Mazz Hunter

Thanks for starting this thread....I'm a rookie elk hunter and I will be taking my 13 yr old son up this year for his first hunt. I have asked a few questions about general "elk hunting wisdom" or even very general questions about GMUs with very few replies. I'm not looking for a specific hunting spot, drainage or stand.....just some general feedback and direction.

Here was a post from I had from another forum ....

I just got back from a second scouting trip into my unit in CO and had some questions since I am a rookie elk hunter. Some of you may recall I am planning this first elk hunt with my 13 yr old son so I looked for a unit with an either sex tag with good population.

We went into a wilderness area that is big country. We camped at 10,500 feet and hike in. We are ok hiking in 3-4 miles so I found a few spots as follows:

* a small saddle about 3 miles back in dark timber on a ridge going up to the main peak. The saddle was around 11,400 ft, on the right side was an upper small valley with south facing pocket meadow/park. On the left about 40 yrds down the ridge was another pocket meadow facing west. I found old sign on the saddle, nothing I would say was under a week old and even older. I would say we were maybe 1.25 miles from timberline.

* the south facing pocket meadow on the right of the saddle was really tough to get to based on the very very steep hillside and the large number of huge dead-falls. Again, we found some older sign along the hillside getting over to the pocket meadow. We did find a set of tracks leading up out of the meadow that were fresh from that morning. Again, about 1.25 miles from timberline and this upper valley ran parallel to the main drainage. The valley curved up towards the peak NW and the only semi open area with close timber was west facing. This south facing spot was on a small draw half way up the valley.

* I located another few spots at lower elevation (9,500) that looked good as well with older sign.

My main question is....barring any snow before the 1st rifle season in mid Oct, are the elk going to stay around timberline? Or, will they be dispersed throughout these elevations?

Also, I read so much about N or E facing hillsides and hate to pass by the few spots that looked hunt-able that are not NE facing. How important is this?

I know weather changes everything, however, if no weather has brought snow I need to know were to spend my time.

Alsatian

Others please reply to Mazz Hunter. I consider myself to be a rookie elk hunter, too, though I'll be hunting elk for the fifth time in 2 1/2 weeks.

Elk should be up high, close to timberline, in the first rifle season (in Colorado). Heavy snows can change that. 11,400' sounds about right to me. Your saddle with pocket meadows on either side may be great. Be there before shooting light, above the saddle with a shooting lane. I wasn't entirely clear on whether the saddle was clear or heavily timbered. Heavy timber is where elk bed. It is hard to hunt them there; better to see them and shoot them in the open, if that is possible (undisturbed elk, well away from the roads, in natural feeding-bedding patterns). I don't think the direction the hills face in is extremely important; what is important is whether the hills have good grass on them or good cover on them.

Try different places. Glass with binoculars from a high place where you can see for a good distance (say 2-3 miles). If you see elk, figure out how to be there to shoot them. Maybe you'll see them in the morning going from a feeding area to a bedding area. Try to get to the place between bedding area and feeding area around 2 PM and then wait, concealed, for them to return to the feeding area. If they are undisturbed, there is a good chance they will do just that.

Reemphasize to your son the importance of firearm safety. I was just talking with someone I work with, and he described some incidents of unexpected firing. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Don't trust safeties. All of us need to think of this, but with your young son it is all the more important. And I'm in need of this message too. I'm going to try to bear this especially in mind this season.

Big Uncle

The elk will usually bed high in early season, but they may feed lower. Elk can travel long distances between bedding and feeding areas. I have found good bedding areas on side slopes that have small relatively flat spots, and are away from hiking and riding trails. Trails on main ridges have a lot more horse hoof prints and boot prints than side ridges. Elk change their habits, and sometimes their zip codes, when there is human activity.

You may catch elk feeding in parks early or late in the day, but mid-day park watching is almost always a waste of time. I have been very successful in taking elk between the bedding areas and the feeding areas. Elk often leave their beds in the late afternoon and arrive in the parks to feed close to dark (or after dark).

Elk like to bed high on the cooler slopes in the early season but they feed quite a bit on the South facing slopes which have better grass. The East facing slopes don't get quite as sun dried as the West facing slopes so grass is sometimes better there. Small parks up in the timber can be a good bet in early season, but better yet is finding a small seep (spring) away from the trails where they can drink and wallow.

Mazz Hunter

The saddle I described is in hvy timber and we did see a flash of what we thought was a cow. We pushed it out on our hike back to camp.

Thanks for the replies and I look forward to more input from the members.

jls456

Now isn't that the truth. I kept my x-rays too!

finnbear

Here again , it all depends on where you are hunting the elk..............here in Washington state we don't have to hike 10 miles off the road and up to 10,000ft! Many elk are found in the sagebrush at any where from 1,500 to 3,000/4,500 ft! last Monday we were on I-90 between Kittitas and Vantage and had a herd of around 150 right up to the fence along side the freeway!!! The elevation was around 2,000ft ........
elk hunting is different every place you go here, as in any state!! yes we have some elk up high, but they also hang at lower elevations right down to the surf line !!!!!!!!!