Camp is from vehicle base. Day hunts from there, with enough kit to spend a night away from base when the situation calls
Usually not more then one night per outing.
Prior to this was #1 but using pack goats to carry enough kit to have an extraordinary base camp.
In parallel with that was using a mountain bike with a "kid trailer" to haul into base from which day hunts were executed.
Flexibility is the key. Topo scouting mandatory, summer "pleasure" hikes needed to scout and establish camp locations. Miles on my mountain bike riding and glassing logging roads behind locked gates.
Further has not proven to be better. I've spent a lot of my life hiking to the ends of the earth going well past prime hunting areas. Sometimes the best habitat is under your nose.
One rule has paid off, when in doubt climb. Going higher has not yet proven to reduce success. Better visibility glassing, and for some reason game seems to move up and Down far more then back and forth. Maybe just this habitat?
For me, it depends. First of all, I generally hunt in the early seasons so I can get by with less weight and bulk than in really cold weather. If I�m in a new area, I like the option of picking up and moving around. But I also like leaving the heavy stuff in camp because in steep country at 10K feet I feel like I can cover more ground effectively without a full pack. So I�ll go light with only a few day�s worth of food. I�ll set up in what looks like a good spot where I can hunt in two or three different directions, and day hunt from there for a day or two and then decide whether to stay put or move. The trade-off is, if I get far from camp and am on some animals at dusk, I need to go back to camp. But I also avoid humping all my stuff up a steep ridge that doesn�t pan out.
If I�m hunting an area that I know is good and/or have another person or two along, lots of times it�s worth packing in a little extra weight and having a fixed camp. Things like a thicker sleeping pad, a heated tipi, and better food. With a group, hanging out in a nice camp sipping some good whiskey after a long day is half the fun.
As to how far back in is good, IME there are a lot of guys who�ll day hike in 2-3 miles from the truck so I like to go in at least that distance. I think beyond the 3-mile mark you leave most day-hunters behind, which is the whole point. You just need to know who else uses the area, there�s no point in hiking further in if you�ll just be bumping into outfitter�s camps. Like JJ said, if you can put some elevation between you and the trailhead, all the better, but I like avoiding really steep or rocky stuff, just in case I have to come back down the same way with a pack full of meat.
I you're a beginner (never hunted) but you have a lot of backpacking experience, which method (of the two) would you suggest? Or would you suggest an altogether different method?
Looking to hear about your backpack hunting methods.
Most specifically, I'm wondering if you:
Hike backcountry to a designated spot, establish base camp and scout the surrounding area?
-or-
Act like a through-hiker and relocate camp every night, hunting along the way?
Both, sometimes during the same season and even during the same hunt. But, a lot depends on the specie that's being hunted and the trophy quality per the unit I'm in and/or whether a particular animal is being pursued.
I you're a beginner (never hunted) but you have a lot of backpacking experience, which method (of the two) would you suggest? Or would you suggest an altogether different method?
I do both.
If I was advising a beginner hunter/experienced backpacker, I would probably suggest #1 for longer trips and #2 for 1 or 2 nighters.
You're going to have more stuff - rifle/bow, game care, etc so you need to work that into your routine. You've just added a bunch of weight to your kit when you add this stuff.
You'll also be trying to learn to hunt, which is likely a little easier without a full pack on your back. Some backpackers never really leave the trails, so you might find yourself doing more cross-country, etc.
And you'll need to work out how to get the animal out of the backcountry. So you're "hunting weight" needs to allow for how you'll move the weight of that meat. Having an already full pack does not make carry-out very easy. It might be easier to do this in stages - get the meat to basecamp, rest. get meat to truck. rest. go back and get basecamp stuff. rest. take basecamp stuff out. Obviously this is heavily dependent on the details of your situation.
Not earth-shattering observations, just thinking about the conceptual differences for me between backpacking and backpack hunting.
Both, sometimes during the same season and even during the same hunt. But, a lot depends on the specie that's being hunted and the trophy quality per the unit I'm in and/or whether a particular animal is being pursued.
I'm not sure about laws regulations or whatnot in every state or location. I don't always hunt in the USA.
One of the best ways I have found to do this especially for a lone hunter is to pre-stock the camp. I have some 5gallon pails with very tight "O" ring lids that were food grade. Packing in 3-4 of these on scouting trips during warmer summer months and cache them. This becomes your base camp foundation.
