Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting never hunted elk,need lil advice

im moving from the south,where we hunt deer and hogs either going to or from or directly over year long grown food plots from treestands. dog hunting is alo done but I do not partake in this. I find the deer tracks in the dirt, figure out why theyre there,put up a treestand,and its usually shotgun distance although you can use whatever you want.

how do western elk hunts differ?i am moving to, not visiting,a northwestern state. and I am not a lifelong southern resident,i only moved here several years ago for personal reasons. please tell me abou pac nw elk hunting.

Number 1


Get in shape!!!

The most horrifying moment of you life will be when you look at that huge pile of dead meat, then look at how far you are from a road and ask 'what have I done?'

How do they differ from whitetails? They move. Today they're here. Tomorrow they can be several miles away. They're very difficult, if not impossible, to pattern so treestands have very limited value. You have to be in good enough shape to go find them. After the rut they'll be more bunched up but there will still be a lot of singles, particularly bulls. The worse the weather gets, the bigger the bunches will be.

Hunting black timber gets all the press because that's where they bed during the day. However, if you jump one in his bedroom you'd darn well better kill him because if you don't, you won't see him for a month. He won't be back for a long time.

I've had my best luck hunting open areas around black timber as they move out in the open late in the evening. If you find them moving out but too late to pursue, be there at 1st light and there's a good chance they'll still be there.

If they're in timber on a steep hillside, more likely than not they'll be 1/4 to 1/2 way down from the top and that's where they'll make their 1st appearance late afternoon.

i'm 6'2" 250 and can jog 8 miles nonstop if I have to. exercise is a part of my life,but it seems I need to bump up the cardio.

THANK YOU so much for the enlightening information. it seems food plays little part and I need to concentrate more on their movements.

The elk hunting areas I have tromped will most likely set you back physically.

Steep and big with high altitude.....less oxygen

Glassing.....climbing......more glassing.....move over one mountain.....more glassing

Spot and stalk has been the way I've lived my elk hunting days

Good advice so far. I would also add to get out towards the end of summer and find where some are at, they will leave a lot of tracks. Actual sightings are good too. Hike around, get to know the area. Spend time in the area, hike around some more. I also, if I can, hunt the same general areas year after year. It helps a lot to get to know the land, and where the elk move to and from.

Depending on where you are moving too, the type of hunting can differ a lot. Some areas may be more prone to glassing, spot and stalk, or creeping along a few feet at a time. My last bull was killed at 30 feet, i've also had to pass on shots that were just to far.

The main thing is get in shape and get out there and start learning.

thank you all

What part of PNW?

I also depends on what type of hunting and the dates (bow, muzzy, gun) Sept, Oct, Nov? I am addicted to hunting them in the rut, so I generally hunt muzzleloading season (Colorado) which is in the middle of the rut. Once I retire though I will be hunting bow season which starts in late August and runs for a month. So it depends on what your state allows and when you hunt

realitycheck:

I sent you a PM.

KC

Realitycheck, I live in OK and, like you, I have hunted deer and hogs for most of my life. Three years ago, my hunting buddy and I decided we needed to try our hand at elk hunting in CO (we are both in our early 60's and it was on our bucket list). So, I am probably better equipped to tell you what NOT to do when hunting elk. Almost everyone says that you need to be cardio prepared for altitude and they are correct. I will add, work hard on your lower body as well. Your legs will give out quickly when climbing at altitude. I do 8 work out sessions each week (weak) and have done so for the past 14 years and the mountains still kick my butt.

We have done a backpack hunt, did a drop camp hunt and even did a guided cabin/drop camp hunt (greenhorns; our first year). To date, we have NOT been successful in taking an elk so, take this for what it is worth. (1) Spend more time glassing from higher points, and calling from dark timber in drainage areas. (2) Spend less time walking around, climbing and just plain hiking.

