thanks greg thats kinda what i figured but wasn`t sure. this area has lots of dirt roads all over. it is a training area for the army they shoot the big guns here they go over head on the way to a closed area down range the animals dont seem to mind i watched 5 bulls 2 weeks ago a 1/2 mile from where they had the guns going off. i cringed they didn`t. troop movement all the time here ,it doesn`t seem to bother the animals either. the elk are not easy, only one bow kill last year on base with 15 gun kills out of70-80 hunters a day for a week.gets kinda funny feeling when 16inch shells go overhead i`ll keep ya posted thanks again. songdog