They are great camp stools and hold enough stuff that is used all the time. Fuel, water bottles, nylon tarp, sleeping bag, pad, tent, .22 ammo fishing gear etc etc. these staples are semi permanent. This makes your base camp solid with plenty of comfort.
I normally pack in a lightweight base camp, with possibly a bivy setup in case I decide to venture far from camp. Normally, I'm just not far enough from the road to do a thru style and usually have other limiting factors, such as water availability. Some of it has to do with regulations etc. For instance, in some of the wilderness areas you could do more of a thru style, but you would end up passing through several districts which are only good with a state wide tag. Besides, who wants to be 12 miles back with a big bull
Besides, who wants to be 12 miles back with a big bull
LOL, or a big cow. I'd look at it like this: If you're a new hunter, hunting a new area, you don't necessarily want to be tied down to one spot (fixed base camp), because you won't really know if it's a good spot until you've poked around a bit. If it was me, I'd have a few different trailheads picked out where I could do 2-3 day loops that would take me back in away from the road a few miles but not more than say 4-5 miles from the road. I'd want to go light with only a few day's food. Hike in, set up camp, hunt near camp, if things look good hang out for a few days, if not, move on. If you get to a good spot and want to stay for more than a few days you can always make the short hike out for more food.
One other thing, you never know who else may be camped back in your chosen area in any given year, so it pays to be flexible and ready to move on if the spot you planned on hunting is occupied.
One of the best ways I have found to do this especially for a lone hunter is to pre-stock the camp. I have some 5gallon pails with very tight "O" ring lids that were food grade. Packing in 3-4 of these on scouting trips during warmer summer months and cache them. This becomes your base camp foundation.
They are great camp stools and hold enough stuff that is used all the time. Fuel, water bottles, nylon tarp, sleeping bag, pad, tent, .22 ammo fishing gear etc etc. these staples are semi permanent. This makes your base camp solid with plenty of comfort.
That sounds like some doomsday/SHTF [bleep]........I like it.
Illegal in the National Forest though, if they catch you. This might help:
I've got one spot that I love to go early every bow season. It's 5 miles to where base camp is, and an additional 3 miles to get to the head end of each drainage/basin from there. It's not unusual for us to live there for a few days and work each individual area until we find game. Then move camp closer to where the action is.
I've got another spot that's a FS trail that has a trailhead on each end, 7 miles apart. We park a truck on each end of of that and get the first 2 miles and 3000' elevation gain out of the way and leave all the other hunters behind.
If you're going to make the backpack thing work to your advantage, two things need to happen. Scout as much as you can, and have plan B and C hashed out. Once you're there DURING season find the pockets that the day hunters aren't working. Focus on those places. #2, have patience. If you worked yourself that deep into the country, don't get frustrated. Head back to camp for the unproductive times of day. Eat lunch, have a cup of coffee, take a nap, get wood together for the evening, look over your maps (write notes on [bleep].) Then go hunt your ass off until dark when you have the place all to yourself.
That last paragraph is damn good advice. One thing that can frustrate you during the early seasons (in CO anyway) is that you can get several days of rain in a row. Be prepared for that, as best you can.
Besides, who wants to be 12 miles back with a big bull
One other thing, you never know who else may be camped back in your chosen area in any given year, so it pays to be flexible and ready to move on if the spot you planned on hunting is occupied.
That is a big challenge. Sometimes you think you a perfect place that no one goes to , because no one has been there, and you will find 3 other camps. Sometimes, you not go to a place because of how many people were there the season before, to find out no one is there later.
Unproductive times is a great time to take a nap and do camp chores.
Personally, I love hunting new areas, but it almost always takes me a day to figure out the game there. I'll usually look at a map, find the easy access parts and scratch of 1.5 miles from those spots, look at places with likely habitat. I'll usually go until I find decent sign or a limit in distance.
Here is a blog post I wrote a while ago on virtual scouting new areas Virtual Scouting
When backpack camping and while right in the bedroom of the animal you're intent on killing, backpack camping chores predominately consist of eating a quick meal before daylight and then hunting all day and then, eating a quick meal after dark and going right to bed.
Of course, if camaraderie is what you're after and a lackadaisical approach to killing is the benefit while backpack camping, then by all means, spend as much time in camp as you need. But, have a weapon handy, just in case.
While backpack camping in the heart of quality game country, I've had various types of big game animals walk right by and even right through my camps.