This year, we will be going in by horseback much further from the trailhead and roads. The reason, is that we will using our own camping equipment. So, we will not be tied to a specific drop camp. After last years hunt, this was important. Last year we competed with 8 other hunters confined to a 3 or 4 square mile area. You know there are too many hunter in an area when you address each other by first names each day of your hunt.

I'll let you know in late October if this new strategy works or, if we will to go back to the drawing board.

Think of them more like a four legged turkey that can smell instead of like a whitetail... A four legged turkey that likes the cool, north slopes vs. the sunny, south slopes.

Think about locating them first with a cow call or young bull bugle and then move in and cut the distance, similar to turkeys. Don't think you will call them to you quite like a turkey though or that you can find a nice spot, sit down and just expect one to come by. I learned the hard way about that.

It's already been mentioned about getting in shape. You'll swear that in the mountains there are too many rocks that want to break your ankle and not enough air.

Finally, if they're not where you're looking, they're somewhere else. Don't be afraid to move to try a different mountain or drainage.

There is a lot of truth in what Rockchuck has stated, but a lot more depends on how much hunting pressure the elk see.

If there is a lot,the elk don't leave the thick timber. They can find all they need right in there. They will do with a little less feed or less palatable feed in order to stay alive and can find water in small springs and seeps. They will become more and more nocturnal as pressure increases. With much pressure, you won't see them in those open areas near thick timber as they come out to it after shooting hours and leave before first light.

I quit hunting open country years ago. I go into thick nasty blow down when I start to hunt although my age and physical condition has limited me these last few years.

If you watch the wind, move ultra slow, and don't make a bunch of noise, you can walk up to elk. They usually won't leave from noise, and may or may not leave the country if they see you, but will definitely leave if they smell you.

I have hunted one small patch of timber for 3-4 days after a bull and finally got them on the last days.

If there is a lot of hunters, the hunters are going to get into that timber as soon as they get smart enough to figure they are not going to shoot a bull in the meadow. It's best if you get in there first. However, you had best know what you are doing if you want to hunt that piece more than one day. Also if you can let it soak for a few days before each try, that helps, but other hunter scan screw that up.

Now days with a lot of hunting pressure, you hunt elk successfully by figuring out what they are going to do because of the other hunters.

There are no hard and fast rules to elk hunting and if you try to follow any, the elk will out smart you ( They don't read the rules ).

About the only almost sure thing is elk don't like people and go where there aren't any so you have to do the same thing.

Send a PM to Sans Souci, he's never hunted elk either.

They ain't turkeys.........

realitycheck, I recommend good boots. I like Lowas, but that's just personal preference.

As has been said, it doesn't matter how good a shape you think you're in. The elk and mountains humble me every time I go out.

I walk too much and I don't glass enough. I need to glass more, and you might consider some good binos.

Otherwise just spend a bunch of time out there at all times of year. You'll learn a lot. And enjoy yourself! Elk country is beautiful.

JoelKDouglas beat me to it.

If you do not already own a good, weatherproof binocular, buy one. Let your binocular do a lot of walking for you, plus one with prime clear lens will allow you to see into lots of those heavy shadows in the dark timber.

Best of luck on your hunt.

L.W.

This is something that many hunters miss - using binocs in brush. You can see an amazing distance through heavy brush with them. Your naked eye focuses on the closest brush and you can't see beyond it. Binocs can be focused beyond the nearest brush, clarifying what's back there and blurring out the close stuff. You can see clearly way back in there.

This is good advice. Plus, forget how you hunt whitetails. Keep moving until you find elk, not just elk sign. Always pay attention to the wind. Have a plan for how you're going to cut it up, hang it where it falls, and haul it out. The time to figure that out is not after it's laying on the ground at your feet.

Er, well, sometimes that doesn't work out well.

I can see trees in the background. Plus, if you can drive to it, N/A.

You sure couldn't drive to that one, even with an ATV. It was close to a 1/4 mile to the nearest usable tree. He got sliced, diced, and backpacked.

