Planning a elk hunt in the cranbrook area

[ewiebehunter]

Looking for some advice as where to find the big bulls.

[guest]

Welcome newbe.
Got horses?, Got good boots and lots of strong friends that don't ask questions.
Man thats a good question ....... wheres the big bulls ........?
Likely there are a few Big bulls in any region they have a season, start asking around, ask C/O's, check the record books.
There's even some hiding behind the trees near Clearwater.
There all over the province, here there every where .....do some homework.
CT

[Jelvis]

ewie--hey you want an elk
MU 4-22
Bull River - Pickering Hills
The Bull River road runs north to East White main, east of Whiteswan Lake in MU 4-24. Another branch eastward runs across to the Sulpher creek road which joins Hwy 3 just east of Fernie. Watch for Motor Vehicle Hunting Access Closure on Iron Creek road, and on Quinn Creek road. This is good elk hunting country ewie, with some deer and moose. Also access from Hwy 3 behind Jaffray, Galloway and Elko.
Ewie that should keep you busier than a one legged soccer player--Nice bulls up the Bull River
Stop @ the Bull River Inn and see some sights and talk.
Jellyvis--MU 4-22------for you. Good luck up the Quinn.

[Ddog]

it all depends to what time of year your coming, the pickering hills doesnt hold any good bulls until late, and then that depends on the snowpack farther up the Bull river. You want big bulls! you go far up the bull river around 75-80km and then hike into the back bowls. Guaranteed big bulls. LONG HIKE.

[Cole]

You must like lots of company while you hunt! !
I've hunted a lot of places but here in the Cranbrook area, WOW! ! I have never seen so many people hunting in one area ! ! !! The Bull River area was so packed on opening week that they needed traffic control. Every camp spot along the river had a minimum of 4 trucks , all with campers and trailers and quads galore. It was an absolute gong show. If you want a chancea at a bull, you should head to head to Radium Hot Springs and get across the Columbia River and hunt M.U. 4-34. Its a big area, lots of good bulls hang out in the clearcuts around Frances Creek and Leadqueen. Good camping too and not a bunch of people running around scaring game out of their wits. Get Google Earth and check it out.

[Vader]

Bull River was the "hot Spot" last year.. Lots of vocalization which always attracts the hunters. Word gets out pretty quick on where the bulls are bugling. It's cyclic and next year they may not be so vocal which means less hunter concentration. The year before Lamb ck was the hot area. Year before St Mary's/lumberton. Could be the finley or maybe south yahk, plumb bob, linkletter, white river, elk valley or a thousand other drainages. Nobody here is gonna tell you where the best spot is.. You are going to have to spend time just like all the other hunters out there and find your own hot spots. Trouble with non residence is.. if you pick right, you will be in the thick... if you pick wrong.. you wonder why all the hype about a lot of elk around... cause you ain't seeing or hearing any..
If you know your quarry, and use google earth.. you can eliminate a lot of territory. You can eliminate a lot more territory based on physical fitness and camping requirements. The uglier it is...the more alone you will be. Nothing worse than a 10 mile hike to be alone and find that there is nothing there.. cept you...

[GoatGuy]

Looking for some advice as where to find the big bulls.

What do you define as a big bull?

[finish]

uhhh, the Elk all moved away....or was it, on vacation, no bulls here, only cows and the odd calf!

[bigben]

Dear mr ewei I have lived in the east kootenays all my life and let me tell you there are no big bulls here .........yes there is elk here but if your looking for a good bull a 330 bull is hard to come by the average is 260 to 290 ...........the kootenay areas have some what become a gong show for hunters with all the limited area hunting on does cow elk and calves the area has been over runned with an incredible amount of people .....my suggestion is to put in for limited entry in the category in the west kootenays and hope you draw a tag its not easy but if you do you will have a elk hunt of a lifetime ...........also I do not want to discourage you if you want to come to cranbrook to hunt there are places that you can hunt elk but be prepared to hike and get off the beaten path .... I wish you good luck I belong to a club and we have only two elk that are over the 300 inch mark and one that comes from ft st john that scores in the 330 mark .......with this remember our season opens on the 1 st of sept to the 10 th for bow any elk then ........limited entry elk on cow and calves .........under 19 and 0ver 65 .......catch my drift one hell of alot of people .............good luck with your venture in the kootenays

[rocksteady]

Couple of quick questions: no offense intended either

Have you ever hunted elk before? Its a pretty challenging/frustrating critter. Experience goes a long long way ....

Are you competent with various calls? If not start practicing now !!! A lot of guys use the no-practice hoochie mama and the elk are starting to figure that out....What really gets them now is unique diaphram calls (bull/cow mews).....

