Alsatian

Excellent information. I've got a picture on my computer background now, where I shot my elk, that is just such a "bench", though I didn't recognize it as such until we had this discussion on terminology. I can see how an elk wanting to get from one point to another would prefer to walk across this bench rather than up, over, and across. It kind of makes a shortcut in the case that I have on my screen in front of me. Without the bench, the hillside would be much steeper. It would be my preferred route between the two points at any rate, though I am not an elk. I guess one part of analyzing the terrain to selectively choose places to scout/hunt -- rather than randomly covering ground -- is to try to think like an elk.

TwoBear

Benches can be as small as a bathtub size niche in a mountain side. Elk like to be comfortable when they bed down, just like you and I. A good example of a manmade bench would be a logging road cut into a mountain side. These old roads that have been closed for many years can find elk bedded on them in the colder temperatures soaking up some sun rays. Elk love benches as laying down on a slope is uncomfortable.

Another area is the knob of fingers. Many times a finger ridge will slowly drop in elevation as it runs away from a main ridge. It will level out then drop off dramatically. The point it which it levels out is a great spot to catch bedded elk.

Wheatley

Another thing that the elk like to do is come down the mountain in the evenings to feed and back up in the mornings. If you have found elk or elk sign and know whih direction they are heading you can get into position before they get there. The spots that I have hunted the last two years are steep, secluded, and the elk come up in the mornings and I have been there waiting in the mornings. For the evening hunts I get down into the ravines that the ridges feed down into and set up near meadows that have sign in them.

Muley Hunter

What unit are you going to hunt in Colorado?

Alsatian

I hunt first rifle season in unit 75/77/78/751/771. For first rifle season, all these units are combined together. Is this information germane to my question, which was very general?

cabinethunter

Remember to think outside the box a little. This is all good information, and there are numerous books and articles to read, just remember that elk don't know this is what they are "supposed" to be doing. Like any animal, they will adapt to any situation, and some times that means doing the opposite of what the books say they are going to do. I've been hunting the same drainage for a few years now, and for the last two years while scouting we've found a bull that for some reason beds down at the bottom of the hillside while all the other elk we find go up high, just like they are "supposed" to do. This bull finds an open spot about 100 to 200 yard from the creek and just stops while the others keep going (not that it makes him any easier to hunt). I've still got a lot to learn about elk hunting myself, just an observation

jerry d

Good post TwoBear.I've never hunted elk but hopefully will change that in the not so distant future.My plan on how to hunt elk is very simple...........hire TwoBear !!!!

Colorado Luckydog

This is one of the best threads we have had in a long time. Thanks for starting it Alsatian. Someone should contact a mod and have it turned into a sticky.

I have been hunting for years in the same area. Every year there are more and more ATV's. Every year the hunting is worse and worse. This year we are going way back into the back country where you are only allowed on foot, horse back or lammas. I think this thread will help. Even an old elk hunter like me can still learn a lot.

Muley Hunter

I was going to give you some specific info, but you're not near my areas.

skiking

The one thing that I learned and started getting me into the elk more was not thinking about how miserable it would be if I shot an elk however far I was from my Jeep. Find the elk, get one down and then worry about getting it out. I see too many guys turning around because they think about how hard it would be to pack one out before they even get into the elk.