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Thread: Elk Hunting How far down the game trail you go

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
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    143

    Re: Elk Hunting How far down the game trail you go

    Thanks for the response everyone. I'm glad to hear that 4 years isnt that long to not bag an elk. Im just getting tired of hearing everyone around me getting something every year. I live in fort st john so there are a lot of guys who are experience but refuse to take me out and show me the ropes.

    I've tried looking for places to glass but I dont have a quad. The only place I can glass from are cut blocks near logging roads. I usually find a fresh cut block, up high near logging roads, glass from there to find glassing spots further in the bush. I have never seen any elk when I glass though. Perhaps it might be because I've only glassed at noon or later.

    I'll start scouting in the summer next year. Right now I'm going in blind everywhere I go.
    I also go on day hunts and drive 1 hour home once it gets dark. Maybe I need to start planning an actual camping trip and dedicate some good time scouting and hunting.
    Last edited by bruce44; 10-02-2019 at 09:18 AM.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
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    okanagan
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    3,061

    Re: Elk Hunting How far down the game trail you go

    once you get it figured out you will have many more encounters

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
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    2,478

    Re: Elk Hunting How far down the game trail you go

    Hunting and scouting are basically the same thing. After all, your not hunting until you find the elk. Keep track of all the areas you’ve looked and when. Elk are creatures of habit and will return to the same areas around the same time yr after yr.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
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    143

    Re: Elk Hunting How far down the game trail you go

    Quote Originally Posted by j270wsm View Post
    Hunting and scouting are basically the same thing. After all, your not hunting until you find the elk. Keep track of all the areas you’ve looked and when. Elk are creatures of habit and will return to the same areas around the same time yr after yr.
    Do they eventually return to an area that they were spooked from? I found a spot with lots of beds, poop and markings but some guys decided to camp with a loud generator 200 meters away. It was right next to a river and a cut block with lots to eat.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    East Kootenays
    Posts
    9,143

    Re: Elk Hunting How far down the game trail you go

    Unlike lots of others, i do not bugle.. i spot til i find them then sneek in on them.. i cow call when i get close or want to cover my noise.. works for me.. i do pack a couple mouth reeds that i will do a spike yelp if i am in and i know a bigger bull is around..

    There is no perfect system for elk. What worked yesterday may not work today or tomorrow..

    Good luck.. hope you get one
    "It's not the kill, but the thrill of the chase" - Deep Purple

    "Lord knows I'm a Voodoo chile" - SRV (RIP 8-27-90)

    "Know your Land, Know your Prey" - Mantracker

    http://www.youtube.com/user/welderse...e=results_main

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    2,478

    Re: Elk Hunting How far down the game trail you go

    Quote Originally Posted by bruce44 View Post
    Do they eventually return to an area that they were spooked from? I found a spot with lots of beds, poop and markings but some guys decided to camp with a loud generator 200 meters away. It was right next to a river and a cut block with lots to eat.
    Every elk is different. They might return to the area but you never know what they’ll do. Opening morning my son and I helped a good friend and his son stalk into 180yds Of a legal bull. Unfortunately, my friend and his son missed the bull 4 times. 7:45pm Sept 11 my son killed the bull in the exact same spot.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Kootenays
    Posts
    4,570

    Re: Elk Hunting How far down the game trail you go

    Quote Originally Posted by bruce44 View Post
    Do they eventually return to an area that they were spooked from? I found a spot with lots of beds, poop and markings but some guys decided to camp with a loud generator 200 meters away. It was right next to a river and a cut block with lots to eat.
    So many factors here. You want to determine if the sign you find is summer, early August, late August, September, rut, etc. Elk do have patterns, but they are on a much bigger scale than you might think. They are not like whitetail.

    When glassing cutblocks, look for cutblocks which are 10 - 15 years old. Walk into those blocks and see what kind of food is in there. Look at what has been chewed on. Summer feed? Fall browse feed? If it's early September you are hunting and the flies and bugs are crazy, look for elk up where they can find an open slope with a breeze to keep the bugs off. If its hot, look in the darker timber. If it's been raining, look lower and in the big timber. I think the starting point is always mid slope.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    3,898

    Re: Elk Hunting How far down the game trail you go

    bruce44

    What is ideal elk habitat? What are the key ingredients that make up that habitat?
    Answer those questions and have a full understanding of them and you are well on your way to finding elk easier.
    So many hunters burn a lot of boot leather walking around like blind mice looking for elk.

    Perhaps try this approach.....
    * Learn to identify prime elk habitat.
    * Hunt for said habitat.
    * Factor in that elk get along with pressure like oil and water so the more isolated the habitat the better.

    I can say from experience the isolated areas (mountainous areas in this case) that contain slides, saddles, rips of spruce and considerable water are what elk thrive in if they are not pressured.

    Remember, elk travel in herds, they weigh up to to 800 lbs so they will leave a lot of sign if living in an area.


    I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with keyboards and forums. - F L Wright


    Try and be kind to everyone but fear no one. - Ourea


  9. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
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    903

    Re: Elk Hunting How far down the game trail you go

    D you guys find calling effective in the later parts of the season (mid October)?

  10. #20
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Kootenays
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    Re: Elk Hunting How far down the game trail you go

    Quote Originally Posted by KBC View Post
    D you guys find calling effective in the later parts of the season (mid October)?
    I'm finding the past few years, the cows and calves are pretty quiet in the bush. But, normally when I move, if I'm sifting (like they do) I tend to make very quiet cow calf combo calls). Depending on what part of the province you are hunting in, 'calling' for elk can work, or not. Some areas the rut/bugling is still active in October. In other areas, not so much. But being in close to elk, knowing they are present (close by) and cow calling is an effective way to bring a bull to show himself.

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