Hunting 4-14 Frustrated!

[dragonslayer]

Thanks guys, I guess I will have to change my tactics and maybe start hunting a little further from home

[835]

no idea how far it is from your place but at certain times of the year I get up at 3am to get to somewhere to look for a Blacktail..

[palmer]

If you give me a PM maybe I can point you into some better area,...that is not much farther

[HarryToolips]

Very few Elk in 4-14. If you were to find any I would look where Deadeye FSR enters 4-14 from 8-15
A lot of better spots to hunt Elk within an hour than 4-14
I just heard that Elk are doing fine in the West Kootenays and no changes are planned...I guess we will see what happens

I would hope that no changes are planned...just look at reg 8, rough estimate of 2500-3500 elk, and they say their number is still increasing and according to hearsay there's quite a few 6 pointers taken every year, and there's huge hunting pressure, so I doubt 6 pt harvest is effecting the overall pops in the WK....and to the OP: I have seen/heard a few elk in that GENERAL area, they are there..

[Husky7mm]

Walks with deer,

Been there done that, one must realize this is a very small area, have scouted it all and ended up in 8-13, where there is no hunting for elk. I can cover the whole area on my quad in 8 hrs, what is why I am asking.

Its impossible to hunt a whole unit throughly in 8hrs, also elk hate atvs. They hear them miles away and leave for the dark timber. Hunt for sign, elk leave all kinds of it letting you know where they are and where they are going. Get some cams out and get a patern going, hunt for sign year round, it will give you the upper hand on them. Elk are almost nocturnal during hunting season, they are out of the low blocks before the sun is up and moving up to the dark timber, best to find the sign and intercept them on their way up to bed. If the sign is old you need to put the boots to the ground and find the fresh stuff. An atv is good for hauling a dead elk. If you like to dirve best to use a vehicle, they make way less noise that said ....Hands down the best is to be on foot.

[saskbooknut]

You can't hunt elk that don't leave tracks. Find a place where there Is plentiful elk sign to up your odds.
Too many people and too many vehicles make elk shy. I only hunted with my wife, or one like-minded partner.
Find a place with lots of elk sign and less people traffic and your chances get a whole lot better.
It is a long time since my elk hunting days in the Kootenay, but I was able to find unhunted holes surprisingly near to well traveled roads in the late 70s and early 80s when there was lots of hunting pressure, both locals and lower mainland hunters. We saw elk, we had chances, and sometimes we ate elk heart in hunting camp.
Hunting for the right place to hunt is a major part of success.
To me, a deer was a pretty good consolation prize when it didn't work out. My best, most massive Mule deer of a lifetime came out of Barnes Creek drainage, and I have seen some pretty fine Mule deer in my Saskatchewan hunts.

[dragonslayer]

J_T I do use a quad but just to get where I am going, I am not new to elk hunting, hunt them every year and am very successful but my elk hunts are down in the EK, which I hunt every year, my only question is about 4-14 my friends like going there I do not , thats why I ask if anyone can tell me about 4-14

[dragonslayer]

Thx Palmer You got that right about 4-14 I am not impressed but my buddies seem to think its ok, thats why the querie, I usually hunt the EK every year and do and know it well,

John

[J_T]

J_T I do use a quad but just to get where I am going, I am not new to elk hunting, hunt them every year and am very successful but my elk hunts are down in the EK, which I hunt every year, my only question is about 4-14 my friends like going there I do not , thats why I ask if anyone can tell me about 4-14

Sounds good.

[dragonslayer]

Husky7mm I am sorry I should have explain myself better, when I say I can cover this in eight hrs with quad, I have done this for 5 years so I pretty well know this country very well, and do not cover the same terrain, if I see sign I most certainly pursue if I can, but in the same token I do have a very bad back, so I have to be carefull how steep the terrain is that I am sneaking after them , on flat terrain or smaller hills I do all of stalking and still hunting when I know that they are around,

John