The Secret to Successfully Bowhunting Elk with Jeff Helm

This week Matty sits down with Jeff Helm, bowhunter, guide and owner of Arrowhead Bow Shop in McGregor, Texas.

Jeff's been bowhunting for around 40 years and chasing elk for more than 20 of those… and last season he managed to go four for four on elk across four different states.

We work through those hunts and how much the game changes as the season progresses. Calling bulls on public land, switching to spot and stalk when they shut up, reading terrain, predicting where an elk is heading instead of simply chasing it and learning to recognise those little signs that tell you you're suddenly right in the red zone.

But what I really liked about this conversation is Jeff's approach to hunting after doing it for so long. He'll be the first to tell you there's an exception to just about every rule. You can have a plan, but you've still got to listen to what the animals, wind and terrain are telling you and be willing to change it.

And sometimes you've just got to stay out there long enough to give yourself a chance. Jeff doesn't sleep in, doesn't head back to camp for lunch and doesn't quit when nothing's happening. After 20 or 30 days chasing elk, he reckons you might only get four to seven days where everything really fires… but those are the days you're out there waiting for.

🔍 What We Cover:

• How Jeff went four for four on elk across four different states and adapted as the rut changed through the season
• Why Jeff isn't overly aggressive with bugling on pressured public land and how other hunters can change his calling strategy
• The Idaho hunt where calling wasn't working, forcing Jeff and his mates to abandon the plan and switch to spot and stalk 
• Why 20 or 30 days of elk hunting might only give you four to seven days where the bulls are really fired up and vocal 
• Reading terrain and predicting where an elk is going rather than simply chasing it... including a move that put an arrow in a bull about 10 minutes later 
• Developing those "Spidey senses" where smell, a hoof, an ear flick or a feeling tells you you're suddenly right in the red zone 
• Why Jeff refuses to sleep in, head back to camp midday or give up when he's committed to an elk hunt
• The ridiculous moment Jeff and Donnie Drake simultaneously shot the same bull... and the lesson Donnie learned about checking his bubble
• Jeff's experience guiding axis, whitetail, aoudad, scimitar oryx, blackbuck and pigs across Texas 
• Why Jeff opened Arrowhead Bow Shop in McGregor, Texas, and wanted to build an archery shop where beginners don't feel judged
• The importance of keeping a beginner's mindset, even after decades of bowhunting, and giving keen new hunters a hand up 

🧠 Key Takeaway

You can learn the rules, but elk haven't read the rulebook. The more time you spend hunting, the better you get at reading the little things... terrain, wind, behaviour and those tiny clues that tell you when it's time to stop following and start predicting.

🔗 Find Our Guest

Jeff Helm

@helm.yeah

Arrowhead Bow Shop – McGregor, Texas

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Hosted by: @mattyafter

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