If you're hunting hard in the mountains, day after day, some down time in camp to recharge is inevitable. Unless most of your hunting is on the internet.
It's not a "lackadaisical approach to killing," it's human physiology.
If you're hunting hard in the mountains, day after day, some down time in camp to recharge is inevitable. Unless most of your hunting is on the internet.
It's not a "lackadaisical approach to killing," it's human physiology.
I down time on the days when I'm in town. Otherwise, it's dawn till dark, searching for animals to kill while in the field. I don't down time in camp. I don't need to, because I've kept myself in top condition all these years by hunting pretty much year-round. I get enough down time during the two or three months each year when I'm not hunting.
Down time in town? Maybe that's the differemce. And once again, sorry, I didn't realize that yet another thread was about you and your hunting prowess, superhuman that you are. As far as my advice to the OP, assuming he's a mere mortal, I would echo Dan and say that over a long season of backpack hunting in the Rockies plan on at least an hour or two of down time.
Speaking about fitness. I played collegiate ice hockey in total with junior ice time 8 years continuous. I could out hike or out climb anyone on earth for those years. Elevation gain did not mean much, but I could watch others with me fold and give up all the time.
After college hockey ended, I needed to retain fitness. I took up running. Several Marathons a year. Frequently 30-50 mile weeks. My climbing ability was gone, vanished, I was a pathetic normal human. My superpowers to fly up mountain sides was gone. My thighs were burning and I was unable to get to those same places now without being exhausted and burned out.
What happened? I had to look at the hours and fitness goals that were different between hockey and running. I started playing inline on a team in Seattle. For 4 months I played several days a week. Wow, my climbing ability returned like magic!
There is a huge, no..... Gigantic difference in the training of muscles between running and skating. My coach in college made us ride the exercise bike for countless hours. It was brutal and monotonous and made me want to quit every day. He tracked our miles and time on the electronics. If your times/miles slipped you did not play, no ice time!
So riding was the key. I went to a sports medicine guy and had this chat when I separated my right elbow. He chuckled and said it's no surprise. The skating and biking was a quadriceps workout just like climbing. Running was all leg biceps.... Completely different muscles.
Long description here, but bag the running get a mountain bike for fitness if you want the power and endurance to climb. It's all about the quadriceps guys! My best days are behind me for elevation gains without breaking a sweat. But I still have at least a decade and a half left to spend packing into beautiful areas to hunt.
Tabata steep hills at elevation , that will get the up muscles going and the lungs burning. Seriously, I'm not an expert hunter, a guide or anything, but sometimes I think you are better served taking some down time and going after it at another time or another day. Case in point, last year, I hiked in and sat on a ridge, and spied 25 plus elk across a drainage and near a series of finger ridges. Weather was unsettled and wind was 40 MPH from every direction. I watched them for a while, and decided to wait until the next day to go after them when wind was going to be more calm. I thought if I went that day I was going to be winded no matter the direction I came and I was just going to blow them into another drainage and effectively put them out of any realistic range. It didn't work out, because my hunting buddy went in and blew them all out over the ridge (he knew I was in elk on that ridge the weekend before). They were the only group of public land elk in the area (there was a small group on a private claim on the other side. I prefer to use whatever tactic I think has the greatest chance of success. Sometimes, I feel it might be to take a little down time. I'll admit, I could go after every elk I see, or every time I know they are in an area. Just in my experience, going in the timber after a group, at least for me is often a very low percentage play and results in elk that go totally nocturnal. Therefore, if I have a pretty good bead on them, sometimes I prefer to wait for hopefully un pressured animals to come out and take a little down time waiting.
Last fall I had a late-20's (age) client who was hunting Dall sheep and he looked to be in good physical condition. So, we did some moderate walking/climbing the first five days of a ten-day hunt and then the client began to dramatically wane in physical ability. We took a break away from hunting on the sixth day. But, even the last four days of the hunt were problematic, because it took everything I had to psychologically coax the guy into getting back to camp each night after moderately hiking each of those days.
On the very next hunt, I had an early-30's (age) client who was also after Dall sheep and although he looked to be in top-notch physical condition, he had a hard time convincing himself that he could actually out walk me if he would just apply himself. During the first six days of the ten-day hunt we did some moderate walking/climbing and then he threw in the towel (completely) and thereby he decided to go home.
Needless to say that I was very disappointed in those two hunts.
There's a lot to be said about psychological conditioning and that's probably the more important aspect, rather than physical conditioning.
