TwoBear

I have spent much time on many trails in the elk woods. When I leave the trailhead I can see 4-5 pairs of boot tracks in the snow, after a quarter mile maybe 2 left, after a half mile maybe 1 boot track, at a mile I am the only one leaving tracks. Elk need security, and it can be found then in micro-habitat a mile or so from the trailhead. It doesn't take much of a hike to move past the other hunters, so use this to your advantage, as soon as those boot tracks fade you can put into your mind that the elk are in a "secure" area.

Another point to ponder is that you needn't think so much about getting the meat out, as much as keeping it cool. Relax, take your time and break it down. As long as your meat is cool it will hold. You can takes days to get it off the mountain, we have before. Really, a couple of guys can pack and elk out in two days from deep in the mountain.

If you have every watched elk in the winter, either live or in video, you will notice that they move very slow. Their insticts tell them to preserve calories. Elk don't want to be in a pressure area, not just because of getting shot at, but also the need to run and burn up calories. Post rut is a time where bulls what seclusion, security, and food. They want it close with minumal expenditure of fat reserves and calories. A negative calorie diet means fat reserves burned. This is why you can catch them in the open during cold days, they need the sun to warm their bodies so they are not burning calories. Winter surival among elk is evey bit as important as the autumn rut, and both change elk habits and movement patterns.

shredder4286

twobear- that was a great read:0) thanks for sharing that bit of information

Alsatian

TwoBear: Again, another excellent post. I will keep the "more than a mile from the trailhead" admonition in mind. Also, I like the point about not worrying about being too far in to be able to get the meat out.

nsdemit

i agree with two bear.

start finding your honey hole by getting a topo map of your area. start writing all over it. mark the water holes mark the elk trails you find. make dots where you've seen them in the past. eventually, your map will show you patterns of game activity.

i photo copy my topos and have them laminated then write on them with permanent marker. and those laminated topos are great in your hunting pack!!!

sometimes it takes YEARS to find the honey hole, sometimes you stumble on it one day.

ALL ANIMALS make decisions based on their environment and condiitons. in the west, what may be a honey hole in a year of draught, may not hold a single elk the next year. star by looking for what the animals have available to them. food, water and cover. check areas that have good access to all three and pound the ground until you find where the elk like.

it really takes a long time to learn a unit well enough to predict movements over multiple years. you just need to educate yourself with what you can, and spend time there.

check out a book called "elk and elk hunting' by hart wixom. it has some good starting points as well.

Alsatian

I have this book and have read it more than once. It is a good book and has many good insights. It is sitting beside me at the table now. I have been reading from it again this week, specifically sections on finding elk.

nsdemit

his section on finding elk was the most helpful i've ever read. and i have a library of hunting books on all kinds of species.

you just have to get back to the basics. the stuff most of us learned from our fathers and grandfathers. look for sign, check for tracks, search their scat.

i have a series of blm topo maps that are annotated with species migration patterns and habits. with highlighted fields of summer and winter ranges and i draw hoof tracks where major trails go and mark where i find sheds and rubs.

the maps help me visualize what the animals are doing and why they are doing it. i've even collected info for the sheep i'll be hunting in montana this year. it'll be tough, but i have the same chance or better as everyone else does. % success runs 3-4% in these units. but that's 3% more than i have staying here in kansas.

all you can do is the best you can!

TwoBear

Bringing this thread back up for Doc

coolbrze0

Really good topic! I'm heading to SE MT in early Nov. for a combo rifle elk/deer hunt. I know it varies, but what is the weather "normally" like then? When is the elk rut in that area?

TwoBear

By then the temps will be cooler 20-30's at night 40-60's during day. That also depends a great deal on your elevation. Rut winds down in October, by early November the bulls are leaving or have left the cows and are hanging in their bull holes and reforming bachelor groups.

Bullcamp82834

I love the inference in the original post that the question of how to get in range of elk during legal shooting hours is simple and limited. LOL

A. Go to mountain
B. Find elk
C. Get close to elk
D. Shoot elk

Nothing to it !!!!!