Elk scouting
 

While sitting here in the flat lands of the east reading posts on elk hunting, I thought it might be fun to get actual updates from those that LIVE in elk country while they're scouting and preparing for this falls hunts. Maybe even a day by day account of his/her acitvities relating to the upcomming hunts.What time you started and finished, what you saw and heard. To me the more details the better. To those that live amongst the elk it might not seem a big deal but to me and maybe others that only get to personally experience elk hunting and all that goes with it for a far too short time in the fall, it would be a little like being there. Just a thought.

RE: Elk scouting
 

I live on a ranch in South Central British Columbia...my back property line is actually the US/Canada Boundary. Went out this evening and counted 13 cows and 11 calves in out top field. Have seen them for the last 4 nights. There is water and deep dark cover off the fields for them to sit out the heat of the day. Have seen a couple decent bulls in the last couple weeks but have not heard any bugleing going on yet. Looks like its going to be a good year for elk hunting.

RE: Elk scouting
 

Hemi, sounds like your setup for good things to come. Whats the temp there now and when does your season start? What is your elevation? When do you expect the bugling to start? Man I could ask questions all day long and still think of more. Good luck this season. I hope you have a great time this fall. onebigelk(kevin)

RE: Elk scouting
 

Well...theres one thing for sure when hunting elk...nothings for sure!! just when you think you have them figured they change up or move out! I have to be really carefull on the shots I take because it could get ugly if the bull was to jump the fence into the US. Not sure how that would play out?!

Temp here has been very hot 30-35 celcius with no rain for a number of weeks. The bulls are using wallows on our ranch and adjacent to our ranch.
We are at 4000ft elevation wise. I would expect to start hearing some locating bugles anytime now for sure as we head towards the next full moon. The nights cool off to around 14-15 degrees celcius. I didnt see any elk tonight but did see a whitetail buck that would easyily go 160-170BC a real nice heavy horned 6x6. Also last night I saw a non typical whitetail that would run mid 150s. a good looking buck.

RE: Elk scouting
 

Hemi you got my mouth watering,keep us flatlanders posted.


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RE: Elk scouting
 

Heres my back yard..
Brett

RE: Elk scouting
 

Lets see 30 celcius would be about 75 F..maybe. It's been about 42 Celcius here in Missourifor the last week- setting record highs almost every day. Not your typical get out at mid day and do a little scouting weather. Also no significant rain for about 2 months. Gonna put a damper on the acorn crop i think. Sounds like you have yourself some nice whitetailsto go with those elkHemi. 14 Celcius sure would feel good right about now. I think we had a cool front move in yesterday i think it got down to about 30 c last night.

RE: Elk scouting
 

Hey Brett, I must be the wolds slowest typer. You popped right in there:D. Thats a nice pic. Wish I had a back yard with a view like that. Been seeing any nice bulls there in idaho. I bet it's hard to choose which one you want. That was a good pic you had on one of your other posts about counting how many elk were in the pic. I think i missed a couple. Kevin.

RE: Elk scouting
 

I don't think most people who live in elk country actually scout elk. If you know the country, why scout? Human activity will run the elk out of an area. Besides that, an elk can go 40 miles just by thinkin' about it. They ain't likely to be where you scouted 'em when the season opens. Maybe a hole to the right, a mountain to the left. I prefer to rely on my knowledge of the area, what the elk do when pressured, and where they go when their feet get cold. Scoutin's for people who don't know the area they're hunting.

RE: Elk scouting
 

I have seen a few bulls, couple that I might try my luck with, its nice seeing them in velvet.
Brett

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That makes sense Beaverjack, I guess my thinking is skewed toward my background of hunting whiletail here in the east. I wouldn't have to scout here either because i've been hunting the same areas (family farms) for years. I could show up opening day and have a decent chance of seeing deer. But with all the hunters that close, I never know if the deer i saw last year are still around. Whitetails are creatures of habit and they seem to stay in the same areas from year to year. Do you hunt the same areas every year and are those elk always in those areas. I bow hunt so i have 4 months to hunt deer and can take my time. If i only hunted for 1 week in rifle season i definitely would need to scout to find where my best chances were for a short opportunity. Kevin

