Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Hunting Public Land High pressured Elk Tactics

Curious of what you guys prefer? Do you find a high vantage point and sit/glass all day? Or are you one of those guys that go down into the nasty wholes and push elk out to make something happen? I have a 5 day hunt comeing up in EO and curious what approach I should take? I probably will do both?? Just curious what you guys have been more sucessful doing? I have heard excellent stories of "Old Timmers" sitting all day siping on coffee, and eating their cambells soup on stand, waiting for hunters and weather to push the elk out of the hi-country.... Thanks for your advice/tipps... Pics would be awesome!

Get as far away from the road as possible, and be prepared to haul one out.

I like to get out in front of the crowds, to do that I found that you have to get at least 3 miles from the nearest road. Most will not go more that a mile from the road. The problem becomes one of will its hard work packing an elk out from that distance. More so for a flat lander like me. I learned that its easier to take loads you can carry rather that what you think you can carry. One of the reasons is why I like late rifle, temps tend to be cooler so you have more time to get game out. Now if I was going to go elk hunting, I'm older now, I would arrange for a horse or two. It helps even more if you live in elk country, the more time you spend in an area looking and getting to know the better. Or you can just go with a good Outfitter and Guide.

I do agree that getting away from other hunters is the key but sometimes that does not mean getting way back. The bull in my avatar took a 2 mile hike to get to but was only 1/4 of a mile from a house.

I go into the nasty stuff and make my own luck.It isn't so much as how far you get from the roads,it is finding those small hidey holes that others pass up.

Some of the best advice I've ever had is "first find the elk, then figure out how to get to him/them."
That means alot of pretty good looking country can have very few or no elk in it. Or it could have had some, but they were pushed out.
You can do that one of two ways. Odviously seeing them there is best, but you can look for fresh sign as well. A light, fresh snow is priceless for this.
The other is that you need to know what you can handle and what you can't. I've had poor luck, for instance, in heavy cover. That's becasue I wasn't paying much attention to wind. Big mistake. Hopefully I've learned my lession.
As odd as it sounds, I've done alot better on really open ground. Mostly because the same stalking tactics that work on deer, and pronghorn work for elk too. E

Pray for snow.......

A guy could sit and glass all day--but mostly won't do much good--they only come out at night.

Go get 'em in the spruce-fir elk jungles. With fresh snow on the ground, jump shooting elk in the timber is the ultimate in elk hunting.

Yes, it can show you where they are right away, I've even used binocular to see elk trails in the snow at some surprising distances.
Funny thing is some bulls will hang in some unusual places as the season progresses. I've found two within a few hundred yards of a road. E

What you, gmsemsel, slm, and saddlesore posted has worked for me too.....

I've been more successful in going in to get them. To be fair, though, I know a few glassers who do quite well for themselves.

Hunt high in the open parks early in the morning and if you don't glass one by mid morning then hit the thick stuff and try to catch one bedded before he see you. You will be surprised how close you can get to one in the timber if you have the wind in your favor. You can beat their eyes but not their nose. In the Timber hunt slow and glass as far ahead as you can. Most of the time i smell them before i ever see them.

Well, two nubes (CFVA and I) plan a two-pronged approach for the coming 2nd season.

1) Find a herd and shadow it 'til next Saturday, then try to get within rifle range ASAP Saturday morning; or,

2) Find a good vantage point a couple/three miles in overlooking a draw/saddle between two drainages, and watch that travel/escape corridor once the pressure hits next weekend.

Might work, might not. Haven't a clue re: elk, but it's worked on deer. We'll see, I guess.

Just got back from a week in WY. Roads were really bad after that snow last weekend so we went back into an inaccessible area and my buddy and I tagged out in 3 days.
John