So, what did you do with the meat you left behind, while you were packing loads out? If the pack out is not too far or you have help, it can be done the same day and it's not an issue. If it's far and you're solo, then it can be a problem, which was the point of my comment: Know what you're going to do with the meat and how you're going to handle it before it hits the ground. If you have to leave it all day or overnight, it's best to hang it.

We packed it to a shady, brushy area about 1/4 mile away to keep it as cool as possible. We put sagebrush under it to keep it off the ground. In the shade it kept fine. Luckily, it wasn't a hot day. There were 3 of us and we got it all out the same day.

Exactly. You guys had a plan and moved it to the shade, even though you got it out in a day. I hunted near some guys last year who had no plan. Or, their plan was to "call an outfitter with horses" if they knocked one down. They didn't even know who to call. It took over a day and a half for the outfitter to get there. And he charged $300.

2 years ago I got a cow high up on a mountainside. She slid into some really nasty brush where I couldn't budge her by myself. I had to be a lumberjack for a while to cut the brush just be able to dress & skin her. It was getting dark before I got her done. It was raining & about 35F so cooling wasn't a problem. I skinned the quarters and left her whole overnight. I have llamas now so getting her out the next day was fairly easy once I got her boned out.
If I'd shot her there in the morning of a hot day, it would have been very different as the brush offered no shade at all besides being on a south slope. I'd have had my hands full if that had been the case.

I have killed them in the willow brush and the alder brush and it took a few hours to clean out enough to take care of them, but this was the worse one. Luckily I wasn't too far from camp as I had to go back and get a buck saw to cut some blow down and then cut some trees. Then we had to pack it on our backs about 100 yards t get to the mules and very little of that was on the ground.

It was the last day of the season and every one had left camp except my brother and I.

That looks kinda like a moose my partner got a doz years ago. It did a DRT flat on its belly between 2 waist high rocks, wedged in tight. He had to do it by boning from the top down. His son was with him but there wasn't room for 2 men to work on it. They had to work in shifts. It took them 5 or 6 hrs to get the meat off.

To the OP , A good pair of Comfortable supportive boots, good usable binos, and a way to carry drinking water are first requirements. Without these the rest does not matter. Next is to spent time once you get there and learn the elk's movements. If a pressured area, look for the heavy cover areas that the locals will not hunt. Next learn what they do when weather changes.... Here the colder and wetter(or snower) the lower , warm dry weather the higher. If the pressure gets too much they will go WAY high or Way low to get away from the hunters. The low is private land so once they go there they stay. I promised to guide a friend with a pacemaker this year..... I am way more worried about his heart then where the elk will be (thankfully he draw what is considered a Gravy tag!!!!!)..... health and fitness are a paramount... Elk are awesome to hunt, but they are not anything like sitting in a stand, they require more from the hunter then most other western game.....

3o+ years of elk hunting and I still do that. The fun stops when you pull the trigger.

"Horrifying?" That's why you go hunting, right?

I'd go with daunting.

'Daunting' is 1/4 mile from a road uphill. 'Horrifying' is 3+ miles from a road, with much up and down in-between, and a blizzard has just set in.

I've seen some of each, and a tiny bit of 'Awesome', which is 200 yards uphill from your rig, which you just stepped out of to take the shot. Some I know have done 'Unbelievabe', which is taking the shot, and then backing the rig up to the carcass.

I haven't learned enough from my experiences elk hunting to start giving advice, other than that the elk are where you find them, and you better have a plan for getting them out as you hunt. And whatever shape you're in, the task at hand when elk hunting will strain it.

I guess we just have different definitions of horrifying.

Yes, I'm sure we do.

Just trying to keep it in perspective for the OP. If he had the same physical infirmities as you do, he'd probably have mentioned that.

Some seem to like to make it more difficult than it needs to be.