Elk are a very moving target.....Just cause you see them in one spot today, does not mean they will be there tomorrow.....I would take the advice you ask for, as for a location, with a large grain of salt....Take the Bull River suggestion, one person says it was good, another (Bigben) said it was a gonger.....Find a little spot of good habitat, with fresh sign and hunt the hell out of it......Be prepared to spend a lot of time, effort and boot leather to get into position for a shot...


Dependant on what you have for accomodations, what do you mean by the Cranbrook area???? If you have a trailer and wall tent, there is tonnes of places where you could camp and be in elk country, however if you are staying in town with friends , that may limit where you go (especially how early you have to get up and drivve for).....

How many days do you plan to commit to the hunt....????? SOME hunters (even those with an LEH Cow/Calf tag) think they can drive here from say Kamloops, on a Friday Night of a long weekend, and be home by mOnday night with a cow cut/wrapped and frozen......Elk are usually not that easy....A lot of guys come for 2 weeks/10 days if they can.....Other guys, like Hunter1947 go to the hills for 6 weeks and become Mountain Men.....You have to take this into consideraton before you push the easy button.....


Not ttrying to burst bubbles or discourage you, just giving you the straight up goods...

[GoatGuy]

Gezuz,

Where are you guys hunting. Walking down the mainline on the Bull? Hunting the sh8t fields?

Get 10 min off the road and you should have the countryside to yourself.


There's elk all over the place in region 4. Picking a spot with some good mountains eliminates 90% of the hunters real fast.

If you're new to it and have a mountain bike a good spot to check out is up the Findlay. There's lots of country and lots of elk.

[KootenayShedhunter]

everyone i know would keep there mouth shut about where the big ones are around cranbrook.

[Ron.C]

Gezuz,

Where are you guys hunting. Walking down the mainline on the Bull? Hunting the sh8t fields?

Get 10 min off the road and you should have the countryside to yourself.


There's elk all over the place in region 4. Picking a spot with some good mountains eliminates 90% of the hunters real fast.

If you're new to it and have a mountain bike a good spot to check out is up the Findlay. There's lots of country and lots of elk.

I agree,

I've spent alot of time hunting in the cow zone in areas very close to Cranbrook and the roads are very busy, but the bush generally isn't. I've yet to run into guys in the bush and have seen lots of elk and a few big boys in very accsessable spots.
Last year I tried something different and bowhunted up the Palliser River MU 4-25. Tough/Thick country, saw some good elk, lots of deer, very few people.

[GoatGuy]

I agree,

I've spent alot of time hunting in the cow zone in areas very close to Cranbrook and the roads are very busy, but the bush generally isn't. I've yet to run into guys in the bush and have seen lots of elk and a few big boys in very accsessable spots.
Last year I tried something different and bowhunted up the Palliser River MU 4-25. Tough/Thick country, saw some good elk, lots of deer, very few people.

It's crazy, I wonder where guys are hunting when I hear about "all the hunters" in the EK. People must feel like they need to be able to see the road when they're hiking so they don't get lost. :lol:

[ewiebehunter]

Thanks for your advice. I understand its law to only shoot a bull with 6 points on one antler in my case id be happy to get anything because just being outdoors is what I enjoy the most. I can walk far just where to walk is the promblem I was thinking of the bull river? or maybe tepee creek? Is there lots of logging roads around? Im sure everyones got the secrets but hey. thanks again.

Ewiebe

[Ron.C]

Last year, I drove through the Shit Fields mid morning for a look on the opening day of rifle season on my way to Cranbrook from 4-25. I'd never seen anything like that in my life. It was a sea of orange clad hunters walking every tree line in sight. Plus at least 4 groups of guys set up on the road with bino's spotting scopes. I bet there were at least 40 hunters from the entarnce on the back side to the shed/building where the guys work the fields out of. I turned around and drove in the bottom side through the roads that snake through all the ponds,bush between the shit fields and the dump, I saw 1 guy on a quad and one guy walking.

I then went to a spot I used to hunt south of Cranbrook in that was in the X zone during archery season. Not a car/hunter to be seen.

I don't live in the EK and don't claim to be an elk expert by any means, but I really do think that there are some big bulls everywhere in the east Kootenays. Like anywhere else, there are spots that people flock to because of easy access, proximity to town or becaue the can see miles and miles of real estate. And from what I have seen, alot of hunters are not willing to leave the sight of the road let alone hunt somewhere where they can't just back up a truck/quad to the kill site.

Maybe that's it though. And I'm not trying to insult anyone, but If you are willing to quarter/pack your elk, I think you will eliminate a great deal of the hunting competition.

