up the mountain. Another time I was awakened in the middle of the night by some violent winds. The wind would blow really hard one direction, pause for a spell, then blow really hard from another direction. I could really sense the presence of an evil entity, something demonic! This was more fearful to me at the time than the bear encounter. Again, I prayed for courage. The Lord spoke to me, not audibly, but the thoughts came to my mind. The Lord told me that the evil force was just another being He created and I did not need to be afraid. This was a real revelation, my fear left me and I fell asleep in peace. I now live my life in the fear of God, the one that can not only kill my body, but cast my soul into Hell for all eternity. I find myself living righteously becauseI I love God, but also because I fear/ highly respect Him. I am a born again believer, attend a non denominational Christian church, read my bible, and pray earnestly daily, usually around 0200 hrs in the morning. Now when I venture into the wilderness, I don’t fear the things I can’t control. I still do my part to be safe when I am out solo hunting, but the parts that use to creep me out no longer have dominion over me. Maybe this will help others.

Great vid

And remember a smart bear will check your trail first. always where clean rubber boots.

Honestly, I've been guilty of all the above at one time or another I'm sure, but I'm stubborn and never give up 😂

Outstanding! This is the God's truth. Bringing the behavioral features of civilization to the wild handicaps hunters. Spot on to manage time as Cliff suggests.

Cliff create an elk knife for backpack elk hunting

My only input to this is to say, that when looking for animals, don't stare hard,all tense. Relax,you see movement in your peripheral areas of vision far better than you think. the time to look hard is when you have already identified movement.

Yet another tease with the Kifaru shirt. Looking forward to the Cliff Gray/Aron Snyder meeting of the minds.

Great stuff Thank u

have to move at the speed of nature not easy for the modern man

Good stuff!

I suck because I get impatient. Like with this, 30:36 video. I skimmed through and accidentally landed on 15 min in. Then I paid attention almost fully until 22min. Then skimmed to the end. But man, maximizing the three hours a day when I’m functional, yeah! Then dedicating off hours to other chores. I get that and thank you for explaining that to my squirrel brain.

Excellent.

I see and have many hunters admit fear. They DO NOT have the knowledge or skill of navigation. Most hunters are fearful of darkness and getting lost or killed by predators. Most hunters depend on modern technology and fear loss of service/battery life. Most hunters may not admit that fear KEEPS ANIMALS ALIVE....they also have time to kill, they don't make time to hunt. Hunting is easy. Making it a priority or lifestyle is hard

Let’s go!

I wish you would stop giving away all the secrets 😂😂 I love these hunters! If these new hunters would listen to you they would save their self years of mistakes

Thanks PIMP! ❤

Dude, I have to ask, because you mentioned that you didn't think the hunters didn't want to navigate at night because of monsters, do you know something we don't? It was more the way you said it. I used to hunt religiously and love it but I broke my neck and haven't been able to since. I live and hunted in Idaho. I have experienced a few things that were eerie to say the least and we couldn't come up with any logical explanation. I have come across trees ripped out of the ground and stuck back in the ground. There was no possible way any machinery could get in there except a helicopter and no amount of people together could not have pulled that tree out of the ground without digging and cutting roots, there was not one mark on it from any axe, saw, shovel or a chain etc. We stood there dumbfounded just staring at this thing and mumbling WTF. This was in really remote backcountry in Central Idaho, we didn't see any other people the whole week we were in there so it's not a place that many people venture to. To this day I tell you how that tree got planted upside down and didn't mention that it was ripped out about 75 feet from where it was planted and this tree was every bit of 12 to 14 inches wide and 8 feet of tree plus the root ball out of the ground. Since then I have heard of many similar accounts and all evidence points to sasquatch. Bigfoot never even crossed our minds at the time. Sorry for the long comment but I had to share because there really are things out there that aren't supposed to be real. I don't know how many of the so called "Cryptids" are actually real but there are some and people disappear in the woods far too often to not raise an eyebrow. I just had a feeling you have experienced something as well at some point in your journeys. If so I would really like to chat . My email is madbugger469.ks@gmail.com Thank you Kevin Story

To be fair I think not living is North America or the Americas as a whole is also limiting my elk and bear killing 😅🙃😛

As I have aged, life has humbled me, thank God. Realizing that a few years ago, I started trying to be more efficient with my time and energy. It's been good for my hunting. I am scared of Bigfoot after dark, constantly checking my back trail.

I politely asked people hunting public land to wait til its dark before heading back to the truck. People tried roasting me. Yes i get it, people have families and schedules, but don't ruin others hunts to leave 15 minutes early.

Find there water hole

I already know why it’s cuz I can’t afford it

Scared of the dark like me ? Buy night vision 😂

Killed an elk last year…and the year before…and…I guess this video isn’t for me