I'm new to elk hunting and elk country in general (I just moved to Wyoming from whitetail territory). Where do I start? I've got decent gear and I'm comfortable hiking in the backcountry and getting lost finding new ways to get back to my car, but I don't know where one goes to find an elk. Where can I find intel on how to read locations for elkiness? Thanks in advance.
I'd start with youtube videos. Randy Newberg and Steve Rinella have good ones. I have several elk hunting videos up to, but I'm hardly an elk hunting expert. Ours are for fun. Also look for parts of the state where tags are hard to get...generally the harder to get a tag the better the hunting. Look at these areas using google earth or Onxmaps for similarities; are they mountainous, coniferous, plains, vegetation boundaries, etc. The learning curve is steep and there's no replacement for boots on the ground, but watching others succeed and fail on line is a good start.
Nice, thank you. Onxmaps is great stuff, and I'll check out the Youtubers there as well.
Although not WY you can get on the Colorado CPW website and watch Elk Hunting101 video
What part of Wyoming are you in? We've got elk everywhere it seems.
Hit the mountains, avoid some roads and you'll find elk.
Get out during the rut when you can hear them bugling.
I'm in SE WY. Spending the quarantine trying to understand the game regs, not nearly enough time.
Also look at what it takes to get elk meat out of the mountains and into a freezer.
There's more to it than with a whitetail.
Okie John
Secluded water that you can't see from ANY road.
For the OP, keep in mind that everything changes once the shooting starts. Unlike deer, elk won't tolerate a lot of hunting pressure, they'll move. So if you find some good spots and come rifle season there are a lot of other hunters there, you want to have a plan B. It pays to find a few different spots scoped out.
Probably much less of an issue in Wyoming than down here, but......
Plan B might include scouting out some escape routes from feeding/bedding areas when pressured. One of my spots when things are slow is an area when elk never hang out, but will blast through there when pressured on adjacent land. Best days are Wednesday and Thursday of the week mid-season when the outfitter on that adjacent ranch has a turnover day when they are not hunting and the first day of his second party hunt. Might also work in areas where more pressure is on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Good luck!🍀
If you kick elk out of their bedroom, they won't stop running for 5 miles and they won't be back until they're run out of their new place. If you sneak through black timber and kick some out, don't bother hunting it again for a while.
If you see a herd come out of the timber up on a ridge right at dusk, be there before daylight the next morning. Most likely they'll still be there.
The 1st time you shoot one several miles from the road, be prepared to look at that enormous pile of very dead meat and say "Oh fxxx, what have I done!".