Yes, down time in camp while on a hunt is sometimes necessary for some people, if they haven't done the requisite psychological/physical conditioning prior to a hunt or hunting season.
As a professional hunting guide who's in the field no less than 250 days each year, I can't afford down time in camp. Clients spend to much money for that sort of thing. Therefore, I have to go into a season with the attitude and ability to continue non-stop without a break.
But, not all clients are able to do the same thing. That's the sad part.
Yes, unfortunately, some people do need down time during a hunt.
There are any number of reasons to take a little down time. One of the best is the one Dan Adair mentioned. Anyone who's tried to stalk within range of bedded elk with a bow in their hand would know that it's not your best foot forward.
But please Mav, regale us with more tales of your exploits.
OK Mav, how do you recommend a new elk hunter should go about his mental preparation? For that matter, since this thread was started by a novice, is it your recommendation that a novice, hunting out of a backpack in the rockies take zero downtime, and consider the trip a failure if he does? Do you recommend the novice measure himself against a professional guide who hunts 250 days a year?
Why would a guy consider a hunt a failure if he decides to do something, or anything? If a decision is made, how does that equate to failure? There's consequence for every decision that's made. There's no right or wrong decision(s) in life. Fact of the matter is that all decisions are good, because all decisions equate to consequence. Consequence is a good thing, actually. Therefore, how could a decision result to failure? I guess it would depend on one's definition of the term or phrase, "failure".
Mav, you sure you're not a politician? A whole paragraph, with no answers to the questions posed, I think you missed your calling.
How do you recommend a newbie go about mental conditioning?
PS, above, you were the one who expressed disappointment about a hunt where a guy needed to take a break. That's how I'd define failure, a hunt where I was disappointed in my performance.
I don't know about you guys, but once I get where I'm going, I'm sure as hell not hiking around a mach 5, blowing out who knows what. My downtime is tucked on the edge of a bluff or in some bushes with my binos glued to my face, not moving, not skylining myself, with the wind blowing in my face. I've bt/dt with trying to cover an entire mountain in a day hoping to get lucky. You're much better off getting to a vantage point before first light, with the wind in your favor, with binos/spotter overlooking the habitat you think the animals will be in. Camp in an area where the wind can't shift and night and blow out the nocturnal animals.
Precisely. Eyes can do a lot more than legs, especially out West. That's my preferred method of hunting most North American big game -- by glassing and glassing and glassing. Dall sheep tend to be a little different (sort of) since a guy has to go high and then walk the ridgelines while doing a lot of glassing. But for most western big game and most of the other Alaskan big game, glassing is the key.
In an article I wrote years ago, while I was the wildlife manager for Weyerhaeuser I wrote: 75% of the game use 25% of the habitat.
Of course this is not an absolute mathematical fact. Rather more an observation of how much area is Heavily used and connected with other areas that are used. While in between there is vacant, Barron, game free zones. Sure wanderers will be there and there are always exceptions to the typical movements.
Spooked game will run and scatter, but eventually they regroup and get back into their life cycle and normal behavior patterns. I've hiked and packed into the 360,000 acre tree farm for several decades of work. I've done game management studies with dozens of game cameras running 365 days a year, flown over with a helicopter game management study teams. Recruited dozens of sportsman to help place tetracycline baits used in tissue marking studies for bears and cougars.
During all this time areas of habitat stood out. I had aerial photos of the entire landscape, and topographical maps. On these we marked game movements from radio collared animals, camera data, and other studies. This collection of data points provided a brilliant study of habitats and travel routes. It also more importantly showed vast areas of uninhibited land. Visited only on the rarest of occasions.
Once you locate those areas that make up the 25% stay out of it. Look from a distance, the fringe of these habitats are the places to set up.
The only time to enter is to stalk or recover game.
There are any number of reasons to take a little down time. One of the best is the one Dan Adair mentioned. Anyone who's tried to stalk within range of bedded elk with a bow in their hand would know that it's not your best foot forward. But please Mav, regale us with more tales of your exploits.
You pretty much nailed it. Over half my time in the field every year is during bow season, with a recurve in my hand. Even hunting elk when they're at their stupidest, the wind is still what F's up most hunts.
