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Originally Posted by bsa1917hunter
Originally Posted by OutdoorAg
Started elk hunting 2 years ago. DIY, public land. Followed all the advice on getting away from the orange...

- Choose places without ATV access
- Find where the paved road ends. Keep driving
- Avoid marked/cleared trails
- Go deeper than the road hunter, but not as far as the guide/drop camps
- One road in, one road out. Fewer road the better.

Even went so far as to map all the roads in the unit and circle the areas that were miles from the nearest access point. Meaning - there is no way I'll see another hunter unless they drive the same nasty miles, then walk the same nasty walk. No way they can drop in off another road from any direction/drainage/ridge line.

All that said and done, I still couldn't get away from the orange.

It shocked me on multiple occasions to realize I wasn't alone in the woods I chose to hunt. Not to say the areas I was hunting was crawling with hunters, far from it. But on a handful of occasions, I would cross a set of fresh tracks, or see an orange hat sitting near a remote meadow I was glassing. With that, I've come to 2 realizations that I think are important for any DIY, walk-in hunter:

1) If OTC tags can be had for the unit you are hunting, you will be in the presence of other hunters. Plain and simple.

2) If you are willing to make the walk, slug the miles up/over/around, someone else is willing to do it too.

I've seen the advice given many times over about avoiding roads, walking the extra miles, getting into the thick stuff. And from my experience, that advice doesn't jive with avoiding the orange. Does it help avoid the crowds? Yes. But will it put you alone in the woods, being the only noise/scent/human pressure for those elk? No, no it won't.

Just my experience. And it was a bummer. All those miles in, and to cut someones tracks really made your heart sink. So to those planning a hunt in remote areas - go in expecting to see others. Maybe not the road crowds, but you won't be alone. If you have planned it and physically made it, so has someone else. Out wit the elk with your hunting knowledge, because outwitting the elk and elk hunters by going further and deeper is tough to do.


Excellent post/thread. Exactly right!! The elk around here will be here today and be gone tomorrow. Success all depends on finding them. Hunters push them around, weather pushes them around and so does food/shelter. You can read all the bs in books, but it doesn't do much good when everyone else is reading the same books.


There's some truth in that but I still say for a beginning elk hunter, the advice to get away from the road is solid advice. Yes, you may see other people back in there, but you'll see fewer, and the guys you do see will generally be more dedicated hunters who know how to hunt and not push the animals into the next county.

At one of my favorite spots there are always a few tents at the trailhead because it's a good area to camp. The guys who camp there generally hunt within a mile or two of the road, and invariably will tell me (mid September) that it's too warm, the rut hasn't started, etc. etc. and no bulls are bugling.

Then I walk in 3-4 miles to set up camp, and get serenaded all night. And see more elk than they do.



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Thought I'd bump this thread for anyone grabbing tags for OTC units this fall. Keep your expectations in check, hunt smart, and don't let other orange/tracks disappoint you. Just find a way to get higher, deeper, or more creative. It helps to know the area and the elk. If its your first trip into a unit - get in the woods early, stay quiet, and do a lot of observing. Just my two cents.

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Another observation is, have more than one spot picked out, and don't hesitate to pick up and move if your chosen area has too many hunters in it. I have a few spots that are empty (of hunters) some years, and chock full other years. You never know what you'll find from year to year but it pays to have a few options.




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Great advice from Smoke. 2 years ago we had a great spot picked out. Showed up and it was FULL of people. Had a plan B, made the move, and that resulted in putting a public land bull on the ground.

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I don't care for people that much.

I'd never consider a rifle hunt in CO.

We went MZ, think our area took the 1 point for cow tags. Can't eat the antlers so were always after cows. Though we always saw legal bulls.

We only hunted a few years before talking the wife into hunting AK and we've never looked back after that.

That being said, we picked MZ, we walked into wilderness, and we never saw another single hunter ever except at were we parked our truck and 'base camp' was located.

We finally ran into a park ranger one year. But that was on a known trail trying to get out before a snowstorm came in. I wanted to hunt the snow, wife wanted out before we were stuck in there for a week or more...



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Originally Posted by OutdoorAg
Great advice from Smoke. 2 years ago we had a great spot picked out. Showed up and it was FULL of people.


LOL, I think I was in that same spot!!




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Originally Posted by rost495
We finally ran into a park ranger one year.


If you ran into a park ranger, it's probably best that you weren't hunting at the time.... grin



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Originally Posted by Godogs57
Exactly why I'd never recommend an OTC CO hunt to anyone. My friend went on one "once" and said it was the most beautiful camping trip he ever went on, but that was it....he never saw an elk, no matter how far he hiked in. It just never happened for him.


In a state with the largest elk population in the country? Maybe he was just camping. 😀

There aren't very many places in the country that you won't see another hunter on public property. If I see a few hunters a day, it isn't a big deal and it helps move the elk around.


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340MAG pretty much reflects my experience[and age]. Do a thorough terrain study and go to the tough places. And, most important, go slow and look around often. I don't have much choice on the speed factor these days but I have gotten quieter and more observant.

Later season hunts may offer advantages if you can travel via skis or snowshoes and it is easier to haul gear and game in a sled than on your back. I hunt Idaho's Sawtooth and Salmon zones from early October through March for Wolves and rarely see another Human in the Wilderness areas. We usually sleep in motels in Stanley or Salmon or Challis. I haven't tagged a wolf yet but see lots of other game almost daily.


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I've been looking for good answers to that question since 2003 here in AZ. Best I have come up with is to rent a packer's services. Using word of mouth and friends of friends, it is not that expensive.