Eweibehunter,
your account is not accepting private messages,
send me a PM

[chola]

Find out where all the hunters are camped at, then just hover around the outskirts of them. The city fields are a zoo,but if ya get on either side of them,namely across the highway and up into hills a bit,yer gonna run into the elk. I've seen it time and time again.
Always hit those little pockets of timber too,the ones that look like nothing would hide out in there, you'll be surprised. There's lots of elk around here,ya just have to snoop around a bit, that's all.

[budismyhorse]

Asking where the Big Bulls are is ....laughable. Start by looking for elk in general and the rest will follow....

Why don't you go out, do a bit of research and come back with some questions we can answer for ya! Its more fun for you that way and you'll go into the season waaaay better off.

[moosehunter21]

I am going to back the other guys up and say that there are no big bulls there. They must have gone on vacation. lol. But I lived in sparwood during the last hunting season(2008) and I couldnt believe the sheer number of people that are all trying to squeeze into the same area to all get the same bull. Its rediculious.

[MichelD]

A neighbour of mine owns family property up there and says the locals are getting pretty upset with guys on quads driving around on private property as if it is crown land pursuing elk by quad as well.

He says he often sees a herd of elk bolt out of the bush, tongues hanging out, take a quick drink out of his pond, then take off again just before a guy on a quad appears out of the trees too.

He told me there is one local landowner there who charges people to shoot an elk on his property, and has people come from the U.S. and Europe to do it too.

That sounds pretty unlikely to me as I'm sure the other locals would know about any illegal guiding going on soon enough.

You know what small towns are like.

[SteadyGirl]

I rode within 30 ft of a bowhunter in the pickering hills last fall:oops: did not see him all camo and all being still! He was pissed - ohhh well thats hunting in the hills.. ( I had a youth out for cow/calf elk so I took him there)

If and when you come, ..if your a new hunter I might lend a hand.

[Jelvis]

Cranbrerrybrook has'nt just got the bull and quinn behind Fort Steele. It's good down below too. Gold area, have you heard of the Gold? Tepee Cr. Gold and Bloom Creek, check em out in MU 4-3
Gold Creek in MU 4-3 has good early season bugling for elk, east of Moyie Lake. Muley, whites and moose in 4-3
Accross the Kikomun Creek bridge across Lake Koocanusa west of Elko. Koo 4 kootenay, can-4 Canada and usa. lol.
Come in from Cranbrook or Aldridge, south of the Cranbrook on Hwy 3/95.
Want an elk, a big royal, seven point? One was seen at the Gold. Called in by a Hootchie, momma. lol could'nt get a shot off tho. Click.
Cranbrook - Gold Creek MU 4-3--has got what it takes.
Hootchie-gootchie-man-Jel-west of Elko.

[sawmill]

I hate the first few weeks of elk seson here,hundreds of guys every damn place I go.Perry Creek had a goddamn trailer park every wide spot near the road.St. Marys was the same and bumper to bumper road hunters.The Bull was insane.I swear half the lowermain land was here.

[Jelvis]

If your driving in from Rock creek way towards Castlegar why not go south from Nelway a road which runs along the Pend Oreille River, it comes out on Hwy 22 at the Waneta border crossing into U.S.A. just south of Trail.
Not only large leh big bull elk a ridge back Jack, off the road, but good deer hunting for both kinds friend-a-mine.
Jel try leh bull elk in MU 4-8 who knows maybe--WHAM!

[GoatGuy]

I hate the first few weeks of elk seson here,hundreds of guys every damn place I go.Perry Creek had a goddamn trailer park every wide spot near the road.St. Marys was the same and bumper to bumper road hunters.The Bull was insane.I swear half the lowermain land was here.

Life improves dramatically if you get off the road.:lol:

[Islandeer]

My answer to this is similar. Every time I climb late in the muley season,say Nov 5 to the 15th,to bowls or hills that are deactivated` or de motorized I find amazing elk sign. Wallows,rubs galore, little pockets of timber,ugly spots,up and down stuff. Get back there with your packers and look around, hunting isn't about the results it's about the possibilities. SOOOO, get out,get back and gedder done ....

[Above the Treeline]

I have to agree the lower mainland invasion every fall is the worst thing to happen to the Koots since the Albertans!

[hunter1947]

Ewiebehunter private message sent to you..

[hunter1947]

There are very few big bulls left in the EK it would be like winning the lotto if you shot a 350+ bull elk if you want a big set of elk antlers you should hunt the WK..

[Hillbros_96]

Nothing like reviving a 5 yr old thread. LOL

[aggiehunter]

had Larry D. Jones over for dinner quite a few years back..his advice...Elk are where you find them..always liked that!

[coach]

Nothing like reviving a 5 yr old thread. LOL

The OP is gonna be surprised when he gets that PM from H47.. :-D

[albravo2]

Its probably some great advice from h47.

This thread makes me miss Jelvis again.