Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting There is no off season

Over the weekend I went for a walkabout in one of the units I sometimes hunt and climbed from to about 12,500. Arrangements for the coming elk season pretty much begins on the trip home from this year’s hunt. Couple of photos I thought I’d share.

Temperature and deer got my attention.





Elk hunting pressure had eased off here 4th season. As for the snow moving elk down, the elk had moved to just below treeline but quite a few still willing to stay from 10,500 to 11,500ft and take advantage of the creeks that were still running water and still offered both browse and small open patches of pasture. I’ve noticed from hunting this herd in the past that snow will begin to move them but they won’t run the entire migration route. The queen will often just move them one square on the chessboard. 4th season hunters at this altitude have their own style of hunting. Some are locals from nearby mountain towns. Others have good winter camping rigs pulled by heavy duty rigs with chains. I saw one really cold looking canvas tent. I used to really enjoy hunting bulls high during 4th season back when tags were easier to obtain.



Two of my most productive times for visiting a hunting area are the weeks before my scheduled hunt or the week or two after. At those times tracking up the wilderness is not necessary – the camps and trailheads pretty much tell the story of the success or lack thereof.



A few weeks ago I visited those AZ desert retirement communities and the coyotes there seem to be only slightly larger than foxes. The retirement residents there fret about the threat those coyotes pose to their tiny lapdogs. It’s funny how different these mountain coyotes are from those desert ones. I’ve seen tracks from these high altitude dwellers on peaks above 14,000 ft. I believe them to be hunting ptarmigan at that altitude.