Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Scouting before the season

This question came from the "How Early Do You Set Up Camp" thread. Many posters suggested scouting immediately before the season is bad.

My question is how do you know where to go opening morning if you don't do some scouting/recon before the season starts? We've hunted the same unit, same area for about seven years (changed last year) and know the area extremely well. That being said, it's still about 24 square miles with a six square mile sweet spot. Even narrowed down, six square miles is a LOT of land. We generally very quietly, stealthily walk during midday hours to look for fresh sign. If we get into fresh sign or animals we back away or watch at a distance. We might glass during dusk.

We have found remote camps in the woods that precluded us from considering that location as a hunting spot...or anywhere around it. Not because someone else claimed the territory, but we could often smell the campfire/food that was cooked there. And if we knew hunters were there, so did the animals. Not to mention the noise in a typical camp.

We have also walked proven areas and wallows only to find zero sign of animals in the previous month. And the last year we scouted/hunted that area, 2020, revealed wind devastated land scape that took an honest 50% of the trees down in a mangled anti-tank hedgehog array so thick it was literally impossible to walk through or over. In some valleys the trees were stacked 15' tall. No exaggeration. Not even possible for an elk to walk through, let alone hunt. If we showed up the night before and didn't scout, we'd have lost two days trying to figure out where to hunt. Not that it mattered too much, the animal patterns were so messed up, I think we saw only three bulls the entire season - and we had cow tags.

I understand trying not to disturb the animals, but unless you have an archery tag and unlimited vacation, your season is short 5-9 days for most of CO. I think it's prudent to spend some stealthy time in the woods prior to opening morning.

Well crap. Appears I broke the first rule of scouting. Same as the first rule of fight club.

There is a difference in scouting and finding prospective areas but not going directly into them vs stumbling around in bedding areas. calling and leaving your scent everywhere like walking around a wallow. If you screw with their living room or bed room,you screw up.

Finding areas that were clear cut, burned, wind blown down,mud slides closing the trail should be done well before season.

Long before the season begins, bull elk know every other bull in the area buy their location bugles. By bugling before season they either think it's a hunter or another bull has moved in.That bull may come into investigate or he might take his cows and leave. Make the wrong bugle or call and he will take them and leave to.

What we do, although it is by four legged critters, is we ride a few FS trails Friday before season and that pretty much tells us where the camps are. I also gives the mules a chance to smell the trails to get use to them and let us know of any blow downs that we don't want to meet going in the opening morning in the dark. We never go right into the immediate area we will be hunting. We hunted several areas 25- 30 years, some 10-15 years. If no one screwed it up, the elk will be there or move in from being pushed by other hunters. Three different areas, I can get on my mule, set him on the trail and he will go 3-4 miles with no guidance and stop at the exact tree we tied last year. This will be 1/2-3/4 a mile from where we hunt.

BTW, I have had lot of entertainment over the years from guys bringing their girlfriend's, daughter's,or wife's arena horse up Friday night and then opening morning hustling around them with lanterns headlamps, adjusting tack, figuring out how to attach a scabbard and getting the horse all spooked..

I have also watched from a ridge line with binos as DYI pack strings move into the country Thursday or Friday. Elk know what is happening and you see them sneaking over the far ridge.

It is even more entertaining when you see them halfassed packed on riding saddles and everything comes undone and a wreck ensues. All that yelling and screaming does a lot for the elk watching

That has a lot to do with which season you hunt. If you hunt early before the snow flies they're generally going to be in the same areas year after year, barring hunters bumping them. I just go back to the same spots I've seen them in past seasons and if they're not in the first spot, keep moving. Knowing that just because they're not in a particular spot one day doesn't mean they won't be there the next.

That and find a good vantage point the evening before the opener and see what you can see.

In those 24 a square miles and six square miles of sweets post, there will be maybe half a dozen so called honey holes that elk frequent year in and year out.You have to find those and then figure out how to hunt them smart for next year. Most of them are in areas that others won't go. That takes several years. I know 2-3 in each of 3 different hunt units. Any one of them, I can most likely go in and kill an elk and I have.

I have hunted Colorado 47 years without missing a season and it took me those 47 years to find those,killing an elk most years. Each might change a little every year, but will hold elk unless some one put a road thru it, it burned, or some idiot decided to set up a camp in it.

I won't be hunting elk this year, and maybe never again. So I have shared a few of them with a few fellows on here and other forums.

Sorry to hear that Vince. You had a good run, killed more than most.

Damn Smoke. I am sitting here breathing thru an oxygen tube when I should be getting camp set for ML season.

I hear you, it's got to be tough to be sitting it out. I'm packing in tomorrow. Couldn't get a tag in my regular spot, hunting a new area in unit 18. I just hope we don't get in there and run into the Orange Army on maneuvers.

Wish me luck.

Am truly sorry to hear you aren't hunting this year , Saddlesore. I pray you can get some more relief soon! Smokepole, I hunted area 18 for many years and packed and guided in the Troublesome basin. Good luck in area 18!

This whole age thing sucks. Turning 50 this year, my 52 year hunting buddy has already called it quits. He's an electrician and his career has been hard on his body, says the last thing he wants to do on days off is walk 5 miles through deadfall on a steep up/down slope. I totally get it. I feel for everyone hurting and understand how the woods keeps calling us. Your stories and advice here are precious.

Very true. Kick elk out of their bedroom and they won't stop running for 5 miles. They won't be back until they're spooked out of somewhere else. When scouting, stay out of thick stuff and black timber.
I suggest getting on ridge tops and glassing early and late. If you see a herd moving out of timber near a ridgetop after sunset, that's where you want to be before light the next morning. There's a very good chance they'll still be there. In a herd like that in Oct., there's a good chance that the big bulls won't be with them. They'll be in bachelor herds somewhere nearby but less visible so keep looking.

I’m in the stay the hell out of the hunting areas the couple days before season camp. We can scout some areas with glassing cross canyon or even off a dirt road running through private or looking for prints with it disturbing the elk. But many hunters won’t listen & want to camp 490 yards from prime hunting areas. They not only cost themselves opportunities but screw up other hunters.

Sporty to here your situation Saddlesore. I’ve got the 17 YO grandson this year, 4or 5 years from having a great grandson come hunting. My goal is still hunting at 70 hauling out my own & others animals on foot, only 8 more seasons to get there.

Sorry- love auto correct.

Stick with it. Age 71 but I admit that I cheated. My elk at 72 and 73 were both accessable with my Polaris RZR. Saddlesore's a few years up on me but he uses mountain canaries. Having a way to pack them out can extend hunting years by 10 or more. I couldn't possibly backpack an elk any more.

You ever thy to ride those things?

THAT is a spectacular picture...thanks for sharing it!

It did for me, I almost made it. Just a year shy. Right now, my mind is saying I should have been up there today getting ready for opening day tomorrow.

I walked down to the mail box which is hundred yards and my body says "you are out of your freaking mind" Sure miss being up there.

This is Intermountain west in my backyard. Got it to myself

A friend and I did a before the season backpack trip for scouting. Spent a couple of days checking out a large, wide drainage which looked very promising. We both had to work and started the long hike in before sunrise on opening morning.

Well after sunrise, we finally got to the top of the saddle overlooking our secluded valley…..using our binoculars the scene before us must have resembled what Reno saw at the Little Bighorn!🤬 There were spike camps throughout our “secluded” valley as far as we could see!

We made a U-Turn at the top of the saddle, marking it up as a bad experience! ☹️🤬 memtb