What is the best strategy? - Elk Scenario #1

[Moose63]

Elk are in the area you are hunting but you've seen none in the meadows or openings. Tracks indicate they are using these openings, but you can't seem to get there when you do. You and your buddy are too few for an "organized" drive. Elk would likely just remain in the timber ahead of you anyway.

What would you do?

[ianwuzhere]

pattern if can by using trail cams. setup an area=tree and tree stand it.
with the help of trail cam in the area of the meadow u can get an idea when they are there so u can be there wayy earlier to setup!
pushing the elk can work with a few people but you dont want a running shot and most likely they will just run away ahead of time unless you know their travel routes.
Good luck!

[Moose63]

There are no openings, so a drive of any sort wouldn't be profitable. Any elk pushed would just continue to remain in cover. You don't have the slightest idea where the elk are, and what's more, you have searched for several days without locating the slightest sign.

What would you do?


(answer(s) to follow)

[ianwuzhere]

Try calling early morning to locate them and get the monster herd bull to come as close to your pickup as possible! ;)

[kyleklassen]

start shooting at noises in the bush...it might be your only chance.

[bigneily]

Subtle cow calling and use the wind, Determine where they are bedding. Or close.

[Caveman]

As said subtle cow calls slowly moving around in the timber. A occasional bugle, but not aggressive as they may come in silent. Sit and walk, sit and walk. Patience is paramount.Listen for sounds you don't usually hear. It may be a bull just raking his antlers in a tree letting you know he's around

[Caveman]

Expand my search area. Looking for sign, using the odd locator bugle to help find an area holding them

[Fisher-Dude]

Hunt the thickest shit ESSF you can find away from the openings. That's where the elk are during shooting light, as they will rarely wander into open meadows (only happens on TV!). Caveman's advice is bang on for the sneak-in.

[Fisher-Dude]

Head for the thickets on the cool north faces.

[elkdom]

1 even there was 5 of you in your hunting part you will NOT be able to make a drive on elk, give that idea the boot,

2 elk are not quite when on the move, if you pussy foot around you will be "busted" as a predator,,sound like an elk, and move like an elk,,

3 do not follow elk tracks to where they are heading, but follow elk tracks BACK to WHERE they came from,,

[elkdom]

look for the headwaters of creeks and springs on North East facing slopes/ 30 degrees or steeper with very heavy cover,watch for Rubs and Scrapes, these areas are elk zones, once found, there will be wallows, and nearby there will be small grassy areas where the herd bull keeps his harem, these zones will be habitual elk rutting zones and used year after year,,,

[Moose Guide]

Elkdom is right, you can't drive elk!!!

[kyleklassen]

like everyone said.....hunt the thick stuff...best chance for a sound shot..with all them crunchy leafs.

[Moose63]

Where was this thread moved to?

[wolf]

The key wording is pickup access

W

[hunter1947]

I would be there set up just before daylight and then again 2 hours before dark wait there watch and see what happens see if they come into the meadow stay there well after dark listening for any elk bugles if the elk do come out keep in mind where they came out of the timber into the meadow.

For the next day get in there right at shooting light set up where they came out the other day make sure the wind is in your favor wait there for a hour let a few bugles rip and wait and watch if nothing comes out that morning then get back into your vantage point that evening set up 2 hours before dark give a few bugles and wait and watch ,I have found out that elk will travel the same trail pattern as long as they are not being bothered by hunters or predators.

[hunter1947]

If elk are in the black timber and you hunt them you have to become like the wind no noise no movement you have to make sure the wind is in your favor this means the wind in your face glass and look walk like your are on eggs and you don't want to break the eggs.

I look for any kind of trail the elk are using if I hunt them in the black timber I then walk a few feet stop listind and glass looking for anything up ahead that might be bedded a antler ear or other.
I smell the air like a wild animal elk smell like cattle and if the wind is in your face you will smell them long before you see them when you do smell them this is the time become like the wind and make your stalk slow and no movement walk like you are on eggs glass stalk.

Sometimes when I am this close to elk I will set up to my advantage and give a bugle and this gets the heard bull pissed and he might come in charging as you are within his comfort circle or you might want to do some cow calls rather then let a bugle rip..

[Call of the Wild]

just like other describe; be patient, be stealthy, hunt smart so you can hunt more than a few times a prime spot, know your call and how to use them before hunting season, forget the scent lock and all that crap use the wind to your advantage but make sure your clothes and boots are not too human scent (bacon smell, fuel from wearing your boots while driving or at the gas station etc) because the elk will smell you after you're gone mainly at night.

