Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Elk hunting advice

I need some real world elk hunting advice. In October I�m heading to central Idaho (Kendrick) for my first ever elk hunt. We are camping on private land and hunting on public ground. How do you hunt these things? Do you just sit and watch trails, glass clearcuts or stalk around the heavy timber? Each of us will have a ATV, supposedly the area is a maze of logging roads. None of us have hunted this area before. One of our group lived in the area for about a year and did a lot of scouting this spring before he moved back to MN. He has several areas that he said always had lots of elk tracks and deer tracks. So, all of you old seasoned elk killers, please help me out.

Thanks���.Jeff

Wish I had some of the choices you have there.

Use the ATVs to get down the road to areas and then hide them and walk.. walk... walk.... early morning look into meadow openings, and then around 9, get out and walk looking for freash tracks. Follow them and eventually they will lead into open timber, then thicker timber. STOP right there. They just went to bed.

YOU go get breakfast and lunch and around 2 be back there, and wait in the general area and listen. Then will usually come back out the way they went in if no one has bothered them. Now the bunch will probably be cows and yearlings but a good bull will be in the vicinity. You will have a choice, big bull , young one or cow.

Take it from me, any elk is a trophy if its your first one. Even more so if its your first elk hunt, so take what you find and enjoy.

Anyway, thats how I would hunt that area.

Might be good to find a ol' timer from thet area. Get him to share his tactics with ya an' learn ya the country. But by all means, leave the ATV parked.

The last thing you want to do is blow any elk out of the country, so use the ATVs sparingly or leave them in MN.

I've had good luck looking early into large meadows, locate elk, let them feed back into the dark timber to bed. Leave them be during the day, and set up an ambush for when they come back out to feed in the evening.

The joker in the deck is that you say you are hunting public land, which may mean more hunters stirring "your" elk. If that happens get aggressive. Make things happen. Look for escape routes where elk may move when spooked.

If you are stalking a target. Don't get too focused. Look for another set of eyes looking at you. Take your time.

I've had to break off a few stalks just because a bedded cow or a wandering raghorn got in my way.

Buy plenty of moleskin.

You can start before you get there by getting some USGS (United States Geological Survey) maps and some good topo's of the area. They will help acquaint you with the area, terrain and potential cover, etc. If you're good at orienteering, great. If not, bring a compass or GPS and know how to use it. Either will help put you in the areas you identify as having good potential as well as helping finding your way back out. Good luck and good hunting!

I hunted a logging road area last year that sounds much like what you have described. My partner and I drove in a truck as close as we could to the mountain and hiked up under the cover of darkness. We split up and still hunted until mid-morning. After meeting up and having a snack we started easing quietly up a logging road. All of a sudden the brush started breaking uphill from us and I saw flashes of hide in the trees. A cow popped out by the edge of the logging road 75 yards ahead of us. Before I could get my rifle off the sling and on her, she and several more shot across the road and down the hill and into the brush hell bent for leather. Just then we caught sight of the tawny hide of a bull breaking away the other direction. We kept hunting and by late afternoon we worked our way up higher up the mountain where we discovered more logging roads with fresh ATV tracks all over them. The point is, the ATVers spooked those elk right down on top of us and out of the country. The didn't get a shot and we didn't have time to react. We had to get our elk in another area.

The moral of the story is, ATV's are fine for bringing out game. In Colorado you can even legally take them off marked trails between noon and 6 p.m. to retrieve downed game. But if you go roaring down logging roads on them chances are no one will fill their tag.

You probably already know this but I though I'd add my frustrating story. You should have a great time, filled tag or not. I hope you become a certified elkaholic and go back every year from now on. As long as I can, I plan to be on the mountain every October.

All the above advise is great, I'll add one thing. Study the maps and get as far away from the roads and trails as you can ( as far as you think you can pack an elk out ) Look for areas that have south or west faceing hill sides, and are near heavly timbered north or east faceing hill sides that arew far away from any roads or trails. The rougher the better.
The elk will feed on the S/W hillsides and bed on the N/E hillsides

J Elky, I can't add too much to the good advice above. Check those topo maps and find a good place to "walk" and hunt, and leave those ATVs parked.

WATCH THE WIND! Elk have an amazing ability to smell, so keep that wind in your face.

I've not hunted the Kendrick area, but have hunted about 50 miles to the east in the Clearwater drainage. There are some good bulls up there, but not like it used to be. What public land will you be hunting? St. Joe N.F., Clearwater N.F., etc.?

Unless you REALLY know what you're doing, don't try to call the bulls in. People who don't know how to call usually scare more elk than they bring in.

WATCH THE WIND!