If you go in thinking it is going to suck getting it out, you'll never be disappointed.

Horrifying is shooting a bull 200 feet below a canyon rim with a lung shot and he runs to the bottom - 1,400 verticle feet down and dies just on the other side of the river.

It took every bit of ethics I had to not consider that one a "miss". Especially after I found him, dressed him after dark and hiked out of the canyon in the middle of the night.

�Horrifying� wasn�t my choice of wording but it fit pretty well, especially for the first few seconds after reaching a downed elk when my thoughts invariably run along the lines of �Damn, that�s a big animal � how am I going to get it to the truck without killing myself?�. Once the knives come out �daunting� is a better choice.

�Horrifying� is realizing you and your buddy have three elk down on a mountain top and the truck is 3 miles away as the crow flies according to your map. BTDT, lesson learned. Thank goodness temps were below freezing at night and around freezing during the day. We packed the quarters down to some trees to hang them, and deboned everything before packing it out. It still took us 3 additional days to get everything back to the truck.

In any case, the fun stops when you pull the trigger. The two biggest bulls I�ve ever had my scope on, both about 100 yards out, got walking papers. One was because my buddy had his first elk down and I figured we had enough to do. The second was near last light on the last day of the hunt and I simply decided not to ruin an otherwise perfectly good hunt with a lot of hard work. One cow I�ll never forget got walking papers, too. She was maybe 15 yards away. My truck was visible a mile away and 1000 feet down but the pack would have been though an area of horrendously tangled downfall. I dropped the rifle from my shoulder, flipped the safety back on and gave her a shout, sending her on her way. I took the long way back to the truck, returned to camp and packed up, then headed home empty-handed. There have been others, too. Sometimes just having had the opportunity is enough.

Horrifying to me means being mauled by a bear or breaking my leg alone, in the winter, as it's getting dark, many miles from help.

Me and my buddy having three elk down on a mountain top 3 miles from the truck, I'd call.....boneheaded.

I can't be the only one that actually enjoys packing elk out. One the toughest most rewarding things to do

Laker, it would not surprise me it you were the only one. Don't get me wrong: I derive a sense of accomplishment from the whole experience, as well as a kind of 'rightness' and well-being. Still, there have been times, particularly with elk, that my body started shutting down long before the task was over, and apart from the immediate pain, and the understanding of the pain to come, I rationally considered the possibility that I was risking my life. I obviously survived.

I don't pack, just carry a radio.
When it's packing time I call the young guys.
They eat my food, sleep in my tents, carry rifles I paid for and shoot ammo I've put together.
Getting game out is my payback.

You are a smart man, Tracks! There is a current lag in age-appropriate game haulers in my group. The big kids have married and moved away, and the young kids still rely on me and my brother to get the animals back to the truck.

Hell, I'm 73 and got no business hauling heavy loads.
Last year the kids beat me out of the canyon and they were doing the work. I found a new spot a couple of weeks ago, no more steep hills and knee deep snow for this guy.

In a sick kinda' way it is rewarding.

Always just looked at it as part of the game.

My back isn't what it used to be so a few years ago I got llama'd up. I still have to hike but the boys carry all the weight.

That works, too.

No, you're not. I always like getting back to the truck and putting the meat on ice, then grabbing a lawn chair and a beer and taking it easy for a while. Nothing like it.

When I get too old to do it, I'll be happy just remembering that I did.

Elk hunting and the work it takes, separates the men from the boys..

We call that a normal season. Try two seven miles from the truck. That will bring grins from the boys in camp. Karma does work when they open the tent door the next year to say we have three to pack.

We hunt elk by the theory that we only have so many days to shoot them. We have lots of time to pack them out. Every man is in unless you are over the age of sixty or have an open tag.

My ten year old got his first real elk camp this year. He was quick to learn that nothing good comes from a tent door unzipping at 10 in the morning. By late afternoon he was blowing chunks as he hit the trucks with a load of elk meat in his pack. The soon to follow smile let me know we have another elk hunter in camp.