[pescado]

I'm with Elkdom. Elk make noise in the timber, smell a lot; advantage hunter. I'd make some noise going in, chirp a little maybe a grunt or two. When I thought I was getting close I'd put my wafers on and keep my eyes pealed for movement. It's nice to have a little room in the timber so you can make a tine count when the bull comes so plan your calling accordingly. For me it's the most exciting hunting I get to do.

[willyqbc]

Just my opinion on what has worked very well for us.

You know where the food source is.....figure out where the likely bedding areas are, lots of posts above as to what to look for in the way of the type of terrain and cover elk prefer.

Timing is key for this technique to work, this will work for you but usually only during the rut.

Animals are very sensitive to "unusual" travel patterns, what I mean by this is if it is the morning when all the elk are heading away from the field and you are allready well back in the bush and working in towards the field they will know something is not right and will be on high alert and almost impossible to get on. So, with that in mind get to your food source early in the morning (before daybreak) and just look and listen for a short while planning to hunt out from the food source in the morning, in the evening hike way out and around and hunt the path back to the food timing your arrival at the food source for dusk.

Once you determine there is no elk still on the food source which will usually be the case by daylight let rip with a bugle. If you get an answer... great, head off in that direction, if not head off in the direction you think is the travel path to bedding areas. Keep in mind that elk will travel slowly browsing along the way once in the cover, so you will have time to catch them. Now from here what we do is not exactly what conventional wisdom tells us to do. Once I determine a direction i want to go I will walk fairly quickly, not paying any particular attention to how much noise I am making. I will stop every 200 yrds and bugle as loud as i can until I get a response. from there I will walk straight at the bugle, continuing to bugle hard as I dog the herd. If we get a response from a bull we are over 90% successful at getting a look at the bull using this method.....they will almost always do the same thing. Once you close the distance and are in his "comfort zone" he will push his cows ahead and will circle back to kick your butt. Keep in mind that he will circle to get your wind and almost always will stop where he thinks he is concealed to get a look at you first. When you get in real close and his responses seem to have stopped moving away from you, you need to downshift your stalk and start working very slowly trying to see him before he sees you. Let your caller drop back a hundred yards or so and continue calling.
Basically with this method you are going to play the role of another bull dogging the herd and crowding the other bull until he feels he has no choice but to come back and drive you off. I know it is a bit unconventional and may be poo-poo'd by those who believe in the subtle cow calling only approach, but the proof is in the pudding.....we have taken 11 bulls in the last 4 years only hunting them 1 week per year. 2 of these bulls were small the rest were mature bulls ranging from 270" to 350"+.

Anyway as I said, just my opinion on what works for us....give it a try, you might be surprised!

Chris

[Moose63]

Elk are in the area you are hunting but you've seen none in the meadows or openings. Tracks indicate they are using these openings, but you can't seem to get there when you do. You and your buddy are too few for an "organized" drive. Elk would likely just remain in the timber ahead of you anyway.

What would you do?

Thanks All for your input (I learned a few things as well)

For scenario #1, your bet bet is to wait them out. Since there are fairly fresh tracks in some of the meadows, the odds favor being patient. Sooner or later, at dawn or dusk in particular, they should show again.

Ref: Elk and Elk Hunting by Hartt Wixom

[Moose63]

There are no openings, so a drive of any sort wouldn't be profitable. Any elk pushed would just continue to remain in cover. You don't have the slightest idea where the elk are, and what's more, you have searched for several days without locating the slightest sign.

What would you do?

(answer(s) to follow)

Thanks again for your input.

For scenario #2, Continue to drive, ride, or hike until you find a sign. The first day of the hunt driving your Suzuki Samurai along rim roads, checking for tracks in all soft mud areas. Look for saplings that have been rubbed. Once some signs has been discovered, at dusk or dawn revisit the site where you saw some sign. (The point is continue or expand your search of sign).

Ref: Elk and Elk Hunting by Hartt Wixon.

[elkdom]

Thanks All for your input (I learned a few things as well)

For scenario #1, your bet bet is to wait them out. Since there are fairly fresh tracks in some of the meadows, the odds favor being patient. Sooner or later, at dawn or dusk in particular, they should show again.

Ref: Elk and Elk Hunting by Hartt Wixom

unless the Elk have gone nocturnal ? then you can grow very OLD waiting over a meadow for a shot at a Bull,,,,,,,:mrgreen:
and add to that fact the Big Bulls very often linger just out sight in the cover of the bush, while the small bulls and cows feed at leisure, herd bulls loose much body weight during the rut,
their main priority is survival and gathering a harem !