Good Luck. L.W.

LW,

The land is Clearwater NF and Potlatch from what I'm told. Basically we are hunting a little north and west of the Dworshak Res. My idea was to use the ATV to get back in to a good looking area before first light and then start walking looking for fresh sign around the clearcuts. It sounds like the elk head for the timber during the day. My partner that lived out there for a year was hooked up with a local who showed him a few hot spots. He was also told they aer some good whitetails in the area. I've got teh topo maps for the area, what do you look for on them?

thanks for all the help............Jeff

Wear Fleese or wool garmets only, make double sure you have a map of the area and a good compass. Don't walk further into the woods, from the roads, than what you can carry the quarter of an elk.

While this might be true in certain areas, it is NOT true in most of Colorado. Restrictions on ATV use vary in each Nat'l forest. Check it out before you go.

If you are hunting UP, my suggestion is to get on top of the ridges before daylight and let the other hunters push the critters to you. Look at the topos and adjust once you are there and can look at how the terrain runs. Watch for trails and then watch the trails.

After things have been run around a bit, they are going to hole up in the dark timber. Don't be afraid to go after them. Watch the wind, go REEEEEEEEAAAAAALLLLLYYYY slow, use your binoculars a LOT and you'll be surprised at what you can sneak up on. I've watched a lot of elk at point blank range in heavy timber by doing just that.

Also, an hour or two after daylight, you can try and park yourself a quarter mile inside the timber and just sit and listen. It's pretty cool when a herd comes in and surrounds you!

As to calls, forget the bugle and get a couple cow calls. I really like the Hoochie mama from Primos. I usually have a reed handy and a small mouth call around my neck. If a herd isn't spooked too bad, that cow call will settle them down. This past year, I used that hoochie mama call to pull in a pair of 6x6 bulls, one for me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> and one for a buddy (his was bigger <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />).

J Elky, what Muley Stalker said is good advice. Use your binocular to really search for those elk. I strongly suggest if you do not have a good binocular, buy one. I've been using a Swarovski 7x42 Rubber Armored for many years now, and for me, the way I hunt, I don't know any better binocular. Not heavy enough to be a bother, but heavy enough to be steady for loooonnnnnng searches. Definitely not tiring to the eyes, and the rubber coating keeps them quiet. They gather light better than Zeiss, in my opinion. Of course, lots of people swear by a Leica, and I'd flip a coin between the Swarovski and the Leica. (Years ago when I was a kid, the advertising slogan for Leica was "There's nothing like a Leica." And they were right.)

Topo maps. I suggest you sit down with your buddy who's been out here, and let him tell you where he and his friend think would be a good place to hunt. Post the names of your quad maps and I'll punch them up on my Idaho Digital Topo Maps, and take a look. My program covers the entire state.

One thing I look for is to try and find a saddle between two knobs of mountains, leading to the north, especially toward a creek or spring on the northern slopes. Obviously, I want that saddle to be as far away from where most hunters roam, as possible. Elk tend to go through these saddles to get to a safe bedding ground. That's general, of course, but it's worked for me.

You asked about Whitetail deer. Yep, there are some good ones up there in the Clearwater, but if you're coming out to Idaho to hunt elk, hunt elk. Once you've got that "big six" down, then go after the Whitetails.

Good luck. L.W.

j_elky:

There's an article entitled ELK HUNTING STRATEGIES on my old web page.

http://members.aol.com/keenkc/page7/CampKC.html

Elk are migratory and have a very strong herding instinct. The cows and yearlings stay in a big herd and the bulls are not too far away. So at any time of the year 85% of the elk live in 15% of the habitat. Your goal will be to discover where that 15% habitat is when you are hunting.

Happy hunting

KC

Leanwolf,

The map names are Park, Southwick, Aldermand ridge and Ashaka(sp??).

I much appreciate everyone's help.

Hopefully I turn all this info into a dead elk in a month and a half.

thanks.....Jeff

J Elky, here's the layout of those quads adjoining each other.

PARK(n.w.)-ALDERMAND RIDGE(n.e.)
SOUTHWICK(s.w.)-AHSAHKA(s.e.)

So, need a little more infor.

1. Has your buddy said where he wants to hunt? And if so, give me the name of the quad and some reference points thereon, if possible.

2. Where are you going to be camped, in relationship to these quads???? No need to talk about an area that might be far from your camp, when a nearer one would be just as "possible," and more convenient.

3. How long are you guys gonna stay and hunt??

4. What is your physical condition (and your buddy's)?? That is fairly rough, steep country up there. Of course, most of the good hunting areas in Idaho, are.