No sir I'm with you on the pack jobs. All part of the hunt..

I'd pack a nice bull that far, with help.

A cow, not so much.

I'm a Texas flatlander and I get to hunt elk all of one week a year. I'm 44 years old with bad knee's, bad shoulders and a bad back and some REAL bad arthritis (football and bull riding in my youth). I would kill a cow elk on the face of the moon and pack it through space back to earth. I hunt to fill my freezer, and if I'm lucky hang some antlers on the wall. In other words, when a legal animal steps out, I kill it, period... I hunt public land in Colorado on OTC NR tags and opportunities are not usually all that abundant. So, I don't let my circumstances define me, I define my circumstances. My rule, don't hunt in an area you CAN'T get an elk out of. However I find a big difference most times btwn what I can't do and won't do� all depends on the hunter, and how much you need meat in the freezer. I've done some pretty stupid sheeyot over the years but somehow, the meat always makes it back to the truck, into the freezer and onto the plate. At the end of the day it's all about how bad you want it� same can be said for most things in life� Elk hunting at times can define mental toughness, or at least stupidity. IM(very)HO�

Foxx

Well, if the only place I could kill a cow was 7 miles from the truck, I'd do it. Usually 2-4 miles in is good enough.

My 1st time elk hunting, about 1966, we killed 3 bulls within thes 1st five minutes of the NM season.
We had rented 2 percherons as pack horse and we packed in,but had to take them back to the ranch that day. I lost the coin toss and after walking in, I had to walk the horses back out and then I had to walkback in. About 6 miles each way.

We left camp about 2AM opening day and got above timberline just before day break. Killed the three bulls at legal shooting light and made it back to camp that night at about 10PM.
Next morning, I lost the coin toss again (I think it was fixed)and had to walk back ou tto get the horses,back in and then another 3+ miles UP to the kill sight.

We loaded all three bulls onto those big tall draft horses and took them back to camp. The rancher OK'd us to keep the horses at camp that night and we packed the meat out the next day and went back the next weekend to pack out the camp.

It was three years before I got enough courage to go elk hunting again.

...and thats assuming your horse behaves himself. I've mentioned this incident before: Cecil Andrus, former gov. of Idaho and Sec Int under Carter, is an avid elk hunter (still is at 80). One time when he was governor, he and some friends packed way back in with mules. One of them shot an elk. They brought in a mule to pack it out and it got raunchy with them. It reared up and caught Andrus on the top of the head with a hoof, knocking him unconscious. So, they had a dead elk, a raunchy mule, and an unconscious governor. Luckily, he woke up and was able to ride out without a helicopter. Some haven't been so lucky.

Cool to cold weather, decent cordage, and good game bags go a LONG way in relieving the dead elk time pressure and the misery that it multiplies.

Are you guys trying to discourage a new elk hunter?

Shooting a nice buck deer is like hitting a single to win your recreation league softball game, your first bull elk like a walk off homerun in the world series. The scenic rough country they live in, the sheer size of the animal, and the effort required to get out the delicious meat is whole different kind of hunting.

You tend to think this cant be worth all this work sweat and pain on the tough days but cant wait to go back after about a week back home.

This time of year daydreaming about a particular spot in the mountains and hauling a bull and a cow with horses or the sound of a 750 lb animal crashing through the brush or hitting the dirt with a loud thud can take you right back to your last or best hunt.

DIY public land elk hunting offers some rewards that aren't measured in inches of antlers. The feeling of being able to sleep till daylight because you filled your tag and packed out the meat is a good one even if it takes a couple of Advil to get out of the sleeping bag.

Amen to that. It also means that not a lot of others will be "back in there" with you.

I like how you worked in the mention of Advil, the wonder drug.

Not trying to be discouraging. However, it's important to be prepared. You need to be able to get it out if you go into a less-than-optimum place to get one out.

