Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Stick with one unit or spread it around?

I don’t think there is any question that you can greatly improve your odds by returning to hunt the same unit year after year. You learn the terrain, learn a herd’s patterns or the hideouts that bulls like, sometimes meet a valuable contact, and it really helps when planning and organizing a hunt.

On the other hand, there is also something to be said for roaming around. Setting foot in a new unit is exciting in a way that is hard to understate. It is seldom mentioned but hunters venture into places that very few other outdoorsmen ever have reason to go. Going to a new unit intensifies that. The possibility always exists that you are going to find a hunting area that suits you better and anything you did previously

I have hunted 12 different units in Colorado. I hunted more than 12 seasons in Unit 74 west of Hwy 550. In that unit I know the various herds, their summer and winter ranges, and where they go when pressured. I miss hunting in 74 but will probably never return there because with current regs there are better opportunities considering both points and success. By now I’ve got a handful of units that I’d love to return to again – and a few more that I’ve heard about and want to hunt. I would certainly hunt other states, as well, if my time and money permitted.

What say you?
How do you decide whether to hunt the place you know or keep exploring and adding to your range.
How many seasons in the same place or how many units (states and countries for some) have you trodden.

For me it is strictly an odds game with the draw. I don't apply for the better/high demand units in NM. I would rather hunt a less desirable unit than not draw.

In the last 10 years I have hunted 3 different units with the majority being in 1 unit. Out of state hunts have not been in the cards for me but hope to change that in the next couple years.

As a resident it surely must be a bit easier if you decide to skip around some. The harder part is traveling to parts unknown and possibly eating a tag. That being said there is nothing like the excitement (to me anyway) of seeing something new. If I had the time and opportunity I'd spend some time each year in an area I have history with but get into at least one other area to stretch the view.

Sometimes it's easier to learn a new area if you don't have the tag and you're just an extra set of eyes. I think you sort things out better as the "ride along" guy than if you're the hunter.

As for pure odds it has to be better being in an area you're very familiar with. Not much beats knowing and understanding the terrain.

I've hunted the same unit for the past 25 years. I camp at the same site, hunt same drainages, use the same stands and have a high success rate. I've taken a 300 bull from an OTC unit---I don't even apply for the trophy units anymore. I've got one for the wall & don't need another. I'm comfortable with my method.

I hunted Unit 25 for more than 20 years now hunt unit 54. I also hunt 12 in Muzzle Loader season.

I dabbled in Unit 36 for a few years.

I would rather hunt in area with lower elk populations that I know well than one with a few more elk that I don't know.

I like elk meat every year and I found that it always takes 2-3 years to learn a new area. During that time one usually does not fill his/her tag during those years.

Not always ,but certainly enough to notice those dry years.

I know some will say elk hunting is not all about filling one's tag, but if I didn't want to, I'd just hike around in the woods in warmer times.

I don't need to kill another elk in my lifetime, but if I go elk hunting, I hunt hard enough to make it a success.