rookelkhunter

A fella living in Podunk, Alabama, is planning a trip out west for a week of elk hunting. He has an oppoortunity to get out to his chosen hunting state for three days of a little business and a lot of scouting. The night before he leaves, he pulls out his topo maps of this state. What does he look for? What catches his eye where he would say, " now that place could and should hold some elk" ? Where is he headed to do his scouting. beings has the option of hunting half of the state?

nub

Depends on a lot of things. Wheres he hunting? Bumfu** Oregon?

ELKampMaster

Rookelkhunter,

I assume public land where he can get a tag, plus grass, water, thermal cover, and escape cover.

On this one I am going to have to recommend that before you " set the scene" for us that your " Alabama friend" has got a bit more homework to do before things can be very constructive on this topic. This topic isn' t as easy as say, " What all should I bring?" One could write a small book or film a video regarding your question, so it' ll be more efficient for your southern friend to get the book than for us to write it.... don' t take me wrong -- this isn' t intended as a snub -- just that it' s too broad for it to work out very well.

FYI -- check out this forum on page 2, " First elk hunt coming up this fall!!!" -- Big TK got his ducks in a row before jumping in on this type of question -- I' d recommend the same for your southern friend.

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REFERENCES: (No shooting on these two videos, but lots and lots of explaining --- what terrain will " hold elk" )

**** " Elusive In The Wild"
Image West Communications -- 8 Dorchester -- Gunnison, CO 81230 (90 minutes) [Best]

**** " Colorado Elk Hunting"
Colorado Divsion of Wildlife -- 6060 Broadway, Denver, Colorado 80216 (30 minutes) [Okay]
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BTW, we have a group from Mississippi who hunt in our area each year and they are hard core hunters.

Never Go Undergunned,
EKM

rookelkhunter

Man, this isn' t rocket science here fellas. I just tried to livin' this joint up with a little storyline that varied from the ol' yawner questions. [&o]

Obviously most hunters have an inclination as to where elk might be, I am simply asking what types of terrain via the topo map would look intising.

An example of what a point blank answer might be...' look for lines that are a fair distance apart, which would signify a flat spot, and potential bedding area, etc.. I am not after something that could be submitted at the film festival, just a few things you might look for on a map.

BeaverJack

You need to learn to read a topo map first of all. Its more ' an how far apart the lines are. Look for benches on steep slopes that have avalanche chutes (meadows) periodically along their face. The benches are the beddin' areas in canyon country. North slopes in the early season are a good bet. East slopes in the afternoon will work. Also look for broken ground on a high mesa, or in a gorge where there ain' t no traffic. If you get to an' area with dark timber on a North slope, an' there' s jack straw timber all around or its way too steep, then you gotta figure out where to bushwack the elk, or call ' em out. Elk like to cross a divide to git to good graze in the evening. Check out saddles an' passes. I like to watch big parks at the base of a divide that is remote on the far side. That' s a good evening hunt. In the mornin' , I' d be apt to climb from downwind an' try to intercept the critters on their way back over.

rookelkhunter

Ahh Mr. Beaver, you do know Jack! Thanks for the info, that is exactly what I was searching for.

Many thanks,

Chad

ELKampMaster

LOL.

txhunter58

The basics would include finding a spot without roads, and with water and cover. Also, looking for travel corridors (ie. saddles as Beaver said) is a good place to start. It should have good cover, but interdispersed open meadows for feed. Topos should give a lot of this info, although springs and wallows have to be found in person. The best way I have scouted this way is to identify some possible areas on Topo maps and then calling the Division of Wildlife officer for that area and asking " specific" questions about this drainage or that saddle. You also need to know the kind of trees in the area. I like to hunt where evergreens meet aspen forests, but a lot of elk are in oakbrush, especially in later seasons if snow comes.

MThunter

Well I like the idea of looking for benches when hunting in a canyon, but in the mountains it might not be quiet as obvious. Look for small pockets of timber that could be holding small herd or even a single bull. Look for areas of timber close to clear cuts or meadows. Elk like to be able to see what is sneaking up on them but still feel concealed.