Some years ago, I shot a medium bull way up on a hillside. At the bottom was a good trail and it was about a mile out to the road on that. I boned it and hauled it in pieces to the bottom where I would start ferrying it out. When I got down with the last load, a guy was standing there with 2 horses and he asked if he could 'borrow' my elk. The horses were colts that had never packed and he wanted them to get some experience. I pondered it hard for 1.5 seconds and said 'ok'. It was a nice open creek bottom and a good place for a rodeo should one occur. It didn't happen, though. The horses just stood while we loaded them up and they led nicely right down to my truck. Bummer.

You did stop and buy a lottery ticket on the way home that day didn't you?

You meet some nice people hunting in the mountains. I had a guy who had seen me shoot a buck that rolled part way down a very steep hill give me a hand to get him on the flatter trail. We started talking and he helped drag it over a mile to the road. I got lucky that the bucks antlers caught on a rock to stop him and to get the help.

Yup. I've had similar things happen. You can't plan on or count on them, but they do happen occasionally.

In that case, I got my elk packed out and the guy got the assurance that his horses would perform in possibly a much nastier situation. Every pack horse has to have a 1st time and the best training can still result in a blow up. We both won.

OP, not trying to discourage but, if you know and prepare for the worst possible situation, maybe you will be pleasantly suprised if your hunt and pack out is easier than anticipated. Good luck!

They were bulls. Still the dumbest thing we ever did. Walking out with parts of one bull on your back, fully aware of the stupidity of shooting that bull, and.... oh, another bull? What the hell. Bang. Flop

You tend to forget about the pain before next season.

Well, you all got it done and nobody came close to dying. Sounds like a pretty good hunt to me. Epic pack out too, that's something you'll always remember.

Smokepole,did you ever get to hunt my secret hotspot in 61? My son that lives in Aurora got a nice 6x6 there 2 seasons ago on opening morning of 2nd combined season. My knees are keeping me in Texas. I do have 11 points for Pronghorn, just don't know where to go. I may try 61 for a cow in muzzle loader season. They have blocked too many good trails. My son can drop me off and I won't have to walk from there.

These elk packing stories remind me of a deer packing episode by a co-worker. He and his buddy both had high school age brothers. The 4 of them were deer hunting when the young guys found a trail with tracks going down into a real hell hole of a canyon. They went down and one got a big deer. It took all 4 of them most of a day to get it out of there.
The young guys had seen other deer in there so the next day they went back down and the other one got a big deer. The older guys were furious. They told the kids that if they were stupid enough to go down there a 2d time, they were stupid enough to pack it out themselves. They went hunting and let the kids enjoy their own stupidity.

This applies to elk, too. Don't hunt where you're not willing to pack it out.

Jimbob, I did get down there pre-season and it looked good. I had plans to go there, but never did because there were just too many bulls in the first spot I hunted.

Thanks for your help, and good luck this season!

Hey man, good to hear from you. Was that the place that the bear came to the call? Down the road if I remember correctly.

No, the bear came to the call up in the northern part of the unit, north of the road. The place I ended up hunting was the place where a bear got to my bull before I did, and started to chow down. Luckily, all he got was the nuts. That did make for a dicey pack out though, worrying the whole time if I was gonna get checked and have to explain why evidence of sex was not naturally attached.

I could hear it happening:

Officer: "you didn't leave evidence of sex attached."

Me: "A bear ate it."

Officer: "I see."

Me: "No you don't, I just told you, a bear ate it."

Officer: "You're under arrest."

amusing thread..

How long ago did you hunt 61 smokepole? dont recall the report about it. Its been a few years but I hunted deer across the road in 62, seen the biggest bear i've ever seen, during that hunt. Wish i had bought a tag.

Anyone know if REALITY CHECK got an elk this season, or in what State he was hunting???

L.W.