Also, I usually have camp with a view. One of my favorite spots to backpack into has the remnants of an old burned down lookout tower right where I pitch my tent. Also, up high there, the wind is consistant, right into junk country that nothing lives in. I love that spot for late bow season hunting Mulies. I've spent hours glassing right out the tent. If I watch a good'un bed down, and watch him stay put, and the wind is right, and staying right, I'll put that stalk on everytime. In all the years I've hunted that country, I've never seen a dayhunter in there at sunrise or sunset.
I learned my lesson the hard way. When I was in my late teens and early 20's, I F'd up plenty of opportunities being a "go getter." One of my old hunting buddies was a fat dude in his 40's. He's glass all day and hunt very little. He killed a lot more game than I did and he SAW a [bleep] more game than me every time out. Now I use the "Glass 2/3rds, Hunt 1/3rd" rule.
In regard to original post, scout intended hunting areas in the summer to know the deer that live there. If I know which animals live where I know where to concentrate my glossing. Get to the area, take a seat and pick it apart. Repeat come elk season except in elk habitat.
Glassing is a great tool, but it's utility depends on the country and what the animals are doing. I'd say it's one tool in the toolbox. I have a few favorite spots for elk (in CO) that are mostly heavy timber where glassing doesn't work very well.
If you're after bulls during the rut, sometimes listening is more effective than glassing. This is one of my favorite photos. This was an early hunt with my hunting partner cupping his hand to listen. Every year there are multiple bulls in this basin, but they rarely venture out of the timber during the day. Ideally you locate them by listening and go in after them. This particular year, there were 4 bulls in there:
And if you're hunting during the general rifle seasons after the rut in CO, lots of times the bulls are laid up in the timber recovering, and on public land anyway, they tend to shy away from open areas where they can be seen during shooting hours.
Which is just to say that if you don't see animals in the open, it doesn't mean they're not there.
Smokepole, I don't disagree with you one bit. There are areas where it is incredibly tough to make glassing your primary tool. Most of those places are better for hunting Elk with a bow, something I haven't done a lot of the last couple of years. Kind of have an addiction to Mulies in the high basins.
My preference is to hunt areas that I can glass from. With all of the dead trees from beetle kill lately, black forests have opened up a bit in my neck of the woods.
Like what Dan mentioned, I used to be very stupid and think that I needed to be moving all of the time, constantly looking over new places, hoping that animals would pop up.
As soon as I figured out how how to move slow, glass effectively, and pick the right spots my success rates climbed dramatically.
I you're a beginner (never hunted) but you have a lot of backpacking experience, which method (of the two) would you suggest? Or would you suggest an altogether different method?
First thing would be to learn how to hunt. Some places lend themselves to one style of hunting, some to another. Work out how to hunt the location first and the choice of which sort of backpack hunting to do will fall into place.
I'm more inclined to "through hike" with an eye open for game than I am to sit and glass. I can sit about 20 minutes, then I need to be somewhere else.
Sometimes the best application of "backpack hunting" is to allow you to comfortably stay on-spot for last light one night and first light the next morning rather than having to either travel in the dark or not be set up at "witching hour". It doesn't necessarily have to be very far from the road.
SR, I like to glass too, even in thick stuff my preference for a spot to stop for lunch is a good overlook and the glass comes out before the food. Just pointing out to the new guys that lots of good elk country isn't the best for spotting animals from a distance.
Depending upon the kind of habitat, which I cannot possibly know about your area. 20 minutes is not even scratching the surface of actually glassing at least in the PNW cascades and Rockies here. Nor would it be in western canada, South Africa, or Alaska.
I'll bet on average I spend 2 hours glassing the valleys below me, canyons and meadows. I primarily hunt bears, and mule deer this way. Animals bedded could be pretty much invisible until they move. More times then I can count I've been packing up to move and spot something that was there all along!
Everyone's favorite areas or the geography they spend time in is different. For me 20 minutes is not glassing, it's scanning. For me to look over a whole area searching for antler tips or ears twitching across an entire field of view takes a while.
Glassing is a great tool, but it's utility depends on the country and what the animals are doing. I'd say it's one tool in the toolbox. I have a few favorite spots for elk (in CO) that are mostly heavy timber where glassing doesn't work very well.
smokepole, I agree. I know you hunt some of the areas near some of the territory I do. The last several trips, my spotter has been useless dead weight. The primary reason is the drainages are narrow and each one pretty much blocks view into the next. Best case, I get between two and can see in both. I usually see stuff just with my eyes or range finder and have never had any luck peering into the timber with a spotter. For me, the ears have often been far more useful. My spotter now is used mainly form my car setting up and looking into a few areas from a bench somewhere.