RE: Elk scouting
 

Well...not that I was actually out scouting elk this evening but while checking on one of our secluded broam grass fields I did happen to watch 40 cows with 40 calves (give or take on the calves as too many to actually count) and approx 8 young bulls rangeing from spikes to small raghorns, cruise through the timber on the field edge. They didnt notice me as the wind was blowing to me and I was not in their direct sight. What a noisy bunch. Anyone that has been around 80-90 head ofelk up close knows there is no other sound like it when they are on the move! Even with the dry year the forage is lush in the draws and valleysand the elk are looking like they are in great shape. High percentage of calves per cows this year.Sept 10 cant come soon enough!

RE: Elk scouting
 

Just for reference, to convert temperature from C to F, double C and add thirty, that will give a rough estimate of the temperature in F.

RE: Elk scouting
 

BJ has a point but only to a point....if that makes sense. In my opinion here are a few scenarios:

1 - General areas. In these areas I would agree 100%. Scouting isn't real productive until just before the hunt starts. I like to show up 3 days early and scout. Before that it's pointless, they just move too much. Even then you must scout from a distance, you can't enter their living space and get busted or they will be gone. Glassing and listening from a distance can be productive though a few days before the hunt starts. Even then however you could be right where you left a bull bugling at night fall the night before the hunt starts and show up to see 10 hunters there the next morning. At that point like BJ says you are relying on your knowledge of the area on tackling the rest of your hunt.

2- Limited Draw Areas for elk only. Even though the elk get limited hunting pressure deer hunters are hitting the hills in droves all fall and drive the elk out often times. In Utah all the archery deer hunts start a few days before the elk hunts start. So while you're sitting at home posting your scouting pics on the internet about the big bull you found there's some guy chasing a muley two point around in camo blowing everything out of your elk honey hole. It'sa mistake hunters often make thinking their season starts a certain day so no one is out disturbing their hunting area. In reality hunters should know all hunts that are happening in their area prior to and concurrent to thier hunt and plan accordingly. It's a mistake to think that just because you have the first elk hunt of the year to think that the elk are undistrubed. For this reason much like scenario number one scouting can be spotty but sometimes can yield good results if you can find an area the deer hunters stay away from.

3- Limited Draw Areas (All species). This means the whole area gets little hunting pressure all year long. There aren't deer hunters all over spooking elk into the deep dark canyons of the back country. It's been proven time and time again that in these areas you can scout throughout the summerand have great success finding some of the bulls right where you left them. If they have food, water, cover and are not disturbed they don't seem to be quite as nomadic. Since they naturally live far from the nearest road they usually aren't disturbed since only hunters venture off to find them. It seems to me that elk behavior in draw areas where hunting pressure is light year after year they don't roam as much and are much more vocal. You can have success scouting these elk. If they aren't right where you left them they are usually only 1 canyon away.

There is a draw only area here in Utah where year after year I can go to the same pockets and find elk. (I have been trying to draw a tag here fro 6 years with no success. For now I just shoot them with a camera) In the general areas that does not happen.

RE: Elk scouting
 

For sure "learning your way around" isthe best use for scouting that is done any substantial amount of time in advance of the season. A day or two before the season, checking around the drainages for sign to indicate thatelk are even in that drainage can be a big help for last minute adjustments, you don't even have to see any elk, just their tracks.

For too many people, their first DIY hunting trip is really just a scouting trip with guns with a lot of hope thrown in.

IMO, the nextbest use for scouting, especially well in advance of the season,would be just the joy of romping around up in ones favorite elk countryand expanding on the adjacent territory or exploring newroutes just a bit.

IMHO, success on the opening morning of the seasonis largely governed by knowing what you are looking for and where you are going and knowing the strategy you are going to execute when you get there.... best if all this is done with military precision and in the pitch blackness of early early morning.

RE: Elk scouting
 

Here are a few Alberta prairie Bulls

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Hunting archery I have always felt there is one thing you have to find to kill bulls, cows. If you know where the girls are you know where the boys will be coming to. And hunting an area for years will tell you where they are going to meet up, real good place to be.
Gselkhunter