It was 3-4 years ago, archery. I didn't get a big bull but I was happy with a 5-pointer, it was my first big game animal with a bow.



I was wishing I'd had a bear tag too, got within bow range of two on that trip. One was the biggest I've seen, and he ate the nuts off the bull.

I think I remember now. Bow hunting them is a good time..Sorry about the nuts.

Thanks. But I was gonna throw 'em away anyway. Huntsman's the only one I know who eats 'em.

and uses the sack on his gear shifter..

BS, he hangs it from the rear-view.

realitycheck,

You've received a lot of great info.

At risk of repetition, don't go by yourself unless you will be very close to an accessible road. Elk are huge animals. Were you to shoot one, you'll have to get it out. Even if you quarter one & take back straps, you'll be looking at a lot of weight, which means you'll have to make a lot of trips.

If you plan on mounting a trophy, you might want to have someone show you how to cape an elk. Antlers and cape will mean another trip out.

If you're going to do it yourself, you might want to get to your area a week ahead of time. This will give you time to scout & figure out elk patterns of movement. If you're going with an over-the-counter tag, it'll probably mean it won't be a rut hunt which will add difficulty finding them.

You don't need a mega-magnum to kill an elk. But if your bullet doesn't go where it needs to go, you will be tracking, which means you will assuredly be traveling deep in to rugged territory. That means you'll be packing it out of unsympathetic country. So my advice is to assure your rifle is perfectly sighted in, and take as much time as you can before shooting.

Best of luck to you. I hope you kill a huge trophy.


Happy Holidays,

SS

realitycheck,

Check out this Website: www.eastmans.com

It has a lot of great elk hunting advice.

TFF.. soozy's an expert now.

Were you to not, you may as well bring some tiddly winks.

Forget all of the magazine article magnums. I see the flatlanders show up every year packing them and the locals using their same old rifles. You wont go wrong if you have something in the 308 - 30/06 - 8x57 class, even a 6.5 Swede will work if you do your job.
My buddy was guiding one of these guys this year. He was shooting a 300 RUM with a light bullet so he could get some speed. He shot 5 times and only connected with the first which disentegrated on the shoulder.

Are you from Oregon?

This is the most sage advice I've found for elk hunting on this thread...

And it is the defining factor in where I hunt elk anymore. It isn't horrible to get a deer figured out, regardless of the terrain, but elk are big. Very big, sometimes. I think in the areas I hunt, bowhunters have a better chance of getting a good bull. Not that rifle hunters don't get it done, it's that the elk around here disappear when the shooting starts, and they are hard to find.

Thinking of scouting into the Elkhorns next spring. Certainly am going to have to try new areas next season. With no snow and a week left in the season, I may get skunked again this year--two in a row. It wouldn't be that big a deal, but I've hunted hard the last few seasons. Have been out 12 days this year, all of them day-trips.

If it's a popular area, by noon of opening day all of your scouting can be meaningless other than to show you where they were yesterday.

Plus, a lot of elk movement out of a public area is caused by pre-season "scouting."

While scouting, you'd do well to stay out of the timber where they might be bedding. Kick them out of there and they're on their way to the next county.

Stop it. Soozy's an expert now..

I have also seen hunters "scouting" for elk by cruising around in ATV's during the day or two before the season. Elk know the sudden advent of considerable internal-combustion activity in the mountains means something's up.

Exactamundo. Scout in the last week of season while you are hunting. What you want to find out is where they elk go AFTER they've been shot at.

Something about the taste of a beer after a long, sucessful pack.

Yup, it makes me feel like a new man. Problem is, that new man wants another beer.....

A cold beer tastes good after a short easy pack, too.

Good info in here. Stay mobile, go where the elk are. If you aren't spotting any, they aren't there to stalk. So go spot somewhere else. Lots of guys spend a season watching areas the elk are supposed to be in...but aren't.

That's right Dave. You gotta find them first, then you can spot and stalk, track, etc...