So far my deal is to walk behind the string and carry my own pack. Of course, the pack is light. This makes for a pretty 'easy' hunt, because water and meat are packed for you. And walking in keeps the livestock count, and price, down.

Ends up being $100 or $200 per hunter in my limited experience. Well worth it.

If it is possible for an ATV to reach the area, I don't scout it. Yeah, I'm leaving elk on the table, but with limited knowledge, it has been my best approach. Last hunt my buddy and I saw dozens of elk, and several bulls, every day. This was in a popular big bull unit in AZ.

In my experience, some National Forests enforce "No Motorized Access" areas, and some do not. I choose the ones that do.

I have not gotten to the point where I did not see another hunter, but close. Probably all I can hope for here. It's getting harder and harder to simply outwalk the competition.

That being said, I believe there are hidey holes near roads and homes that hold big bulls. If I find them, I'll hunt them.


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$100-$200 to pack in your stuff and pack out your meat is an awesome deal, I'd take that in a heartbeat.



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Interesting discussion, from many perspectives.

I am lucky to go on 5-8 public land elk hunts each season, covering many different states, situations, and seasonal periods of an elk's life. We have five days to show up at these new locations, figure out what the elk are doing, and with some luck, get a few encounters on camera.

I'm not an expert by any means, but in years of conducting a lot of failed public land elk hunting experiments, I have taught myself a few principles to follow.

Colorado OTC units are one of our hunts most seasons. I always hunt 3rd season, as pressure from the 2nd season has bull elk on public land concentrated into even tighter areas. I show up on Sunday and hunting Mon-Fri, as the prior weekend pressure has bulls even more concentrated in sanctuary areas.

I hunt an area where locals have asked, "Why do you hunt that unit with all those other hunters?" Yeah, there are plenty of people. But, there are plenty of elk. Same with the general public land units I hunt in Montana, or the late season units I apply for in Arizona.

I see the same "too many hunters" issue on public land hunts in all states we hunt. Only those hunts with extremely limited tag numbers will allow you to have the public lands all to yourself. Reality is, you will be lucky to draw a tag like that every 20 years.

Just because I see other hunters doesn't mean I won't see elk. If I see/smell/hear "motors," odds of me seeing elk go way down, no matter what season or state I am hunting.

The biggest reason people don't find public land elk is that they don't take the time to study what elk have as their primary need in the season they are hunting. Identify the primary need of the elk for the time you are in the woods and that will tell you where to find the elk.

In CO, 2nd and 3rd seasons are during the post-rut and late seasons. Public land bulls are in "security and survival" mode at that time. They are not looking for food. They will scrounge on what little food can be found near their sanctuaries, until such time hunting season passes. I am struck by how many people I see hunting food sources during post-rut and late season hunts on highly pressured public lands. They see cows and calves, maybe a few 1.5-2.5 year-old bulls, but no mature bulls. Mature bulls have figured out that such locations are good places to get killed. Those that did not figure it out occupy someone's wall/freezer.

I see a lot of people walking around the hills, with no real plan of where the elk will be. By the time late October and November roll around, pressure has concentrated mature bull elk in very select areas. The landscape is vast and mature bulls are using only a very small portion of the landscape in post-rut and late season. I don't have time to walk around randomly or sit in one of dozens of meadows in hopes of an elk coming by. With limited time, I need to go to the sanctuary locations these educated bull elk have been using for years and increase my odds of finding a bull and getting a shot.

In all the hunts we do, we follow this principle; not because we are elk masters, rather we are busy and under some pressure, with my simple mind requiring us to simplify the process of finding public land elk as much as possible. Our planning goes like this -

To kill a mature public land bull, you have to find a mature public land bull; to find him, you have to know his needs in the season you are hunting. To increase your odds, hunt where elk can satisfy that highest priority need.

We did this video about finding elk in the late season. Since it is under seven minutes long, we had to leave out a lot of pieces, but hopefully it gives enough to help people who are new to the public land elk hunting gig.

https://youtu.be/K6Iy0lVJRMA?list=PLLdxutimd-JucEFczP4LgCS75Lt7caIMm



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Great video. Thanks for sharing..


Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.

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For years, we've been hunting an area in central Idaho near a resort town with lots of public land elk. It's all draw but we usually apply for cow tags. The odds of drawing are very good and we will draw about 2 out of 3 years. As the season progresses, the elk seem to go 2 way. Some will go up and back to some almost totally inaccessible areas. If you go there, you'd better have a very strong back. The other elk will go to town. They'll crowd in around homes on the outskirts where there are lots of hikers and bikers. They're mostly still on public land and the season is open. The locals have tried to run the hunters out but the IDFG has ignored them.


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Sounds like Ketchum/Sun Valley. Central Idaho is beautiful...and STEEP!


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Yep, exactly. Dang place is vertical for sure. At least we don't have to worry about atv's buzzing us while we're hunting. Even if they were legal in that area, which they aren't, it's too steep and rocky to use one.


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If you want to leave the world behind, and sleep in a real bed Idaho is the place. If you are willing to suffer a little it is even better.


mike r


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Orange isn't required in Idaho. Around Ketchum, most guys don't wear it just to stay out of sight of the liberals.


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Originally Posted by Rock Chuck
Orange isn't required in Idaho. Around Ketchum, most guys don't wear it just to stay out of sight of the liberals.


I'd wear it just to piss 'em off: "and have a nice day."



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My experience in OTC and draw units both, hunt beyond the opening weekend and the crowds taper off by well over 50%.

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