I hike in 6-7 miles and set up a camp. I hunt within a mile or so of my camp. Have to be real honest about temps, steepness, deadfalls, etc. when thinking of shooting an elk. When someone came up with the saying that the work just begins when you pull the trigger, they were not kidding with elk. Had the realization one year while archery hunting that I could not get an elk out in a reasonable time due to extremely warm temps. That, and I would have been engulfed in flies and those little bees.
Back to your original question, it took two years of scouting to find an area about 2x2 miles that always seems to hold elk (not sure if elk is what you are after). So, if you are only seeing occasional sign, one or two sets of tracks here and there, keep going. You'll know when you find a good elk area.
The game will dictate how I have to hunt. To say method 1 or 2 is the absolute best way to do it all the time is not good. There are too many variables in the game and one needs to be able to adapt to those changes. You are there to hunt and if you do not adapt to the hunt then you are camping and not hunting. You have left to many questions unanswered for us to be able to make a blanket statement. One thing I can say is that if the hunting is your primary concern then you move with the wildlife if need be. Your honey hole from July may be empty in september what are you going to do hunt or camp?
Smokepole, I don't disagree with you one bit. There are areas where it is incredibly tough to make glassing your primary tool. Most of those places are better for hunting Elk with a bow, something I haven't done a lot of the last couple of years. Kind of have an addiction to Mulies in the high basins.
I don't either. NW Montana is tough country to hunt. Most of it is Boreal forest and brush infested [bleep] holes. Your pic and assessment of post rut elk pretty much mirrors my lifetime of hunting experience around here. The game check station data pretty much says your odds of killing an elk here in rifle season is only slightly better than winning the lottery.
Mule deer on the other hand... In the high country, glassing more open country the last hour of light, anytime in November, if there's deer there you'll see them popping out of the edges of the timber to browse. I tend to look for areas that have water, and/or lots of bitterbush.
Of course, I glass a ton even when I'm stillhunting the thick nasty stuff. Always looking for parts of deer, or something fur colored.
The parts I've hunted so far are basically as thick as the coast range "jungle". Nowhere to glass. Heavy timber with heavy brush under it. That's Oregon from about Eugene south. There is more open country but it's not within the High Cascades hunt boundary.
I think I've located a spot to try next time I get a tag which has some big meadows behind ridges .. maybe moraine piles and ponds that have filled up? I have to check those out late this coming summer.
Back to the OP's original post. The most "nomadic" hunt I was on was a Dall sheep hunt in 2005. From a remote moose camp/landing strip, we hiked out 6 miles and stayed overnight in an artic oven tent. From there we bivouacked everynight - wherever we ended up. The reasoning was of course, not to be tied to a set tent site. This would free us up to continue to range and spot to find the best ram. There was no re-tracing steps to get back to camp. And in August, in Alaska, its dang near light all night! We had a small two man pup tent which worked out well. This style wouldn't be for every hunt.
Other sheep/mt. goat hunts were with a "base" of operations for a day or two and then pick up if need be and move to another area.
The tent elk camps we use are from a more stable base tent with the option of staying out a night if need be. Normally we don't feel limited or hindered if we stay in a general area and hunt 360* from camp.
The only thing above tree line in my area is Mt McLoughlin and tree line on it is about 7500 feet. There's another transition from scrub pine to douglas fir at about 6500 feet. The vast bulk of the area is under 6000 feet.
I went through Walla Walla the last two summers one trip each. Yeah, that's definitely glassing country.
Glassing is a great tool, but it's utility depends on the country and what the animals are doing. I'd say it's one tool in the toolbox. I have a few favorite spots for elk (in CO) that are mostly heavy timber where glassing doesn't work very well.
If you're after bulls during the rut, sometimes listening is more effective than glassing. This is one of my favorite photos. This was an early hunt with my hunting partner cupping his hand to listen. Every year there are multiple bulls in this basin, but they rarely venture out of the timber during the day. Ideally you locate them by listening and go in after them. This particular year, there were 4 bulls in there:
And if you're hunting during the general rifle seasons after the rut in CO, lots of times the bulls are laid up in the timber recovering, and on public land anyway, they tend to shy away from open areas where they can be seen during shooting hours.
Which is just to say that if you don't see animals in the open, it doesn't mean they're not there.
Listening is imperative, but don't forget to use the nose when in thick timber/brush.
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