5. What is the actual hunting unit # where you'll be hunting??

6. What dates will you be here??

Let me know....

L.W.

L.W.

Campsite is in the extreme SE corner of the Park map. No, my buddy has not given specific locations on the map where he wants to hunt. He does have some areas in mind that he will show us once we get out there. He has seen elk tracks right in our campsite. We will be in camp on Monday before season starts on Friday (10/10) and stay until the following Friday. That would give us three days to scout and a solid week to hunt.

We have a group of five. Two are in their 50�s and not really in shape. The other three of us are in our early 30�s. One has run a half marathon. I have been doing a lot of walking with our 19 month old daughter on my back along with some biking with Hannah in a trailer behind me. The other 30 year old, I have not met so I can not speak to his condition. He is the son of one of the older fellas.

I�m very cautious in new country. I spent an unexpected night in the woods once and don�t care to repeat that experience. I take my time and get to know the area and always make sure I can find my way back to camp. If this means I never get more than a couple miles from camp, I�m okay with that.


thanks for your help...........Jeff

Jeff,

additional advice about hunting in the mountains.

Allways be prepared to spend the night out.

Carry firestarting stuff.

if you smoke quit now.

Watch the Booze. it will affect you more in the mountains.

Carry tums. No it is not for your tummy. something in tums helps with Attitude sickness.

Get a good compass and learn how to use it.

Study the maps for the area.

If you decide to get a GPS learn how to use it well, but don't depend on it too much.

Carry extra Batteries for your gps and flashlight.

tom

Some excellent advice here. I'll add just a bit to two good points.

Pumpgun's points are all well taken. I'd suggest be prepared to spend a night out intentionally. I'm not talking about backpacking in for days or anything. Find the saddle like LW suggested, maybe a bit further from the road, take a bivvy sack and a down jacket some handwarmer packets, and maybe a bit of foam pad. (water and food of course), and hunker down for the night. Unless it's blowing/snowing/raining, you'll be perfectly safe and fairly comfortable.

The problem with hiking in from the road or trail is that even when you start off in the freakin' dead of night, (2 hr before sunup), you often won't be in that really good spot until well after dawn. You'll also be crashing around in the deadfalls to get there. You want to be in that saddle (or wherever the good spot is) when the other guys start crashing around in the brush and buzzing about on the roads.

The flip side is that you will be sitting in that spot that's two hr. from the road when night falls and you don't have to worry about stumbling back to camp after dark. That's the #1 way that guys get lost and hurt.

I used to hunt Elk quite a bit in Id. and Co. and normally spent every other night "sleeping out" It was very effective.

JimF

J Elky, you are doing it right. Getting as much scouting time in as possible, will give you a leg up on those who "go in cold." Don't forget some 3"x5" cards and a pencil in a Ziplok bag, on which to make notes about the results of your scouting, compass bearings, etc.



Jim F and Pumpgun have given some excellent advice, too. About "altitude sickness." See my last post on your sleeping bag question thread about same. Also, staying in a good spot overnight, if possible can pay off. Unless the weather is bad, you'll be okay. Just make sure your buds know exactly where you'll be "overnighting" and hunting.



I'm ALWAYS prepared to stay out overnight -- and have done so -- by carrying stuff in my daypack and pockets which will get me through the night. I always have two, Mini-Mag AA flashlights with me, plus extra new batteries. One of them has a headband for it. Believe me, there are times when having that headband pays off, when you need two hands free.



On looking at the Park Quad, I see a lot of private land there in that s.e. portion, and as you said you'd be on private land, I imagine you're in the "white" area of the map, somewhere. Your friend is correct in that there are lots of old logging and mining roads in there. He'll have places for you to start scouting, I'm sure. Wouldn't doubt you'll be heading east over into the Aldermand Ridge Quad, too.



I'd buy a Delorme Idaho Atlas, if I were you, as it will show a lot more up-to-date NUMBERED Forest Service roads, than the older quad maps..... but still have your topo quads with you. Also, get a Clearwater N.F. Map, when you get to Idaho, from one of the Ranger Stations up there along the way.



Actually, you won't be running into too much "high altitude," but it is still rough country, so the best shape you can be in, will certainly pay off.



Best of luck.

Didn't know that. Maybe we should send a few cases down to DFC??????

Good point on the overnight info. I take enough stuff to ensure I'll spend a reasonably comfortable night if necessary. I've only had to do it a few times, but a few items can be the difference between comfortable and miserable, perhaps life and death. I have a really light weight silk balaclava from REI (not the greek desert <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />) that is about the most wonderful item for the weight that I own. That and disposable chemical handwarmers are the cats meow if you have to spend a night.