I had a late-season landowner’s elk tag so I needed to get out scouting. Where I’d be hunting is out in wide open country. I hunted down there last year but didn’t really know the area so I ordered some maps from MyTopoMaps. I love their maps. They’re a lot more detailed and precise than any other maps I’ve ever seen.

In this area, there are some small groups of elk scattered around, but as a whole they run in herds of 200 to 1,500. That many elk can eat you out of house and home if you’re a rancher, which is why they give out these tags.

It is super big country. The first year I hunted there I took off across the desert. But you could walk 20 to 30 miles without seeing an elk. So what you need to do is drive around and determine the general locale that they’re hanging in and then plan a stalk.

Last year I figured I’d be lucky to get a 500-yard shot. Turns up I got within 40 yards of one group and 35 yards of another group — and this herd was about 500! Things worked out great for these stalks. It doesn’t always work out that well.

I’m not into the long-range shooting scene, but you’re going to have to be comfortable shooting out there a little bit if you’re going to hunt in this country.

If you’re going to be at the Safari Club International Convention in Las Vegas on Feb. 3, drop by. Ron Spomer and I will be teaching a seminar titled “Pragmatic Long-Range Hunting.” What we’re going to teach is to have a flat-shooting rifle and good ammo, as well as how to zero in your rifle at 200 yards for hunting in this kind of country. That way you can pretty much hold dead-on from 100 to 400 yards and still hit in the kill zone.

Myself, I’m not comfortable shooting much past that. A few mistakes I think most people make is that they don’t practice enough with their rifle to be comfortable with it and know where it hits. Probably the second biggest mistake is choosing the wrong ammo. Not only do you need to get ammo that shoots accurately in your particular rifle, but you also need to use ammo that performs well. Not all ammo is created equal.

Another big thing for longer range shots is having a good rest. A lot of these guys who claim to be able to consistently drill targets at 1,000 yards are lost in the real hunting world. It’s a lot different out in the real world.

You see an elk, he sees you and you have a few seconds to unsling your rifle, get a steady rest and stabilize your breathing, oh, and yeah, get a shot.

You have to be able to improvise. One time there may be a good tree or log to lean on. Next time it will be a rock or boulder and the next time, nada. What do you do then? You may use a bipod. But if you get a bipod I’d suggest getting one that is at least 24 inches tall or you won’t be able to see over the sagebrush and weeds. We’re not hunting on a flat golf course you know. A lot of bi-pods are only 9 to 12 inches. They’re made for shooting from the prone position.

Another popular option is shooting sticks. There are a lot of options on the market. Some are almost a walking stick with a rest that can be elevated. The single-leg ones are not too stable. Then there are bi-pods that go up to 60 inches. You can adjust them to any desired height. They’re more stable than a single-legged shooting stick and a good choice but they also make tri-pods that are even more stable. These last two options will have a V-shaped rest on top in which you can lay your rifle. I’m about to go on some varmint hunts in Texas, so I ordered a Bogpod tripod to test out. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Before I ever saw any shooting sticks on the market I used to get two half-inch dowel rods and tape them together about 6 inches from the top. I’d stick these in my back pocket while walking across the prairies antelope hunting. They work pretty good. You just spread the base out further to get lower settings.

Part 2 of Tom Claycomb’s article will be published in the Idaho State Journal next Friday.

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop.