How to tell the age of elk droppings
 

I'm just wondering how to tell the age. Right now I just guestimate. few hours to few days?

if they're hot and taste fresh, they're fresh!


I step on them...

green and moist, very fresh, probably a few hours or less...

rock hard, old.

soft, 1-3 days?

If I'm not sure by looking at it, I'll pick up a pellet or two and feel for moisture on the outside. The outside dries quickly. Sometimes I'll step on them too to see how soft they are.

If ya find some in mid air between the ground and the elks butt they're fresh, after they hit the ground who cares??? what difference does it make if ya find a pile of poop unless ya can tell where the animal went.............

If the center is soft and chewy they are less than two days old.

Really if they aren't steaming does it matter. Elk can cover 10 miles in an hour easy. Say the turds in question are 3 hours old....you can do the math.

I think it matters. Elk can and sometimes will cover long distances but it does help to identify pattererns and if elk are in the imediate area. It's just one more piece to add to the puzzle when determining a plan to get into some elk. Each has their own beliefs but I can tell you one thing, I don't spend a lot of time in areas where there is no fresh dropping.

And U can waste a lot of time in a area with lots of fresh droppings, but the elk aren't theree because they moved into the area that U just left that had no droppings... I have s watched elk come in from little brown specks through 16X binos, to right on top of me in just a very short time, I want to be where they are going not where they have been!!! I have gotten more elk when they are coming at me than when I'm chasin them!!!!

Get your hands dirty and pick it up...sqeeze it, and smell it. If it's soft and smells strong you are pretty fresh also it should look wet. If it's old it will be hard and crumble in your hands it will also not smell a lot. I don't know how to help you with the time thing but that's how I measure the freshness of scat.

If it melts in your mouth and not in your hand.....


Well, nevermind, I was thinking of my favorite candy....:)

If you think that looking for fresh sign, is a waiste of time, your wrong. Scouting for elk can be as productive as scouting for whitetail, geese, ducks, turkey or almost any other kind game. Fresh elk sign is the next best thing to seeing elk. If you scout an area with no fresh sign and you choose that place to hunt, your a big dummy. To think anything different is assinine.